Defining Hospitality

What makes you feel most at home? Is it some comfy furniture, a familiar scene, or is it something far deeper? Mikey Dobin, President of Valley Forge Fabrics stops by to share his perspective and swap stories with his lifelong best friend, Dan Ryan. Listen to the episode for more laughs & poignant insights into the hospitality industry like the ones below! Takeaways:“Hospitality is a place where I feel like it's home away from home.” - Mikey DobinWhat makes a hotel feel like home is a good environment mixed with social aspects. Places where you can joke with the front desk clerks, or have a good conversation with employees there. Rigorous processes can get in the way sometimes.The best way to engage with people is to listen. People want to be heard. In Mikey’s experience, getting down to real human connection immediately gets people to open up to him faster.Culture is more important than a good strategy, but culture is more than a buzzword & a ping pong table. Culture is how you work, how you interact when you work, how you interact when you’re having fun.“I feel like I never really knew how to run a business until the pandemic” - Mikey DobinThere is a measurable ROI when putting your people first, because it translates to the client that the company takes care of its employees. Your output from investing in culture is a better quality of service.The pandemic has magnified large divides not just economically, but in terms of safety & comfort. It has also shown just how resilient humankind can be.  Quote of the Show: “You could definitely feel the difference in a hotel that's going to be your part of a transaction versus a hotel that is a little bit more owned by someone with a little bit more passion for the business.” - Mikey 2021 is going to be the Year of Hugs #YOH Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikey-dobin-04308468/Twitter: @jmikeydCompany website: https://www.valleyforge.com/ Shout Outs -  31:36 - The W Hotel in San Francisco Ways to Tune In: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPXApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1sYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrpt8C461L_9n_6vezzZtkQ

Is anything as universal as a cookie? Loren Brill, founder and CEO of Sweet Loren’s, stops by to talk about continuing her company's meteoric growth during a pandemic, building an inclusive culture, and setting an example for the next generation of female entrepreneurs. Check out some takeaways from this episode below:Food is more than just nourishment, it’s a way for us to connect with each other. Sharing food, especially healthy food, is a great way to build communities & make our bodies feel better in the processLoren’s advice for getting people to feel comfortable and open up: no judgement. Trust your team & celebrate their diversity by creating an open & welcoming environment.Loren grew her company on both coasts during the pandemic by non-work team building opportunities and being flexible with things like scheduling or remote working. And going up against established giants in the packaged food industry, their success comes from thinking about how they can outsmart their competition, rather than try to spend millions on marketing.One of the best ways to promote gender diversity in entrepreneurship is to give more visibility to female entrepreneurs. It helps normalize the idea for young girls that they can achieve their dreams and be part of the next generation of business leaders. The key to a good hospitality experience: make everyone feel important. Going the extra mile for your customer, whether it’s a hotel guest or purchaser for a supermarket chain, is something that can be set up as a system and built into your culture. Innovation and growth can come from anywhere, even customer suggestions. Good customer relationships can allow you to test new ideas in a way that creates honest and constructive feedback, while still relying on traditional industry research to identify open space in the market for innovation. Loren’s advice to her younger self: Take advantage of every day. Make sure you’re enjoying as much of life as possible, and don’t be so hard on yourself. Because you’re capable of conquering your wildest dreams. Quote of the Show:20:46 - “We have amazing fans and we get emails and messages all the time from parents that say that their daughter loves our cookie dough and loves seeing the back of our package. I have the story of how I created Sweet Loren's in a picture of me. And I think them just seeing that and being like, oh my God, that's it, that's a pretty young female, like, I could do that. I can do whatever I want, and I think just having more, seeing more role models out there of women just normalizes it so that, whoever you are, whatever age you are, you don't think it's weird or super hard. You're not at a disadvantage. If you're female it's totally been done, it's totally doable. And women should dream as big as they want.” - Loren Brill Links: Website: www.SweetLorens.comTwitter: @SweetLorens, @LorenBrill  Email: hello@sweetlorens.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sweet-loren's-llc/Ways to Tune In: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPXApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1sYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrpt8C461L_9n_6vezzZtkQ

What makes a strong leader? According to Chris Green, President & CEO of Chesapeake Hospitality, a good leader is like a river guide - they’ve been through the rapids before, but know how to get the best out of their team without jumping in and paddling for them. Listen in as Chris joins host Dan Ryan to discuss the different ways leadership can be nurtured and cultivated while navigating the rushing waters of the hospitality industry. Check out some takeaways from this episode below:Leadership requires not only being able to trust your people, but to give them the tools they need to be leaders themselves.Tough decisions can be painful, but they can be the right choice in the end. Navigating tough times while putting people first involves creating plans that are customized for individuals and groups. Hospitality is something you should practice everyday. It’s about having a genuine concern for a positive outcome for others. Chris draws on his family & southern upbringing when thinking about how to go the extra mile for someone in your care. Take the time to get to know the individual. “People are not to be blueprinted, everybody’s different.” - ChrisThe number one trait in future leaders is curiosity. People who ask questions show engagement with the task at hand.A strong-willed leader can overcome difficult challenges, but they can also lead a team in the wrong direction at times. Advice to Chris’ younger self: Learn from your leaders, for good or for bad. Don’t be too hard on yourself, but learn from your mistakes. Quote of the Show:13:15 -”To me it's just genuine care and concern for a positive outcome for others. And that, that is hospitality. And that's, what's cool about that is it's our, my living and it's also my life. And what I mean by that is, just because I make money doing it in the hotel business, hospitality is something that you should practice every day, whether it's with your neighbor or with the person that's the grocery store or whatever, the person who's frustrating you at a grocery store, you know, it's, it's how we treat our fellow humans.”Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wchrisgreen/Company website: https://www.chesapeakehospitality.com/ Shout Outs: 49:50 - Warren Rustand, “The Leader Within Us” Ways to Tune In: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPXApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1sYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrpt8C461L_9n_6vezzZtkQ

