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Defining Hospitality
PodcastSociety & CultureDesignEnglish

Defining Hospitality

by Dan Ryan

NewRun Toward the Challenge - Nicole Schmidt - Defining HospitalityNovember 11, 2026 · 58 min
Episodes
274
Released
weekly
Latest episode
Nov 11, 2026
WebsiteRSS feed

About the podcast

Welcome to Defining Hospitality, the podcast focused on highlighting the most influential figures in the hospitality industry. In each episode we provide 1 on 1, in depth interviews with experts in the industry to learn what hospitality means to them. We feature expert advice on working in the industry, behind the scenes looks at some of your favorite brands, and in depth explorations of unique hospitality projects. Defining Hospitality is hosted by Founder and CEO of Agency 967, Dan Ryan. With over 30 years of experience in hospitality, Dan brings his expertise and passion to each episode as he delves into the latest trends and challenges facing the industry. Episodes are released every week on Wednesday mornings. To listen to episodes, visit https://www.defininghospitality.live/ or subscribe to Defining Hospitality wherever you get your podcasts.

Episodes 274

  1. Run Toward the Challenge - Nicole Schmidt - Defining Hospitality

    58 minEpisode 274

    What if the secret to scaling a company without losing its soul is deciding who you are before you decide how big to get? Nicole Schmidt joins Dan Ryan to talk about building Source from a frustration with how …

    Show notes

    What if the secret to scaling a company without losing its soul is deciding who you are before you decide how big to get? Nicole Schmidt joins Dan Ryan to talk about building Source from a frustration with how messy construction purchasing can be. She explains why technology should take over the data entry so people can spend their time on the details that matter. Along the way, she shares her playbook for culture, from writing values that actually mean something to blending teams after an acquisition. She also looks ahead at what AI could unlock for the next generation of entrepreneurs.


    Nicole Schmidt is the CEO of Source and a rare leader who has seen the built environment from every angle, with a career that spans interior architecture, hospitality and housing design, and sales. She is a DJC Women of Vision Industry Member Award recipient and a finalist for Oregon Entrepreneur of the Year. She has also grown her company through acquisitions, including the recent addition of Project Dynamics. Nicole is a newly minted American citizen, and she runs a remote team with the kind of intention most companies only put on a poster.


    Chapters:

    00:00 Core Values Hook

    00:23 Show Intro and Sponsor

    00:58 Meet Nicole Schmidt

    02:31 First Meeting and Networking

    04:51 Defining Hospitality

    06:49 Entrepreneurship and Origin Story

    08:54 Source Spark and Industry Pain

    14:34 Transparency and Smoother Projects

    18:05 Building Culture and Values System

    29:11 Beating Procrastination

    29:55 Marinating Not Avoiding

    30:50 Culture Filter Acquisitions

    33:31 Knowing Bad Fits

    36:09 Sponsor Sustainability Note

    36:34 Why Choose Growth

    40:41 Acquisition Strategy Matrix

    41:55 Legacy And Women Leaders

    49:11 AI Future North Star


    Quote of the Show: “I have not in my life found a brick wall I could not run through.” - Nicole Schmidt


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    🔗 CONNECT:

    📧 SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER:

    https://www.defininghospitality.live


    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR FAVORITE PLATFORM:

  2. Little Moments Matter Most - Reair - Will Guidara - Defining Hospitality

    44 minEpisode 273

    What if the most unreasonable thing you can do for your business is make people feel something? This reair brings back a conversation that is well worth a second listen. Dan Ryan and Will Guidara dig into why …

    Show notes

    What if the most unreasonable thing you can do for your business is make people feel something? This reair brings back a conversation that is well worth a second listen. Dan Ryan and Will Guidara dig into why the smallest gestures leave the biggest marks, how a daily 30 minute huddle can reshape a culture, and why connection beats being right every single time. A six hour dinner that felt like six minutes and a handwritten card of travel tips prove the point, and along the way they make the case that every industry is already in the hospitality business, whether it knows it or not.


    Will Guidara is the author of Unreasonable Hospitality and the restaurateur behind Eleven Madison Park and NoMad. He cut his teeth at Tribeca Grill, Spago, and Tabla before opening restaurants at the Museum of Modern Art. He also created the Welcome Conference, a gathering that has left a lasting mark on the people who attend it.


    Chapters:
    00:00 Restaurant or Hospitality

    00:52 Meet Will Guidara

    01:25 Six Hour Magic Meal

    02:23 Nomad Library Surprise

    03:42 Games and Card Trick

    04:29 Culture Takes Root

    06:36 Finding Your Why

    07:38 Will Origin Story

    08:50 Hosting and Family

    11:19 Hospitality Economy

    14:09 Scaling Culture Daily

    16:56 Values Beyond Posters

    19:58 Impact of the Book

    23:24 Unreasonable Intentionality

    26:30 Offense in Adversity

    31:10 Defining Hospitality

    35:39 Beginner Mindset Dad

    37:51 Advice and Farewell


    Quote of the Show:

    “Service is black and white. Hospitality is color.” - Will Guidara

    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    🔗 CONNECT:

    📧 SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER:

    https://www.defininghospitality.live


    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR FAVORITE PLATFORM:

  3. Designing for Wonder - Paolo Ferrari - Defining Hospitality

    1 h 2 minEpisode 272

    What if a hotel could change the way you see the world? Dan sits down with Paolo Ferrari, founder of Studio Paolo Ferrari, to talk about design that goes beyond beautiful and into transformational. They get …

    Show notes

    What if a hotel could change the way you see the world? Dan sits down with Paolo Ferrari, founder of Studio Paolo Ferrari, to talk about design that goes beyond beautiful and into transformational. They get into why luxury lives in the stitch and not the chair, how film shapes the way he designs urban hotels, and why constraints and friction make for better work. Paolo also explains why shared values matter more than any pitch, how to protect a big vision when the budget gets real, and why physical spaces will matter more than ever as life moves online.


    Paolo Ferrari is the founder and principal designer of Studio Paolo Ferrari and was named Boutique Design's 2025 Designer of the Year. For over 20 years he has been shaping some of the most ambitious hospitality projects in the world, including the cave-carved Desert Rock resort in Saudi Arabia. He is known for blending timelessness with courageous invention, and for chasing that moment when someone walks into a space and feels something they never expected.


    Chapters:
    00:00 Ambition And Uncertainty

    00:31 Podcast Mission And Sponsor

    01:06 Meet Paolo Ferrari

    03:03 Optimism And Joyful Energy

    03:57 Defining Hospitality As Generosity

    04:41 Luxury Lives In Details

    09:34 From Experience To Transformation

    16:04 Programming And Urban Wonder

    22:04 Designing For The Future

    33:53 Friction Fuels Excellence

    34:58 Sponsor Sustainability Update

    35:23 Why Budgets Must Be Shared

    36:55 Start With Vision

    39:06 Value Engineering Creativity

    43:01 Paradigm Shifting Projects

    46:16 Design As Optimism

    49:26 Choosing Aligned Clients

    54:17 Analog Spaces Matter


    Quote of the Show:
    "Those physical spaces are gonna carry so much more weight. They're not just indulgent. They're how we connect." - Paolo Ferrari


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Links:


    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  4. Frictionless by Design - Drew Stuart - Defining Hospitality

    57 minEpisode 271

    What if the best sign of great hospitality is that nothing ever gets in your way? Dan Ryan sits down for a live recording of Defining Hospitality, set in a podcast studio tucked inside a former 1930s sandwich …

    Show notes

    What if the best sign of great hospitality is that nothing ever gets in your way? Dan Ryan sits down for a live recording of Defining Hospitality, set in a podcast studio tucked inside a former 1930s sandwich shop at Rockefeller Center. The conversation moves from frictionless guest experiences to the habit of saying “we” instead of “I,” with stops along the way for world building, big stakeholder rooms, and the fears that grow as a business does. It’s candid, funny, and built on a friendship that came before any business did.


    Drew Stewart is an architect, interior designer, and occasional developer, and a founding partner and director of construction and development at INC Architecture & Design. He has spent 20 years growing the New York studio into a powerhouse, earning a spot in the Interior Design Hall of Fame along the way. His work includes the TWA Hotel, 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, and the Atlas Hotel at Harvard, and he is celebrating the milestone with a monograph, Us Is More, hitting shelves TODAY October 14th.


