Hospitality Mavericks Podcast Show

In this episode, Gina discusses her nearly two-decade hospitality journey from starting in hotels at 15 to leading people and culture at Flat Iron, explaining how operational experience translated into learning, recruitment, HR, and culture leadership.

She defines culture as what a business tolerates, walks past, celebrates, and rewards, emphasizing a strong feedback culture and the importance of nipping issues early through coaching and one-to-ones.

Gina shares Flat Iron’s Sunday team breakfast ritual, created by the founder, as a non-negotiable example of togetherness, and describes how “movements” are built from repeated moments, highlighting Flat Iron’s listening cycle (engagement surveys, roundtables, forums, action plans, and follow-up surveys) and the Flat Iron Forum of non-manager reps.

She also covers the value of coaching, mentoring, networking, reflection time, and supporting early careers through work experience.

Connect with Gina:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginamarieknight/

https://flatironsteak.co.uk/

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A big thank you to our episode sponsors, Monotree and Sideways.

Both are helping the industry unleash its potential via its people

Head to their websites here:

Monotree.com and

Sideways.ai

Michael interviews Klaus Thomsen of The Coffee Collective about building a Denmark-based coffee company rooted in direct trade, transparency, and barista craftsmanship.

After Thomsen won the 2006 World Barista Championship, he and co-founders Casper and Peter started the company in 2007 to address unfair farmer compensation by cutting middlemen, contracting directly with producers, and sharing costs openly, including listing origin payments on labels.

They began with a small roaster and long-term relationships with farms in Brazil and Guatemala, and continue origin visits with a team to maintain trust and feedback. The company expanded organically to eight coffee shops and a bakery (mostly Copenhagen, one in Aarhus), ~160–170 employees, and about one million cups annually, selling to wholesale, shops, and a global webshop in 45 countries.

They discuss scaling quality through written standards, a staff app for onboarding and communication, hiring an external CEO for leadership expertise, balancing ambition with work-life balance, learning from mistakes, and sustaining motivation through continual learning and working with young staff.

Connect with Klaus:

https://www.instagram.com/klausthomsen/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/klausthomsencoffee/

https://coffeecollective.dk/

A big thank you to our epsiode sponsor Sideways. Head to their website hospitality.sideways.ai or email them directly at [email protected]

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Michael hosts Christian to discuss how voice AI can solve a persistent restaurant operations problem: missed phone calls that cost revenue and damage guest experience.

Christian shares his early experience working front-of-house in a busy Southern California restaurant where calls were often ignored, then explains how a 2024 voice AI demo led him and his cofounder to build Loman, now used by 1,500+ restaurants.

They cover key stats (30% of restaurant revenue comes via phone; 40% of calls are missed), how Loman answers 100% of calls, takes orders and payments, books reservations, answers questions, supports multiple languages, handles up to 50 concurrent calls, and integrates with major POS and reservation systems to pull menus/pricing and push orders into the kitchen.

They also discuss customization, continuous learning from call data, adoption best practices, AI’s future impact, and practical AI tips for operators.

Lodgify is the headline sponsor for the Hospitality Mavericks Podcast Show.

Lodgify is an all-in-one hosting platform built on one promise, minimum hassle, maximum independence. We help independent vacation rental hosts and small-scale property managers run and grow their business with 0% Lodgify booking commissions, an AI Co-Host (COMING SUMMER 2026, early access open now), and direct booking websites built to get found by AI.

For Mavericks listeners, there's a special offer: 20% off all yearly and bi-yearly plans - Use code MAVERICK20.

Learn more at https://lodgify.com/

Connect with Christian:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianwiens?skipRedirect=true&miniProfileUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_miniProfile%3AACoAABQkpesB4RRaowtsUCQDK-LpDtxIsyEdwfk

Website: loman.ai

Instagram: instagram.com/loman.ai

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Michael interviews Australian dentist Michael Filosi about applying counterintuitive, hospitality-centered ideas to dentistry to break industry norms.

Filosi bought a rundown dental practice and, after realizing he couldn’t be the best clinician, pivoted—drawing on Good to Great’s hedgehog concept—toward building the best dental practice by focusing on business ownership, high standards, and patient experience. He gradually stepped off clinical work over 2–3 years (from four days a week to zero), scaling from generating 40% of revenue to 0.6%, later selling the business unexpectedly at 41 with no earn-out.

Key initiatives included an annual free Patient Appreciation Day and a “Sparks” program (50 personalized gifts in 50 weeks at $50 each) inspired by Unreasonable Hospitality, alongside friction-reducing service, explicit cultural expectations (“the FPD way”), and hiring for customer care, helping drive retention, word-of-mouth, staff attraction, and 400+ 5.0-star reviews.

Filosi’s takeaways are uncompromising standards and putting the customer (or constituent) at the center; he recommends The Checklist Manifesto and is exploring writing, dentistry, and politics next.

Lodgify is the headline sponsor for the Hospitality Mavericks Podcast Show.

