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What does it take to transform a 75-year-old hospitality brand without losing the very thing that made it iconic in the first place?
On this episode of Suite Success, host Katie Cline sits down with Carolyne Doyon, President and CEO of Club Med North America and the Caribbean, live from Skift Global Forum in New York City.
As the pioneer of the all-inclusive concept, Club Med has spent the past two decades reinventing itself as a premium hospitality brand, expanding far beyond the traditional beach vacation to offer everything from ski resorts in the Alps to safari adventures in South Africa. But through it all, the company has remained fiercely committed to its roots and the unmistakable "Club Med spirit."
Carolyne shares her unconventional journey from studying psychology to landing a job at Delta Air Lines without speaking a word of English, and eventually rising through the ranks at Club Med to lead more than 3,000 employees. She reveals how the company has successfully evolved alongside changing traveler expectations, why human connection remains its greatest differentiator, and what's next as Club Med sets its sights on reaching 100 resorts worldwide by 2035.
Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to Suite Success
00:38 Meet Carolyne Doyon
01:43 From Montreal to Global Tourism
03:22 Delta Leap
07:19 Career Pivots
09:34 Joining Club Med
10:16 Premium Brand Shift
13:08 The “Club Med Spirit”
15:53 A Word from our Sponsors
16:50 Beyond the Resort
19:27 New Destinations
20:11 Surf and Safari Combo
21:03 Beyond Beaches
22:06 Setting Sail
23:24 Resort Growth Roadmap
24:52 St Croix
25:55 All Inclusive Rebrand
27:42 The Buffet, Reinvented
30:17 Sports and Trendspotting
31:36 Best and Worst Hospitality Experiences
35:19 Suite Summary
Connect with Carolyne:
Carolyne's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolyne-doyon-a708926b
Club Med Website: https://www.clubmed.com/
Links:
Apple Podcasts - Link
Spotify - Link
Suite Success Website - Link
Connect with Katie
On this episode of Suite Success, host Katie Cline sits down with Angela Val, President and CEO of Visit Philadelphia, to talk about her remarkable journey from answering phones as the organization’s receptionist to ultimately leading it as CEO.
Angela shares why she didn’t apply for the CEO role the first time it became available, what finally gave her the confidence to go for the top job, and how she learned to lead by embracing her own strengths, blind spots and vulnerabilities. She also opens up about stepping into the role at a particularly difficult moment for the organization and why rebuilding the team with empathy became her first priority.
Katie and Angela also dig into what it actually takes to market an entire city. Angela explains why Visit Philadelphia sees itself as being in the “people attraction business,” how major events like America’s 250th anniversary and the FIFA World Cup can create an impact far beyond tourism dollars, and why changing the perception of a destination can be just as important as changing the reality.
Plus, Angela shares her perfect 48-hour itinerary for Philadelphia, from where to stay and shop to the bakeries, museums and neighborhoods worth exploring.
Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to Suite Success
00:37 Meet Angela Val
02:04 Falling for Philly
04:42 Selling the City
06:04 Perfect 48 Hours
09:48 Growth and Development
11:55 Philly Vibe
13:46 Misconceptions and Reality
15:57 A Word from our Sponsors
16:55 More Than Cheesesteaks
17:42 Receptionist to CEO
22:25 Stepping Into Leadership
25:08 Leading With Vulnerability
27:37 Hiring for Blind Spots
29:25 Empathy as Leadership
30:26 Rebuilding After COVID
31:47 New Office, Fresh Start
33:35 Guiding Star
34:17 Lean Team Strategy
36:13 Letting Go of Control
38:08 Marketing a City
39:36 Impact Beyond Numbers
42:30 People Attraction Business
44:01 What's Next for Philly
47:08 Best and Worst Hospitality Experiences
50:29 Suite Summary
Connect with Angela:
Angela's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angela-val-8252356
Visit Philadelphia Website: https://www.visitphilly.com/
Links:
Apple Podcasts - Link
Spotify - Link
Suite Success Website - Link
Connect with Katie
On this episode of Suite Success, host Katie Cline sits down with Anuraag Bhatnagar, CEO of The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts, and explores his hospitality “calling,” hiring for values, and delivering luxury through deep human connection and anticipatory service rather than transactional SOPs.
