Hospitality Daily Podcast

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  Authentic Leadership and Why Kindness Wins - Charlotte Weatherall, Corinthia London 15.09.2026 1時間 9分

  In this episode, hosted by our careers correspondent Emily Goldfischer, founder of hertelier, Charlotte Weatherall, General Manager of Corinthia London, shares what she has learned about building a career and leading as herself. Charlotte explains how her sales and marketing background prepared her to become a GM, why trusting her team shapes the guest experience, and how she balances ambition with family life. She also shares what hospitality needs to change to support women’s progression a...
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  My Positive (and Negative) Experiences with AI in Hospitality - Jeff Wielgopolan, Meadowood Napa Valley 11.09.2026 10分

  Jeff Wielgopolan, Service Director at Meadowood Napa Valley & The Napa Valley Reserve and former Senior Vice President of Learning & Development at Forbes Travel Guide, shares a recent experience with AI as a guest, and then what it's like providing service in a world where more and more people use AI as they travel. Previous episodes with Jeff: The Energy of ExcellenceThe Fundamentals of Service in Luxury HospitalityThe Experience That Earned Us Michelin’s Three Key Distinction A few...
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  How to Train Your Teams for Excellence in Hospitality - Jeff Wielgopolan, Meadowood Napa Valley 10.09.2026 8分

  Jeff Wielgopolan, Service Director at Meadowood Napa Valley & The Napa Valley Reserve and former Senior Vice President of Learning & Development at Forbes Travel Guide, shares a few thoughts on how to train your teams for excellence. Previous episodes with Jeff: The Energy of ExcellenceThe Fundamentals of Service in Luxury HospitalityThe Experience That Earned Us Michelin’s Three Key Distinction A few more resources: If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can s...
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  What Should Stay Consistent in Hospitality, and What Should Change? (Jeff Wielgopolan, Meadowood Napa Valley) 09.09.2026 9分

  Jeff Wielgopolan of Meadowood Napa Valley explains what it means for a guest experience to be consistent within itself, with the setting, language, and service all fitting together. He shares how that coherence can look different across properties and individual guests, including a bellman in Johannesburg whose personal response met him exactly where he was after a long journey. More conversations with Jeff: The Energy of ExcellenceThe Fundamentals of Service in Luxury HospitalityThe Experie...
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  The Energy of Excellence - Jeff Wielgopolan, Meadowood Napa Valley 08.09.2026 9分

  Jeff Wielgopolan, Service Director at Meadowood Napa Valley & The Napa Valley Reserve and former Senior Vice President of Learning & Development at Forbes Travel Guide, joins us to explore what excellence looks and feels like in hospitality. He explains why you often sense the quality of a hospitality experience within the first minutes, and how team energy, attentiveness, and simple acts of service shape the guest experience. You’ll hear examples from Meadowood and Raffle...
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  Summer Road Trip Reflections: What Stood Out Driving Coast to Coast - Josiah Mackenzie 07.09.2026 14分

  This summer, Hospitality Daily founder Josiah Mackenzie did something he’d wanted to do for years: drive across the U.S. coast to coast. In this episode, he shares some of the experiences that stood out to him, what he appreciated as a guest, and how an evening gone wrong reminded him how important hospitality is. Mentioned in this episode: evo Hotel Salt Lake City Conversation with Kevin Masse of Small State Provisions Share with Josiah what stood out to you about your travel...
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  The Hotel Investor The Wall Street Journal Spotlighted for Using AI to Listen to Guests - Drew Bridges, JMI Realty 04.09.2026 37分

  In this episode, Drew Bridges, principal at JMI Realty, shares the process behind one of the hotel deals the Wall Street Journal recently covered, including how he uses AI to read thousands of guest reviews and understand what is actually broken in a hotel before buying it. You’ll hear how Drew uses guest feedback to identify investment opportunities, how the same analysis showed him that the elevators at the Hilton Garden Inn Austin Downtown were a real capital problem while the air conditio...
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  How to Make Hotel Wellness Practical and Profitable - Emily Johnson, Erica Huss, and Jen Veralle 15.08.2026 37分

  In this episode, Emily Johnson, founder of Elevate Hospitality Collective; Erica Huss, creator of All Too Well; and Jen Veralle, founder of Mindful Drinking Movement and Sauna and Sobriety, share a practical approach to hotel wellness that doesn't start with a big CapEx budget. They explore why the guest room may be the most powerful wellness facility on a property, how a thoughtful non-alcoholic beverage program can create incremental revenue, and how guided sauna and community experiences c...
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  How AI Is Changing My Work and Life as a Hotel Leader - Matt Schwartz, Sage Hospitality Group 07.08.2026 10分

  What does AI adoption personally mean for a hospitality technology leader? In this episode, Sage Hospitality CTO Matt Schwartz explains how he is using AI to manage email, meetings, calendar demands, and other work so he can get back time for his company, family, and personal well-being. Matt also shares how he keeps building AI fluency by learning from peers inside and outside hospitality, following technology companies and industry thinkers, and making continuous learning part of his routin...
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  Planning for Profit: How to Budget for AI - Matt Schwartz, Sage Hospitality Group 06.08.2026 9分

  In this episode, Sage Hospitality CTO Matt Schwartz explains how hospitality leaders can evaluate AI investment by connecting it to expense reductions, revenue, GOP, and NOI. Listen to our series with Matt: Part 1: The Weekend Class That Changed My CareerPart 2: How We’re Leading AI Adoption With a Human-First ApproachPart 3: Our 4-Layer AI Framework: Data, Reporting, Insights, ActionLearn more about the Destination AI Forum in Washington, DC (where Matt will be speaking) More: Uber caps empl...
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  How We Choose Technology Partners in the AI Era - Matt Schwartz, Sage Hospitality Group 05.08.2026 9分

  Every technology partnership is a bet, especially when AI is changing what software can do and which providers may remain relevant. In this episode, Sage Hospitality CTO Matt Schwartz explains how he evaluates hotel technology partners -- and who he chooses to work with. Listen to the series: Part 1: The Weekend Class That Changed My CareerPart 2: How We’re Leading AI Adoption With a Human-First ApproachPart 3: Our 4-Layer AI Framework: Data, Reporting, Insights, ActionLearn more: The Bitter ...
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  Our 4-Layer AI Framework: Data, Reporting, Insights, Action - Matt Schwartz, Sage Hospitality Group 04.08.2026 10分

  Sage Hospitality CTO Matt Schwartz shares the four-layer framework guiding the company's AI strategy: data, reporting, insights, and action. He explains why hotel data must be brought together and normalized before AI can produce useful analysis or support operational decisions. The framework moves from a reliable data foundation toward a future in which AI agents can take action, with the ultimate goal of giving property teams more time with guests and their other associates. Listen to the s...
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  How We're Leading AI Adoption With a Human-First Approach - Matt Schwartz, Sage Hospitality Group 03.08.2026 18分

  Giving people access to AI does not guarantee that they will use it or that your organization will benefit. Sage Hospitality CTO Matt Schwartz explains why he sees AI adoption as a change-management challenge and walks through how he and his team are helping both on-property and home-office leaders build AI fluency. Matt also shares how Sage measures progress toward its adoption goals, addresses fear and resistance to AI, and focuses its AI initiatives on a human-first goal: helping their peo...
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  The Weekend Class That Changed My Career - Matt Schwartz, Sage Hospitality Group 02.08.2026 9分

  Before Matt Schwartz became Chief Technology Officer at Sage Hospitality, a weekend HTML class changed the trajectory of his career. In the first episode of our six-part series with him, Matt shares how that unexpected experience led him from environmental economics into technology and ultimately hospitality technology leadership. Learn more about the Destination AI Forum in Washington, DC (where Matt will be speaking) Want more? Learn more about Sage HospitalityListen to Matt discuss bringin...
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  A Brand Builder Turned Baker on Building Community - Kevin Masse 01.08.2026 22分

  Kevin Masse is the founder and owner of Small State Provisions (IG: @SmallState), a Connecticut bakery and café built around one simple idea: create a place where people want to gather. In this conversation, Kevin shares how a career in marketing, advertising, and food media shaped his approach to hospitality, why thoughtful design and local sourcing matter, and how he's navigating the transition from hands-on baker to visionary leader as the business grows. Listen to hear practical insights ...
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  FDEs: How Innovative Hotel Companies Are Building Better AI - Joseph McGroarty, Actabl [Sponsor Bonus] 31.07.2026 16分

  In this sponsor bonus episode, Joseph McGroarty of Actabl shares what he learned working on site with a hotel company in the Forward Deployed Engineering model. He explains how observation and careful listening revealed the language, workflows, and operating knowledge needed to build AI around how hotel teams work and make decisions. You'll also hear how Actabl's Altitude product provides verified answers about hotel and portfolio performance, and why co-creation between hotel companies...
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  Great Guest Experiences Start With Employee Wellbeing - Emily Johnson, Joli Barfield, and Kristi Ellingsworth 29.07.2026 40分

  In this episode, Emily Johnson, the Founder and CEO of Elevate Hospitality Collective, brings together Joli Barfield, Corporate Director of Human Resources, and Kristi Ellingsworth, Director of Hospitality, both at Dartcor Enterprises, to explore why great guest experiences begin long before a guest arrives. Drawing on experience across hotels, restaurants, HR and operations, they explain why employee wellbeing is more than a benefits program. It's a leadership and operational practice that s...
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  What I'm Learning From AI Companies as a Hotel Leader - Christina Poon, Detroit EDITION 24.07.2026 6分

  In this episode, Christina Poon, the General Manager at the Detroit EDITION, shares what watching AI companies can teach hospitality leaders: continuous improvement as a way to win in a business that's "always done it this way," AI as a research tool, and rethinking how you communicate with the next generation joining your team. 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 suggestionsIf you want t...
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  Three Ways Hotels Strengthen Their Communities - Christina Poon, Detroit EDITION 23.07.2026 11分

  In this episode, Christina Poon, the General Manager at the Detroit EDITION, shares the three layers of impact a hotel can make on its city: a gathering place, an economic engine, and a career catalyst that keeps talent home. You'll hear what she learned advocating for the neighborhood on the board of the Union Square Partnership, including the 14th Street mural painted by a couple hundred volunteers, and the city-first strategy behind the Detroit EDITION. A few more resources: If you're new...
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  The Guest Experience Begins Before the Hotel Opens - Christina Poon 22.07.2026 14分

  In this episode, Christina Poon, the General Manager at the Detroit EDITION, shares how she's building a great hotel guest experience before the property opens. She talks about recruiting leaders in a place where she started with zero network, hiring for attitude plus operational readiness, and designing the guest experience while the building is still under construction. You'll hear why she meets every candidate one-on-one instead of relying on CVs, plus the W Hotels chef collaboration that ...