    Chapters:

    00:00 Why Hospitality Matters

    00:35 Meet Drew Stewart

    01:22 Recording at Rock Center

    03:00 A Designer’s Eye for Detail

    04:09 Defining Frictionless Hospitality

    05:44 Managing Mega Projects

    11:19 Tech That Aligns Stakeholders

    14:52 Hall of Fame Moment

    19:07 Us Is More and The Book

    34:38 Spending Your Own Money

    35:10 Fine Tuning Design Value

    35:54 New Empathy For Developers

    37:06 Entrepreneurship And Risk

    38:04 Fear Grows With Success

    39:08 TWA And World Building

    41:06 Rockefeller Concourse Redesign

    47:29 Building 1 Hotel With Barry

    50:51 Book Future And Farewell


    Quote of the Show:

    “Having creative, thoughtful people across the table turns out to be the single most important thing about any project.” - Drew Stuart


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Links:

    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  5. The Design Starter Kit - Ashley Squires - Defining Hospitality

    35 minEpisode 270

    What if the biggest advantage in hospitality design isn't having more options, but fewer, better ones? On this episode of Defining Hospitality, Ashley Squires walks through how The Stylist Group is rethinking …

    Show notes

    What if the biggest advantage in hospitality design isn't having more options, but fewer, better ones?


    On this episode of Defining Hospitality, Ashley Squires walks through how The Stylist Group is rethinking the front end of design sourcing. She breaks down how her team narrows a project down to a tailored "starter kit" pulled from dozens of premier manufacturers, why a fast turnaround can save a firm real time and money, and how she's working to bring a sense of joy back into a process that too often feels like a grind.


    Ashley Squires is an interior designer, hospitality design expert, and creative strategist with more than 25 years of experience across hospitality, multifamily, and private aviation spaces. She's led design work for major hotel brands, multifamily developments, and cruise lines, giving her firsthand insight into where the sourcing process breaks down for design teams. Alongside her partner Andrea, she co-founded The Stylist Group to turn that experience into a free resource other designers could lean on.


    Chapters:
    00:00 Stylist Group Promise

    00:24 Show Mission Intro

    00:48 Sponsor Message

    00:57 Meet Ashley Squires

    01:23 Time Is Money Setup

    02:57 Defining Hospitality

    03:25 What Stylus Group Does

    04:50 Library Space Problem

    06:24 Curating From 27 Makers

    09:26 Designer Testimonials

    11:26 Fast Turnarounds

    15:33 How Palettes Get Picked

    18:25 Christmas Day Unboxing

    19:54 Sustainability Break

    20:19 Measurable Time Savings

    22:06 How To Get Started

    25:12 Recent Project Wins

    33:27 Wrap Up And Contact


    Quote of the Show: "No matter what the needs are, whether you're a big firm or you're just starting out, consider us your design resource library." - Ashley Squires


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Links:

    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  6. Hospitality Is a Mindset - Matthew Boone - Defining Hospitality

    56 minEpisode 269

    Matthew Boone joins Dan Ryan to break down what it actually takes to turn a hospitality project from blueprint to guest ready. They dig into the tension between design vision and hard budget numbers, why cost …

    Show notes

    Matthew Boone joins Dan Ryan to break down what it actually takes to turn a hospitality project from blueprint to guest ready. They dig into the tension between design vision and hard budget numbers, why cost estimating works so differently around the world, and the on the job lessons that shaped how he leads projects today.


    Matthew Boone is head of hospitality at Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB), bringing 20+ years of architecture, construction and project management experience to some of the industry's most complex hotel developments. Trained as an architect, his work includes San Francisco's Huntington Hotel, a project that landed in Architectural Digest. He now leads RLB's hospitality growth across North America, pairing design instinct with financial discipline.


    Chapters:
    00:00 Architectural Digest Moment

    00:56 Meet Matthew Boone

    02:31 Architecture Roots

    04:17 Defining Hospitality

    07:12 Front vs Back of House

    07:57 ROI and Budget Tradeoffs

    10:07 QS vs US Project Model

    16:13 Transparency and True Costs

    23:50 CapEx and Aging Systems

    31:07 Shower Controls Code

    32:10 Sponsor Sustainability Update

    32:35 RLB Roots In Hawaii

    35:10 Hilton Hawaiian Village Lessons

    37:59 Clift Hotel Crunch Renovation

    41:59 Erin And RLB Culture

    43:38 Mainland Growth Markets

    47:51 LA Olympics Hotel Conundrum

    54:19 Wrap Up And How To Connect


    Quote of the Show:

    "Hospitality is thinking about what people need, what people want, before they even know they need it." - Matthew Boone


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Links:

    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  7. Hospitality the Sacred Duty - Colleen Rafferty - Defining Hospitality

    53 minEpisode 268

    Hospitality has ancient roots, and this week's guest traces her own path in the industry back to something surprising: a master's degree in philosophy. What started as bartending to pay for grad school became a …

    Show notes

    Hospitality has ancient roots, and this week's guest traces her own path in the industry back to something surprising: a master's degree in philosophy. What started as bartending to pay for grad school became a full blown philosophy of service, one built on presence, reciprocity, and treating every guest interaction as its own small act of care. From building a team that turned an old motel into a two Michelin Key destination to launching a groundbreaking childcare pilot for hospitality workers, this conversation covers what it really takes to scale a business without losing the soul that made it special in the first place.

    Colleen Rafferty is the President of Tourists, an award winning hotel in North Adams, Massachusetts that has earned two Michelin Keys and national recognition from outlets like Vanity Fair. She rose through the ranks from guest experience manager to the top leadership seat, helping build a culture so strong that her own team members have collectively logged 40 years of tenure at a hotel that has only been open eight. Beyond the hotel, Colleen is leading a new pilot childcare program funded by the state of Massachusetts in partnership with the Governor's Office, built specifically for hospitality workers whose schedules don't run Monday through Friday, 9 to 5.


    Chapters:
    00:00 Housekeeping Meltdown

    00:36 Podcast Mission Intro

    01:09 Meet Colleen Rafferty

    01:50 Berkshires Festival Vibes

    03:32 Defining Hospitality Xenia

    06:35 Philosophy to Hospitality

    13:57 Tourists Growth Michelin Keys

    19:28 Scaling Culture and Structure

    26:58 Childcare Pilot for Workers

    33:02 Funding and Coalition

    33:47 Red Tape Worries

    35:23 Pilot Program Unknowns

    36:10 Universal Pre-K Lessons

    37:14 Michelin Inspector Details

    38:10 Sing for Your Slumber

    41:01 Tourists Expansion Plans

    44:11 Scaling Without Losing Magic

    48:28 Mentors and Gratitude


    Quote of the Show:
    "This isn't really about you. This is about this moment and what the space can provide and what the guest is looking for." - Colleen Rafferty


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Links:


    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  8. Slow Down to Connect - David Rich - Defining Hospitality

    1 hEpisode 267

    What if the best conversations aren't about being interesting, but about being present? In this episode, Dan sits down with his close friend and mentor to explore why so many of us struggle to truly connect …

    Show notes

    What if the best conversations aren't about being interesting, but about being present? In this episode, Dan sits down with his close friend and mentor to explore why so many of us struggle to truly connect, even with people we've known for years. The conversation covers vulnerability, the difference between listening to respond and listening to understand, and why removing performance from a room changes everything.


    David Rich is the founder of Palabra, a story driven event format he has hosted hundreds of times across nearly every continent, from intimate dinners to gatherings of over 100 people. What started as a personal search for deeper friendships after moving back from Spain has grown into a platform used by corporations, families, and entrepreneurs to build genuine relationships. His approach to storytelling and presence has made him one of the most sought after voices on modern connection.