Bhatnagar shares lessons from Oberoi (commitment to excellence and detail), Starwood (distinct brand DNA), and Marriott (operational rigor), then explains Leela’s post-acquisition “Leela 2.0” strategy: preserve authentic true Indian luxury while adding global best practices, technology, and commercial discipline.
He highlights initiatives like the nightly cultural ceremonial ritual, the Leela Palace Service with eight personalized touchpoints to remove friction, innovative food-and-beverage programming (about 40% of business), and Ojasya wellness evolving into longevity-focused integrated wellness.
He also outlines growth from 8 to 15 operating hotels with 10 more in development and previews Leela’s first international project, a Palm Jumeirah Dubai resort planned for 2028.
Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to Suite Success
00:37 Meet Anuraag Bhatnagar
01:50 Hospitality as a Calling
03:18 Service Mindset
05:39 Hiring for Values
08:45 Lessons from Top Brands
12:48 Leela Strategy 2.0
15:38 Guests and Rituals
18:55 True Indian Luxury
21:49 A Word from our Sponsors
22:47 Generations of Guests
25:32 Food and Beverage
30:18 Wellness
33:21 Authentic Spa Touches
34:42 Mastering the Departure Experience
35:36 Farewell Surprises
38:38 When Hotels Get It Wrong
41:12 Why Leela Chose Dubai
44:12 Growth Pipeline
45:17 Picking a Favorite Property
48:05 Best and Worst Experiences
51:46 What Hospitality Means
54:42 Suite Summary
Connect with Anuraag:
Anuraag's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anuraag-bhatnagar/
The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts Website: https://www.theleela.com/
Links:
Apple Podcasts - Link
Spotify - Link
Suite Success Website - Link
Connect with Katie
On this episode of Suite Success, host Katie Cline sits down with Larry Cuculic, president and CEO of BWH Hotels, the global hospitality company behind brands including Best Western Hotels & Resorts, WorldHotels and SureStay Hotels.
Before entering the hospitality industry, Larry spent 20 years in the U.S. Army, where his career took him from West Point to serving as a prosecutor and military judge. Today, he draws on many of the same lessons he learned in the military—discipline, accountability, trust and taking care of others—to lead thousands of hotels around the world.
Katie and Larry discuss his unconventional path from the Army to the C-suite, why guest experience is BWH Hotels’ number-one KPI, and the direct relationship he sees between taking care of guests and driving revenue. They also explore why technology can never replace genuine hospitality, how AI is changing the way travelers search for hotels, and what hotel companies need to do now to adapt.
Larry also shares why he left the Army after 20 years, what 55 years with his high school sweetheart have taught him about listening and relationships, and why, whether he’s leading soldiers, lawyers or hoteliers, taking care of people has remained the common thread throughout his career.
00:00 Welcome to Suite Success
00:38 Meet Larry Cuculic
01:32Joining the Army
04:38 Family First
07:16 Leadership Lessons
09:57 Why Hospitality
13:02 West Point Mindset
14:48 Swimming and Reflection
17:59 A Word from our Sponsors
18:59 Marriage and Balance
22:14 From Counsel to CEO
25:05 Brand Standards
28:00 Guest Experience
34:05 Tech Enables Hospitality
35:36 Future Travel and Brands
40:21 What’s Next for BWH
46:12 Best and Worst Hospitality
48:33 What Hospitality Means
49:34 Suite Summary
Connect with Larry:
Larry's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-cuculic/
BWH Hotels Website: https://www.bwhhotels.com/
Links:
Apple Podcasts - Link
Spotify - Link
Suite Success Website - Link
Connect with Katie
On this episode of Suite Success, host Katie Cline sits down with Peer Bueller, the new CEO of Kayak, about succeeding co-founder Steve Hafner and defining Kayak’s next era.
