Hospitality x Disruption: HXD212

Thibault Catala
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HXD212 turns up the heat with real conversations that challenge comfort and spark action. Hosted by Thibault Catala, founder of Catala Consulting, the show brings together leaders, creators, and rebels shaping what comes next across hospitality, AI, technology, and life design. No scripts. No filters. No polished talking points. Just curious minds, honest dialogue, and ideas pushed one degree further. To the boiling point.Human-to-Human. At 212°F.

Episodes

  1. 3d ago

    What Hotel Owners See That Operators Don't. Philipp Huterer | Ep. 008

    A hotel can be fully booked and still be a bad investment. Most operators don't see it. Most owners don't say it. Until now. 🎙 Episode 008 of HXD212: unfiltered conversations with leaders, rebels, and builders shaping what's next. Philipp Huterer, Managing Director of MRP Hotels, did not build his career chasing occupancy numbers. He built it understanding what those numbers actually mean to the person who owns the building. After training at Glion Institute of Higher Education and IE Business School Madrid, Philipp moved into hotel asset management - the discipline that sits between ownership and operations, translating what investors need into what operators deliver. Today, as Managing Director of MRP Hotels, he oversees a portfolio of over €1.5 billion in hotel assets across Europe, advising owners, investors, developers, and banks on what is really happening inside their hotels. In this episode, Thibault Catala and Philipp Huterer explore: ◼️ Why a full and guest-loved hotel can still be a bad investment ◼️ What owners and operators see differently when they walk into the same property ◼️ Why GOPPAR matters more than occupancy or RevPAR when you own the asset ◼️ What active asset management actually looks like week to week ◼️ Why the best asset managers act more like sparring partners than police officers ◼️ How to spot a fantasy business plan before you sign it ◼️ Why operator EBITDA margins are under pressure ◼️ Which operators may struggle to survive the next wave of consolidation ◼️ The real trade-off between big brands and white-label operators ◼️ How distribution costs and hidden brand fees quietly erode profitability ◼️ Why CapEx planning is often broken in hotels ◼️ How to build a 5-to-10-year investment plan that protects long-term asset value ◼️ How leases, HMAs, and hybrid models are evolving ◼️ Whether more data transparency helps operators or puts them under pressure ◼️ What boutique and Alpine hotels risk if succession and climate resilience are ignored ◼️ What AI will actually change in hotel asset management, and what it won’t 🎧 Follow Philipp & MRP Hotels: Philipp Huterer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipphuterer/ MRP Hotels: https://mrp-hotels.com/ 🔥 Follow Thibault & HXD212: Follow Thibault Catala on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/thibaultcatala Follow HXD212 on Instagram. https://instagram.com/hxd212 Follow HXD212 on TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@hxd212podcast Catala Consulting. https://catalaconsulting.co.uk Revenue Management Online Course. https://learn.thibaultcatala.com/revenuemanagement #HotelInvestment #AssetManagement #HotelManagement #RevenueManagement #HospitalityLeadership #BoutiqueHotels #HXD212

