Defining Hospitality

Harsha L’Acqua, Founder of Saira Hospitality, wants others to develop the “hospitality gene” for others. She has created a unique business to help students interested in hospitality find their way to the industry through what she refers to as pop up hospitality schools. Harsha shares with host Dan Ryan how to grow and develop this hospitality gene and her take on defining hospitality.Takeaways:  When we first make hotels, walls are the first thing that are put up. To the community it comes off as that it is a boundary they aren’t allowed to enter, but they should feel welcomed by these additions to their areas. Hospitality is more a gene that people have. It is based on empathy and the ability to understand the needs and feelings of others. Not everyone has the ability to make others feel comfortable. It’s a skill that can’t be taught, some are just born with it. You can hone that skill to better serve your guests.Hospitality now has a need to hire anyone and everyone, and that includes giving chances to those who were formerly incarcerated. Everyone deserves a second chance.It’s important to take a minute and listen to those around you. You don’t always need to have an answer, just knowing that someone is being heard is enough.Harsha’s advice to others is to be more open minded. Listen to those around you and be open to new experiences and journeys. Quote of the Show: 7:36 ​​”It isn't a universal thing to make people feel comfortable. And we talk about what we're calling the hospitality gene, and we teach that in week two. The hospitality gene is more of a mentality that we believe people have that's based on empathy and the ability to understand not only the needs of other people, but the feelings of other people. And so hospitality itself is very much along those lines. To me it's not the hotel. It's not, unfortunately, the design to me, it's the feeling they can be met if you look at the hierarchy of needs. And you're like, okay, great. I've got shelter, I've got food, I've got water. I'm good. Or they could be met hopefully in kind of true hospitality to another level where your needs are being exceeded, needs that you didn't even know that needed to be met, are being met. But the beauty of that in terms of hospitality is that once there's, those needs to whatever level. And I think that really goes along the spectrum of luxury to kind of entry-level hotels. But once they're met, that leaves this space for the guest to then be able to feel, to come back to who they are as people.”Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harsha-l-acqua-9719877/Website: https://www.sairahospitality.com Shout Outs: 1:51 Rosewood1:52 Four Seasons1:52 Virgin4:03 ACE Hotel4:06 Home10:26 Kevin Austerhouse10:47 Soho House, London12:40 Six Senses24:53 Chris Voss31:48 Coss Marte32:20 Saks Fifth Avenue32:44 CONBODY38:13 Andre Balazs38:15 William Beaver House40:27 “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie45:13 ASG49:14 Citibank56:59 Mother Teresa Ways to Tune In: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPXApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1sAmazon Music: ​​https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8c904932-90fa-41c3-813e-1cb8f3c42419Podbean: https://www.defininghospitality.live/

Lionel Ohayon, Founder and CEO of ICRAVE Design, lives by the philosophy of “when one door closes, another door opens.” He has created groundbreaking designs at places like terminal 5 at JFK, as well designing parts of the Memorial Sloan Kettering hospital. Lionel joins host Dan Ryan to share how his life experiences have influenced the way he views and creates #hospitality.Takeaways:  Lionel designed terminal 5 for JetBlue at JFK, and when designing it he focused on trying to make people feel comfortable and relaxed with flying. Hospitality is an ever-growing part of everyday life for people. The interaction between humans can be hospitality and how we perceive it is important.Understanding the essence of hospitality is more important than having the nicest hotel or restaurant.Your paradigm in life shouldn’t be “why me?”, but rather “try me,” facing any issues that come into your life head on and accepting new challenges. You must be the hero of your own journey. Life can throw unexpected twists your way but it’s important to handle them the right way and see the silver lining.There are great opportunities to profoundly impact our world. With the advancement of technology and virtual reality, these can be used for good to bridge the divide between people.Quote of the Show: 13:10 “I tell clients so often, like I can guild your place in gold, but if you don't understand the essence of hospitality, what the triggers are to make people feel comfortable to, or to allow people, those opportunities to step through the looking glass and learn something new about themselves, right?To experience color in