Hospitality Folks

Alicia Dick Wahlberg
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Hospitality Folks is a weekly video podcast about the people, ideas and technology shaping the future of hospitality, travel and tourism. Hosted by Alicia Dick Wahlberg, each episode goes beyond the job title to explore the unexpected career paths, bold choices, failures, lessons and human stories behind the people building and leading with hospitality at heart. From hotel managers and founders to innovators, entrepreneurs and industry changemakers, this is where we talk about the real people behind the industry. Come for the hospitality. Stay for the unexpected journeys.

  1. 5d ago

    Why Trust Beats Hype Every time with AI & Hospitality

    What makes a great salesperson in hospitality tech? According to Arne Hegstad, it might have very little to do with having sales experience. In this episode of Hospitality Folks, we sit down with Arne Hegstad, Chief Craft Officer at Suusify, to explore his 17-year journey with VisBook, the unexpected story of how he entered hospitality technology, and what he has learned about building teams, growing businesses, and earning trust in the hospitality industry. We discuss why some of his best salespeople came from hotel operations rather than traditional sales backgrounds, how asking candidates about their dreams can reveal what truly motivates them, and why understanding a hotel's real challenges matters more than pushing another product. We also get into the gap between hospitality technology and hotel operations, the problem with adding AI without solving real needs, how technology companies can earn hoteliers' trust, and what it takes to expand across Europe and the US. Key takeaways from this conversation:• Why the best salespeople might not have a sales background• The interview question that reveals a person's inner motivation• Why hospitality tech needs to solve real operational problems• How hotels can assess and build trust in new technology providers• The difference between AI hype and meaningful innovation• What international expansion really takes• Why getting out of your comfort zone can change your career Arne's story is a reminder that careers rarely follow a straight line, great teams start with understanding people, and the best business relationships are built on trust. Connect with Arne Hegstad:https://www.linkedin.com/in/arne-hegstad-12293338/ Connect with Alicia Dick Wahlberg, host of Hospitality Folks:https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciadickwahlberg/ Learn more about Suusify:https://www.suusify.com/

  2. Jul 3

    You Can't Lead Until You've Swept the Kitchen Yourself | Wolfgang Schürmann on Events, Crisis & Hospitality Leadership

    Day two of a five-day event. 150,000 visitors. 200 of your 600 staff are no-shows. Wolfgang Schürmann has been there. He restructured the menu, reassigned every manager, got on the radio, and delivered anyway — because he's spent two decades learning every role from the ground up. In this episode: what high-pressure event operations teach you about leadership, why you cannot lead a team you haven't worked alongside, and the story of a Michelin star chef who threw a frying pan — and then did something that Wolfgang still thinks about 30 years later. 🔗 Connect with Wolfgang on LinkedIn: ⁠linkedin.com/in/wolfgang-schuermann-🇩🇪-🇪🇺-🇲🇽-9a8b5b32⁠🌐 Gastro 2.0: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/gastro2-0/about/⁠🎙️ Alicia Dick Wahlberg: ⁠linkedin.com/in/aliciadickwahlberg⁠ #HospitalityLeadership #HospitalityFolks #EventManagement #HotelTech #HighPerformanceTeams

  3. Jun 15

    Why Most Hotels Fail at Storytelling and How to Fix It | Regitze Cecilie Rosenvinge

    Most hotels have an extraordinary story. Most never tell it. Regitze Cecilie Rosenvinge is the founder of Rose PR Agency — one of Scandinavia's leading hotel PR agencies, specializing in experience-led, remote, and wellness properties across the Nordics and Germany. She's also Hotel Editor at Falstaff Nordics and a professional affiliate of Les Clefs d'Or Denmark. In this episode, Regitze and host Alicia Dick Wahlberg explore: → Why hospitality and storytelling are the same thing — and always have been→ The real definition of personal branding (it's not about visibility — it's about perception)→ What hotels get completely wrong when they try to enter Nordic and German markets→ Why failure is not the opposite of success — it's the cost of getting there→ What Norway's most remote hotel taught her about the future of hospitality If you lead a hotel, a brand, or a career in this industry — this one stays with you. 🎙️ Connect with Regitze:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/regitze-cecilie-rosenvinge-4b375b39/Rose PR Agency: https://www.rose-pr.com/ 🎙️ Connect with Alicia:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciadickwahlber

  4. Jun 8

    Why Hospitality Always Comes Back to People | Melanie Chinwe

    What does hospitality look like when you strip away the buzzwords and start with people?In this episode of Hospitality Folks, Alicia talks with Melanie Chinwe, an operator who owned and ran S'MUVE ME Café in Nigeria before moving into Oenotourism at Château Dauzac in Bordeaux. She brings a grounded, intentional view of an industry that too often chases scale over connection.In this episode:Why hospitality, at its root, is always about peopleBuilding service design and systems that actually serve guestsWhat running her own café taught her about leadershipThe move from restaurant operations into wine tourismStorytelling and environment as tools for shaping guest journeysThe strategic role of service in driving long-term valueMelanie is currently an MSc Hospitality and Tourism Management student at Paris School of Business, with over six years in restaurant operations and guest experience.Hospitality Folks is a weekly show to showcase the wonderful and many career paths within hospitality and tourism. Connect with Melanie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melaniechinwe/Follow along with Alicia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciadickwahlberg/

  5. May 27

    Katarina Alič Čretnik | She Left a 15-Year Digital Career for the Forest — Now She's Changing What Hospitality Wellness Looks Like