    Chapters:

    00:00 Stories Over Opinions

    00:53 Meet David Rich

    02:00 What Hospitality Means

    03:42 Palabra Born in Spain

    07:27 Designing the Container

    09:53 Conversation First Format

    13:03 Vulnerability and Story Prep

    15:58 Listening With Heart

    23:32 Opinion Free Safe Space

    31:16 Sales Through Trust

    32:34 Sponsor Sustainability Note

    32:59 Forum Style Story Learning

    34:34 Introverts Love Structure

    35:57 Long Tail Impact Stories

    38:13 Scaling Palabra Formats

    39:58 Everest Circle Experiment

    43:36 Analog Connection In AI Age

    48:42 Guardrails And Closing Reflections


    Quote of the Show:

    "A good event isn't that someone cried, so it was a good event. It's that people become a little bit more of themselves." - David RIch


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Links:


    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  9. Slow Partnerships, Fast Loyalty - Diarmaid O'Sullivan - Defining Hospitality

    1 h 1 minEpisode 266

    What does luxury actually mean once you strip away the thread counts and marble bathrooms? Dan sits down with Diarmaid O'Sullivan, Director of Marketing at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club, a Fairmont Hotel …

    Show notes

    What does luxury actually mean once you strip away the thread counts and marble bathrooms? Dan sits down with Diarmaid O'Sullivan, Director of Marketing at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club, a Fairmont Hotel in Bermuda, for a conversation about connection, patience, and the moments that turn a guest into a regular. Diarmaid brings more than 30 years of international experience in hospitality marketing, tourism strategy, and luxury brand building, and has spent over a decade shaping some of the industry's most talked about lifestyle partnerships, including collaborations with Steamline Luggage and a custom fragrance created with Bermuda's oldest perfumery. The two dig into what luxury means as a moving target, how far patience can take a brand partnership, and why the first five minutes of a stay might matter more than the room itself.


    Chapters:

    00:00 Show Mission Intro

    00:35 Meet Diarmaid

    02:01 Hospitality Means People

    05:25 Bermuda Move Story

    07:30 Partnership Playbook

    11:09 Fairmont Brand Legacy

    15:32 Redefining Luxury

    20:10 Curated Art Experiences

    23:57 Tech Versus Human Touch

    32:53 Mentoring With Honesty

    34:12 Helping Staff Move On

    35:11 I Want Your Job

    36:13 Six Months To Prove It

    38:01 Boss As Your Guide

    40:38 Networking On A Small Island

    43:56 Bermuda Awareness Challenge

    47:52 New Opportunities And Partnerships

    50:21 Measuring Wins And Wrapping Up


    Quote of the Show:

    "You can teach someone the skills to operate a system, how to make a bed, how to make a dish. But you cannot teach someone to have empathy, to connect with people, or just be happy." - Diarmaid OSullivan


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Links:

    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  10. Culture By Design - Adam Lara - Defining Hospitality

    54 minEpisode 265

    In this episode of Defining Hospitality, Dan sits down with Adam Lara, principal at KTGY Interior Design and Branded Environments, to talk about career, culture, and what it really takes to build a studio that …

    Show notes

    In this episode of Defining Hospitality, Dan sits down with Adam Lara, principal at KTGY Interior Design and Branded Environments, to talk about career, culture, and what it really takes to build a studio that works. From formative early experiences to his latest chapter leading a growing team in Chicago, Adam offers a grounded look at what shapes great design work over the long haul.


    Adam Lara has spent nearly three decades moving across architecture, interiors, and brand side operations, giving him a rare, well rounded view of the hospitality design world. His career has included time at Hyatt, a formative stretch under acclaimed designer Jordan Mosher, and now a leadership role at KTGY. That range makes him one of the more thoughtful voices working in hospitality design today.


    Chapters:

    00:00 Why Hospitality Matters

    00:35 Meet Adam Lara

    01:55 Defining Hospitality

    02:53 Career Pivot After 9/11

    04:22 Inside-Out Design Thinking

    05:29 Why Architects Avoid Interiors

    07:26 Hyatt HQ Memories

    08:31 Brand Side Lessons at Hyatt

    10:27 Ops and Owner Mindset

    13:40 Jordan Mozer Maker Culture

    16:27 Micro to Macro Design

    18:40 Joining Simeone Deary

    20:25 Merging Into KTGY

    22:44 Learning From Gina and Lisa

    24:48 New Office and Integration

    28:49 Venetian Bars Storytelling

    34:59 Leadership and Culture

    45:06 In-Person Collaboration Finale


    Quote of the Show:

    "It's not just design, it's basically problem solving." - Adam Lara


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Links:


    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  11. Small Hotels, Big Margins - Ryan Diggins - Defining Hospitality

    1 h 2 minEpisode 264

    In this episode, Dan Ryan sits down with Ryan Diggins, founder and operator of The Ramble Hotel and co-founder of Gravitas Development, to unpack how his company, Midnight Auteur, builds boutique hotels that …

    Show notes

    In this episode, Dan Ryan sits down with Ryan Diggins, founder and operator of The Ramble Hotel and co-founder of Gravitas Development, to unpack how his company, Midnight Auteur, builds boutique hotels that lead with food and beverage instead of treating it as an afterthought. Ryan walks through the thinking behind properties like The Ramble in Denver and Municipal Grand in Savannah, why smaller hotels can outperform bigger ones when you optimize for revenue per square foot instead of RevPAR alone, and how staying involved in the smallest design details, right down to how brass patinas on a toilet handle, keeps a project from losing its soul as it scales. The conversation also dives into how Ryan finds overlooked real estate opportunities, how he builds teams around a fully formed vision instead of the other way around, and what the future of hotel discovery looks like as AI reshapes how travelers find where to stay.


    Ryan Diggins is a real estate development veteran with over 15 years of experience building in Denver and beyond, and he's spent that time proving that boutique hotels can compete with, and outperform, some of the biggest names in the business. As founder and operator of The Ramble Hotel and co-founder of Gravitas Development, he leads hotel concepting, development, and operations through his company Midnight Auteur, marrying serious development chops with a hospitality first sensibility. His latest project, Municipal Grand in Savannah, was recently named one of the top 19 places to travel in 2026 by Architectural Digest, cementing his reputation as one of the industry's sharpest voices on design-driven, food and beverage anchored hospitality.


    Chapters:
    00:00 Real Estate vs Purpose

    00:22 Show Mission Intro

    00:55 Guest Spotlight Ryan

    02:26 Defining Hospitality

    04:00 Placemaking Through Hotels

    06:43 Artfulness Over Formula

    10:42 Why Secret Sauce Gets Lost

    16:25 F&B Led Hotel Economics

    26:04 Staying Curious While Scaling

    31:34 Process Without Strangling

    33:23 Design For The Picky Guest

    35:22 Thoughtfulness As True North

    37:23 Values Shape The Team

    40:58 Winning Over Investors

    44:29 Choosing Design Partners

    48:22 Future Markets And Pipeline

    50:53 Marketing In The AI Era

    55:04 Death And Co Origin Story


    Quote of the Show:

    "If we can't answer what is this here for or why are we doing this, well now you're just a Pinterest board." - Ryan Diggins


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Links:


    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  12. Making Room for Others - Carl Long - Defining Hospitality

    1 h 10 minEpisode 263

    In this episode, Dan sits down with longtime industry counterpart Carl Long for a conversation twenty years in the making. They dig into how relationships compound like interest, why hospitality has resisted …

    Show notes

    In this episode, Dan sits down with longtime industry counterpart Carl Long for a conversation twenty years in the making. They dig into how relationships compound like interest, why hospitality has resisted disruption from AI, and the vocational program Carl helped build at Richardson High School that's giving students a debt free path into the industry. It is a candid, reflective talk about risk, trust, and what actually keeps people in this business for the long haul.


    About the Guest:

    Carl Long is CEO of PMI and PMI Tribal Services, with more than two decades of experience in hospitality purchasing and project management spanning India, Latin America, and major hotel, casino, and senior living projects across the US. He sits on the board of the Indian Gaming Association, serves on the AHLA Design and Construction Committee, and is the past president of ISHP. He is also breaking ground on his own hotel development this year, adding developer to an already impressive resume.