    What Hotel Owners See That Operators Don't. Philipp Huterer | Ep. 008

  2. Jun 18

    Can Psychedelics Make You a Better Leader? Sophie Spitzer | Ep. 007

    From being terrified of substances to building safe legal psychedelic journeys. Can psychedelics become the next frontier of mental health, leadership, and human transformation, or are we still dangerously romanticising something we barely understand? 🎙 Episode 007 of HXD212: unfiltered conversations with leaders, rebels, and builders shaping what's next. Sophie J. Spitzer, founder & CEO of Kinisi, did not come into psychedelics through hype, spirituality, or trend-chasing. She came through systems thinking. After spending years building infrastructure, from pandemic response systems supporting millions of PCR tests to entrepreneurship education programmes reaching thousands of teenagers across Austria, Sophie realised something important: the most important infrastructure we are missing is not technological. It is human. That insight led her into the world of psychedelic-assisted coaching, legal psilocybin truffle journeys, somatic work, preparation, safety, and integration. Her work now focuses on designing the right conditions for real transformation, while also helping build verification standards for safe psychedelic practice across Europe. In this episode, Thibault Catala and Sophie J. Spitzer explore: ◼️ How Sophie went from substance-related trauma to working with psychedelics ◼️ The difference between recreational use and therapeutic intention ◼️ Why psychedelics are powerful, but also dangerous when done badly ◼️ What psilocybin does to the brain, the ego, and old patterns ◼️ Why preparation and integration matter more than the journey itself ◼️ The role of the coach, guide, therapist, and shaman ◼️ Why safety, screening, and trust are non-negotiable ◼️ The risks of fake shamans, poor facilitation, and psychedelic scams ◼️ How psychedelics can support leadership, creativity, and self-awareness ◼️ Why founders and high performers often struggle with control ◼️ The link between trauma, ambition, leadership, and emotional regulation ◼️ Why microdosing is popular, but still not fully proven by science ◼️ The future of psychedelic-assisted therapy in Europe ◼️ Why psychedelics are not a quick fix ◼️ The simple somatic practice Sophie recommends to everyone: shaking Resources talked about: David Nutt Chart (harm done to self and others) •⁠  ⁠https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21036393/ •⁠  ⁠⁠https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Graph-printed-in-The-Economist-based-on-research-by-David-Nutt-et-al-on-behalf-of-the_fig1_272480545 Nature Mental Health Majority of insights happens (days, weeks) after the journey States Of Mind MAPS 🎧 Follow Sophie & Kinisi: Sophie Spitzer on LinkedIn.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-j-spitzer/ Founder & CEO of Kinisi: https://www.kinisi.life/ Head of PsyStandard: https://psystandard.com/ 🔥 Follow Thibault & HXD212: Follow Thibault Catala on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/thibaultcatala Follow HXD212 on Instagram. https://instagram.com/hxd212 Follow HXD212 on TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@hxd212podcast Catala Consulting. https://catalaconsulting.co.uk Revenue Management Online Course. https://learn.thibaultcatala.com/revenuemanagement #Psychedelics #MentalHealth #Leadership #FounderMindset #Coaching #TraumaHealing #SelfAwareness #HXD212 Disclaimer: •⁠  ⁠psychedelics are illegal drugs in most countries •⁠  ⁠⁠we are not medical professionals and not endorsing the use of illegal drugs - our conversation is only for information and education purposes •⁠  ⁠⁠psychedelics are not for everyone •⁠  ⁠⁠if anyone seeks out to do a psychedelic journey they must seek professional advice