Peer shares what has surprised him most about stepping into the top job, why he’s more involved in the nitty-gritty of the business than he ever expected, and the leadership and productivity philosophies that have shaped his career. He also explains why he still manages his own calendar and books his own travel, how he gets more done by working at the right time rather than simply working more hours, and why he believes you can give 110% at work while still being the parent or partner you want to be.
Katie and Peer also dig into what AI will—and won’t—change about the way we travel. Peer shares where he believes conversational AI can make planning dramatically better, why traditional side-by-side comparison still matters, and how KAYAK is thinking about earning consumer trust as the way we search for and book travel evolves.
Plus, they discuss KAYAK’s bet on corporate travel, why Peer never had a decades-long plan to become CEO, what getting into rooms with other top executives taught him about reaching the top, and the discipline it takes to walk away from work when the work is never actually done.
Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to Suite Success
00:36 Meet Kayak’s New CEO
01:26 Succeeding Steve Hafner
02:48 AI Changes Everything
04:17 Hybrid Search Experience
06:27 Travel Inspiration Journey
09:14 Trust and Neutrality
11:41 Peer’s Origin Story
13:57 Life in the CEO Seat
15:10 A Word from our Sponsors
16:11 Modern Leadership Style
17:53 Ambition and Career Path
21:15 Work/ Life Balance
25:06 Ambition
26:09 Discipline When Work Never Ends
27:33 Hands On Leadership
29:21 Ownership
31:31 Kids Travel Perspectives
33:22 Rediscovering Europe
34:48 Earning Trust Through Clear Comparison
37:48 Personalized Travel With AI
39:34 Corporate Travel
42:34 Hospitality Hits and Misses
46:36 Suite Summary
Connect with Peer:
Peer's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peer-bueller/
Kayak Website: https://www.kayak.com
Links:
Apple Podcasts - Link
Spotify - Link
Suite Success Website - Link
Connect with Katie
On this episode of Suite Success, host Katie Cline sits down with Bri West and Jordan McDonough, co-founders of Somerled, a hospitality design firm that combines market research, guest psychology and intentional design to help owners create investments, not just interiors.
The two began working together when Bri tapped her longtime friend Jordan to help design one of her own short-term rentals. A few properties later, other investors began taking notice and asking them to do the same for their homes. What started as a collaboration between friends has since grown into a business that has designed more than 1,500 properties across the country. Along the way, Bri has also built a portfolio of more than 35 short-term rentals of her own, giving the pair a unique perspective on the intersection of design, hospitality and ROI.
Together, they unpack the formula behind designing spaces that don’t just look good, but perform. Bri and Jordan explain why they start with market data and the target guest before making a single design decision, how to determine which amenities are actually worth the investment, and why blindly joining hospitality’s growing “amenities arms race” can be an expensive mistake.
They also share why owners need to stop designing for themselves, how the right experience can turn a place to stay into a reason to travel, and why rising guest expectations are ultimately a good thing for the hospitality industry. Plus, Bri and Jordan open up about building a company as longtime friends, the decision to leave corporate life behind, and why hospitality itself can be one of the most powerful growth strategies for any business.
Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to Suite Success
00:38 Meet the Founders of Somerled
02:01 Bri’s Origin Story
07:37 Jordan’s Career Path
11:06 Scaling Rentals Fast
14:10 Co-Founder Secret Sauce
18:38 Going All In
22:32 Naming Somerled
24:23 Somerled Client Process
30:04 Amenities That Drive ROI
31:14 Pickleball
33:18 Operational Reality Check
36:13 Design Mistakes to Avoid
37:46 Amenity Strategy Case Study
41:52 Becoming a Top Property
47:09 Design for the Guest
48:08 Wellness Trend
50:37 Best and Worst Hospitality
59:49 Suite Summary
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Connect with Jordan and Bri:
Jordan's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-patchell-mcdonough-758a9ba4/
Bri's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bri-west-2a7a93288/
Somerled Website: https://www.somerleddesigns.com/
Links:
Apple Podcasts - Link
Spotify - Link
Suite Success Website - Link
Connect with Katie
On this episode of Suite Success, host Katie Cline sits down with Tim Hentschel, co-founder and co-CEO of HotelPlanner, one of the world’s leading travel technology platforms.