    Chapters:

    00:00 Spy Joke and Mission

    00:46 Meet Carl Long

    02:07 Project Years and Perspective

    04:32 Defining Hospitality

    05:57 Building Their Own Hotel

    07:28 Balancing Kindness and Deadlines

    10:50 Relationships Over Transactions

    17:38 Trust Erosion and Overdocumentation

    28:58 Disruption AI and Last Mile

    36:20 AI Meets Reality

    38:12 People Over Process

    38:49 Hospitality Career Lab

    39:58 Richardson High Program

    42:28 Building A Hotel Lobby

    45:13 Opportunity Without Debt

    47:21 Connection Beats Remote

    53:59 CapEx And Renovation Cycle

    01:05:19 Future Of Relational Hospitality


    Quote of the Show: "Those relationships, they have to start somewhere. It comes over time, it comes over effort, and when you do that, relationships are what make great projects easy to move ahead." - Carl Long


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Links:

    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  13. Hospitality From Every Angle - Compilation Episode - Defining Hospitality

    21 minEpisode 262

    To celebrate over three years of Defining Hospitality, Dan Ryan pulls together some of the most powerful moments from the show's history into one episode. From the etymology of the word "hospitality" itself to …

    Show notes

    To celebrate over three years of Defining Hospitality, Dan Ryan pulls together some of the most powerful moments from the show's history into one episode. From the etymology of the word "hospitality" itself to the sacred duty of welcoming strangers, this compilation revisits the ideas that have shaped the conversation around design, service, and business in our industry. Guests reflect on the moments that changed them, the leaps of faith that built their careers, and the small human details, like how a rendering makes people feel, that separate good hospitality from great hospitality. It's a reminder of just how much wisdom has passed through this mic, and why the question "what does hospitality really mean" never gets old.


    This episode brings back some of the sharpest minds Dan has hosted, including novelist and hospitality thinker Ian, designer and procurement leader Chelsea Hershelman, hospitality veteran John O'Sullivan, caterer to presidents Steve, architect and designer Eileen, casino and resort design expert Bruno Viterbo, real estate developer Margot Stern, and hospitality tech innovator John Duffield. Each brought a distinct perspective to the show, from the sacred history of welcoming guests to the future of biometric personalization in travel. Together, their stories map out just how wide, and how deep, the world of hospitality really runs.


    Chapters:

    00:00 Welcome to Defining Hospitality

    00:35 Hospitality Roots and Meaning

    01:32 Designing the Guest Journey

    02:14 A Sacred Sense of Belonging

    02:40 Conviction as Leadership Gravity

    03:14 Four Seasons Culture Shift

    03:57 Hope and Opportunity Abroad

    05:03 White Box to Model Room

    06:03 Designing for Real People

    07:11 Is It Right or Wrong

    07:55 Sponsor Sustainability Update

    08:20 Creating Vacation Joy

    09:06 Leaps of Faith and Belonging

    11:07 Friends Who Expand Possibility

    12:04 Don’t Disqualify Yourself

    13:46 Winning Town Alignment

    15:05 High Stakes Catering Moments

    15:44 Future of Travel and Wisdom


    Quote of the Show:

    "It wasn't about, hey, we have these great finishes on the walls. It was about what does it feel like to be in that place." - Bruno Viterbo


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Get Connected with the Guests

    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  14. Academic Roots, Hospitality Heights - Gary Brandeis - Defining Hospitality

    1 h 7 minEpisode 261

    Gary Brandeis, CEO of Scholar Hotels, joins Dan Ryan to talk about a strategy most hoteliers never even consider: betting everything on college towns. Gary explains why a large public university like Penn State …

    Show notes

    Gary Brandeis, CEO of Scholar Hotels, joins Dan Ryan to talk about a strategy most hoteliers never even consider: betting everything on college towns. Gary explains why a large public university like Penn State makes for one of the most stable demand drivers in hospitality, and how his company has grown to nearly 1,000 rooms in State College alone. The conversation dives into his real estate investor first, hospitality operator second philosophy, the wild 16 month renovation of the historic Nittany Lion Inn, and his new Regulation A offering that lets everyday fans, not just accredited investors, own a piece of the hotels they love to visit. It is a masterclass in finding your niche, going deep instead of wide, and turning community passion into capital.


    About the Guest:

    Gary Brandeis is the CEO of Scholar Hotels, a hotel executive and real estate investor who has spent 35 years working with major brands like Marriott, Hyatt, and IHG while building a specialized portfolio around university markets. He has also launched award winning real estate technology companies focused on innovation and tenant experience, proving he is just as comfortable disrupting the model as he is running it. What makes Gary worth listening to is his willingness to buck conventional investment wisdom, concentrating his business in college towns like State College, Pennsylvania, and turning that focus into one of the most consistent and creative hospitality plays in the industry today.


    Chapters:
    00:00 Why Hospitality Matters

    00:25 Meet Gary Brandeis

    01:04 Penn State Roots and Nittany Lion

    03:09 A Thousand Rooms in State College

    07:22 Hospitality Meets Profitability

    12:22 College Town Brands and Graduate

    16:49 Graduate Growth and Real Estate Risks

    20:00 Democratizing Hotel Investing Reg A

    32:46 Scaling Investor Communication

    35:08 Investor Updates Tech

    35:57 Radical Transparency

    36:42 University Demand Engine

    38:44 Crowdfunding Reg A Basics

    40:37 Targeting Superfans Social

    44:28 Nittany Lion Inn Turnaround

    46:08 Choosing The Right Designer

    50:14 Hands On Ownership Grit

    58:17 University Hotels Investment Thesis


    Quote of the Show:
    "If we don't make a profit and we don't invest well, our ability to provide a good experience for our guests is significantly hindered." - Gary Brandeis


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Links:

    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  15. Connecting the Room - Michelle Finn - Defining Hospitality

    1 h 3 minEpisode 260

    In this episode, Dan Ryan sits down with Michelle Finn, longtime industry fixture and the driving force behind Alis Design Plus, to trace the evolution of hospitality trade events from HD Expo's chaotic 1990s …

    Show notes

    In this episode, Dan Ryan sits down with Michelle Finn, longtime industry fixture and the driving force behind Alis Design Plus, to trace the evolution of hospitality trade events from HD Expo's chaotic 1990s launch (earthquakes, riots and all) to today's design and investment ecosystem. Michelle unpacks her "dinner party" philosophy of hosting, the power of relationships over transactions, and how she scaled that intimacy from a dozen guests to thousands of attendees without losing the human touch. The conversation moves through mentorship, the rise of owner involvement in design, the new Alis Cala expansion into the Caribbean, and even a few fun detours into what a Vogue or Garden and Guns hotel might look like.


    About the Guest:

    Michelle Finn heads The BHN Group's hotel design and construction events, including the launch of Alis Design Plus. Previously, she led the management and development of Hospitality Design Expo, HD Boutique, HD Summit, HD Awards, Hospitality Design, Boutique Design NY, Boutique Design West, the BD Forum Series, Boutique Design and Senior Lifestyle Design Match events, the Gold Key Awards, and more. A dedicated, long standing member of NEWH, she has earned numerous awards for innovation spanning trade fair development, publishing, leadership, and service, and is firmly established as a notable presence in Chicago's hospitality landscape.


    Chapters:

    00:00 Defining Hospitality Intro

    00:35 Meet Michelle Finn

    01:47 What Hospitality Means

    03:38 Hosting Lessons Early On

    06:00 Launching HD Expo Origins

    08:48 Riots Earthquakes and Vegas Pivot

    13:42 Winning Leadership Buy In

    22:41 Why ALIS Design Plus Exists

    25:21 Growth Plans and Industry Shifts

    33:38 Analog Event Magic

    34:36 Word of Mouth Wins

    35:08 Hospitality Shifts

    36:19 Product Categories Boom

    37:47 Launching Alice Cala

    39:59 Measuring Referrals

    43:56 Hosting Like a Pro

    48:11 Newcomer Event Playbook

    52:22 Future Plans and Farewell


    Quote of the Show:

    "Identify a need, see something that doesn't exist. That's pretty much what we did." - Michelle Finn


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Links:


    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  16. Details That Matter - Adrienne Scribner - Defining Hospitality

    1 h 4 minEpisode 259

    In this episode, Dan sits down with Adrienne Scribner, principal and managing director of hospitality at Baskerville, to unpack what three decades in hotel design has taught her about the unglamorous work that …

    Show notes

    In this episode, Dan sits down with Adrienne Scribner, principal and managing director of hospitality at Baskerville, to unpack what three decades in hotel design has taught her about the unglamorous work that actually makes projects succeed. They dig into why there is no "coordination fairy" waiting to catch your mistakes, how typing specs into a purchasing system in the early '90s built the foundation for her entire career, and why mentoring the next generation means being approachable rather than intimidating.


    About the Guest:

    Adrienne Scribner is a Principal and Managing Director of Hospitality at Baskervill, bringing more than 20 years of experience across the Maryland, Virginia, and DC design corridor. Her client roster reads like a hospitality hall of fame, including Marriott, Gaylord, Ritz Carlton, and Moxy, and her research driven approach has made her a trusted voice for owners navigating renovations of every scale. Beyond the projects themselves, she has built a reputation as a generous mentor, the kind of leader who would rather answer a question than let someone learn the hard way.