a way that they haven't because you are leading, you have an expectation about what the emotional response will be. Or what the inputs are of place, that is more about placemaking than about understanding the way things look and feel. I think that hospitality today is critical. It's an ever-growing important piece of the human interaction that we're all concerned about.”Links:Twitter: https://twitter.com/lionelohayon?lang=enLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lionelohayon/Website: https://www.icrave.comShout Outs:0:09 Memorial Sloan Kettering0:59 Stacy Shoemaker2:48 JetBlue8:42 Tesla9:51 Disney Cruise Ships19:23 Tao21:18 Crowbar26:17 St. Jude’s27:33 St. Luke’s30:40 Compass Group31:15 “Why Me?” book by 44:14 Michael J. Fox44:18 Doc Hollywood49:33 The Hotel of Tomorrow49:44 Oculus50:10 Ready Player One50:14 Wall-E52:15 Ken Burns Civil War documentaryWays to Tune In: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPXApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1sAmazon Music: ​​https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8c904932-90fa-41c3-813e-1cb8f3c42419Podbean: https://www.defininghospitality.live/Youtube : https://youtu.be/Vzic6OgdVpk

The most valuable asset anyone has is time, but you also need the energy to use that time. Today’s guest learned this after feeling burnt out after years of working at a chocolate production business in Belgium. Natalya Berdikyan is an energy coach, teaching people how to properly take advantage of their energy and put it to their best use. She is also the founder of Life By Design Academy. Listen as she joins host Dan Ryan to share her thoughts on #hospitality today!Takeaways:  Everyone likes the feeling of home away from home, and that is a key part of providing a great hospitality experience.Energy attracts both the positive and negative feelings of the place and people around you. You need to be aware of yourself, where you are and the other people you are with. These all play a big role in the energy you are feeling. Taking a step back and taking a deep breath can help clear your mind if you are feeling out of sorts. Don’t take anything personally, don’t judge yourself and don’t judge others. These are tips that will help you keep your energy in a positive direction. To get ourselves out of a low energy situation we need to understand why we are in that kind of situation in the first place. Quote of the Show: 3:18 “We are all being served one way or another from which gives me, gets me to that definition. Feeling comfortable being supported, being heard and being understood, whether it is at the hotel or the restaurant at the hospital, at the airport, at the airplane, it's making people feel comfortable.And then we have a beautiful phrase, feeling home away from home. That's great. What if you're on the way and you are feeling in the space of comfort and of being like you not being stressed and frustrated that you're on the way somewhere. I would also find as the hospitality part.”Links: Twitter: @NatBerdikyanLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/natalyaberdikyanWebsite: lifebydesign-academy.comShout Outs: 13:36 Pick You Ups19:54 Bruce Schneider19:56 Energy Leadership Methodology Ways to Tune In: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPXApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1sAmazon Music: ​​https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8c904932-90fa-41c3-813e-1cb8f3c42419Podbean: https://www.defininghospitality.live/Youtube : https://youtu.be/28i2ualQLdo

The hospitality industry is incredibly diverse as a whole, but not when it comes to the higher up positions. That’s what today’s guest wants to change for the better. Damon Lawrence, the Co-Founder of Homage Hospitality, is working with Howard University to create an outstanding hospitality program at his alma mater, Howard University.  Listen to this week’s episode as he shares #hospitality insights with Dan Ryan today!Takeaways: There is a labor shortage in the hospitality industry because it’s not an employee centric industry. Employees work long hours and went from seeing no one in a pandemic to being face to face with guests again.Hospitality is a feeling you give to your guests. Whether they are in your hotel, restaurant or even your home, it is all about how you treat the guests and put them in a position to succeed.It’s important to have conversations regarding race in the country. To make a positive change in the world, it starts with what might be an uncomfortable conversation for most. There needs to be more African American hotel owners and developers. To help achieve this, Damon is working on building up the hospitality program at Howard University.The hospitality industry is very diverse as a whole, but most of the diversity is sitting at the very bottom. The low entry, hourly jobs are the most diverse, and the further you go up the more