A third-generation hotelier who started working in hotels at just 12 years old, Tim has spent more than two decades at the intersection of hospitality and technology. He shares how he and his co-founder bootstrapped HotelPlanner in 2003, why having less money forced them to embrace automation early, and how those constraints ultimately helped them outlast better-funded competitors.
Tim also shares his candid perspective on private equity and the risks founders take when raising outside capital, why he believes AI and humans will continue to work side by side in hospitality, and how technology has fundamentally changed the way people live, work and travel. With remote work, an aging population with disposable income and younger generations increasingly able to work from anywhere, Tim believes the industry is heading toward what he calls “unlimited demand for hotel rooms and travel.”
Plus, he explains why, after building his career in travel technology, he’s now betting on brick-and-mortar hotels, what living and working around the world has taught him about cultural differences, and why the fundamentals of great hospitality remain remarkably unchanged.
00:00 Welcome to Suite Success
00:37 Meet Tim Hentschel
01:25 Third Generation Hotelier
02:46 From Cornell to Startup
03:35 Living Around the World
05:52 Accents and Local Culture
09:06 Localization in Service
10:54 American Abroad
16:04 Why HotelPlanner Started
18:16 Bootstrapped Wins
21:05 Private Equity Pitfalls
24:23 AI Meets Hospitality
30:03 How Travel Has Changed
35:03 Future of HotelPlanner
39:17 Suite Summary
Connect with Tim:
Tim's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-hentschel-7a3b245/
HotelPlanner Website: http://hotelplanner.com/
Links:
Apple Podcasts - Link
Spotify - Link
Suite Success Website - Link
Connect with Katie
On this episode of Suite Success, host Katie Cline sits down with Jonathan Alder, founder of Jonathan’s Travels, a luxury travel expert who has visited 100 countries and planned more than 30,000 trips for his clients.
When a client tells Jonathan where they want to go, his first question is often, “Why?” Their answer typically reveals what someone actually wants from a trip, which frequently leads to booking an entirely different itinerary. He explains how the internet (and AI) get travel recommendations wrong, why some of the world’s most popular destinations don’t live up to the hype, and the under-the-radar places he believes travelers should be paying more attention to.
They also discuss the difference between cost and value, why Jonathan is seeing clients take fewer but “better” trips, and why true luxury has far less to do with how much you spend than with personalization, service, and creating experiences someone could never have thought to ask for themselves.
Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to Suite Success
00:37 Meet Jonathan Alder
01:12 Six Week Travel Sprint
01:52 Luxury Itinerary Breakdown
03:59 Packing and Shopping Haul
04:45 The Founding Story of Jonathan's Travels
07:22 Luxury Service Mindset
08:26 Sports and Side Hustles
11:40 Fencing to First Big Contract
14:34 Why Advisors Beat AI
19:33 Reality Checks and Dupe Spots
24:17 Italy Done Differently
27:34 Venice Carnival Magic
30:02 Wildest Client Requests
31:21 Hidden Japan
32:29 Surprise Gem- Uzbekistan
33:21 Getting There and Staying
34:55 Summer Travel
36:26 Australia Seasons
38:29 Top Summer Hotspots
42:20 Underrated Asia Picks
43:28 Komodo Luxury Escape
46:02 Trip Trends
48:37 Everest by Helicopter
49:53 Best and Worst Moments
55:25 Suite Summary
Connect with Jonathan:
Jonathan Alder's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-alder-4969a424/
Jonathan's Travels Website: https://www.jonathanstravels.com/
Links:
Apple Podcasts - Link
Spotify - Link
Suite Success Website - Link
Connect with Katie
On this episode of Suite Success, host Katie Cline sits down with Brandon Berkson, founder of Hotels Above Par, a boutique publication reaching more than half a million readers, as well as the creator of Mexzine. Brandon shares how getting furloughed during the pandemic led him to launch the brand, why his background in hotel PR gave him an unexpected advantage, and what he would do differently if he were building a media company from scratch today.