    Chapters:

    00:00 Welcome back to Defining Hospitality

    00:58 Meet Adrienne Scribner

    01:41 Conference Mentorship Moment

    02:52 Why She Stayed in Hotels

    04:17 Learning Through Specs

    07:16 Hybrid Work and Phone Calls

    10:54 Marriott Years and Prototypes

    14:11 No Coordination Fairy

    17:57 Mentorship and Coachable Talent

    31:18 Baskerville Office Footprint

    32:30 Hiring Without Relocation

    32:47 Why DC Attracts Designers

    34:40 DC Cost and Lifestyle Reality

    35:01 Sponsor Sustainability Note

    35:26 Market Cycle and CapEx Slowdown

    38:08 Compressed Schedules and Pauses

    39:36 Mentorship Through Project Conflict

    40:45 Model Rooms and Risk Management

    46:40 Career Lessons From Marriott

    49:25 Working With Brand Standards

    54:09 Owners Concepts and AI Inspiration

    57:14 Research Versus Inspiration Images

    59:50 Cross-Pollination Across Verticals


    Quote of the Show:

    "If you don't know exactly who is going to do the work, it's probably you. You need to find that person." - Adrienne Scribner

    Links:


    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  17. The Art of Making Spaces Beloved - Alexa d'Argence- Defining Hospitality

    53 minEpisode 258

    Dan Ryan sat down with Alexa d'Argence, senior interior designer at Ken Fulk Inc., to explore what it really means to design spaces people fall in love with. Alexa pulls back the curtain on KFI's work at the …

    Show notes

    Dan Ryan sat down with Alexa d'Argence, senior interior designer at Ken Fulk Inc., to explore what it really means to design spaces people fall in love with. Alexa pulls back the curtain on KFI's work at the Huntington Hotel in San Francisco and the Beverly Hills Hotel. sharing how a strong concept and cinematic vision guide every decision from the big picture down to the smallest detail. The conversation gets reflective too, touching on why slowing down is sometimes the only way forward, and what it means to truly love the work you do.

    About the Guest:

    Alexa d'Argence is a Senior Interior Designer at Ken Fulk Inc. in San Francisco. With a background rooted in hospitality and residential design, she has worked on projects ranging from The Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa to the Huntington Hotel on Nob Hill, recently featured in Architectural Digest, and is currently deep in the renovation of the Beverly Hills Hotel. A graduate of Cornell and a lifelong lover of hotels, she approaches every project as an act of care, craft, and storytelling.


    Chapters:

    00:42 Meet Alexa d’Argence

    01:45 Sketching Under Pressure

    04:02 What Hospitality Means

    05:03 Hotels and Childhood Memories

    05:59 From Marin to Hospitality Design

    07:51 Storytelling and the Movie Mind

    13:23 Designing for the Guest

    17:22 History Beloved and Future Dreams

    28:19 Sketching Together Works

    29:08 Hidden Beauty Onsite

    32:05 Details Beyond The Spread

    33:15 Beloved Places And Memories

    34:54 Renovations And Responsibility

    36:10 Sustainability Sponsor Break

    36:37 Tools Sketches And Renderings

    39:40 Puzzling As Design Mindset

    44:19 Mentorship Scent And Farewell


    Quote of the Show:

    "It's a calling, a vocation for me. So there's a lot of love that goes into it. This is a job where you are working long hours, and if you don't love it, you're gonna burn out." - Alexa d'Argence


    Links:


    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  18. Niching Down then Grow - Alex Kuby - Defining Hospitality

    59 minEpisode 257

    This week, Dan Ryan sits down with Alex Kuby, Associate Principal at Dyelot and a lifelong student of how built environments shape human experience. From his early days at HBA in Santa Monica to helping lead a …

    Show notes

    This week, Dan Ryan sits down with Alex Kuby, Associate Principal at Dyelot and a lifelong student of how built environments shape human experience. From his early days at HBA in Santa Monica to helping lead a studio through a full brand transformation, Alex has spent his career asking what it really means to make people feel seen, supported, and cared for inside a space. Together, Dan and Alex explore approachable hospitality, the power of integrated services, and what niching down actually looks like when you are doing it from the inside.


    About the Guest:

    On this episode, Dan Ryan sits down with Alex Kuby, Associate Principal at Dyelot, a hospitality interiors studio bolstered by branding, procurement, and architectural services. Alex has been part of the firm since its days as RDC, helping shape its evolution into a focused, values driven hospitality design practice. When he is not leading visioning workshops or authoring the Dylot blog, he is probably thinking about how a grocery store can double as a neighborhood heartbeat.

    Chapters:

    00:42 Show Intro and Sponsor

    01:04 Meet Alex Kuby

    01:31 Shared Roots and Catching Up

    03:19 Defining Hospitality

    03:58 Approachable Hospitality

    05:25 RDC to Dyelot Story

    09:34 WELL and Sustainable FF&E

    20:59 Capital ROI and Visioning

    32:23 Sustainable Sponsor Shoutout

    32:41 Design Meets Procurement

    35:38 Why Branding Comes First

    39:04 Blogging and Brand Transition

    41:49 Niching Down the Studio

    43:22 Grocery as Community Hub

    46:09 Public Spaces and Connection

    50:12 Career Advice and Mentorship

    53:28 Memory Lane and Farewell


    Quote of the Show:

    "Hospitality is the humanity in the built environment, that is the way in which we express care and facilitate all of those great high touch point, high emotional engagements that the best hospitality spaces are known for." - Alex Kuby


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Links:


    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  19. Beyond the Bulb - Thomas Paterson - Defining Hospitality

    1 hEpisode 256

    Dan Ryan talks with Thomas Paterson, founder and lighting designer at Lux Populi, about one of hospitality's most overlooked design disciplines… light. Thomas explains why lighting designers need a seat at the …

    Show notes

    Dan Ryan talks with Thomas Paterson, founder and lighting designer at Lux Populi, about one of hospitality's most overlooked design disciplines… light. Thomas explains why lighting designers need a seat at the table from day one, not after the drawings are done, and shares his take on how light shapes a space's emotional experience. The conversation covers the gap between the 2% of projects that engage a true lighting specialist and the 30-50% that probably should, what it means to design from the inside out, his unconventional path from Australia to Mexico City, the sustainability case for old-school screw-in bulbs, and why asking the right question at the right moment is the smartest move a lighting designer can make.

    About the Guest:

    Thomas Paterson is the founder, director, and principal lighting designer at Lux Populi, a Mexico City based lighting design studio. He brings a first principles approach to every project, asking what light can do before how it should look. His portfolio spans luxury resorts, boutique hotels, restaurants, museums, and infrastructure, including 15 years with Sandals Resorts, the Four Seasons Los Cabos, and a landmark tunnel gateway in Sydney. Originally from Australia and formerly based in London, he landed in Mexico City by chance and built one of the industry's most distinctive lighting practices.


    Chapters:

    00:25 Meet Lighting Designer Thomas

    03:09 Hospitality Through Light

    06:43 Bring Lighting In Early

    10:17 Who Owns The Brief

    11:46 Do Projects Hire Lighting

    17:23 Lighting As Editing Tool

    25:43 Fixing Spaces After Opening

    29:09 Why Mexico City

    31:53 Mexico City Safety Shift

    32:43 Designing the Cocoon

    33:17 Contrast and Tone Basics

    34:14 Fixing a Brand’s Lighting

    35:47 Kelvin Myths Explained

    37:38 Infrared and Homogenous LEDs

    42:39 Culture and Buying Bulbs

    47:37 Sustainability and PoE Lighting

    54:53 Future of Lighting Design


    Quote of the Show:

    "Lighting design is an editing tool. Emphasize, de-emphasize, reveal, conceal." - Thomas Paterson


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Links:


    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  20. Navigating the Peaks of Innovation - Larry Traxler - Defining Hospitality

    1 h 11 minEpisode 255

    This week, Dan Ryan sits down with Larry Traxler, a 30+ year veteran of architecture and design, former SVP Global Head of Architecture & Design at Hilton Hotels & Resorts, and founder of Traxworks Hospitality …

    Show notes

    This week, Dan Ryan sits down with Larry Traxler, a 30+ year veteran of architecture and design, former SVP Global Head of Architecture & Design at Hilton Hotels & Resorts, and founder of Traxworks Hospitality Collaborative, to make the case that great hospitality design isn’t about replicating what’s trending, it’s about understanding place, people, and purpose. From breaking ceramic tiles on job sites in Japan to navigating 102 countries and opening 1,000 hotels a year at Hilton, Larry has spent his career building bridges between creative vision and business reality, and now, finally free to say no, he’s going deeper than ever.