    Can Psychedelics Make You a Better Leader? Sophie Spitzer | Ep. 007

  3. May 6

    Mews PMS from Startup to $2.5B valuation. Matthijs Welle | Ep. 006

    From two hotel guys with no tech skills to a $2.5 billion valuation. How do you reinvent an industry from the inside and what does it take to survive when no one will fund you? 🎙 Episode 006 of HXD212: unfiltered conversations with leaders, rebels, and builders shaping what's next. Matthijs Welle, CEO of Mews, took the path most hotel professionals dream about — Hilton's management track, a fast career, a clear trajectory. Then he quit. At 30, with no mortgage, no kids, and no tech experience, he bet everything on building a cloud-native PMS with co-founder Richard Valtr in Prague. The early years were brutal: no funding, no sales, and never making payroll on time. Today, Mews serves ~15,000 customers, processes nearly $20 billion in payments, has completed 15 acquisitions, and is valued at $2.5 billion. Yet Matthijs argues the hotel industry is still only scratching the surface of what technology can do  and that the best luxury hotels still have the worst tech. In this episode, Thibault Catala and Matthijs Welle explore: ◼️ Why two hotel guys with zero tech experience decided to build a PMS ◼️ The brutal early years: no funding, no sales, never paying salaries on time ◼️ Why legacy systems held the industry back for decades ◼️ How Mews rethought everything from night audit to the reception desk ◼️ The open-API marketplace strategy that changed their trajectory ◼️ Why RevPAR is dead and RevPAG is the future of hotel revenue ◼️ How payments became the backbone of guest spend attribution ◼️ The case for dynamic pricing beyond rooms ◼️ Why revenue managers need to become experimentation-led strategists ◼️ Mews' AI roadmap: semantic layers, agentic workflows, and automation ◼️ Why the best luxury hotels still have the worst technology ◼️ The vision for invisible hospitality and what hotels look like in 2035 ◼️ IPO ambitions, scaling inflection points, and why likely the US 🎧 Follow Matthijs Welle & Mews: Matthijs Welle on LinkedIn.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthijswelle/ Mews. https://www.mews.com/ Matt Talks Hospitality Podcast. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkaLcjp3VYOIES-_1Tp8nzzvMcBUMZ_AM&si=HVthwoaule5j0RfZ 🔥 Follow Thibault & HXD212: Follow Thibault Catala on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/thibaultcatala Follow HXD212 on Instagram. https://instagram.com/hxd212 Follow HXD212 on TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@hxd212podcast Catala Consulting. https://catalaconsulting.co.uk Revenue Management Online Course. https://learn.thibaultcatala.com/revenuemanagement #Startups #Entrepreneurship #hoteltech #founderstory

    Mews PMS from Startup to $2.5B valuation. Matthijs Welle | Ep. 006

  4. Apr 15

    Why Vienna Could Become Europe’s Next Startup Hub. Markus Raunig | Ep. 005

    Can Austria become a real startup nation. Or will it stay comfortable playing small? 🎙️ Episode 005 of HXD212: unfiltered conversations with leaders, rebels, and builders shaping what's next. Markus Raunig, Executive Chairman of AustrianStartups, sits at the center of the Austrian entrepreneurial ecosystem. He works with founders, policymakers, investors, and universities to push one simple idea: Entrepreneurship should be a normal career path, not an exception. Austria has talent, capital, and quality of life. Yet the country still struggles with risk culture, slow decision making, and a system that often rewards stability more than experimentation. The result. A startup ecosystem that moves forward, but slower than it could. In this episode, Markus explains why the biggest barriers are rarely funding or ideas. The real constraint is mindset. How a country thinks about failure, ownership, and ambition. In this conversation, Thibault Catala and Markus Raunig explore: ◼️ Why Austria still struggles with a real risk-taking culture ◼️ Why entrepreneurship should be taught early in schools ◼️ Markus’s founder journey and the lessons from building SponsorBar ◼️ What failure actually teaches founders ◼️ The gap between policy discussions and founder reality ◼️ How ecosystems like Berlin or London built momentum ◼️ Why Vienna has real potential as a startup hub in Europe ◼️ The role of universities in shaping future entrepreneurs ◼️ Why many talented people still choose corporate safety over building companies ◼️ What governments can do to unlock more entrepreneurship ◼️ The mindset shift Europe needs to compete globally ◼️ Why building companies is ultimately about people, courage, and long-term thinking 0:00 – Intro & Guest Introduction 2:19 – Is Austria's Startup Image Changing? 4:17 – What Austrian Startups Does 7:06 – Entrepreneurship in Schools: The "Ski Course" Approach 11:24 – Markus's Origin Story: From SponsorBar to Austrian Startups 15:27 – 56% Impact-Driven Startups: Why Austria Is Purpose-Led 19:33 – The Austrian Startup Landscape: AI, Fintech & Life Science 24:04 – Why Ecosystem Growth Stalled 27:52 – Austria's Argument vs Berlin, London & Paris 34:01 – Advice to Founders: Be Naive, Be Bold, Just Start 38:03 – Success Stories: Bitpanda, GoStudent & Open Claud 41:00 – Three Policy Priorities for the Austrian Chancellor 48:46 – The FlexCo: What It Is and Why It Matters 54:27 – "America Innovates, Europe Regulates" – Is It Changing? 1:00:32 – Risk of Austria Being Left Behind 1:04:46 – Vision: Entrepreneurship as Common as Skiing 1:10:11 – Can Vienna Become a Startup Hub? 1:13:03 – Wrap-Up & Final Thoughts 🎧 Follow Markus & AustrianStartups: Markus Raunig on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/markusraunig/ AustrianStartups. https://austrianstartups.com/ Future Weekly Podcast. https://futureweekly.buzzsprout.com/ 🔥 Follow Thibault & HXD212: Follow Thibault Catala on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/thibaultcatala Follow HXD212 on Instagram. https://instagram.com/hxd212 Follow HXD212 on TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@hxd212podcast Catala Consulting. https://catalaconsulting.co.uk Revenue Management Online Course. https://learn.thibaultcatala.com/revenuemanagement