the diversity dwindles.If people listen, take notice, and then take action that could cure a lot of ills in the hospitality industry. This could also benefit society at large. Quote of the Show: 7:58 “Hospitality really is a feeling. What I've always noticed,whether it's traveling or I'll be working in this space, is how do you make somebody feel when they enter into your space or a space that you have dominion over?Just because you are a hospitality brand doesn't mean that you wouldn't exude or create a hospitable experience. So hospitality really is how you make people feel. Whether they're dining at your restaurant or dining at your home. Like I said before, understanding what everyone goes through and making sure that you can put people in the best position to succeed, creates that hospitality experience that you want to provide to your consumers.”  Links: Damon’s Profile:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/hauspitality/Company website: https://www.anewkindofhospitality.comTwitter: @hauspitalityShout Outs: 1:11 Thompson Hotel1:34 Jason Pomerantz1:35 Stephen Brandman1:57 St. Regis1:59 Ritz Carlton2:00 Four Seasons3:33 Craigslist10:33 Howard University10:49 University of Louisiana, Lafayette11:33 Mardi Gras12:20 Halle Berry12:22 Paula Patton19:27 Independent Lodging Congress20:14 Arne Sorenson foundation20:17 Marriott foundation23:28 ALIS Conference25:21 Determine by Design25: 24 Kia Weatherspoon36:00 LGBTQ51:39 HDAC (Hospitality Diversity Action Council)52:58 Bashar Wali53:00 Nina Grondin53:03 Aaron Anderson53:07 Stacy ShoemakerWays to Tune In: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPXApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1sPodbean:  https://www.defininghospitality.live/Youtube : https://youtu.be/k_ETfrerldA

Jason Caldwell is the definition of an adventurer. He’s rowed across the Atlantic ocean twice, setting a world record on one run, and the Pacific Ocean setting a world record for the fastest time as well. He's trekked through the oldest desert in the world. Caldwell, CEO and Founder of Latitude 35 Leadership and author of “What IF”, joins host Dan Ryan to talk about his experiences with cross ocean rowing and how that has influenced his view on leadership and hospitality. Takeaways:  Hospitality isn’t always about the place you are staying or eating. It’s about creating a positive feeling for your guest or those who are around you, making them feel comfortable.Ocean rowing requires four people in a 30 ft fiberglass rowboat. On the trip where Jason broke the world record across the Atlantic, two of the four teammates had to leave the race only 600 miles in, with 2,400 miles left to go.Jason created a comfortable environment in an uncomfortable rowboat situation by playing to his co-passengers' strengths.Having quick, daily meetings with your team helps your team to feel connected to the leader and also feel valued. There is a difference between being a leader and being a captain. A leader works with the team, while a captain is the one to give the orders to a team. When leading a team, you don’t want your co-workers or teammates to dread working for you, you want them to feel grateful to working alongside you.Quote of the Show: 3:30 “When I think of hospitality, I'm thinking from my experiences at hotels, at restaurants and that stuff. I'm always the person who's being catered to. For me, the definition of hospitality is really ways that I can create a level of comfort, whether that's a physical comfort, mental comfort, or an emotional comfort for people in my world. My people are my teammates and as leaders of these teams that row across oceans and do all these extremely dangerous and endurance driven things and incredibly difficult, I have kind of the burden, but also the opportunity and privilege to find different ways that I can create that comfort.”  Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-caldwell-44121119Website: https://lat35.coBook Links: https://www.amazon.com/What-IF-Jason-Thomas-Caldwell/dp/1543461123https://www.amazon.com/Navigating-Impossible-Extraordinary-Shatter-Expectations/dp/1523086718Instagram: @Jason_t_caldwellShout Outs:1:13 Hospitality Design Summit in Lake Tahoe23:57 Verne Harnish24:01 Rockefeller Habits, book by Verne Harnish30:55 Sonoma State31:05 Vesper Boat House31:32 Yale31:32 Princeton31:34 Dartmouth42:41 JFK52:07 Herman Melvile52:09 Moby DickWays to Tune In: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPXApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1sAmazon Music: ​​https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8c904932-90fa-41c3-813e-1cb8f3c42419Youtube : https://youtu.be/rXTNNR9-BJE

