A former firefighter now turned hotelier, today’s guest talks about how his experiences with his grandma’s hostel has influenced his view on hospitality. Aaron Anderson, a board member of the Hospitality Diversity Action Council (HDAC) and the CEO of 26 Co, joins host Dan Ryan to talk about how the lack of diversity in higher up positions of #hospitality can be viewed as a more prominent issue and how important it is to have empathy and listen to others with an open heart. 

Takeaways: 

• When coming up with a business plan, you need to have a clear goal or thesis that represents your values and what you want in the future.
• Hospitality is providing a warm and safe environment for a guest. No matter what the guest is going through, making sure they are feeling safe and welcomed can bring plenty of relief.
• Getting to know people on a personal level and understanding what their feelings are is a big part of hospitality.
• It’s important to keep an open heart and listen to others, as it helps you understand not only the guest but also yourself.
• You can always build empathy. It’s ok to admit you don’t know the right thing to say or do, but as long as you approach the situation with an open heart then you can learn.
• The hospitality industry is diverse but only at the lower level positions. As you get higher and higher in the rankins to the c-suite level, you see less and less diversity which is an issue.
• Don’t take any moment for granted. We get caught up in the tough love we put ourselves through, but everything will work out like it’s meant to. 

Quote of the Show:

6:58 “I think hospitality is really just providing that place of warmth for someone. Due to it being, traveling due to being their friend that needs to come over and to sleep over and spend some time with you because they're that they're going through something. That moment when my grandmother owned the shelter for women and children, we were in hospitality. We're providing meals, we're providing a warm bed to stay, providing clothes. Hospitality is just not hotels or restaurants. It's really providing a cozy place in a safe place.”

Links:

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/aforchrist
• Website: the26co.com

Shout Outs:

0:36 Hunter Conference

8:19 Jason Caldwell

8:24 HD Summit

20:53 Black Lives Matter

21:38 George Floyd

23:01 HDAC

23:27 Nina Grondin

23:28 Damon Lawrence

23:28 Bashar Wali

25:30 Entrepreneur’s Organization

28:59 Blockbuster

29:06 Netflix

29:29 Tom Healy

31:49 ACE Hotel

31:51 Brad Wilson

35:12 Malcom X College

40:00 Cliff Eric

40:04 Ralph Angerberger

40:06 Laurie Horvath

40:09 Steve Shoat

40:13 Scott Hammons

40:25 Karen Harrington

40:34 Angela Clark

41:26 Cliff Derkin

43:24 Scott Hammons

43:27 Alan Benjamin

47:20 Mikey Dobin

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/LO7cXUf2AvI