Most hotels look good. That's not the problem.

The harder part is giving people a reason to stay longer, spend more, and remember why they were there in the first place.

In this episode of #NoVacancyNews, I talk with Alexis Readinger, Founder of Preen, about food-and-beverage design and how often hotels get it almost right — and why "almost" usually isn't enough.

Alexis and I get into why so many hotel restaurants and bars start to feel interchangeable, how that happens, and what gets lost when design decisions don't start with a clear point of view. We talk about experiential dining, design trends, capital choices, and why solid food alone doesn't save a space that doesn't quite work.

This interview was supposed to happen in person at ALIS Design. We ended up doing it remotely, which is pretty on-brand for how plans tend to go.