Hospitality Daily Podcast

In this episode, Chris Cline, the General Manager of Hotel Santa Barbara with Geronimo Hospitality Group, shares what independent hospitality provides. Chris explains how Geronimo's 11-month "Living as a Leader" training program, their owner-operator structure, and a culture built on trust and engagement create an environment where both team members and guests thrive.  A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Valerie Ferguson, the former Regional General Manager of Resorts at Walt Disney World, shares what multi-generational travel reveals about guest behavior, loyalty, and long-term revenue. Drawing from her experience across luxury and large-scale operations, she explains why family travel is expanding across three generations and how that shift is reshaping expectations. You’ll hear how shared experiences, not amenities, drive repeat visits, and how hotels can design activities and programming that resonate with grandparents, parents, and kids at the same time. If you’re looking to capture more demand from high-value family travelers, this episode gives you a clear lens on where to focus.You may also like:Operations Is Why Guests Come Back - Valerie FergusonYour Guests Define Your Brand Now - Valerie Ferguson A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Amanda Frasier, the President of Standards and Ratings at Forbes Travel Guide, shares with hertelier founder Emily Goldfischer what goes into hosting their annual summit in Monaco for the world's top hoteliers, how their star rating system actually works across 500+ evaluation standards, and where Forbes Travel Guide is expanding next into river cruises, trains, and adventure travel. You'll also hear about the new Women in Leadership Survey from hertelier, which found the percentage of FTG partner hotels run by women, and what that means for the industry going forward.Mentioned in this episode:Previous interview with Amanda Frasier on Hospitality DailyForbes Travel GuidehertelierThe Leadership Reset: Women in Hospitality Leadership Survey (Hertelier x Forbes Travel Guide)Cedric Grolet on InstagramConnect:Amanda Frasier on LinkedInEmily Goldfischer on LinkedIn A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

David Mariotti is a veteran hospitality leader with experience including roles as GM, area GM, and VP of Operations at Remington Hospitality, managing properties like One Ocean Resort & Spa in Atlantic Beach, Florida.Recently, David began volunteering at the Gabriel House of Care, a nonprofit hospitality house on the Mayo Clinic campus in Jacksonville, Florida, that provides affordable lodging to organ transplant and cancer patients and their caregivers.In this conversation, David shares how volunteering has reconnected him to the core of hospitality, what hotel leaders can learn from serving in unfamiliar environments, and practical ways to build volunteering into your team's culture, including the "care committee" model he used at his resort.Topics covered:Operating a hotel during COVID with a team of eightGrowing up in his father's laundry and dry cleaning business in St. AugustineThe story of the Gabriel House of Care and Jorge Bacardi's double lung transplantHow slowing down and connecting with vulnerable guests builds hospitality skillsThe care committee model for property-level community involvementHosting surf camps, 5Ks, and serving meals as team volunteeringResources mentioned:Gabriel House of CareHealthcare Hospitality Network (100+ hospitality houses across North America)Jon Gordon's books: The Power of Positive Leadership, The Power of a Positive Team, Seven Commitments of a Great Team, The Energy Bus, Difficult Conversations Don't Have to Be DifficultRonald McDonald HouseHEAL (Healing Every Autistic Life)Connect with David Mariotti: LinkedIn A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Mike Baxter, the Co-Founder of House of Gods, shares why capital isn't the biggest barrier to opening a hotel and what investors actually look for when backing new hospitality brands. This is the final episode in a three-part series hosted by guest experience correspondent Danica Smith, A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Mike Baxter, House of Gods founder, shares why boutique hotels should be defined by purpose rather than aesthetics, and what gets lost when chains acquire boutique brands. From the financial foundations that need to come first to his concept of "demand sovereignty," Mike offers a direct challenge to operators who treat guest experience as an add-on revenue line.This episode is hosted by our guest experience correspondent, Danica Smith. A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Mike Baxter, House of Gods founder, shares the origin story behind his boutique hotel brand and why he believes most hotels confuse boutique aesthetic with actual boutique identity. Mike explains why story and purpose matter more than design trends, and how the right narrative attracts both guests and team members who believe in the product. Listen for his take on why hotels should be a fantasy, not a nicer version of your living room.This episode is hosted by our guest experience correspondent, Danica Smith. A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, GB Sharma, the Founder and CEO of Mosaic Hospitality, shares how hotel owners can build a unified commercial engine and turn proprietary data into a competitive moat. GB breaks down the zero-click search shift reshaping discovery, why you should focus on data cleansing, and how structured proprietary data becomes a valuation layer at exit. Watch this conversation on YouTube A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Chef Franck Desplechin, the Founder and CEO of Incrementum and author of Relentless Growth, shares why development-driven leadership outperforms and how understanding each team member's individual motivation builds the kind of loyalty that survives busy weekends and hard shifts. If you're trying to engage Gen Z or rethink how you lead frontline teams, Franck's approach is worth learning from.Also see: Beating The Trap That Burns Out Hospitality Leaders A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Chef Franck Desplechin, the Founder and CEO of Incrementum and author of Relentless Growth, shares why chasing titles without alignment leads to burnout and how redefining growth as depth rather than height changed his career. From becoming the youngest executive chef of a St. Regis to finding fulfillment through coaching his team, Franck offers a practical perspective on staying connected to the craft that brought you into hospitality. A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands