In this episode, the team from The Hoxton, Downtown LA, shares what they’ve learned about building high-performing hotel teams, fostering mentorship, and creating a culture of growth and development.

Kara Bartelt, the hotel’s General Manager; Michael Lopez, Director of Engineering; and Steven Birl, Engineer, dive into the strategies they’ve used to empower their team members, tackle challenges, and encourage those all-important "light bulb moments."

You’ll hear how they:

• Cultivate critical thinking and initiative within their teams.
• Use mentorship to develop future leaders in hospitality.
• Balance technical expertise with emotional intelligence to create memorable guest experiences.

Whether you manage a boutique hotel or a large-scale property, this episode offers practical insights and inspiring lessons on developing talent and unlocking your team's potential.

Listen to our other episode with Kara: How Buildings Shape Hospitality: Lessons from a Yale-Trained Architect-Turned-Hotel GM - Kara Bartelt, The Hoxton, Downtown LA

Send Josiah a text

Sign up for the Mint Pillow newsletter and start receiving the independent hotel industry’s freshest newsletter today.

Take my State of Hotel Industry Survey now to get insights on challenges, priorities, and opportunities in hospitality today.

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 suggestions
• If 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