    About the Guest:
    On this episode, Dan Ryan sits down with Larry Traxler, founder of Traxworks Hospitality Collaborative and former SVP Global Head of Architecture and Design at Hilton Hotels & Resorts. Larry has shaped some of the most memorable spaces in global hospitality, one mosaic wall, and one very deliberate hammer swing at a time. When he’s not advising owners on design strategy or racking up passport stamps across his 102nd country, he’s photographing wildlife in his backyard, plotting a month in Africa, and finally, finally, getting to put more into the projects that truly light him up.


    Chapters:

    00:25 Welcome to Defining Hospitality

    01:28 Mentors Safari and Photography

    02:53 Backyard Safari and Reps

    05:42 Defining Hospitality Through Design

    12:09 Traxworks Freedom to Say No

    15:13 Jordan Mozer Narrative Craft

    22:31 Becoming the Bridge Conductor

    30:36 The Clift Deep Dive Details

    35:27 Nine Million Miles

    36:43 Creativity in the Air

    38:27 Hilton Lessons to Trexworks

    43:10 Solo Founder Reality

    45:13 AI as Creative Toolkit

    50:00 Recessions and Resilience

    54:04 Hospitality Beyond Hotels

    01:00:20 Fighting Design Sameness

    01:02:35 Traxworks Freedom and Farewell


    Quote of the Show:
    “It’s those people that have a fear of the future that get held back. Sometimes you just have to jump off the bridge and leap into those entrepreneurial waters.” - Larry Traxler


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Links:


    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by BermanFalk https://www.bermanfalk.com/

    Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  21. The Art of Belonging - John O’Sullivan - Defining Hospitality

    1 hEpisode 254

    This week, Dan Ryan sits down with John O'Sullivan, hospitality executive, published poet, painter, and Regional Vice President & General Manager at Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, to make the case that great …

    Show notes

    This week, Dan Ryan sits down with John O'Sullivan, hospitality executive, published poet, painter, and Regional Vice President & General Manager at Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, to make the case that great hospitality isn't a service standard, it's a soul practice. A GM at just 25 who started peeling potatoes in a small Irish hotel at 12, John has spent over three decades opening and leading luxury properties across seven countries, building a career on the radical belief that belonging is borderless, failure is just success in progress, and heart intelligence will always outperform artificial intelligence.


    About the Guest:
    On this episode, Dan Ryan sits down with John O'Sullivan, Regional Vice President and General Manager at Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita in Mexico. With 31 years at Four Seasons and properties across Cairo, Bali, Jakarta, and beyond, John has spent his career quietly proving that the most powerful management tool isn't a system, it's sincerity. When he's not leading a team of more than 1,000 warriors, he's painting, publishing poetry, or stealing cookies from his director of rooms' office. He moves through the world the same way he runs his hotel, with curiosity, warmth, and zero interest in being the most important person in the room.


    Chapters:

    00:35 Meet John O Sullivan

    02:25 Defining Hospitality And Belonging

    03:06 From Ireland To GM At 25

    04:18 Making Room For Others

    10:30 Mentors And Ripple Effects

    16:22 Travel Memories And Magic Details

    20:56 Why Punta Mita Wins

    26:21 Creativity Process And Failure

    34:02 Potato Peeler Origins

    34:34 Curiosity Becomes Calling

    37:06 Heart Intelligence Hospitality

    38:13 Creativity Fuels Positivity

    39:14 Recharging Through Adventure

    41:56 Fun as Leadership

    42:56 Vulnerability and Forgiveness

    47:46 Egypt Opening Hope Story

    54:33 Future of Authentic Luxury

    Quote of the Show:
    "Hospitality is the almost sacred act of seeing another human being and saying, without words, that you authentically belong here." - John O’Sullivan


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Links:


    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  22. Balancing Business and Humanity - David Shove-Brown - Defining Hospitality

    57 minEpisode 253

    This week, Dan Ryan sits down with David Shove-Brown, architect, design leader, educator, and partner at //3877, to make the case that the most powerful thing you can put on your business card isn't a title …

    Show notes

    This week, Dan Ryan sits down with David Shove-Brown, architect, design leader, educator, and partner at //3877, to make the case that the most powerful thing you can put on your business card isn't a title, it's a philosophy. A firm co-founder who launched his practice in the middle of a recession with a newborn at home and a best friend from college as his only business partner, David has spent 15 years proving that relationships aren't a strategy, they're the whole game. David isn't just building great spaces. He's building a firm, a community, and a life worth writing about.


    About the Guest:
    On this episode, Dan Ryan sits down with David Shove-Brown, partner at //3877, an architecture and design firm based in DC and New York. David has spent 15 years building a practice and a reputation, on the belief that relationships come before business. Whether he's mentoring students at trade shows, swapping proposals with competitors, or just holding the door for a stranger, he moves through the world the same way he runs his firm, like every person in the room matters.


    Chapters:
    00:51 Meet David

    02:04 NEWH Mentorship Moment

    03:53 Defining Hospitality

    04:43 Community Over Competition

    08:46 Networking Roots and Values

    13:01 Relationship Building That Lasts

    17:45 Balance Family and Firm

    27:24 Design in the Public Interest

    31:18 Losing a Mentor

    32:46 Succession and Letting Go

    33:56 Mentoring Through Mistakes

    36:19 How to Find Mentors

    38:01 Learning From Students

    40:11 Community and Collisions

    42:25 Craving Certainty Forward

    48:25 Startup Stories and Growth

    50:07 Looking Ahead and Wrap


    Quote of the Show:

    "Networking always had this underlying idea of sales, we flipped it. For us, it's really relationship building." - David Shove-Brown


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Links:


    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  23. Pioneering Global Design - Christine McGinnis - Defining Hospitality

    49 minEpisode 252

    This week, Dan Ryan sits down with Christine McGinnis, Director of Design at Wave Design Consultants, to make the case that the most powerful tool a designer can carry isn't a software subscription or a …

    Show notes

    This week, Dan Ryan sits down with Christine McGinnis, Director of Design at Wave Design Consultants, to make the case that the most powerful tool a designer can carry isn't a software subscription or a portfolio, it's a passport and a willingness to ask why. A Canadian kid who got locked in a Tiffany's display window in Hong Kong and never really looked back, Christine has spent over two decades designing across Asia, North America, and now the Canary Islands, chasing a single throughline openness. From restoring a termite-eaten 19th century Bangkok landmark to drawing her first full set of plans in Spanish, she isn't just designing spaces, she's designing a life.


    About the Guest:
    On this episode, Dan Ryan sits down with Christine McGinnis, Director of Design at Wave Design Consultants, a Canadian born, world traveling hospitality designer who logged her first miles in the Starwood design lab before most people knew that lab existed. Christine has spent 20 plus years designing hotels and restaurants across Asia, Europe, and Africa not by following the work, but by following the question. And the question, in her case, is always the same one… why?


    Chapters:
    00:38 Meet Christine McGinnis

    01:15 Journey Westward

    03:15 Early Career Plans

    04:09 Generations And Nomads

    05:46 Starwood Innovation Lab

    14:31 Openness Defines Hospitality

    20:38 Spain Projects And Asking Why

    26:03 Design Fatigue and Surprise

    27:26 Waldorf Respite After 9/11

    29:13 Hospitality Alchemy From the Heart

    30:30 Design vs Service That Brings Guests Back

    31:32 Aloft Seminyak Bali Success

    33:48 Being Present Wherever You Land

    35:31 Just Go Travel Advice

    39:48 Resurgence of Analog Connection


    Quote of the Show:
    "People come to your joint once for the design, but they come back for the service and how you made them feel." - Christine McGinnis


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Links:


    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  24. Global Visions, Local Touches - Genna Panagopoulos - Defining Hospitality

    53 minEpisode 251

    This week, Dan Ryan sits down with Genna Panagopoulos, Vice President of Development at Minor Hotels, to make the case that the most exciting real estate play in hospitality right now isn't in Asia or Europe …

    Show notes

    This week, Dan Ryan sits down with Genna Panagopoulos, Vice President of Development at Minor Hotels, to make the case that the most exciting real estate play in hospitality right now isn't in Asia or Europe, it's right here in America. A restaurant kid from Detroit who fell in love with hotels, Genna is the one handed the keys to a 640 property global giant's entire North American future, armed with 12 brands, a freshly built franchise model, and a philosophy that deals only work when everyone at the table wins. One NH Collection in Manhattan down. Twenty four more to go.