    Why Vienna Could Become Europe’s Next Startup Hub. Markus Raunig | Ep. 005

  5. Mar 24

    Signal vs Noise. Why Most Leaders Get It Wrong. Delia Wieser | Ep. 004

    We live in a world flooded with trends, predictions, and “what’s next” reports. AI. Sustainability. Digital transformation. The next big shift.But how much of what we call important is actually signal. And how much is just noise? 🎙️ HXD212: Turning up the heat in hospitality. Unfiltered conversations with leaders, rebels, and builders shaping what comes next. Human-to-Human. At 212°F. -- Delia Wieser is one of the sharpest thinkers on how real change happens.She works at the intersection of innovation strategy, expectation shifts, and cultural change. Helping organisations understand why most trend reports fail and why real transformation rarely comes from following hype. Delia is the co-author of Trend-Driven Innovation, a framework used by companies to understand how expectations reshape markets. She also wrote Road Trip to Innovation, exploring how innovation actually unfolds in the real world. Her TEDx talk challenges one of the most common misconceptions in business. That change comes from technology, when in reality it comes from shifting expectations. Alongside her innovation work, she founded Mama Matters, a project focused on redefining how society supports mothers. Built on a simple but powerful idea. When a baby is born, a mother is born too.In this episode, Delia explains why most organisations misunderstand the future, why innovation often turns into performance, and why judgment and clarity matter more than information. In this conversation, Thibault Catala and Delia Wieser explore: Why most of what we call “important” today is actually noiseWhy smart teams still follow the wrong signalsWhen innovation turned into something we perform instead of practiceWhy more information does not lead to better decisionsThe dangerous shortcut of following trends instead of thinkingHow expectations shape the real direction of changeWhy leaders should look at expectation-setters instead of customersWhere culture quietly drives decisions people think are rationalWhat hospitality might be focusing on that actually doesn’t matterWhy judgment and taste are underrated leadership skills todayHow to operate in a world full of noiseWhy spotting signals early matters more than predicting trends-- 🎧 Follow Delia : Delia Wieser on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/deliawieser/TEDx: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLtikYOrjA0Mama Matters. https://mama-matters.com/Book: Road Trip to Innovation: https://amzn.eu/d/04eyBX8zBook: Trend-Driven Innovation: Beat accelerating customer expectations https://amzn.eu/d/0f5EVvU6🔥 Follow Thibault & HXD212: Follow Thibault Catala on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/thibaultcatalaFollow HXD212 on Instagram. https://instagram.com/hxd212Follow HXD212 on TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@hxd212podcastCatala Consulting. https://catalaconsulting.co.ukRevenue Management Online Course. https://learn.thibaultcatala.com/revenuemanagement-- If this episode resonated, follow HXD212 and share it with someone who cares about the future of hospitality.

