Episodes
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Why One Hotel GM Refused to Skip Her QA Inspection
I've never met a hotel GM who looks forward to a quality assurance inspection. Yet one GM at My Place Hotels actually complained when she earned the right to skip her next inspection. She wanted the QA team to come back! During the My Place Hotels of America Conference held earlier this fall, I...
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Why Travelers Keep Shopping After Booking Their Hotels
Americans aren't giving up their holiday travel plans, even as they cut spending elsewhere. They're making different choices about how they travel, where they stay, and what constitutes good value. That's an interesting challenge for #HotelIndustry leaders. Here's the twist: Travelers book...
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How Hotels Cut Costs Without Sacrificing Quality
I visited Avendra International to talk with Walt Sheffler, President of Avendra International North America, about some fascinating changes in #HotelOperations. Their technology identifies purchasing alternatives before operators place an order, while another tool analyzes buying habits and...
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Marriott Vacation's New VIP Perks: What's Changing?
Marriott Vacations Worldwide just expanded its owner benefits program from five levels to seven, including new Reserve and Pinnacle tiers. But what makes those additional benefits valuable enough for vacation owners to deepen their loyalty to the brand? At Marriott's Grande Vista in Orlando, No...
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I Tried Cooking at Benihana Las Vegas. What Could Go Wrong?
I've interviewed hundreds of hospitality professionals, but nobody's ever handed me a sharp knife and asked me to cook dinner at the same time. Until now! At Benihana inside Westgate Las Vegas, I put my #CookingSkills to the test while interviewing Kyle, one of the restaurant's teppanyaki chefs.…
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FNA 223: We Destroy Second City's Legacy!
The Second City gave us John Belushi, Tina Fey, Steve Carell, and generations of comedy legends. This week, two of their own joined #FridayNightAudit, giving Craig Sullivan, Suzanne Bagnera, and me a chance to find out whether professional comedy training could salvage any of our careers. The...
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Why Hotel GMs Should Be Checking Competitors' Parking Lots
Sometimes the smartest #HotelSales strategy starts with driving through a competitor's parking lot and checking out the trucks! Those company names might reveal your next extended-stay customer, and no fancy algorithm replaces that kind of local intelligence. At last month's My Place Hotels of...
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A VIP Resort Inside a Luxury All-Inclusive? Here's Why
AMResorts co-founder Javier Coll lasted just two months in retirement before jumping back into #Hospitality. Now he's bringing a new level of luxury to #AllInclusive resorts with a JW Marriott in Costa Rica. His philosophy? Guests shouldn't spend their vacations constantly reaching for their...
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What Happened When This Independent Hotel Joined Marriott?
Hotel owners looking for clarity in the transaction market might be waiting a very long time. But waiting for perfect conditions isn't much of a growth strategy either. During The Lodging Conference, which recently wrapped up in Phoenix, I caught up with Kirk Pedersen, COO, and Paul Sacco, Chief...
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Are Hotels Automating Away the Guest Experience?
During The Lodging Conference I caught up with Sara Masterson, President, and John Schultzel, Chief Growth Officer at Olympia Hospitality, about an interesting contradiction in the #HotelIndustry. Were automating more of the guest experience while travelers increasingly crave technology breaks....
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Why Aren't More Hotel Deals Getting Done?
During The Lodging Conference, I caught up with Ryan Bodine, SVP at NewGen Advisory, who sees plenty of buyers and plenty of hotels for sale. So why is it still so difficult for buyers and sellers to agree on a price? Ryan believes today's #HotelInvestment economics demand a different approach,...
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How hoteliers can build resilience through operational agility
The latest Hotel Business Hot Topics session, "Planning Through Uncertainty: A Resilience Playbook for Hotel Leaders," presented in partnership with Entegra, featured a panel of industry executives, along with moderator Glenn Haussman, founder/host, No Vacancy Live podcast, who explored how hotel...
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FNA 222: The Quest for Hospitality Avalon
Michael Goldstein has a cocktail for every time of day and a succession plan that apparently depends on how much hes had to drink. Naturally, we invited him onto Friday Night Audit! Michael and David Caron, MBA, CHA of Avalon Hospitality Group join Glenn, Craig Sullivan, and Suzanne Bagnera, PhD,...