They also explore why newsletters may be one of the most valuable tools hospitality brands can invest in, how to turn social media followers into an audience you actually own, and why finding a specific niche can be more powerful than trying to appeal to everyone. Brandon also explains why likes matter far less than shares and conversations—and how listening to those signals can help brands create content people actually want to consume.
Plus, Katie and Brandon discuss the resurgence of print and in-person experiences, the difference between an audience and a true community, and why responding to a single DM or email can be one of the most powerful ways to build long-term brand loyalty.
00:00 Welcome to Suite Success
00:37 Meet Brandon Berkson
01:13 Bellboy Beginnings
03:33 Wild Hotel Stories
05:06 From PR to Founder
07:40 Hotels Above Par Explained
10:10 ManyChat Social Funnel
11:52 Building During the Pandemic
15:02 Taking the Leap
18:23 Newsletter-First Media
20:39 Niche Media Playbook
22:06 Journalists and Storytelling
23:42 Two-Way Community
24:20 Engaging Readers Everywhere
25:12 Sudden Viral Growth
26:49 Analytics Over Opinions
27:53 Packaging Content Right
29:19 Pushing Past Cringe
31:11 Why a Print Newspaper
33:47 Building Real Community
38:44 Hotel First Impressions
40:08 Best and Worst Stays
43:17 Suite Summary
Connect with Brandon:
Brandon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-berkson-642621b3
Hotels Above Par Website: https://readhotelsabovepar.com/
Links:
Apple Podcasts - Link
Spotify - Link
Suite Success Website - Link
Connect with Katie
As artificial intelligence gets better at answering questions, analyzing data and automating work, the things it can’t replicate—bringing people together, building relationships, telling stories and making someone feel genuinely seen—could become more valuable than ever.
On this episode of Suite Success, host Katie Cline sits down with Alexi Khajavi, Group President of Hospitality and Operational Real Estate at Questex, where he oversees an international portfolio of some of hospitality’s leading media platforms and live events, including The Hospitality Show and NYU IHIF.
After a career spanning online travel, launching an airline in Central America, hospitality, real estate and events around the world, Alexi has built a career around connecting people. He shares why getting the right people in the room matters more than ever, how to make the most of industry events, what the best networkers and speakers do differently, and why the relationships built in those rooms can ultimately lead to some of the biggest opportunities in business.
The conversation also explores the forces shaping hospitality today, from changing travel behavior and the return of midscale hotels to labor, AI and the growing importance of storytelling. Alexi shares why simply delivering data is no longer enough, what hospitality can teach other industries about making people feel valued and why, in an increasingly AI-driven world, the most powerful thing hospitality has going for it might be its humanity.
00:00 Welcome to Suite Success
00:36 Meet Alexi Khajavi
01:34 Career Path to Questex
06:15 Global Citizen Mindset
10:54 Starting an Airline in Costa Rica
15:11 Learning Spanish
16:54 Favorite Places
19:01 Industry View
23:41 Conference Overview
26:38 How to Win at Events
33:49 Why NYU IHIF Matters
37:47 Industry Optimism vs Reality
39:44 Travel Is Still Essential
41:41 AI Questions Outpace Answers
43:40 Human Connection at a Premium
46:11 Labor and Politics
50:39 Surprises from the Stage
53:38 Building Stage Confidence
57:41 Proust Questionnaire
01:02:19 Last Three Questions
01:07:20 Suite Summary
Connect with Alexi:
Questex Website: https://questex.com/
Links:
Apple Podcasts - Link
Spotify - Link
Suite Success Website - Link
Connect with Katie
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