    Signal vs Noise. Why Most Leaders Get It Wrong. Delia Wieser | Ep. 004

  6. Mar 4

    Hotel Trends Decoded: What’s Real, What’s Noise, What’s Next. Rita J Varga | Ep. 003

    How do you tell what’s a real hotel trend. And what’s just conference noise? 🎙️ HXD212: Turning up the heat in hospitality. Unfiltered conversations with leaders, rebels, and builders shaping what comes next. Human-to-Human. At 212°F. -- Rita J Varga, founder of RaizUp and one of the sharpest voices in hospitality commercial leadership, breaks down why the same “trends” repeat for 10–15 years. Data. Guest experience. AI. Sustainability. Different labels. Same frameworks. The real bottleneck is rarely technology. It’s leadership, trust, and execution. Rita sits at the intersection of hospitality talent, tech, and leadership recruitment, running programs and communities that surface what hotel teams actually struggle with day-to-day. In this episode, she explains why hotels overestimate digital maturity, why “pilot mode” kills progress, why GEO only matters if SEO basics are strong, and why accessibility is a revenue gap, not CSR. In this conversation, Thibault Catala and Rita J Varga explore: Why hotel “trends” keep recycling with no real progressThe truth about data. If there’s no action, it’s uselessLeadership and trust as the constraint behind innovationNet revenue. Real trend, but not step oneRetailing and attribute-based pricing. What guests would actually pay forSEO vs GEO. Don’t skip the fundamentalsAI reality. It doesn’t replace people. It removes the tasks people hateWhy people don’t leave hospitality. They leave bad processes and bad leadershipTalent development. What hotels should do instead of “tick-box” trainingGender equality stats that expose a major business blind spotAccessibility. A massive underserved market. And a pricing mistake hotels keep making-- ⏱️ Episode chapters 00:00 Introduction & Overview01:12 Data as a Trend - 15 Years of Talk03:04 Guest Experience Economy06:20 Leadership & Mindset - The Real Issue13:23 Trust & Employee Decision Making19:06 Net Revenue Discussion25:30 Future of Revenue Management29:46 SEO vs GEO - Mattering Noise37:30 Digital Maturity & AI Hype43:53 AI & Automation - Replacing People?49:43 Skills for the Future Workforce54:08 Gender Equality in Hospitality01:00:09 Talent Development Gap01:04:36 Accessibility as Revenue Opportunity01:06:29 Staffing Shortage Solutions01:09:08 Rapid Fire Questions01:12:20 Final Thoughts - Hospitality is Cool-- 🎧 Follow Rita & RaizUp: Rita Varga on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritajvarga/RaizUp. https://weraizup.com/Revenue Leadership Program. https://weraizup.com/revenue-leadership-program🔥 Follow Thibault & HXD212: Follow Thibault Catala on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/thibaultcatalaFollow HXD212 on Instagram. https://instagram.com/hxd212Follow HXD212 on TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@hxd212podcastCatala Consulting. https://catalaconsulting.co.uk-- If this episode resonated, follow HXD212 and share it with someone who cares about the future of hospitality.

    Hotel Trends Decoded: What’s Real, What’s Noise, What’s Next. Rita J Varga | Ep. 003

  7. Feb 11

    Decisions Beat Dashboards: What Hotels Get Wrong About AI | Ep. 002

    How do you make good decisions in a world flooded with data and AI? 🎙️ HXD212: Turning up the heat in hospitality. Unfiltered conversations with leaders, rebels, and builders shaping what comes next. Human-to-Human. At 212°F. -- Jason Noronha, co-founder & CEO of D3x, explains why decisions beat dashboards, why “data-driven” is often a way to avoid ownership, and how AI should remove busywork so humans can focus on taste, emotion, and guest experience.  Jason comes from hotel operations. After building a PMS, he started D3x to verticalise AI for hotels and automate guest communication across channels (chat, email, WhatsApp, social, SMS, voice). He’s seen 1M+ guest queries, and shares what guests actually ask, what guardrails hotels need, and why the next “AI wave” hasn’t fully hit hospitality yet. In this conversation, Thibault Catala and Jason Noronha explore: Why more data doesn’t guarantee better decisionsHow leaders use data to justify decisions already madeWhat AI is doing better than humans today (speed, consistency, no fatigue)What humans still win on (taste, vibes, judgment, ownership)Why the biggest risk is doing nothing. And how to “sandbox” experiments to cap downsideThe future: premium human service vs automated everything-- D3x was also featured in A16z and Andreessen Horowitz’s AI Voice Agents: 2025 Update market map (B2B) under Hospitality, alongside other vertical voice-agent platforms. -- 🎧 Follow Jason & D3x: Jason's Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonnoronhareal/D3x - https://www.d3x.ai/🔥 Follow Thibault & HXD212: Follow Thibault Catala on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/thibaultcatalaFollow HXD212 on Instagram. https://instagram.com/hxd212Follow HXD212 on TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@hxd212podcastCatala Consulting. https://catalaconsulting.co.ukRevenue Management Online Course. https://learn.thibaultcatala.com/revenuemanagement

