Today’s guest loves helping create spaces and experiences where people will make lasting memories. With hospitality being engrained in her soul, she is ready to see it make a comeback. Stephanie Hopkins is the Senior Interior Design Manager at Marriott International. Stephanie joins the host Dan Ryan to talk about her journey in this beautiful industry and how she sees hospitality through her eyes. 

Takeaways: 

• Hospitality is more about the overall experience that you get and experiencing everything there is to offer. 
• Growing up in Texas, Stephanie’s mom was the example she had for what hospitality really is because she was always entertaining and providing a welcoming environment for friends and family. 
• Stephanie spent time working in London and New York doing interior design, and that is where she discovered her passion for hospitality and design. 
• Working with an independent hotel and boutique hotels will help you to learn how to think on your feet and find solutions to unique problems.
• Every piece of detail matters to a guest and it impacts their experience at a hotel. You want to make sure that you are planning out every detail as much as you can and using the detail to make the guest have a wonderful experience.
• Not every brand or hotel is for every person. You want to build a hotel and think about the customers that you are trying to attract without also confusing the design of the brand for other hotel designs. 
• Through the pandemic, a lot of people developed a longing for travel as that was taken away from them. People are now wanting to go out and experience new places and see beautiful hotels. 

Quote of the Show:

3:56 ​​ “What hospitality means to me it's more of that kind of that overall experience, kind of that 360 degree view.”

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-hopkins-28445a71/
• Website: https://www.marriott.com/default.mi

Shout Outs:

1:10 Kristen Conry

1:16 Marriott

2:04 BDYN

7:20 Tony Chi

7:58 Chip Conley

9:19 Bridgeton

10:58 Journey East Hampton

11:14 Atit Jariwala

18:25 Johnny Marsh

24:38 Oswaldo Barrios

25:00 Arnie Sorenson

25:17 Hilton

25:18 Accor

27:55 Edition

31:36 Kelsey Linz

31:51 Reggio Emilia

40:06 Mindclick

41:30 JoAnna Abrams

46:36 Airstream

47:40 Mattel Rancho

48:33 Bunkhouse

48:37 Liz Lambert

48:53 McGuire Lambert Hospitality

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/7cAbPtTrW00