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What Hotel Owners Want From Brands Right Now
During The Lodging Conference, Mark Sergot, Chief Development Officer, Americas, at IHG Hotels & Resorts, and I talk about a shift reshaping hotel development: owners at the end of a franchise agreement care far more about performance than the deal they signed years ago. Mark hears the same…
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How My Place Hotels Makes Small-Market Hotel Development Work
Hotel development costs keep climbing, and smaller markets present an even tougher challenge. But My Place Hotels fits 63 extended-stay rooms on just 1.25 acres, creating opportunities where larger hotel projects struggle to pencil out. Last month, when I attended the My Place Hotels of America...
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The Hidden Cost of Hiring the Wrong Hotel Employees
During The Lodging Conference, Greg O'Stean, Chief Development Officer at Hotel Equities, and I tackled a familiar #Hospitality hiring dilemma. You need people, you've got open positions, and the temptation to fill those vacancies quickly is enormous. But hiring the wrong person creates problems...
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Outrigger Is Reinventing Its Hotels. Here's the Strategy.
Outrigger Hospitality Group is spending $100 million renovating Outrigger Waikiki, taking the property, as CEO Jeff Wagoner puts it, "all the way down to the concrete." And the company is preparing to relaunch its brand after an extensive transformation of its hotel and resort portfolio. During…
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The Hidden Inefficiencies Costing Hotels Money
During The Lodging Conference, Shozib Khan, SVP of Strategic Asset Performance at Spire Hospitality, and I tackled a frustrating reality of #HotelTechnology: Hotels collect mountains of data, yet employees still waste time hunting for basic information. Think about a room attendant knocking on…
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How Raines Finds More Profit Inside Existing Hotels
During The Lodging Conference, Kerry Ranson, President Operations/Partner of Raines, and I talk about why more hotel owners now question whether their management company still fits the asset. Debt costs rise, expenses squeeze margins and topline growth doesn't guarantee stronger profit. Raines…
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Why Hoteliers Have More Pricing Power Right Now
During The Lodging Conference, Joseph Bojanowski, President of PM Hotel Group told me his Q4 booking pace is up double digits across group, transient, meetings and events, with Q1 tracking the same way. That's quite the different story than the broader economic mood. Low supply gives hoteliers...
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How Higher Interest Rates Are Reshaping Hotel Investment
I'm at The Lodging Conference with Greg Friedman, CEO of Peachtree Group, talking about what happens when the cost of money moves faster than the economics of a hotel deal. Greg walks through a hypothetical $25 million loan where annual interest expense jumps from about $1 million to $2 million....
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What Higher Interest Rates Mean for Hotel Deals
Ryan Bosch of Arriba Capital joined me at The Lodging Conference to talk through one of the toughest parts of the hotel investment market right now: the numbers keep moving faster than the deals. Treasury yields jumped more than 100 basis points, refinancing got more expensive and buyers started...
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How Hotel Leaders Build Relationships at The Lodging Conference
I'm at The Lodging Conference with Wayne West III, President of Newport Hospitality Group, and we get into something most people never really think about: how much value you can create from the conversations between the sessions. Wayne comes to events like this with a plan. He knows who he wants…
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Red Roof's Growth Strategy as Economy Hotels Gain Ground
Consumers don't shop for "economy hotels." They shop for a price point, a product they like and an experience that works for them. That's a big reason I think Red Roof has an interesting opportunity right now. At its conference in Fort Lauderdale, the company laid out plans to grow Red Roof…
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Hotel Marinas Turn Boat Traffic Into Revenue
A marina gives hotel owners another customer base without adding a single guestroom. Jeremy Parks, President of Trident Marine Group, joins me on No Vacancy to explain how boaters drive spending across restaurants, bars, pools, spas and other resort amenities. His point is simple: every marina…
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Hotel Staffing: The Talent Pool Hotels Keep Overlooking
Hotels keep saying they can't find people. PRIDE Industries is showing them where to look. Darleyn Pazdel, SVP of Workforce Inclusion at PRIDE Industries, joins me on No Vacancy to talk about a workforce hotels still overlook: people with disabilities. PRIDE already puts this into practice across...