Lodgify is an all-in-one hosting platform built on one promise, minimum hassle, maximum independence. We help independent vacation rental hosts and small-scale property managers run and grow their business with 0% Lodgify booking commissions, an AI Co-Host (COMING SUMMER 2026, early access open now), and direct booking websites built to get found by AI.

For Mavericks listeners, there's a special offer: 20% off all yearly and bi-yearly plans - Use code MAVERICK20.

Learn more at https://lodgify.com/

Connect with Dr Michael:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelfilosi/

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Michael and Brandon discuss the intersection of AI and culture in hospitality, arguing AI can strengthen culture by removing routine work so teams can focus on human guest experiences.

Brandon shares his career path from line-level resort roles to leading Fathom’s hotel management arm within a Maine-based real estate development firm focused on adaptive reuse and “sense of place” upscale soft-brand projects across Marriott, Hilton, and independents.

Fathom operates or develops seven hotels, typically 150–200 keys with multiple F&B outlets. Brandon highlights the Sugar House Hotel in Winooski, Vermont—a Marriott Tribute Collection property that will be all-electric, net-zero carbon, and LEED Platinum—embedding sustainability into every initiative.

He outlines Fathom’s associate-centric, value-driven culture, emphasizing authenticity, celebration, open dialogue, autonomy in recognition rituals, and cross-department cohesion, and explains using AI for SOPs, accounting, HR messaging, onboarding tools, and development analysis to reduce stress and improve retention.

Lodgify is the headline sponsor for the Hospitality Mavericks Podcast Show.

Lodgify is an all-in-one hosting platform built on one promise, minimum hassle, maximum independence. We help independent vacation rental hosts and small-scale property managers run and grow their business with 0% Lodgify booking commissions, an AI Co-Host (COMING SUMMER 2026, early access open now), and direct booking websites built to get found by AI.

For Mavericks listeners, there's a special offer: 20% off all yearly and bi-yearly plans - Use code MAVERICK20.

Learn more at https://lodgify.com/

Connect with Brandon:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-hussey-5bb21830/

https://www.fathomcompanies.com/

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More episodes for you to check out here

Michael and Pete Hurley discuss how hospitality organizations may shift away from large full-time head offices toward fractional and project-based senior talent to improve flexibility, innovation, and profitability amid tight margins and job insecurity.

Hurley shares his career from launching a hospitality tech startup in 2004 that evolved into a cultural-venue operator business he ran for nearly 20 years and sold three years ago, before moving into consultancy and noticing the growing “fractional” trend and the lack of a dedicated marketplace for hospitality expertise.

He built and coded the Well Seasoned platform in a week, launching in February and growing to about 550 consultants, around 25 hospitality businesses engaging, and regular projects posted.

They cover benefits like faster hiring/onboarding, niche expertise, reduced risk, consultants collaborating to fill skill gaps, and fractionals sometimes converting into full-time roles, while emphasizing the need for a core in-house team and an active community to avoid the platform becoming a static directory.

Lodgify is the headline sponsor for the Hospitality Mavericks Podcast Show.

Lodgify is an all-in-one hosting platform built on one promise, minimum hassle, maximum independence. We help independent vacation rental hosts and small-scale property managers run and grow their business with 0% Lodgify booking commissions, an AI Co-Host (COMING SUMMER 2026, early access open now), and direct booking websites built to get found by AI.

For Mavericks listeners, there's a special offer: 20% off all yearly and bi-yearly plans - Use code MAVERICK20.

Learn more at https://lodgify.com/

Connect with Pete:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/petehurley/

https://wellseasoned.work/

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In this episode, Michael introduces Ruth Jacobs, a registered mental health nurse and founder of Certified Minds, to discuss where mental health efforts in industry have landed and how to create behavioral, cultural, and systems change that builds resilience.

Ruth shares her background in CAMHS and eating disorder inpatient care, her experience managing during COVID lockdowns, and how gaps in pediatric mental health training led her to train UK medical teams, schools, and workplaces using simulations and practical skills.

They focus on hospitality’s risk factors—high emotional demands, unpredictability, staff shortages, long hours, poor sleep, and normalized frontline abuse—and discuss proactive leadership, psychological safety, and embedding resilience and check-ins into inductions.

Ruth distinguishes everyday mental health issues from disorders, highlights early burnout signs, stresses the cost of inaction, recommends better listening and language for difficult conversations, and raises concerns about normalized cocaine use. She directs listeners to certifiedminds.co.uk and previews the Safer Faces app for lower-cost mental health support.

Lodgify is the headline sponsor for the Hospitality Mavericks Podcast Show.

Lodgify is an all-in-one hosting platform built on one promise, minimum hassle, maximum independence. We help independent vacation rental hosts and small-scale property managers run and grow their business with 0% Lodgify booking commissions, an AI Co-Host (COMING SUMMER 2026, early access open now), and direct booking websites built to get found by AI.

For Mavericks listeners, there's a special offer running until July 30th: 60% off on Ultimate and Professional yearly and bi-yearly plans with the code MAVERICKS60.