    Decisions Beat Dashboards: What Hotels Get Wrong About AI | Ep. 002

  8. Jan 21

    Tradition vs Innovation: Hotel Sacher's Honest Answer | Ep. 001

    How does a 150-year-old luxury hotel adopt AI without losing its soul? -- 🎙️ HXD212: Turning up the heat in hospitality. Unfiltered conversations with leaders, rebels, and builders shaping what comes next. Human-to-Human. At 212°F. -- In this first episode, Paul Sorantin, Commercial Director of Hotel Sacher, shares how one of the world’s most iconic heritage hotels embraces innovation without compromising what truly matters. Hotel Sacher in Vienna is a global symbol of tradition. Behind the scenes, it is also a modern commercial organisation navigating AI, data, revenue, leadership, and constant change. Over coffee, Thibault Catala and Paul explore how legacy hotels can innovate without breaking what makes them special, how technology can make service warmer rather than colder, and why judgement, storytelling, and alignment matter more than dashboards. -- In this episode, we discuss: Why heritage can help organisations move faster, not slowerWhich traditions at Sacher are non-negotiableWhat should have been automated years ago, and why it wasn’tHow AI can improve service without dehumanising teamsThe biggest data challenges guests never seeWhy luxury is shifting from perfection to presenceWhy people resist uncertainty more than technologyWhat still makes hospitality unforgettable in an age of AI-- ⏱️ Episode chapters 00:00 Heritage Reloaded. Inside Hotel Sacher01:18 Revenue Management and the Future of Hospitality06:42 Tradition vs Innovation at Hotel Sacher11:09 The Human Element Behind the Data12:23 The Skills That Will Matter Most in the Future16:13 Using Technology to Make Hospitality Warmer20:04 Why People Resist Uncertainty More Than Technology25:25 The Original Sacher Torte and What It Represents28:06 What Truly Makes the Sacher Experience Special30:26 How Technology Enables Personalised Guest Experiences33:18 Human vs Tech. Where the Line Should Be37:14 Breaking Silos Between Commercial, Ops, and Leadership39:25 Key Lessons from Inside Hotel Sacher41:00 Advice for the Next Generation of Hoteliers44:15 Final Reflections-- 🎧 Follow Hotel Sacher & Paul Hotel Sacher. https://www.sacher.comInstagram. https://www.instagram.com/sacherhotelsPaul Sorantin on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-sorantin-843791a8/🔥 Follow Thibault & HXD212: Follow Thibault Catala on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/thibaultcatalaFollow HXD212 on Instagram. https://instagram.com/hxd212Follow HXD212 on TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@hxd212podcastCatala Consulting. https://catalaconsulting.co.ukRevenue Management Online Course. https://learn.thibaultcatala.com/revenuemanagement-- If this episode resonated, follow HXD212 and share it with someone who cares about the future of hospitality.

    Tradition vs Innovation: Hotel Sacher's Honest Answer | Ep. 001
  • 8 Episodes

About

HXD212 turns up the heat with real conversations that challenge comfort and spark action. Hosted by Thibault Catala, founder of Catala Consulting, the show brings together leaders, creators, and rebels shaping what comes next across hospitality, AI, technology, and life design. No scripts. No filters. No polished talking points. Just curious minds, honest dialogue, and ideas pushed one degree further. To the boiling point.Human-to-Human. At 212°F.

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