Hospitality Daily Podcast

In this episode, Walter Isenberg, CEO and Co-Founder of Sage Hospitality Group, shares his reflections on 2025, the lessons he's bringing into 2026, and his perspective on the bifurcation in hospitality: commodity hotels moving toward automation and reduced staffing versus experience-driven hospitality, where people remain the competitive advantage. More from Walter: Walter's article in Hotel Management: "Hospitality Begins from Within"The Letter That Turned a Young Dishwasher into a Hospitality Leader - Walter Isenberg, Sage Hospitality GroupHow Sage Hospitality Enriches Lives Through Culture - Walter Isenberg, Sage Hospitality GroupThe Dana Crawford Playbook: How Risk, Storytelling, and Grit Built Iconic Hospitality - Walter Isenberg, Sage Hospitality Group 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, Jan Freitag, National Director, Hospitality Analytics at CoStar Group, shares why the national forecast should be your starting point -- and gives specific things you can do to find growth this year.Links:"Tell Me More" Podcast by Jan Freitag & Isaac Collazo: Apple Podcasts or Spotify Read Jan's latest articles for CoStarVideo: Teague Talks with Jan Freitag of CoStar GroupOur previous conversation: Tariffs, Travel Disruption, and What Hotel Leaders Must Do Now - Jan Freitag, CoStarI-92/APIS Dataset from the U.S. Department of CommerceCanadian travel statistics 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

Nazpari Aydin is the co-founder and managing director of Destination AI — the #1 hospitality AI event — which she built from scratch in just two years. In this episode, she shares why she created the conference, how she approached speaker selection and community building, and what she learned from bringing hospitality leaders, operators, and technologists into the same room. Register now for Destination AI 2026You may also like: The Next Phase of AI Adoption Inside Hotel Companies - Stuart Greif 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, Janette Roush, the SVP of Innovation and Chief AI Officer at Brand USA, shares how her team moved past AI hype to real, working applications across the organization. She explains what agentic AI looks like in practice, how organizations shift from individual experimentation to true organizational upskilling, and why trust and verified data are becoming mission-critical as travelers rely more on AI for planning. You’ll hear concrete examples from RFP evaluation, internal workflows, and campaign launches, along with a clear argument for why destination organizations must reposition themselves as trusted sources of truth. This episode is for hospitality and travel leaders who need practical direction on how AI is already reshaping discovery, decision-making, and organizational strategy.Listen to our previous conversation: America's Chief AI Officer for Travel Shares AdviceResources we mentioned:Janette's websiteClaude Code LovableBrand USA's America the Beautiful campaign siteHow I AI PodcastEveryMarketing Against the Grain 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

Sarah Eustis, CEO of Main Street Hospitality, shares how art plays a direct role in how she leads and drives performance across her portfolio. She explains why her team invests in Artist in Residence programs, rotating galleries, and cultural programming as a way to create energy guests feel the moment they walk in. Sarah also talks about why she avoids standard hotel art packages and instead focuses on work with real meaning and local connection. Toward the end, she reveals an unexpected benefit of art that influences leadership, culture, and how people experience each day.See our earlier conversations: From 14-Year-Old Housekeeper to Ralph Lauren to CEO: What I've Learned in Hotel Management and Beyond The Box and the Wavy Line: A Smarter Way to Lead 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

Sarah Eustis, CEO of Main Street Hospitality, shares how she thinks about growth through the lens of irreplaceability. She explains why historic hotels with emotional and cultural relevance often present stronger long-term opportunities than new builds, especially in today’s environment. The conversation explores stewardship as an operating and investment discipline, where thoughtful repositioning, branding, and revenue management unlock value without erasing identity. Hospitality leaders will take away a clear framework for building durable advantage by leaning into what makes a property impossible to replace.See Sarah's TEDx talk: Old Wine in New Bottles: Generational Hospitality & ReinventionSee our earlier conversations: From 14-Year-Old Housekeeper to Ralph Lauren to CEO: What I've Learned in Hotel Management and Beyond The Box and the Wavy Line: A Smarter Way to Lead 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

Josiah Mackenzie recaps his takeaways from ALIS 2026, including why some hotels continue to grow even as industry top-line performance plateaus and costs rise faster than inflation. You'll hear why operational discipline, service excellence, and clear plans for differentiation matter so much, and how pricing power is built through basics done exceptionally well. More:What I'm Looking For (At ALIS & Beyond) - Josiah MackenzieHow Luxury's Growth Is Reshaping Hospitality - Stuart Greif, Forbes Travel Guide 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

Stuart Greif, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at Forbes Travel Guide, shares what he’s seeing as AI adoption inside hotel companies enters its next phase. Drawing on his involvement with Destination AI and insights from a panel he led with leaders from major global brands, Stuart explains how hotels are building on early efficiency gains and broadening their focus. He walks through concrete examples of how AI already supports revenue, sales velocity, staffing decisions, and the guest experience, and outlines where momentum is building next as adoption matures.t. Watch the panel Stuart led at Destination AI 2025: How Hotel Chains Are Deploying AI TodayCompanies mentioned:ActablAbra HospitalityLeveeGuestOSHyper NimbusRoomiy 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

Stuart Greif, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at Forbes Travel Guide, shares how luxury’s rapid growth is reshaping hospitality. Stuart breaks down the data behind luxury’s expansion, then explores the second- and third-order effects, including changes in the workforce, leadership readiness, training, and differentiation in an increasingly crowded market. The conversation also looks ahead, discussing how hospitality could play a larger role as other industries change and why human connection and caring matter more as luxury scales. This episode offers a clear perspective for hospitality leaders thinking about what comes next and how to prepare.You may also enjoy:The Evolution of Luxury Hospitality From Comfort to Connection - Guillaume BenezechBeyond AI: Engineering the Future of Luxury Travel - Gilda Perez-Alvarado, AccorNo Check-Ins: Redefining Luxury with "Sartorial Hospitality" - Claudio Meli, THE PLACE FirenzeBehind the Stars: How Forbes Travel Guide Defines Luxury & Five-Star Hospitality - Amanda Frasier, Forbes Travel Guide[Book by Joseph Pine] The Transformation Economy: Guiding Customers to Achieve Their Aspirations 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

Josiah Mackenzie shares what he's looking for at the ALIS conference this week -- a quick solo episode from the road!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