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Inside HomeTowne Studios by Red Roof: Why This Extended Stay Model Works
There's a big difference between hearing about a hotel brand and actually getting inside one with the people building and operating it. I toured a brand-new HomeTowne Studios by Red Roof in Bradenton, Florida with Hiten Patel of Dhruv Management, which operates the hotel, and Matt Hostetler…
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Hotel Marketing With AI: How My Place Hotels Competes With Bigger Brands
Last week at the My Place Hotels of America conference, I talked with Jeff Thomas, VP of Marketing, about how a smaller hotel company competes against brands with much bigger marketing budgets. Jeff says My Place started experimenting with AI back in 2022, using it to create visual content at...
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Why Hotel Conversions Are Driving My Place Growth
Glenn Haussman talks with Brian Quinn, Chief Development Officer at My Place Hotels, from the My Place Hotels of America conference about one of the biggest forces shaping hotel development right now: conversions. Brian explains why owners keep bringing conversion opportunities to My Place, how…
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My Place Hotels: Growth, Leadership and the Next Generation
Glenn Haussman talks with Sarah Dinger, EVP of Franchise Relations at My Place Hotels, from the My Place Hotels of America conference about Trend, the company's new conversion offering. Sarah explains how Trend gives owners more flexibility to adapt a property to its market while My Place keeps…
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Inside My Place Hotels' Extended Stay Growth Strategy
Glenn Haussman talks with Ryan Rivett, President and CEO of My Place Hotels, at the My Place Hotels of America conference in Fort Lauderdale about how the company approaches growth in extended stay. My Place owns, operates, develops and franchises hotels, and Ryan explains how that experience...
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Why Hospitality Leaders Must Stay Uncomfortable
The minute you get too comfortable, somebody else passes you. Gary Hernbroth, author of Twist the Familiar, joins me on No Vacancy to talk about questioning how we work, how we lead and how we build relationships. His point is simple: confidence moves you forward, but comfort turns into…
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The Group Business Edge Hotels Keep Missing
One in three room nights globally comes from meetings and groups, with 60% of that demand coming from small and medium meetings. Lukasz Dabrowski, SVP of Global Supplier Relations at HRS, joins me on No Vacancy to explain where that group business is hiding and how hotels are getting better at...
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Is AI Getting Your Hotel Wrong?
AI is starting to decide which hotels travelers see — and what it says about your property may not even be right. Michael Bennett, CEO of Cendyn, and Nicki Graham, CMO, join me on No Vacancy to talk about what happens when travelers start asking ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI tools where they…
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Virtual Hotel Industry Happy Hour: Pet Peeves, Dynamic Pricing & Bad Decisions
We've spent months asking one completely unnecessary but surprisingly important question: Which hotel pet peeve annoys us most? We started with 32. Now Always Hidden Lamp Switches and Water Pressure Roulette fight for the last spot against Outlet Desert in the championship round. Vote now on my...
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Relational Wellness Is Next Big Hospitality Trend
I'm calling it now: Relational wellness is the next major hospitality trend. The opportunity is we're spending more time with screens and less time with each other. Hospitality reverses that by bringing people back together. My proof is the Evermore Orlando Resort, purpose-built for connection....
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How Hotels Use AI Without Losing Control of Guest Data
Hotel employees already juggle enough. They don't need 10,000 system steps standing between them and the guest. Kevin King, CEO of Shiji Group, joins me on No Vacancy to talk about how #AI strips away that complexity so hotel teams spend more time focusing on hospitality. But Kevin keeps coming...
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How Hotels Cut Laundry Costs by 30%
Hotels spend a lot of time and money dealing with linens, from buying and storing them to running equipment and making sure housekeeping always has what it needs. Bart Begley with Integrity Laundry Services joins me on No Vacancy to explain a different model: total linen management. Instead of...
