Hospitality Daily Podcast

Josiah Mackenzie

Stay informed and inspired to delight people and grow your business with daily conversations with interesting people doing interesting things. Hosted by Josiah Mackenzie.

  1. Human-to-Human: Rethinking Luxury Hospitality - Lily Wecker, Aethos

    17h ago

    Human-to-Human: Rethinking Luxury Hospitality - Lily Wecker, Aethos

    In this episode, Lily Wecker, CEO of Aethos, explains why she believes the future of luxury hospitality is shifting away from status and product, and toward genuine human connection. In conversation with our innovation correspondent Matthias Huettebraeuker, she shares how Aethos is redefining luxury through community, belonging, and a human-to-human approach to service. It's a fresh perspective on how guest expectations are evolving and what hospitality leaders should be thinking about next. Also see: Building and operating Aethos Hotels: Europe’s next great hotel brandLimestone Capital’s value investment strategyStaying Consistently Creative and Relevant in Food & Beverage - Marc Lores Panades, Aethos Hotels A few more resources: If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want 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

    13 min
  2. Where AI Actually Pays Off in Hospitality, and What Owners Should Demand - Ben Rafter, Hotel Equities

    3d ago

    Where AI Actually Pays Off in Hospitality, and What Owners Should Demand - Ben Rafter, Hotel Equities

    In this episode, Ben Rafter, CEO of Hotel Equities, shares where he believes AI is already delivering measurable results in hospitality and why operational applications are advancing faster than guest-facing experiences. He explains how Hotel Equities evaluates and tests new technology through HE Labs, the questions hotel owners should ask when selecting a management company, and where he sees AI driving hotel performance in the years ahead. Learn more:  HE Labs by Hotel EquitiesHotel Equities CEO: Here’s Which Technologies Can Actually Lift Owner Margins [Skift]Previously on the show: What Happens When a Tech CEO Leads a Hotel Company - Ben RafterTech CEO-Turned-Hotel CEO Shares Tech Advice - Ben Rafter A few more resources: If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want 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

    11 min
  3. How AI Addresses the Biggest Cost in a Hotel: Labor (Ben Rafter, Hotel Equities)

    4d ago

    How AI Addresses the Biggest Cost in a Hotel: Labor (Ben Rafter, Hotel Equities)

    In this episode, Ben Rafter, CEO of Hotel Equities, shares how his team is using AI, data, and real-time operational insights to improve labor management, often the largest controllable expense in a hotel. He explains how better scheduling and smarter decision-making create opportunities to improve efficiency while maintaining the guest experience. You'll also hear why data alone isn't enough and how intelligent recommendations help hotel leaders think more like owners. Learn more:  HE Labs by Hotel EquitiesHotel Equities CEO: Here’s Which Technologies Can Actually Lift Owner Margins [Skift]Previously on the show: What Happens When a Tech CEO Leads a Hotel Company - Ben RafterTech CEO-Turned-Hotel CEO Shares Tech Advice - Ben Rafter A few more resources: If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want 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

    11 min
  4. Why Hotel Ownership Is Becoming Unsustainable, and What We're Doing About It - Ben Rafter, Hotel Equities

    5d ago

    Why Hotel Ownership Is Becoming Unsustainable, and What We're Doing About It - Ben Rafter, Hotel Equities

    In this episode, Ben Rafter, CEO of Hotel Equities, shares why he believes today's hotel operating model is becoming increasingly unsustainable for owners. He explains the growing pressure from labor, insurance, and other operating costs, why healthy hotel ownership is essential for the entire industry, and how Hotel Equities is responding through its problem-first innovation initiative, HE Labs. If you're looking to better understand the economic challenges facing hotel owners and how leading operators are responding, this conversation provides a thoughtful framework. Learn more:  HE Labs by Hotel EquitiesHotel Equities CEO: Here’s Which Technologies Can Actually Lift Owner Margins [Skift]Previously on the show: What Happens When a Tech CEO Leads a Hotel Company - Ben RafterTech CEO-Turned-Hotel CEO Shares Tech Advice - Ben Rafter A few more resources: If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want 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

    11 min
  5. Jun 18

    How Hotel Companies Turn AI Into Competitive Advantage - Steven Moore & Joseph Benjamin, Actabl [Sponsor Bonus]

    The use of AI is one of the biggest strategic questions in hospitality, and many hotel leaders face the same challenge: they believe in the potential, but need a clearer path from experimentation to measurable results. In this episode, Actabl CEO Steven Moore and CTO Joseph Benjamin explain Actabl's new forward-deployed engineering offering for the hotel industry. They discuss why data foundations matter, how AI might help hotel companies improve profitability, and why custom workflows matter for operators with distinct brands, ownership models, portfolio strategies, and ways of working. You’ll hear how forward-deployed engineering differs from traditional technology development and consulting, why the model matters for hotel companies, and how Actabl engineers work alongside customers to solve business-specific data, analytics, and AI problems on top of the Actabl platform. For hotel executives thinking about AI strategy, margin pressure, labor challenges, above-property decision-making, forecasting, or portfolio performance, this conversation offers a practical look at where to start and how to move from interest in AI to outcomes. Learn more about Actabl’s forward-deployed engineering program here, and contact Actabl here for a discovery conversation about this.  A few more resources: If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want 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

    30 min
4.8
out of 5
43 Ratings

About

Stay informed and inspired to delight people and grow your business with daily conversations with interesting people doing interesting things. Hosted by Josiah Mackenzie.

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