In this episode, Stephen German, the Senior Vice President of Product at Actabl, shares his three-layer framework for putting AI to work in hotels: the data foundation, surfacing intelligence, and agentic AI.

You'll learn why most hotel AI projects stall before they start, what needs to be true inside your tech stack before agents can deliver value, and why Stephen believes time in the AI market beats timing it.

Learn more about Actabl, and its products: ProfitSword, Hotel Effectiveness, Alice, and Transcendent.

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 suggestions
• If you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.
• Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
• If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.

If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!

Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Larry Cuculic, the President and CEO of BWH Hotels, shares how a brand built around owners produces different decisions. You'll hear how elected hotelier directors, member market area protections, and a $1.3 billion member-only insurance program translate structural alignment into real financial relief for independent operators. 

You may also enjoy our other episodes with Larry:

• How Mentors Shaped My Leadership
• Hospitality Starts Before Guests Step on Property

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 suggestions
• If you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.
• Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
• If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.

If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!

Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Sarah Kopit, the Editor in Chief at Skift, shares what she found reporting The Squeeze, her deep dive into the economic pressures facing America's hotel owners. You will hear why runaway costs, refinancing, and the franchise fee structure are putting owners in an impossible position.

Read her reporting: Inside the Crisis Crushing America's Hotel Owners, as well as her earlier piece in this series.

Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn. 

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 suggestions
• If you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.
• Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
• If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.

If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!

Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Larry Cuculic, the President and CEO of BWH Hotels, shares why the guest experience now starts the moment someone types "hotel Chicago" into a search bar and what it took to grow brand.com revenue and mobile app revenue. You'll hear his own moment about getting the customer journey wrong once, and why every digital touchpoint is a hospitality moment.

Referenced: our earlier episode with BWH's Jay Hubbs, HSMAI's Marketing Professional of the Year.

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 suggestions
• If you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.
• Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
• If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.

If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!

Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Larry Cuculic, President and CEO of BWH Hotels, shares how a meeting with his father's union attorney opened the door to West Point and shaped the leader he became. You'll hear what he learned about team, trust, and knowing your role from playing basketball for Mike Krzyzewski, and why letting go is the hardest part of leading.

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 suggestions
• If you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.
• Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
• If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.

If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!

Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Susie Arnett, the Director of Wellness Programming at Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, shares what she learned after a retreat at Six Senses Kyoto led by Dr. Ingrid Yang, and why the idea of "collective effervescence" matters for anyone building places where people gather.

Susie also reflects on why people haven't fundamentally changed, why work is increasingly where connection happens, and the everyday moments that matter as much as any retreat.

Previous episodes with Susie: 

• From MTV Producer to Leading Wellness Programming: Lessons and Observations for Hospitality
• The Istanbul Insight: What Modern Spas Are Missing

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 suggestions
• If you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.
• Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
• If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.

If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!

Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this sponsor bonus episode, Jerimi Ford, the Chief Innovation Officer at Actabl and founder of Transcendent, shares how AI Asset Setup is turning a days-long manual process into a 30-second photo capture, and why accurate asset data is the foundation for better capital budgeting, preventive maintenance, and benchmarking across your portfolio. You'll also hear how gamification and associate engagement features are driving real culture change on property.

Learn more about AI Asset Setup from Actabl

Listen to our past episode with Jerimi: Designing Tech That Hotel Teams Actually Want to Use

Listen to "Reduce Turnover & Boost Team Performance: How We're Gamifying Employee Engagement in Hotels" with Roger Robles & Emma Christensen from Actabl

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 suggestions
• If you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.
• Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
• If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.

If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!

Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Franck Desplechin, the Founder and Executive Hospitality Consultant at Incrementum, shares what he's learned from conducting undercover quality audits at luxury hotels, arriving with his wife and two young kids so they're never flagged. He breaks down the quiet, repetitive service failures that never generate complaints but drive guests away, and why emotional presence matters more than hitting every scripted touchpoint. If you're running a property and wondering why satisfaction scores look fine but repeat visits are rarer than they should be, this conversation will show you where to look.

Links:

• Franck Desplechin on LinkedIn
• Incrementum
• Presence Is The New Luxury (article by Franck)
• Previous episode: Beating The Trap That Burns Out Hospitality Leaders
• Previous episode: Gen Z Isn't Lazy. They're Selective. Here's What That Means for You.

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 suggestions
• If you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.
• Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
• If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.

If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!

Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Jason Littrell, the founder of Kinetic Management Systems, shares a playbook for winning the before, during, and after guest conversations using AI. You'll hear his tactical approach to Google Business Profile optimization, the NPS-to-Google-review funnel that drives a 4.71-star average, and why responding to missed calls is one of the highest-ROI moves in hospitality.

Watch us here on YouTube

Connect with Jason on LinkedIn

Resources mentioned:

• High Level
• Sean Finter's "Napkinomics" framework

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 suggestions
• If you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.
• Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
• If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.

If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!

Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Sofia Vandaele, General Manager of the InterContinental New York Barclay and Regional Director for IHG Lifestyle and Luxury, shares how growing up in her parents' Belgian banquet hall shaped her view of hospitality, what working with Blackstone taught her about being a business leader, and why health challenges in COVID changed how she leads her team today.

Sofia is interviewed by Emily Goldfischer, founder of hertelier and Hospitality Daily's career correspondent. Read the companion article on Hertelier: Sofia Vandaele on her career journey.

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 suggestions
• If you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.
• Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
• If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.

If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!

Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Susie Arnett, the Director of Wellness Programming at Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, shares how an AI meditation coach on a jhana retreat accelerated her practice and what that experience revealed about the future of guest-facing AI in hotel wellness. She explores why hotels need a wellness recommendation engine rather than just a menu, why AI can understand a guest in 200 words, and the "personal data vault" concept that could solve the privacy problem holding back luxury wellness.

Read Susie's article: The AI-Native Wellness Department

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 suggestions
• If you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.
• Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
• If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.

If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!

Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands