In hotel operations, high rates and occupancy have to be supported by engaged staff, a full suite of amenities and services, and the ability to get the flywheel turning again. Ken shares how they have been dealing with these challenges and some of the thinking that is going on behind the scenes with respect to balancing “getting back to normal” and what the new normal will actually look like.

As Tejal is on the cusp of opening her own hotel, I wanted to dive in to bridge the theory from the hospitality culture discussions of the past several months with the realities of a working asset.

During pre-pandemic times, hotels across the country spent a great deal of time trying to improve service culture but now that travel is returning but staffing remains tight, how does a hotel ensure there is alignment with guest, employee and brand expectations?

As they say, revenue cures all problems, so the trifecta of Revenue Management, Sales and Marketing have never been more critical - but approaching them with the same thinking as we did pre-pandemic is not going to do you any favors.

A mainstay as the Chef Concierge at the Fairmont San Francisco, Tom has been around the world and back again, bringing an early passion for the profession when working in Europe, to creating the modern concierge blending the allure of the old world with American ingenuity. Today, he’s a global ambassador and mentor for hospitality professionals everywhere.

When we were discussing doing this episode, our conversation turned to the state of hotel and restaurant openings as pandemic restrictions are lifted and whether or not businesses should in fact reopen at 100% when they’re allowed to do so.

Whether it’s the inability to fill open positions, a lack of internal resources, finding new customers, or expanding initiatives, this new business climate is stretching business owners, managers and teams in more ways than ever before. 

I was recently a guest on Kyle Allison’s show, HospitalityMD. The interview originally appeared on his podcast a few weeks ago and our discussion resonated so well that I felt there was value in sharing it with you here.

We’re continuing the discussion about Diversity and Inclusion on this episode. As hotels start to rehire after the pandemic, there is no better time to be talking about how we want things to look going forward.

Taking a page from the playbook of the best hotels in the world, they’re pushing the boundaries of what people can expect from a vacation rental

If you’ve ever wanted to know more about those personality tests that recruiters often have you go through, this episode is for you.

This unintended mini-series on leadership book reviews is back. The episode that we did on Good to Great by Jim Collins got such a high response that we decided to do another dive into a book that affected both of our careers.

Yes is the answer can transform your hotel’s service culture and operation but it’s more than blindly agreeing to any request. It takes a strong training mindset, high levels of empowerment and the ability to set and maintain boundaries to be successful.

Sharecare Health Security Verification is one of the tools that has emerged as a way for hotels to demonstrate to their guests that health and safety protocols surrounding COVID are not only in place, but continually re-verified to ensure booking confidence and peace of mind.

We’re talking about leadership, entrepreneurship, the benefits and pitfalls of bootstrapping vs seeking outside investment and how as a founder, you’ve got to have your sights squarely placed on creating an environment that will allow the business to be successful.

Milena is the founder of the Unhustle Movement, a certified human potential coach and podcast host on a mission to inspire 100 million people from all over the world to ditch the hustle culture mentality and begin a new way of living and working. 

We’re diving into Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing on this episode. These are topics that are getting much more discussion in the hospitality space and as we look to re-open the industry after the pandemic, there is no better time to be talking about how we want it to look going forward.

As we shift focus to coming out of the pandemic stronger than ever, emotional leadership and cultivating a great internal culture must be a leading topic of discussion.

We’re still in the early days feeling the long term impact of the pandemic. Sure, travel has fallen off and many hotels are wrestling with their future, but as we move through the next 12-18 months, there will undoubtedly be ownership changes, brand changes and many properties will embark on varying types of renovations.

Outpost is occupying an interesting space, at the intersection of work and life. Initially focused on digital nomads, the changes that the pandemic has forced on businesses and work culture around the world has put them in a unique position to foster long term leisure stays with everything one might need to continue working, grow their network or embark on a new venture.