Kristen Conry is the Senior Vice President of Global Design for Marriott International. She is a hospitality design guru and is the embodiment of the spirit of generosity. She’s worked with some of the most influential leaders in this industry and she shares their passion for creating unique experiences for guests. Kristen sits down with host Dan Ryan to talk about her journey in #hospitality and what it all means to her.

Takeaways:

Innovation and new design ideas are something that should be at the forefront of all aspects of hospitality.
Hospitality has influenced other settings such as corporate settings and other places. The design aspect has launched a new way of looking at spaces.
Many hotels don’t live up to the value of “people first”. You want to make sure the core of your industry is reflected by how you treat your employees.
Hospitality is the spirit of generosity. It is the feeling you get when you give to others in a way that is selfless to you.
Design can’t make up for bad service. It is still important but you need to make sure the service you provide is at the top of its game.
Given the constraints with architecture now, it has forced companies to be more creative and create different experiences by focusing on what really matters and what has the most impact.
We’ve seen the baseline for design in American culture elevate in recent years and that is a positive and exciting aspect.

Quote of the Show:

19:09 “To me, hospitality is that spirit of generosity. And it's when we anticipate and we delight people and we do it in that really selfless way that it delights us to do so.”

Links:

Shout Outs:

0:33 Hyatt

0:36 Larry Traxler

13:18 Arnie Sorenson

16:01 Marriott Bethesda Hotel

16:07 Berman Falk

16:49 Marriott Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership

16:55 Howard University

16:56 Damon Lawrence

34:40 United Nations

36:15 Ed Webber

36:23 Scott Fortman

36:24 Richard Gibbons

38:07 John Meiser

38:27 Emily Keip

38:54 Jordan Mozer

39:01 Adam Lara

39:26 Jay Pecotte

45:05 Back to the Future

47:34 Starwood

1;01:23 HD Expo

1;01:24 BDNY

Ways to Tune In:

367 - RELATIVITY (1966) + SPIDER (2002) ft. Violet Lucca