Today’s guest is an industry innovator who uses her talented mind to create beautiful spaces. Alexandra Cole is the Principal and US Managing Director at DesignAgency. Alexandra is incredibly skilled at Interior design and running teams across many different timezones. She joins the host Dan Ryan to share her journey through hospitality and what it all means to her. 

Takeaways: 

• After discovering that she has dyslexia, Alexandra looked forward to the creative arts in school and she found the arts to be a creative outlet.
• Hospitality is the feeling of welcoming, accepting, and coming together and sharing experiences with people. 
• There are certain scenarios that exude hospitality like a nice warm farm and a comfortable couch and armchairs. These are part of the overarching feeling of having a space where you feel like you belong.
• The “instagramable moments” are a faux pa in the design world. You don’t make designs to be seen on Instagram, you make designs that are comfortable and make the guest feel warm and invited. 
• It’s always a good idea to push the envelop of curiosity and try to increase your knowledge about your industry and the world around you.
• Coming out of COVID, there has been a lot of opportunities in the hospitality industry for branded spaces to really take off. 
• People will get used to certain brands and staying at the same hotels because it provides them with a sense of familiarity and a feeling of welcomness. 

Quote of the Show:

15:17  “It's really kind of about that feeling of welcoming and acceptance and the coming together of experiences and people.”

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-cole-15aab316/
• Website: https://www.thedesignagency.ca/

Shout Outs:

1:18 Dune

6:08 Vito Lotta

6:09 Hilton

23:49 Ennismore

23:50 Hoxton

24:03 David Collins

24:38 The Connaught Bar

25:00 Ritz-Carlton

26:15 Aliya Khan

36:36 ILC

44:28 Bentley Residences

Ways to Tune In: 

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPX
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386
• Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1s
• Amazon Music: ​​https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8c904932-90fa-41c3-813e-1cb8f3c42419
• Podbean: https://www.defininghospitality.live/
• Youtube : https://youtu.be/BDAFehGxzxY