When something goes wrong, how do you react? Do you throw your hands up in frustration and surrender, or do you try to fix the problem?  Misha Bedner, President of Agency 967, advises to remain calm when things go haywire, because he knows the best thing you can do is approach the situation with a positive attitude and focus on the customer experience. Check out the podcast for more great insights like the ones you see below! Takeaways:Hospitality is about service. A great customer interaction can be more impactful than outstanding design or furniture fixtures. Misha credits his dad Michael with introducing him to the hospitality industry, & how to create a shared experience with customers - “If a client invites you to do karaoke, you go out and do karaoke!” When something happens that’s out of your control, it’s how you approach the problem that creates a good or bad experience. Relying on policy can make service feel automatic, when the focus should be on the customer’s experience.When you go to a new destination, take in something that is culturally unique to where you are. Visit a museum or landmark, try local food, find something that you’ve never done before & try it!It’s important to bring a sense of mindfulness to hospitality & be intentional in the space, in the interaction, in the connection.  Misha learned how to deal with tough customers by serving bodybuilders at the Firehouse in Santa Monica. But being aware, specific, & mindful about specific customers’ needs can help build stronger relationships.“S#!& is gonna happen, it’s all about how you fix it.” - Misha New projects are starting to return in the post-pandemic world, but there’s a bottleneck in the supply chain that affects timelines. Patience is important, because we’re moving onwards & upwards, even if it’s not as quickly as we’re used to right now.Advice for Misha’s younger self: Take more risks Quote of the Show: "The process of a hotel coming into being is so many people working, designing, and coming together and combining their forces to make something beautiful. I think it's spectacular. And there's people who are involved on the design side. And if you, look over their shoulder and they're, space planning a guest room, or they're drawing out what light fixture that's gonna fit next to the bed. All those, those million different little facets of how a hotel comes together. That's so beautiful to me. The sad thing is, that's like 2% of how a hotel comes together. All that, all that fun design, all the sexy stuff. It's such a small little thing in the whole big picture." - Misha Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/misha-bedner-0868b85/Company website: https://www.ninesixseven.com/ Shout Outs: 5:27 - Justin in Santa Monica10:23 - Michael Bedner19:30 - National Museum in India35:57 - The Firehouse In Santa Monica Ways to Tune In: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPXApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1sYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HbcIcdw9_g 

What do you remember most about a hotel experience? For some, it may be the furnishings or fabulous architecture. But for Bashar Wali, Founder & CEO of Practice Hospitality and This Assembly, it’s about the moments of real human interaction and connection that matter most.  In this episode, Bashar Wali joins Dan Ryan to talk about what hospitality means to him, ways we can improve diversity throughout the industry, & the future of hospitality. Check out some takeaways from this episode below:“Fundamentally the difference between the service industry, which is what you deliver, versus the hospitality industry is the following: hospitality is how you make people feel.”Authenticity is more than just having an unapologetic point of view, it comes from a place of being yourself. Hospitality is not just about luxury, it comes from believing that you are there to make someone’s life better for more than just one moment in time.The new definition of luxury is ultra personalization. Understand the wants and needs of the customer, and utilize available technology to serve those needs. You can’t train on culture & community, but you can build it by showing your employees that they treated as more than just part of the teamDon’t treat guests differently based on market segment or source of business - treat them as an opportunity to win over a new customer.Diversity in hospitality is one sided - while the lowest levels have tremendous diversity, leadership has far less. To improve this, we can do a better job of encouraging & creating opportunities for underrepresented groups. It’s a lot more than just talk, and it can take generations to fix.The future of hospitality is in sustainability & utilizing big data to optimize human experiences. As our society breaks down binary barriers, hospitality has an opportunity to be at the center of it all.Don’t think of technology as cutting on cost, but to remove friction from human interactionsEvery new customer, every new person you talk to, is an opportunity to see the world through their eyes & understand their wants and needs.“Never turn down a meeting, because you’ll never know what you will learn.” - Bashar Quote of the Show:“People ask me why I got into this business. Where I grew up, there's a saying that goes, ‘When a stranger shows up at your door, feed him for three days before you ask him who he is, where he's from, where he's going to. Because by then, he'll either be strong enough to tell you, or you'll be such good friends it won't matter.’ That is hospitality.”  ~ Bashar Wali Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/basharwali/Twitter: https://twitter.com/basharwaliWebsites:  https://practicehospitality.com/https://thisassembly.com/https://linktr.ee/waliworldhttps://basharwali.com/Hotelier.life Shout Outs: 10:24 - The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman11:36 - Danny Meyer - Union Square Hospitality Group - “The Hospitality Quotient”26:09 - Bill Kimpton’s Core Principles26:38 - Joie de Vivre / Chip Conley38:27 - Damon Lawerence, Homage Suite 41:03 - Independent Lodging Congress51:32 - MaidBots55:39 - Simon Sinek, Start With Why Ways to Tune In: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPXApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1sYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j31mN1dIGhg