On the latest No Vacancy podcast, Anthony Melchiorri and I had a great conversation with Blair Wills, CEO of StepStone Hospitality, and Michael Broadhurst, COO of StepStone Hospitality.

StepStone has grown from a single property in 2007 to a 30-hotel portfolio today—and they're at that critical inflection point where management companies have to decide if they're going to stay lean or scale up.

We dug into some big topics: 👉 Why GMs are really the CEOs of their hotels 👉 The tough balance between owner expectations and on-the-ground realities 👉 How tech only matters if it actually frees up time for guest service 👉 Why "growth from within" isn't just nice to say, but essential for long-term success

One line that stuck with me: "We're in a people business. It's all about finding the right people and giving them the tools to succeed."

That got me thinking… how are you creating growth opportunities for your teams right now? Is it about training, mentorship, new tech, or just giving them more face time with guests? Would love to hear what's working across the #hospitality community.

Big thanks to Actabl for supporting the show! They're helping #hotels get smarter insights and stronger profitability—and now offering benchmarking data at HotelData.com. Worth checking out as we head into budget season.

Always grateful for great conversations on #leadership in our industry.