    About the Guest:
    Genna Panagopoulos, VP of Development at Minor Hotels, a Greek American, raised in the restaurant business by an immigrant father who treated every customer like family, who somehow ended up being the person responsible for introducing one of the world's largest hotel companies to the United States. With over 15 years spanning hotel investment, brand strategy, and development at the likes of Davidson Hotels and IHG, Genna isn't just opening doors in new markets. She's the one deciding which doors are worth knocking on in the first place.


    Chapters:
    00:35 Meet Genna Panagopoulos

    02:10 Greek Roots and Philoxenia

    05:43 From Restaurants to Hotels

    07:03 Minor Brands and Luxury Resorts

    09:50 US Growth Model and Deal Flexibility

    12:02 Target Markets and Investor Mindset

    15:13 Financing and Conversion Strategy

    20:12 Service Culture and Scaling Luxury

    27:26 Uniqueness Over Scale

    28:50 Early Growth Bottlenecks

    29:30 Portfolio Deals and Marketing

    30:30 New Brand or Collections

    32:11 Lessons From US Expansion

    34:10 Where Deals Are Happening

    36:09 Choosing the Right Partners

    38:58 Deal Terms and Key Money

    42:48 Future Vision and Wrap Up


    Quote of the Show:
    “We're not here to make money right now. We're here to plant our flags and build brand awareness." - Genna Panagopoulos


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.

    Minor Hotels is introducing the legendary Anantara and Wolseley brands to North America: learn more about the company's strategy and ambitions!!


    Links:

    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  25. Redefining Hospitality Through Tech - Tanya Pratt - Defining Hospitality

    1 hEpisode 250

    This week, Dan Ryan sits down with Tanya Pratt, Global VP of Strategy and Product Management at Oracle Hospitality, to prove that the most powerful upgrade a hotel can make isn't to its lobby, it's to its data …

    Show notes

    This week, Dan Ryan sits down with Tanya Pratt, Global VP of Strategy and Product Management at Oracle Hospitality, to prove that the most powerful upgrade a hotel can make isn't to its lobby, it's to its data. A front desk girl turned tech executive, Tanya unpacks how Oracle is collapsing decades of fragmented systems into one seamless guest experience, why cloud adoption exploded the moment hotels ran out of people, and what happened during an 18-hour outage at 3am that changed the entire trajectory of her career. The promise of hospitality has always been human. The technology is finally catching up.


    About the Guest:
    This week, Dan Ryan sits down with Tanya Pratt, Global VP of Strategy and Product Management at Oracle Hospitality, a self described nerdy science kid who accidentally fell in love with a front desk and never really left. Thirty years later, she's the one making sure the technology behind hospitality is finally as seamless as the experience is supposed to feel. Forged at Fairmont, recognized as one of the top 25 extraordinary minds in the industry, and fluent in both boardrooms and lobbies, Tanya isn't just building better software. She's keeping the promise.


    Chapters:
    00:35 Meet Tanya Pratt

    01:27 Hearing Your Own Story

    03:20 Hospitality Is a Promise

    04:44 Tech Removes Friction

    08:14 Unified Data at Check In

    12:29 Hospitality Tech 101

    16:08 One Guest One Profile

    19:18 ROI and Why Hotels Lag

    30:20 Tech Enables Hospitality

    31:36 Finding Your Calling

    33:13 Front Desk To VP

    34:56 Advice For 18 Year Olds

    36:01 Grit In Instant Age

    39:03 Human Skills Matter

    41:27 Untangling Tech Spaghetti

    45:11 Crucible Command Center

    56:22 Future Of Hospitality Tech


    Quote of the Show:

    "Hospitality is a promise. It's a promise that's made and kept a thousand times in small moments." - Tanya Pratt


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.

    Links:

    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  26. Designing with Magic and Precision - Larah Moravek - Defining Hospitality

    53 minEpisode 249

    This week, Dan Ryan sits down with Larah Moravek, founding partner at Dutch East Design, to make the case that the most powerful thing a designer can bring to a project isn't a mood board, it's a story. Larah …

    Show notes

    This week, Dan Ryan sits down with Larah Moravek, founding partner at Dutch East Design, to make the case that the most powerful thing a designer can bring to a project isn't a mood board, it's a story. Larah pulls back the curtain on how Dutch East blends interior design and branding under one roof, turning narrative driven frameworks into spaces that feel inevitable. With real stories from the ground including the adaptive reuse of a Marcel Breuer brutalist landmark into Hotel Marcel, the first passive house certified hotel in North America, and the Tapestry Chattanooga, a former bank building brought back to life, this episode proves that when magic and precision are working together, the constraint becomes the design. 🏠

    About the Guest:

    Larah Moravek is a founding partner at Dutch East Design, a hospitality focused studio offering both interior design and branding under one roof. With a career shaped by two of the most iconic firms in the industry, Clodagh Design and Yabu Pushelberg, Larah brings a rare combination of instinct and rigor to every project she touches. Rooted in the belief that built environments have the power to create lasting emotional experiences, she and her partner Dieter lead a small but mighty studio known for their dense documentation, narrative driven approach, and a body of work spanning adaptive reuse, independent hotels, and licensed product collections.


    Chapters:

    00:45 Meet Larah Moravek

    01:15 Friendship and Dutch East Origins

    03:58 What Hospitality Means

    07:08 Clodagh to Yabu Mentorship

    08:49 Branding as Decision Tool

    13:37 Stewardship and Adaptive Reuse

    24:04 Functional Brief and Hard Questions

    27:54 Science as Magic

    28:03 From Med School to Interiors

    30:03 New York Design Path

    30:47 Yabu Pushelberg Rigor

    32:19 Burnout and Solo Asia Reset

    34:41 Building a Team Culture

    37:43 Sustainability in Hospitality

    44:33 Licensing and Product Lines

    47:59 Future Plans and Wrap Up


    Quote of the Show:

    "Sometimes you need more structure to be more creative. And I think some of the most beautiful and inspiring solutions come out of restriction." - Larah Moravek

    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Links:


    🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/


    Ways to Tune In:

  27. Green Means Revenue - JoAnna Abrams - Defining Hospitality

    55 minEpisode 248

    This Earth Day, Dan Ryan welcomes back JoAnna Abrams, founder and CEO of MindClick, to make the case that sustainability isn't just good for the planet, it's good for business. JoAnna reveals how MindClick's …

    Show notes

    This Earth Day, Dan Ryan welcomes back JoAnna Abrams, founder and CEO of MindClick, to make the case that sustainability isn't just good for the planet, it's good for business. JoAnna reveals how MindClick's product intelligence platform transforms the sustainability data already hiding in hotel FF&E purchases into a competitive weapon, winning corporate travel contracts, boosting sustainability ratings, and growing real revenue. With stories from the ground, including Hyatt Centric Fisherman's Wharf, and eye-opening stats on what ditching polystyrene packaging actually means for waste, this episode proves that going green and going profitable are finally pointing in the same direction. 🌍


    About the Guest:

    JoAnna Abrams is the founder and CEO of MindClick, a product intelligence platform helping hospitality companies unlock sustainability data across their supply chains. A multi-award winning trailblazer at the intersection of sustainability, supply chain, and finance, she has been recognized by Lodging Magazine as a female industry innovator, named a 2026 Inc. 500 Female Founders honoree, and selected for both the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and the Imagine Program funded by former Unilever CEO Paul Polman.

