Mit Shah’s story of success is a lot like that of his fellow Asian American hoteliers. He grew up working in his father’s motel and a few years after graduating college convinced his father to sell the roadside asset and invest in a new concept called a limited-service hotel. Mit Shah, CEO of Noble Investment Group, shares his cautious forecast about the future of hotel ownership, when people will return to work and why travel will rebound as people are eager to meet face to face.

Episode 3 of Lodging Luminaries features host Jason Freed and Sloan Dean in a thought-provoking conversation about what’s ahead for hospitality.

Dean is president and CEO of Remington Hotels. A self-described millennial, Dean said the lodging sector is taking on a new look as companies restructure their executive and line-level ranks and leisure travelers hit the road. The post-pandemic world requires new ways of doing business.

Daniel Del Olmo has led a storied career in hospitality leadership. Today, Del Olmo is president and COO at Sage Hospitality Group, a third-party manager. He joined the company just a couple months before the coronavirus pandemic struck the U.S. and gave the hospitality industry its biggest crisis and comeback challenge ever.

In Episode 2, host Jason Freed talks with Del Olmo about what keeps him up at night as Sage Hospitality crafts its recovery strategy in an era of uncertainty.

Raul Leal had been in leadership roles in the boutique lodging sector for 15 years when he first met Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, which includes Virgin Hotels. In a conversation with Lodging Luminaries host Jason Freed, Leal shares his first meeting with Branson when he asked him to manage the hotel brand, the future of hospitality industry, how the coronavirus crisis threatens the survival of branded legacy hotels, and why everybody wants to work at Virgin Hotels.