Learn more at https://lodgify.com/

Connect with Ruth:

https://saferfaces.com/

https://certifiedminds.co.uk/

Book:

https://uk.bookshop.org/a/8596/9780008667290

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More episodes for you to check out here

In this episdode, Michael welcomes his longtime friend Yazz Abdulla, previously a guest during the pandemic to discuss food delivery and dark kitchens.

They reflect on Copenhagen Street Food’s grassroots style, then focus on founder-led hospitality businesses: founders often stay emotionally attached, operate like self-employed workers, lack systems (ops, HR, marketing, supply chain), misunderstand cashflow, and fail to plan an exit; Yazz advises emotional detachment, self-leadership, discipline, rituals, and valuing time and peace over status.

They discuss the “lost art of hospitality,” arguing technology and transactional service have eroded human connection, while Gen Z is highly influential and brands like Blank Street succeed by designing for Gen Z.

AI is seen as useful for optimization but unable to replace the human element. They compare struggling UK hospitality—blaming poor adaptation and leadership—against UAE hospitality, where conflict briefly crushed tourism but decisive government support enabled recovery.

Lodgify is the headline sponsor for the Hospitality Mavericks Podcast Show.

Lodgify is an all-in-one hosting platform built on one promise, minimum hassle, maximum independence. We help independent vacation rental hosts and small-scale property managers run and grow their business with 0% Lodgify booking commissions, an AI Co-Host (COMING SUMMER 2026, early access open now), and direct booking websites built to get found by AI.

For Mavericks listeners, there's a special offer running until July 30th: 60% off on Ultimate and Professional yearly and bi-yearly plans with the code MAVERICKS60.

Learn more at https://lodgify.com/

Connect with Yazz:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/yazz-abdulla/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/urban-hospitality-group-ltd/posts/?feedView=all

Previous episode with Yazz

https://www.hospitalitymavericks.com/coming-back-stronger-episode-5-with-yazz-abdulla-ceo-and-founder-of-urban-hospitality/

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More episodes for you to check out here

Michael welcomes Tom James, to discuss winning in a hyper-competitive hospitality market through counterintuitive strategy and team buy-in.

Tom shares his 30-year hospitality journey, joining Bill’s five years ago as operations director before becoming managing director, and describes the shift from an ops-only lens to leading cross-functionally with a two-year plan.

Bill’s distilled 257 actions into one message—“everyone leaves happy”—and made guest satisfaction the core KPI, built from reviews, surveys, and mystery diners, tying incentives to guest metrics rather than financial ones.

He explains how visibility, consistent recognition, and culture drove adoption, alongside behind-the-scenes improvements to systems, booking, website, SEO, and cost controls. The turnaround included difficult restructuring and site closures, followed by renewed energy, cover growth, and a strong Christmas.

They discuss change management, process discipline (why/who/what/how/when), technology and AI’s potential, and Tom’s leadership takeaways: headspace, networking, and investing in team growth.

Connect with Tom:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-james-5388b256/

https://bills-website.co.uk/

Eps 23 Bill Collison - Founder of Bill’s

https://www.hospitalitymavericks.com/videos/23-the-bills-story-with-bill-collison/

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Join the Hospitality Mavericks newsletter

Tune in via your favourite podcast platform - here

More episodes for you to check out here

A big thank you to our episode sponsors, Monotree and Sideways.

Both are helping the industry unleash its potential via its people

Head to their websites here:

Monotree.com and

Sideways.ai

Michael interviews Stephen Logue, an economist and former FMCG marketer who became marketing director at Berni Inns, founded a research-led consultancy, and later owned restaurants.

Logue explains how market research identified five consistent drivers of restaurant success—cleanliness, service, atmosphere, food quality, and value for money—and how redesigning and standardizing Berni Inns (including work with Conran) lifted sales and won a Catey.

He argues hospitality underinvests in service, emphasizing “hire character, train skills,” building staff confidence and self-belief, and using tools like mystery visits and customer research.

He shares “runners and riders” concept testing, a successful Greek concept at Meadowhall, lessons from Wetherspoon’s standards and value focus, and the financial importance of repeat customers. Logue now supports independents via pro bono work and promotes simple cost control, menu margin analysis, and clear service promises.

Connect with Stephen Logue:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-logue-47227757/

https://www.hospitalityblueprints.com/

https://youtu.be/2_E_EBbdXpU?si=_0cECaQouijt_8LS

https://www.hospitalityblueprints.com/masterclass-videos

Book:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magic-Malls-Incredible-Customer-Service/dp/1910090638/ref=sr_1_3?crid=GEM2XLEJMP0P&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.lw06nq8ML3KTk_rhrQVeIK8X9HSz5KW3t9INoXg7iSTGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.bEQQL7nAGqgyohrPiRxbrwgf3N_jm-_O3tqE8QOnVBw&dib_tag=se&keywords=Stephen+Logue&qid=1780948637&sprefix=stephen+logue%2Caps%2C232&sr=8-3

Connect with the podcast

Join the Hospitality Mavericks newsletter

Tune in via your favourite podcast platform - here

More episodes for you to check out here

A big thank you to our episode sponsors, Monotree and Sideways.

Both are helping the industry unleash its potential via its people

Head to their websites here:

Monotree.com and

Sideways.ai