    Chapters:

    00:46 Welcome JoAnna Abrams

    02:00 Defining Hospitality Revisited

    05:00 The ROI of Sustainability

    07:30 EU Regulation Driving Corporate Demand

    11:00 How Hotels Win Corporate Business with Sustainability

    14:00 MindClick and Green Key Global

    16:00 The Alo Index Platform Explained

    19:00 Revenue Impact: 7–17% Market Share Increase

    22:00 Training Sales Teams to Tell the Story

    25:00 A Riskless Path for Hotel Owners

    28:00 Connecting Guests and Frontline Staff

    31:00 The Huntington Hotel Case Study

    36:00 Polystyrene Elimination: The Numbers

    40:00 Embodied Carbon and FF&E's Outsized Impact

    44:00 What Hotels Can Control

    47:00 Asset Value, Appraisals, and Resilience

    50:00 Inc. 500, Cambridge, and the Road Ahead

    52:00 How to Connect with MindClick


    Quote of the Show:

    "Today's suppliers need to understand that they're no longer just selling a product. They're selling a product with a story." - JoAnna Abrams


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Links:


    #DefiningHospitality #Sustainability #HospitalityDesign #HotelBusiness #GreenHospitality #SupplyChain #MindClick #CorporateTravel #HotelRevenue

  28. Beyond the Front Desk - Walter Peseski - Defining Hospitality

    52 minEpisode 247

    In this episode of Defining Hospitality, Dan Ryan sits down with Walter Peseski, Senior Vice President of Asset Management at Garfield Public Private, to explore the often misunderstood world of hotel asset …

    Show notes

    In this episode of Defining Hospitality, Dan Ryan sits down with Walter Peseski, Senior Vice President of Asset Management at Garfield Public Private, to explore the often misunderstood world of hotel asset management and public private partnerships. Sponsored by BERMANFALK, this discussion uncovers how cities, universities, and hospitals are leveraging creative financing structures to build hotels that serve as economic catalysts for entire communities.


    About the Guest:

    Walter Peseski is the Senior Vice President of Asset Management at Garfield Public Private, a firm specializing in public private partnerships for hotels, convention centers, and cultural infrastructure. With over 20 years of experience in hotel operations and asset management, Walter has built a career bridging the gap between public entities and private developers to bring transformative hospitality projects to life. An adjunct professor at Dallas Baptist University and contributor to Hotels Magazine, Walter is passionate about educating the next generation on the full scope of opportunity that exists within the hospitality industry that goes far beyond the front desk.


    Chapters:

    01:00 Introducing Walter Peseski

    02:00 What Does Hospitality Mean to You?

    03:00 The Valentine's Day Server Story

    05:00 When Was the Last Time Service Was Memorable?

    06:00 What Makes Garfield Public Private Unique?

    09:00 The Role of Asset Management vs. Hotel Management Companies

    13:00 How Ownership Groups Get Involved

    15:00 When Does Third Party Asset Management Make Sense?

    17:00 Hotels Are a Different Beast Than Multifamily

    19:00 Navigating Brand Standards & CapEx

    21:00 Hilton's Carrot and Stick Fee Structure

    23:00 Downscaling Brands & the "Under Demolished" Theory

    27:00 Blind Spots Small Operators Miss

    29:00 The F&B Double Edged Sword

    33:00 When Brand Standards Become a Straitjacket

    34:00 What Makes a Good Deal vs. a Great Deal in Public Private

    36:00 Why Cities Invest in Hotels

    38:00 Where Garfield Is Seeing the Most Opportunity

    39:00 How Cities Finance These Projects With Bonds

    42:00 The Sweet Spot: Upscale to Upper Upscale

    43:00 Why Walter Started Teaching

    45:00 Career Advice for Anyone Entering Hospitality

    49:00 What Walter Is Most Excited About

    51:00 How to Connect With Walter & Outro


    Quote of the Show:

    "It's not how fast can we increase the value of this hotel and flip it. It's how can this hotel contribute to the community." - Walter Peseski


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Links:

    Tags:

    #DefiningHospitality #AssetManagement #PublicPrivatePartnership #HotelDevelopment #HospitalityBusiness #HotelInvestment


  29. The Art of Anticipation - Ed Bakos - Defining Hospitality

    56 minEpisode 246

    In this episode of Defining Hospitality, Dan Ryan sits down with Ed Bakos, CEO of Champalimaud Design, to explore the evolving dimensions of hospitality in the design world. Sponsored by BERMANFALK, this …

    Show notes

    In this episode of Defining Hospitality, Dan Ryan sits down with Ed Bakos, CEO of Champalimaud Design, to explore the evolving dimensions of hospitality in the design world. Sponsored by BERMANFALK, this discussion uncovers how the nuances of design, from emotional exchanges to anticipating guest needs, define luxury and authenticity in the hospitality industry today.


    About the Guest:

    Ed Bakos is the CEO of Champalimaud Design, a New York-based firm renowned for its innovative approach to hospitality design. With over 30 years of experience, Ed has continually pushed the boundaries of what luxury and hospitality can achieve through strategic and emotionally resonant design. His commitment to fostering talented teams and creating memorable experiences makes his work a benchmark in the industry.


    Chapters:

    00:46 Welcome Ed Bakos

    02:12 What Hospitality Means

    04:04 Early Career Origins

    07:30 First W Hotel Breakthrough

    11:07 Heavenly Bed Innovation

    14:13 Alexandra Legacy

    18:31 Mosaic Team Culture

    24:49 Flat Hierarchy Best Ideas

    27:20 Project Example Clarity

    28:29 Ideas From Anywhere

    29:10 Designing Anticipated Needs

    31:23 Service Defines Luxury

    32:44 Turning Constraints Into Magic

    34:59 Building A Creative Culture

    37:02 Managing Creative Anxiety

    40:47 Choosing The Right Clients

    44:29 Aviation Passion And Purpose

    49:08 Flying The C47 Across Atlantic

    50:58 Remembering History And Closing


    Quote of the Show:

    "Design is a relationship between different things. Why do certain combinations of things provide us with more satisfaction? Certain combinations in certain settings are… highly successful and can be highly successful." - Ed Bakos


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Links:


    Tags:

    #DefiningHospitality #HospitalityDesign #HotelDesign #GuestExperience #DesignAnticipation #HotelInnovation


    Chapters (19)

  30. What the K-Wave Means for Hotel and Restaurant Design - Thomas Oh & Daphne Shin - Defining Hospitality

    55 minEpisode 245

    In this episode of Defining Hospitality, Dan Ryan sits down with Thomas Oh, Co-Founder & General Manager of Perilla Korean American Steakhouse, and Daphne Shin, Founder & Principal Designer of the Ruimte, two …

    Show notes

    In this episode of Defining Hospitality, Dan Ryan sits down with Thomas Oh, Co-Founder & General Manager of Perilla Korean American Steakhouse, and Daphne Shin, Founder & Principal Designer of the Ruimte, two passionate creators working at the intersection of culture, cuisine, and design. Sponsored by BERMANFALK, the episode delves into the unique approach Thomas and Daphne take to blend Korean cultural elements into their business ventures in Chicago.


    About the Guests:

    Thomas Oh is the co-founder and director of operations at Perilla Korean American Steakhouse. With a mission to introduce Korean culture through dining experiences, Thomas highlights the seamless integration of Korean and American culinary elements at Perilla.


    Daphne Shin is the founder and principal designer of the Ruimte, an interior design firm. Through her design work at L7 Hotel, Daphne strives to create environments where every guest, regardless of background, feels at home.


    Chapters:

    02:26 Defining Hospitality

    04:38 Building L7 Chicago

    06:33 Designing Perilla Steakhouse

    15:26 Korean DNA in the Hotel

    19:40 Reception in Chicago

    24:49 The K Wave Momentum

    27:28 Entrepreneur Lessons

    30:08 Teamwork Solves Problems

    30:43 Exhaust System Collaboration

    32:13 Sponsor Sustainability Note

    32:48 Immigrant Path to Hospitality

    34:56 Little Victories in Service

    38:17 Design vs Operations Reality

    42:15 Dream Projects and Timelessness

    46:35 Hotel and Restaurant Synergy

    49:43 How Lotte Found Them

    51:09 Luck Meets Hard Work

    53:27 Closing Thanks and Farewell


    Quote of the Show:

    "It's exciting for me and for the team here, for them to come into our space… We're not screaming this is Korean to them, but they're loving the design of this restaurant and the hotel." - Thomas Oh


    Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.


    Links:


    Tags:

    #hospitality #Koreancuisine #design #Kwave #defininghospitality #podcasting #ChicagoDining


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