Stacy Shoemaker Rauen advocates that great hospitality isn’t just about great design, it’s also a necessity for our overall well-being. By designing buildings in certain ways, this can help lead us to make healthier and more productive changes in our lives. Rauen is the Editor in Chief of Hospitality Design Magazine, as well as the Senior Vice President at Design Group at Emerald. Listen as she sits down with host Dan Ryan to share her thoughts on #hospitality today!Takeaways:  In hospitality, you want to be the glue that holds people together, but not the force that binds it. The root of hospitality is inviting people into your home or your kitchen, so the best hospitality is making your guest feel like it is an extension of your home.Sleep and taking care of our health are very important and these goals can be achieved in new and different ways through unique hotels and building environments that place an emphasis on these matters.The hospitality industry is having an incredible impact on plenty of other industries for the better, and it is now an industry that is having a great moment.Stacy helped bring more diverse voices and writing to Hospitality Design magazine in an effort to showcase the diversity in our world. One small action can have a massive ripple effect. The start to a positive change begins with a small start and a small idea. You don’t have to take on everything, you just have to take on one thing.Quote of the Show: 9:36 “For me, hospitality is going back to what hospitality started as, right? It’s hotels used to be owned by individual people and it was an extension of their home. It was inviting you in. Restaurants were run by usually a family, or one individual, and it was opening up their kitchen to people.So to me, the best hospitality, and obviously it has evolved and changed in so many ways. But I think when you go back to the true definition of what hospitality is, and that is an extension of somebody's home, that you are inviting them in to experience something that is different or greater than what they've experienced elsewhere.”Links: Twitter: @StacyRauenInstagram: @StacyRauenLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacy-shoemaker-rauen-766b253/Website: https://www.emeraldx.comPodcast: https://hospitalitydesign.com/people/podcasts/bonus-episode-stacy-shoemaker-rauen-hospitality-design/ Shout Outs: 1:32 Jason Goldberg2:32 Michael Adams3:42 Hospitality Design Podcast 8:44 HD Expo8:56 Rachel Long11:28 BDNY13:25 The Well13:37 A bearish16:03 Equinox16:25 Six Senses16:27 Jacobs CEO17:53 One Medical18:29 BHDM18:50 Rockwell19:13 Lionel from iCrave19:16 Sloan Kettering19:50 Susan Healey 23:19 HDAC23:46 George Floyd23:47 Black Lives Matter25:05 Couture27:16 NEWH28:13 Curioso29:41 Bashar Wali29:43 Damon Lawrence29:44 Nina Grondin29:45 Aaron Anderson33:04 Cheryl Doris33:31 Melville Wilson36:49 Marie Brenner36:58 TIME magazine Ways to Tune In: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPXApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1sAmazon Music: ​​https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8c904932-90fa-41c3-813e-1cb8f3c42419Youtube : https://youtu.be/swjQ9VqykIYGoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/hdac-booth-at-hd-expo?member=12590963

Being a hotelier wasn’t always the goal for Brigette Breitenbach. Back in 2006, one of her clients came to her and asked if she could do some branding for a new hotel that was being opened, and she never looked back. Brigette, now the owner and founder of B&Co as well as an owner of the Iron Horse Hotel in Milwaukee, joins host Dan Ryan to talk about what hospitality means to her. Takeaways:  Hospitality isn’t a service, it is to meaningfully care for the guests. It’s all about trying to make the guest feel cared for.It’s important to know what your guests want. Understanding their wants and needs can help to establish your brand. The market and the guests will tell you what they want.The younger generation spends more money on travel and experiences more so than previous generations.Hotels are like a book, you need to have a compelling story, but every chapter also needs to make sense.The best hotels are the ones that offer a variety of different experiences within one space. If you are struggling with something, it’s always better to say that. If you’re willing to do that, it can help with client relationships and staff relationships.Sometimes we are defined by the business we don’t take. Sometimes saying no to business can help make sure your staff isn’t overwhelmed.Quote of the Show: 2:24:  “All of our projects start with a discovery phase and we tell all of our clients that with the exception of a few markets, we don't know their market. We don't know the city that they're from. We don't know the local community.And so we start to dig in and we almost come at every project with the perspective of being the guest. And so we try to dig in and we understand kind of what's happening in that market. What's new and exciting. And then we really drill down to, okay, who do you think your target audience is? Who are you building this property for?Or rebranding it for? Because until you define their passions, interests and values really don't know what you're going for. And so to understand that market and guest exploration piece of the puzzle,  you're never going to get to the foundational brand. So it really starts with who are you trying to please.”Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brigettebreitenbach/Website: https://bcobranding.comShout Outs:0:25 Independent Lodging Congress10:52 The Iron Horse Hotel10:58 Lehman Brothers11:11 Hilltop29:53 Bashar Wali30:22 Andrew Friendly 31:57 Jason Caldwell32:10 David RockwellWays to Tune In: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPXApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1sAmazon Music: ​​https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8c904932-90fa-41c3-813e-1cb8f3c42419Youtube : https://youtu.be/veOjMFAHF6I

Creating a welcoming environment in a hotel or bar is a purposeful endeavor. Nina Grondin, Founder and Partner of Curioso, has created a collective where people such as architects, artists, interior designs and more work together to create meaningful experiences through design. Listen to this week’s episode as she shares #hospitality insights with Dan Ryan today!Takeaways: Hospitality isn’t confined to just hotels and bars. It covers a wide range of topics. The basis of hospitality is one person attending to the needs of another. As humans we crave love and attention. It’s important in hospitality to feed those human needs and make sure the guest feels comfortable and seen.In hospitality, you are offering a service but more importantly you are anticipating someone’s needs. This creates deep connections with the guests.It’s important to listen to the community where you plan to put hotels or a hospitality business. Those in the community can tell you what they want and what they think would fit in.To create change, it’s important to start with having a conversation about how to be more inclusive. This applies to more than just hospitality, but all industries. Don’t lose sight of what drives you and gets you motivated throughout the day. We all get so busy in our daily lives but it’s important to keep your motivation and your passion alive.  Quote of the Show: 1:50 “When I think about hospitality, it's really one person attending to the needs of another person, but doing it with thoughtful intention and doing it in a way that makes them feel welcome. It makes them feel appreciated. It makes them feel seen. And it's really about that human connection. And so it's not really defined or confined to hotels and restaurants and bars, but really at any place where humans reside. And I think that ability to really make one another feel good and feel appreciated, that's what hospitality is all about.”Links: Nina’s Profile:  linkedin.com/in/nina-grondin-0ab5901Company website: curioso.usInstagram: @imissedShout Outs: 14:42 Instagram17:48 El Paso, TX18:54 Beto O'Rourke20:37 Detroit, MI23:20 HDAC: Hospitality Diversity Action Council23:41 Stacy Shoemaker23:49 George Floyd24:07 Bershard27:10 Hoffman Institute 27:37 HD Expo27:48 Carlos Herrera28:23 Damon Lawrence28:30 Erin Anderson28:55 LGBTQ29:48 Independent Lodging Congress31:58 Marquise Stillwell36:13 Holiday Inns36:15 Hampton Hotels43:24 Dan PierceWays to Tune In: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPXApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1s

Dr. Chloe Carmichael is a world renowned psychologist, entrepreneur, and public speaker. She is also the author of “Nervous Energy - Harness the Power of Your Anxiety”, teaching people how to manage their anxiety. She’s here to give a unique perspective on the overlap between hospitality and psychology. Listen to this week’s episode as she shares #hospitality insights with Dan Ryan today!Takeaways: There is an overlap when it comes to hospitality and psychology. There is a level of empathy that needs to be reached in each one.Reflective listening is when you are hearing someone talk to you but then you're able to feed it back to them in a concise manner.There is a healthy function to anxiety, so it’s not healthy to want to get rid of it. The best way is to manage it and focus it in a constructive way.Mental Shortlist Technique is when you are hyper focused on something coming up, so to make sure you don’t lose focus of everything else you make a short list of other things to keep you focused.Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. It can be nerve wracking but in the long run it will be extremely beneficial and rewarding. Taking care of yourself mentally is extremely important. Often we get so busy in our daily lives that we don’t take time to focus, breathe, and relax and ease our busy minds. Quote of the Show:2:10 “When I even saw the title of your podcast, Defining hospitality, I got really curious about the etymology or the Greek roots of that word. So I was just looking it up and noticing that the Greek word in ‘hospa’ is going to be traced to caring for people. Not only as a host, but that it also pertains as a guest. And I thought it was interesting to see it was the same route that we applied to hospital.So I personally have almost had that emergency room feeling like, get me to a fine dining experience or a great hotel. I need that, my soul needs to be taken care of. Because actually also in psychology, the Greek word, ‘psyche’ traces to spirit. So I do think that there's so much overlap with psychology and hospitality, that level of empathy that we need to bring to people. Links: Chloe’s Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/chloecarmichaelCompany website: drchloe.comTwitter: @DrChloe_Book: https://www.amazon.com/Nervous-Energy-Harness-Power-Anxiety/dp/1250241219Shout Outs: 0:14 Deepak Chopra0:57 Entrepreneur Organization20:26 Zone of Control technique33:42 Baker McKenzie law firm34:15 Corporate Counseling Associates36:42 Flatiron District50:31 YPO eventWays to Tune In: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPXApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1sYouTube: https://youtu.be/dA03rKxaPIU

Kraig Kalashian is the owner of KKAD, Pocono Modern, and Westmore Hotels and  Restaurants, which includes Pren Kitchen. After spending years playing in a band, Kraig realized he has a passion for solving problems and he discovered the best way to do that is through architecture, food and music. He’s here to give a unique perspective on hospitality through a different lens. Listen to this week’s episode as he shares #hospitality insights with Dan Ryan today!Takeaways: Architecture isn’t about how to make money, but rather how to solve problems. It’s all about finding ways to fit everything you can imagine into a given space. Hospitality is a feeling you get when you are taken care of. It’s knowing that somebody is devoting 100% of their time and attention to you and making sure all your needs are met. Today, travel and dining out are not the luxuries they were once considered to be, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to do it well.Kaizen is the Japanese word for making small, incremental improvements over a period of time. Acknowledging that a mistake has been made is something that is very important when it comes to life and business.It’s important to listen to the staff and hear what their opinions are. They might have a great idea on where to better locate certain things to make their life easier (ie, making sure each floor has a linen closet).The Einstein approach is working on ideas for a long period of time, but sometimes the answer to each one arrives at the same time, making it seem like it was all done at once.Everybody gets the same 168 hours during the week. After sleeping and working, we are left with 50 hours of freetime. How you carve out that freetime is up to you, but you can use it to master your craft. The backbone of hospitality is inclusivity. People from all walks of life are part of hospitality so finding ways to include them and making them feel wanted is the essence of the industry. Quote of the Show: 3:37 “Hospitality is a feeling, it's the feeling like somebody is taking care of you. It's the feeling like somebody sees who you are and what you need and, and gives you that. For me, the best way that I could define it is just this feeling I used to get from going to my grandmother's house when I was a kid. So if you asked what's hospitality, I would say it's, it's the way my grandmother treated me. Like when I was a kid, like when I would go to my grandmother's house, like she would just basically give me a hundred percent of her time and attention while I was there. She would always have things that were special for me.It was really like this feeling of being treated in the best way, like you would imagine royalty gets treated and somebody stopping, whatever they're doing to just make you feel at home or accommodated or, you know, just pay attention to what you need. And so I think that for me, the idea of hospitality is just thinking about other people and how to, and how to make them feel seen and how to make them feel taken care of.”Links: Kraig’s Profile: linkedin.com/in/kraig-kalashian-ra-ncarb-leed-ap-916b388Company website: poconomodern.com Personal website: kalashian.com Shout Outs: 5:56 Dominique Ansel, creator of the Cronut10:25 Independent Lodging Congress event in Brooklyn 10:29 David Rockwell12:46 Danny Meyer20:20 W Hotels22:03 Blackberry Farm24:46 John George25:54 Hygge, Scandinavian Design 36:13 Libby Patrick40:26 Amman40:27 Four Season40:29 Mandarin Oriential 49:13 Joe Rogan49:14 Marc Maron50:47 Game of Thrones51:20 Target 51:26 Starbucks58:54 DoubleTree HiltonWays to Tune In: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPXApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1sYouTube: https://youtu.be/BDd0WGhX8xY