Today’s guest is a valued member of the hospitality community with over 30 years of experience. She consistently composes and collaborates with world-class teams of architects and designers to execute unique and innovative hotel concepts. Please welcome to the show, Christina Zimmer. Christina is the Senior Vice President of Design at Highgate Hotels, and she joins the host Dan Ryan to share her views on hospitality and how it interacts with the world around us.

Takeaways: 

• According to the original definition from Webster’s dictionary, hospitality has always been about the experiences that you can give guests rather than the actual location or the food you provide them with.
• Every now and then, it’s nice to get outside of your own environment and try working on different kinds of projects. It’s like a breath of fresh air and helps you to gain a new perspective on future projects you will have.
• Culture plays an important role in hospitality. When you go to a unique place or another country, you can immerse yourself in the culture and really experience the place you are at.
• The most fond memory that Christina has of her trip to Europe was her visit to the Louisiana Museum in Denmark. She holds this memory close to her because she went to that museum with her mother.
• We all stand on the shoulders of those who have helped us reach our goals and be where we are today. It’s important to acknowledge this and respect those around you and be a positive leader yourself.
• There is a certain sensibility to Danish design that permeates the entire Danish society, and this helped to lead Christina to discover her passion at an early age.
• An interesting challenge facing hospitality now is how can you make furniture and design more sustainable for a modern age, while also being comfortable and welcoming.

Quote of the Show:

2:06 “It's not about just giving you a place to sleep and some food to eat. It's about much more than that. The original definition did come from the experiences that you would give to a guest. So it's much deeper than just meeting the basic needs.”

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-zimmer-4b17ba11/
• Website: https://www.highgate.com/

Shout Outs:

7:17 Stonehill Taylor

14:17 Guggenheim

22:05 Turner

22:58 Louisiana Museum in Denmark

27:16 Paul Taylor

34:39 Refinery Hotel in New York

39:19 Tales of the City by 

40:46 Waiting for Guffman

41:35 Park Central San Francisco

41:38 Hyatt

42:28 Berman Faulk

46:55 Kimpton

47:05 MC Escher

52:41 Hilton 

52:41 Marriott

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/Lh76kNqYXh0