Guiding The Adventure - Ben Weinberg and Michael Weiss - Defining Hospitality - Episode # 148

Joining the show this week are Co-Founders with a focus on bringing experiential and sustainable accommodations to the outdoors. Please welcome to the show, Co-Founders of Castle Peak Holdings, and Co-Founders of Trailborn, Michael Weiss and Ben Weinberg!

Mike, Ben, and Dan sit down to discuss the story behind Trailborn, and the importance of authenticity. Mike and Ben share the need to stay vertically integrated, the ways to cut through the fog, and how to make your hotels feel like a part of the natural landscape. 

Takeaways: 

• The hospitality business is the memory making business. Every experience should be focused on authentically creating memories that guests will take with them for the rest of their lives. 
• Hospitality is about making people feel effortlessly taken care of. Through an understanding of who the guest is, you can prepare for their needs, ensuring a feeling of magic when the guest arrives. 
• When your backdrop is the Rockies or Arches National Parks, your hotels should feel like a part of the landscape. Working with local design firms to imbue the aesthetic of the area into the hotel creates a unique experience for your guests tied to that location. 
• Designing thoughtfully and beautifully revolves around meeting the needs and wants of a guest. While this may not be the strictly most profitable strategy, having rounded amenities creates guests that want to come back. 
• Fog in business is unavoidable. Rather than getting lost, you need to provide clarity. Assess the problem, have the right tools and processes in place, and work towards a concrete solution, even if it takes time. 
• When managing a hotel, instilling trust is the most important thing you can do. Your guests need to trust that you will deliver on what you promised and your team needs to trust that you will maintain your vision. 
• Vertical integration in this market is essential to operation. By owning all operations, it allows you to align the guest experience with what you promise, and it holds you accountable by removing any potential blame of 3rd parties. 

Quote of the Show:

• “When we think about design, it's not just the physical design of the space, it's the design of the entire experience.” - Mike
• “Self awareness and humility is critical to winning in hospitality.” - Ben

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikedweiss/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-weinberg-29644156/  
• Company website: https://www.staytrailborn.com/  
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/staytrailborn/  

Shout Outs:

• 7:34 - Goldman Sachs: https://www.goldmansachs.com/ 
• 9:06 - Estes Park: https://www.visitestespark.com/ 
• 9:09 - Rocky Mountain National Park: https://www.nps.gov/romo/index.htm 
• 12:48 - Theodore Roosevelt
• 13:48 - Ken Burns: https://kenburns.com/ 
• 20:07 - Colorado Cherry Company: https://www.coloradocherrycompany.com/ 
• 20:13 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/ 
• 33:23 - Warren Buffett
• 44:13 - Deutsche Bank: https://www.db.com/ 
• 44:37 - ALIS: https://www.burba.com/ALIS 

Ways to Tune In: 

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPX
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386
• Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1s
• Amazon Music: ​​https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8c904932-90fa-41c3-813e-1cb8f3c42419