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They Turned a 12th-Century Monastery Into a Luxury Hotel
Most people don't look at a 12th-century monastery in rural Umbria and think, "We should turn this into a hotel." Cathi Lutjens and Fred Kubierschki did. They left the corporate hospitality world, took a chance on an unlikely opportunity and created Vocabolo Moscatelli around a simple idea: build...
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Where Hotel Growth Is Happening Next
The next wave of hotel growth won't look like the last one. Bruce Ford with Lodging Econometrics joins me on No Vacancy to look at how the global #HotelDevelopment pipeline is shifting — and where the industry's next big opportunities are starting to emerge. Conversions increasingly drive growth…
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What Luxury Hotel Guests Really Want
True luxury means not having to think about the details. Almando Rigby, general manager of Windjammer Landing in Saint Lucia, joins me on No Vacancy to explain why today's #LuxuryTravel guest expects a hotel to understand what they want before they ever have to ask. That creates an interesting...
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What Hotels Stop Knowing After the Guest Checks In
Hotels spend years collecting guest data, then lose sight of what people want the moment they're actually staying in the room. Kevin Rohani, founder and CEO of Camo Hospitality, joins me on No Vacancy to talk about that blind spot. Guests order food, transportation, entertainment and other…
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Labor Day Flashback: Marriott Vacations Worldwide Launches Experience-Driven Ownership: Inner Circle
Live experiences drive operating success because they create reasons to travel, reasons to spend, and reasons to come back. That's why Marriott Vacations Worldwide is building Inner Circle around them. During ARDA, I talked with Mike Flaskey, President and COO of Marriott Vacations Worldwide…
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Holiday Flashback: How Wyndham Uses Experiences to Drive Direct Bookings
To ease us into the holiday weekend, here's a rerun of a fun video I recorded in a Puerto Rican rainforest! Wyndham Rewards pushes beyond hotel nights into experiences, and Michael Shiwdin, Global VP of Loyalty at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, explains why: engagement drives direct bookings, and…
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Holiday Rerun: How Starwood Makes Its Hotels Feel Different: Nature, Soul, and Experience
To ease us into the holiday weekend, here's one of my favorite chats from the year: Starwood Hotels operates 1 Hotels, Treehouse Hotels and Baccarat Hotels & Resorts around one idea: products need emotion and soul, not templates. While hosting Starwood's annual conference, I talked with Raul…
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How Hotel Teams Build Collective Excellence
Collective excellence starts when hotel teams stop operating in separate lanes and start moving in the same direction. Glenn Haussman talks with Ben Campbell, President and CEO of Hospitality America, from **PEACHCON, the company's annual conference**, where team members come together to connect,...
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Why This Hotel GM Gets Silly Every Morning
A busy airport hotel never really slows down. Guests come and go at all hours, plans change quickly and the team needs to stay ready for whatever walks through the door next. Alicia Augustine, GM of the Hyatt Place Pensacola Airport, joins me on No Vacancy and explains how she keeps her team...
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How Better Guest Experiences Drive Hotel Revenue
Hotel operating costs keep climbing, but revenue isn't keeping pace. That's forcing operators to rethink where the money comes from. Rhiannon Reynolds, VP of Operations with Innisfree Hotels, joins me on No Vacancy from Pensacola, Florida, where we talk about how essential it is to shift from an...
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Why This Hotel's Housekeepers Don't Quit
A beachfront resort in peak season puts plenty of pressure on a hotel team. The GM of the Holiday Inn Resort Fort Walton Beach found a way to keep hers. Sandy Beebe-Osipov joins me on No Vacancy and tells me she went more than a year without hiring a housekeeper because not a single team member...
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FNA 220: Glenn's Wife Has Some Complaints
Putting my wife on Friday Night Audit seemed like a good idea. It was not. Helene Stein joins Craig Sullivan, Dr. Producer Suzanne Bagnera and me, and very quickly discovers the real purpose of the show: publicly correcting me while drinking. She gets into my travel habits, my complete lack of...
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No Vacancy is home to the hospitality industry's top podcasts. We speak to the CEOs, influencers and leaders to go behind the scenes of the hotel and travel business.
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