The Future of Hospitality

Sustainability lives or dies by what guests actually do.

Learn which initiatives survive daily operations and which quietly fail after a pilot.

In this episode Cesar Wurm interviews Gavin Fraser, Remco Groenhuijzen, Chrys Filimegkas, and Eric Van Lambalgen, four hotel leaders working across operations, finance, and sustainability in Amsterdam.

- Account for behavior, since keycard heating and biodegradable products fail on how guests use them

- Chase fast ROI, with opt-out room cleaning saving roughly 200,000 euros a year

- Treat certifications as a diagnostics tool rather than a sales label

- Focus upstream on scope 3 with suppliers, the largest share of the footprint

The group tests whether sustainability in operations delivers real impact or stays an illusion.

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vc64_NWG4sY
Key takeaways: https://futureofhospitality.org/episode/sustainability-in-hotel-operations-what-works-and-what-fails/
More from The Sustainable Stay: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWa-1xBFeqLw

The Sustainable Stay is powered by YouMind.

Follow The Future of Hospitality for weekly insights into hospitality, hotels, and guest experience.

Disclaimer: This podcast shares stories, experiences, and opinions from hosts and guests. They are personal perspectives only and not statements of fact or official advice from The Future of Hospitality

Revenue managers do not set the price. The guest does, and the rate is just where you move up or down.

Learn how independent hotels run occupancy, distribution, and forecasting without a brand playbook handed to them.

In this episode Tim Boersma interviews Rogier Ensel, owner of RevGen and former group revenue director at Cycas, on revenue management for unbranded properties.

- Run occupancy first and let ADR follow as the measurement up or down

- Avoid the parity trap you build yourself with Genius and resold discounts

- Start forecasting small: fill in one day, look back, and do it again

- Treat pricing as risk management, not a number you decide alone

A practical playbook for owners and revenue managers pushing margin on their own terms.

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/aSkxnRNIC8o
Key takeaways: https://futureofhospitality.org/episode/occupancy-first-adr-second-revenue-management-for-independents/
More from The Revenue Playbook: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHwS1iL3BLZA

Follow The Future of Hospitality for weekly insights into hospitality, hotels, and guest experience.

Disclaimer: This podcast shares stories, experiences, and opinions from hosts and guests. They are personal perspectives only and not statements of fact or official advice from The Future of Hospitality

Handed millions and a great location, all three pick independent.

Learn where independents still beat the chains and where AI actually belongs.

In this episode Balve Bains interviews Klaus, Frank, and Panagiotis Kalogeridis, three hotel leaders running independent and family-owned properties across Europe.

- Use speed as the independent edge, since a menu or a fix lands faster than any chain can approve

- Recognize that claiming AI is not using AI, as most owners who say they use it have not started

- Place AI in the back of house in revenue, kitchen, and engineering, not the front desk

- Watch distribution as the battlefield, where hidden costs take owners out of the driver's seat

Each leader is handed 10, 15, and 20 million euros and a location, and all three choose independent.

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/1n9IlZX2SdU
Key takeaways: https://futureofhospitality.org/episode/independents-vs-chains-in-2026-where-the-human-touch-wins/
More from Lead the Experience: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWi9yJoo_rPo

Follow The Future of Hospitality for weekly insights into hospitality, hotels, and guest experience.

Disclaimer: This podcast shares stories, experiences, and opinions from hosts and guests. They are personal perspectives only and not statements of fact or official advice from The Future of Hospitality

New graduates are fluent in AI, but fluent is not the same as competent.

Learn how to hire, onboard, and train hospitality talent for an AI-first industry.

In this episode Brian Hicks interviews Michael Goldrich and Mike Gamble on the future talent pipeline report.

- See why the confidence and competence gap shows up the day new grads start

- Apply the four T's of AI adoption: tone, tools, training, time

- Use onboarding as a recruiting weapon, not an afterthought

- Keep EQ and human skills at the center, at every level

A practical playbook for leaders building an AI-ready hospitality workforce.

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/IAkb-XuVlOU
Key takeaways: https://futureofhospitality.org/episode/closing-the-ai-gap-in-hospitalitys-talent-pipeline/
More from Next Gen Hospitality: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbrIzrW99o14

Follow The Future of Hospitality for weekly insights into hospitality, hotels, and guest experience.

Disclaimer: This podcast shares stories, experiences, and opinions from hosts and guests. They are personal perspectives only and not statements of fact or official advice from The Future of Hospitality

Guests check in carrying stress the front desk cannot undo on its own.

Learn why wellness belongs across the whole hotel and why staff wellbeing sets the ceiling.

In this episode Arjan Eikelenboom interviews Keith Dickey, Jeremy McCarthy, Simone Puorto, and Javier Suarez, a neuroacoustics co-founder, a former group wellness director, a technology consultant, and a spa consultant.

- Treat arrival as layer zero, since guests check in carrying accumulated stress

- Account for the first night being disrupted by design, so the first stay rarely delivers real rest

- Care for staff wellbeing, because a depleted team transfers that state to the guest

- Prioritize the basics of sleep, less noise, and human contact over longevity gadgets

The panel makes the case for wellness as something lived across the whole hotel, not sold inside the spa.

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/UcgWdFrh880
Key takeaways: https://futureofhospitality.org/episode/mental-wellness-in-hospitality-the-nervous-system-layer/
More from The Sustainable Stay: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWa-1xBFeqLw

The Sustainable Stay is powered by YouMind.

Follow The Future of Hospitality for weekly insights into hospitality, hotels, and guest experience.

Disclaimer: This podcast shares stories, experiences, and opinions from hosts and guests. They are personal perspectives only and not statements of fact or official advice from The Future of Hospitality

The tech experience belongs in the back of house, not the front.

Learn where restaurant innovation pays off and where it breaks the guest experience.

In this episode Gabriella Gomes Branco interviews Robin Vromans, who runs several hospitality venues and built BUNKR in Eindhoven, the first AI restaurant in the Netherlands.

- Keep tech in the back, since front-of-house automation breaks the premium experience

- Read your own numbers by combining all purchasing into one data sheet

- Connect reservations, POS, finance, and purchasing into one overlay AI can read

- Stay open to failure, because experiments that always work teach nothing

Robin separates the hype from what actually works after building an AI-driven restaurant.

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/9mCyqirrdwg
Key takeaways: https://futureofhospitality.org/episode/inside-the-netherlands-first-ai-restaurant-where-the-tech-actually-pays-off/
More from The F&B Advantage: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFpxjW-_315A

The F&B Advantage is powered by After The Table.

Follow The Future of Hospitality for weekly insights into hospitality, hotels, and guest experience.

Disclaimer: This podcast shares stories, experiences, and opinions from hosts and guests. They are personal perspectives only and not statements of fact or official advice from The Future of Hospitality

Regenerative hospitality means giving back more than you take.

Learn how commissions, ownership, and transparency shape the choices of the next generation.

In this episode Anemoon Schepel interviews Anastasia Ivanushkina and Bouke, both in their graduating year at Hotelschool Den Haag.

- See how platform commissions of up to 30 percent pull value out of local communities

- Understand how investment-firm ownership pulls hospitality away from its purpose

- Choose transparency over greenwashing for a generation that can verify claims fast

- Redefine success as paying staff well and giving back, not profit alone

Anastasia and Bouke point to community-owned and ecotourism models as the hopeful path forward.

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/29TQZ3M-QZY
Key takeaways: https://futureofhospitality.org/episode/hospitality-that-gives-back-more-than-it-takes/
More from Next Gen Hospitality: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbrIzrW99o14

Follow The Future of Hospitality for weekly insights into hospitality, hotels, and guest experience.

Disclaimer: This podcast shares stories, experiences, and opinions from hosts and guests. They are personal perspectives only and not statements of fact or official advice from The Future of Hospitality

What does it take to build hotel leaders who go on to lead hotels of their own?
Learn how people-first leadership, culture, and long-term team development create stronger operations and better guest results.

Guest: Dieter Schmitz, General Manager at Sofitel, Accor, hospitality veteran of nine openings, and a leader known for developing future GMs while driving major hotel transformations.

Key takeaways for hospitality leaders

• Build a culture where strong number twos grow into confident hotel leaders
• Use hands-on leadership to create loyalty, accountability, and better guest experience
• Invest in team culture to reduce turnover and protect long-term performance
• Lead through openings, pressure, and transformation without losing your people

Host: Cesar Wurm leads a candid conversation on mentorship, culture, career growth, and what it really means to build leaders instead of just filling roles.

Follow The Future of Hospitality for weekly insights into hospitality, hotels, leadership, and guest experience.

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/KgbKhXVoyZ0
More from Unscripted Hospitality: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcxrIHh1V3-c

Disclaimer: This podcast shares stories, experiences, and opinions from hosts and guests. They are personal perspectives only and not statements of fact or official advice from The Future of Hospitality.

Change won’t feel comfortable, but it will unlock revenue and agility for your hotel.
Learn how to build an experiment-ready culture that makes AI and personalization deliver results.
In this episode Brian Hicks interviews Dr. Florian Ilgen, keynote speaker and change strategist at Dr. Florian Ilgen. He holds a PhD in chemistry and uses neuroscience plus hands-on experiments to help organizations change.
- Increase revenue by using AI hyper-personalization to turn processes into profit
- Enable teams to run experiments so failures become fast learning
- Strengthen leadership credibility by aligning words and actions to create psychological safety
- Build flexibility and resilience so your organization adapts as AI reshapes operations
Florian previews his HSMAI Americas Commercial Strategy Conference talk on curiosity driven change and practical tools to leave the comfort zone.
Follow HSMAI Studio for weekly insights into hospitality, hotels, and guest experience.
Disclaimer: This podcast shares stories, experiences, and opinions from hosts and guests. They are personal perspectives only and not statements of fact or official advice from The Future of Hospitality

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/7f5mI8-47Fs
More from Lead the Experience: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWi9yJoo_rPo

The contact center isn't overhead.

Ask anyone who's actually run one.

Anita Travis leads global contact center operations at Outrigger Hospitality. Megan Becker has spent 14 years in reservations at Hershey Entertainment & Resorts. Both have built teams that drive revenue through every call - and both have had to fight for the contact center's seat at the commercial table. This is that conversation.

• Shift the contact center from cost center to commercial strategy
• Build agent culture that delivers on your brand promise before guests arrive
• Use call data to share insights with revenue management that actually change decisions
• Identify the pre-arrival and ancillary revenue your contact center is leaving behind
• Think about the future of voice in a world where AI is doing more of the work

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ysLks5fRFCg
More from Go Direct: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW2mBHoXHAY8

Follow The Future of Hospitality for weekly insights into hospitality, hotels, and guest experience.

Disclaimer: This podcast shares stories, experiences, and opinions from hosts and guests. They are personal perspectives only and not statements of fact or official advice from The Future of Hospitality.