What makes you feel most at home? Is it some comfy furniture, a familiar scene, or is it something far deeper?

Mikey Dobin, President of Valley Forge Fabrics stops by to share his perspective and swap stories with his lifelong best friend, Dan Ryan. Listen to the episode for more laughs & poignant insights into the hospitality industry like the ones below!

Takeaways:

• “Hospitality is a place where I feel like it's home away from home.” - Mikey Dobin
• What makes a hotel feel like home is a good environment mixed with social aspects. Places where you can joke with the front desk clerks, or have a good conversation with employees there. Rigorous processes can get in the way sometimes.
• The best way to engage with people is to listen. People want to be heard. In Mikey’s experience, getting down to real human connection immediately gets people to open up to him faster.
• Culture is more important than a good strategy, but culture is more than a buzzword & a ping pong table. Culture is how you work, how you interact when you work, how you interact when you’re having fun.
• “I feel like I never really knew how to run a business until the pandemic” - Mikey Dobin
• There is a measurable ROI when putting your people first, because it translates to the client that the company takes care of its employees. Your output from investing in culture is a better quality of service.
• The pandemic has magnified large divides not just economically, but in terms of safety & comfort. It has also shown just how resilient humankind can be. 

Quote of the Show: 

• “You could definitely feel the difference in a hotel that's going to be your part of a transaction versus a hotel that is a little bit more owned by someone with a little bit more passion for the business.” - Mikey 
• 2021 is going to be the Year of Hugs #YOH

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikey-dobin-04308468/
• Twitter: @jmikeyd
• Company website: https://www.valleyforge.com/

Shout Outs - 

31:36 - The W Hotel in San Francisco

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
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrpt8C461L_9n_6vezzZtkQ