    What does it actually mean to slow down and why are the most intentional hospitality experiences being built not in hotel lobbies, but in forests? Katarina Alič Čretnik spent more than 15 years in digital marketing before following a deeper pull toward nature. She is an ANFT-certified forest therapy guide and NLP trainer based in Slovenia, running Melisa Holiday, a nature retreat where guests arrive stressed and distracted and leave feeling something they had not felt in years. In this conversation, Katarina and Alicia get into what forest therapy actually is and why guests who walk through trees every day still feel the forest completely differently when guided. They talk about the emotional weight of nature, what it takes to leave a corporate career for something slower, and why the hospitality industry is sitting on a wellness offering it has not recognized yet. This one is for hospitality owners and operators who want to understand what nature-based guest experiences actually look like in practice. 🔗 Connect with Katarina Alič Čretnik: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katarina-alic-cretnik/🌿 Melisa Holiday: https://melisa.si/🔗 Connect with Alicia Dick Wahlberg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciadickwahlberg📸 Instagram: @alicia_dickwahlberg

  6. May 19

    She Applied With Zero Experience — 26 Years Later She Built One of Europe's Leading Revenue Consultancies | Annemarie Gubanski

    What would you do if you applied for a job you knew nothing about and told them exactly that? For Annemarie, that moment changed everything. She moved from the Netherlands to Sweden for love, stumbled into revenue management at Radisson with zero experience, and spent the next 26 years building one of Scandinavia's most respected consultancies. Today she runs Taktikon, organizes the Global Revenue Forum across multiple European cities, and teaches the next generation of revenue managers that you don't have to be a mathematician to be great with data. In this episode, Alicia and Annemarie talk about what it really means to bet on yourself before you feel ready, why revenue management is never a one-size-fits-all strategy, and how the best consultancy relationships feel less like business and more like family. For GMs, revenue managers, and commercial leaders who know there's always more to learn.🔗 Connect with Annemarie Gubanski: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annemariegubanski🔗 Global Revenue Forum Amsterdam — June 4th: https://www.globalrevenueforum.com/amsterdam-2026🔗 Connect with Alicia Dick Wahlberg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciadickwahlberg📸 Instagram: @alicia_dickwahlberg

    She Applied With Zero Experience — 26 Years Later She Built One of Europe's Leading Revenue Consultancies | Annemarie Gubanski

  7. May 13

    From Dishwasher to Director — Why the Best Kitchens Run on Mentorship, Not Fear | Adam Mali

    What separates a truly great kitchen from a toxic one? According to internationally experienced culinary leader Adam Mali, it comes down to one choice every leader has to make: do you lead with fear, or do you lead with humanity? Adam has spent decades at the highest levels of hospitality across Europe and North America — working alongside multiple Michelin-starred chef Pierre Gagnaire, shaping fine dining concepts for luxury hotel groups, and quietly amassing the kind of knowledge that only comes from time spent in both palace kitchens and the unassuming neighbourhood restaurants he loves most. A fluent French speaker with a deep affinity for European culinary culture, Adam brings a rare global perspective to a conversation the industry badly needs to have. He speaks candidly about the "badass chef" culture he once participated in, the moment a frightened young stage knocked over a bread starter and changed his leadership philosophy forever, and why hospitality is failing its own people through ghosting, burnout, and a profound lack of mentorship. This is a conversation about fine dining, kitchen culture, what great recruitment actually looks like — and the kind of leadership that builds teams worth staying for. 🔗 Adam Mali on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adammalichef/ 🔗 Alicia Dick Wahlberg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciadickwahlberg

    From Dishwasher to Director — Why the Best Kitchens Run on Mentorship, Not Fear | Adam Mali

  8. May 5

    From Athlete to Wellness Leader: How Guest Experience in Hospitality Is Being Transformed | Lali Jochmann

    What does a national swimmer, a bouncer in Zurich, and a personal trainer in Singapore have in common? A masterclass in people, performance, and showing up under pressure. In this episode, Alicia sits down with Lali Jochmann, a Swiss operations and commercial leader with 15+ years building premium, service-driven businesses across Asia and Europe. Lali is currently completing his MBA while running Alchemy Personal Training and PEAK Gym in Singapore, and he is now setting his sights on bringing a new vision of wellness and longevity into European hospitality. They talk about why athletes make exceptional hospitality professionals, what hotels are getting wrong about wellness, and why the gym in the basement with secondhand treadmills is no longer good enough. They also get into longevity, strength training as a leadership tool, and what a truly transformative guest experience could look like in the Swiss Alps. Lali is actively looking to join the right team in a DACH-based wellness hospitality company. If that sounds like you, find him on LinkedIn or Instagram at liftwithlali. Connect with Lali:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lali-jochmann-24678494Instagram: @liftwithlali Follow Alicia on LinkedIn for more real conversations on culture, careers, and the people shaping hospitality, travel, tourism, and startups:linkedin.com/in/aliciadickwahlberg

    From Athlete to Wellness Leader: How Guest Experience in Hospitality Is Being Transformed | Lali Jochmann
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About

Hospitality Folks is a weekly video podcast about the people, ideas and technology shaping the future of hospitality, travel and tourism. Hosted by Alicia Dick Wahlberg, each episode goes beyond the job title to explore the unexpected career paths, bold choices, failures, lessons and human stories behind the people building and leading with hospitality at heart. From hotel managers and founders to innovators, entrepreneurs and industry changemakers, this is where we talk about the real people behind the industry. Come for the hospitality. Stay for the unexpected journeys.

Information

  • Creator
    Alicia Dick Wahlberg
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    20
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Alicia Dick Wahlberg
  • Show Website
    Hospitality Folks