Ryan Killeen’s hospitality career officially began after participating in the hotel management program at Vancouver Community College. While in school, Ryan started cleaning bathrooms and making beds with the housekeeping team at the Fairmont Pacific Rim — considered Vancouver’s definitive luxury hotel. He was climbing the ladder at a healthy pace and was presented with an opportunity to join the opening team in Dubai at Fairmont the Palm. Without processing what this meant, Ryan said yes. Living in Dubai, working with 52 different nationalities, and leading the guest services team was the most eye-opening experience of my life. For Ryan and fellow North Americans, it was an opportunity to gain valuable work experience and open the floodgates to new opportunities back home. For others, it was an opportunity to provide for their families and give their children a future.
After returning to North America, Ryan took on progressive roles in Vancouver, Calgary, Boston that included sales, business development, leadership, and operations for Sonder, a ‘Hometel’ company bringing together the authenticity of peer-to-peer home rental plus the dependable, elevated services of a hotel. Currently, Ryan operates the Annex Hotel in Toronto as GM.
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In this episode, we explore:
02:52 - Background of the Guest
06:47 - Disadvantages of having an overcomplicated system
08:07 - Using Technology vs Old school way
09:35 - Technology role in the hospitality industry
13:00 - Shifting to Sonder and Airbnb
15:56 - What is it like to be an established company?
19:32 - What is Annex?
23:15 - Adopting Technology - from traditional to high-tech hotel
26:19 - Consolidating Tech hacks
29:29 - Prediction when shifting to high-end vacation rentals
Connecting with the Guest:
Website: https://theannex.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryankkilleen/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annexhotels/?hl=en
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
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Slick Talk: The Hospitality Podcast