Top Floor

Stephen Burke has lived and worked in at least eight countries, but that doesn't mean he's in witness protection. As founder of RobosizeME, Stephen pitched his company's approach to automating the boring parts of running a hotel at HITEC's E20X -- and he won! Susan and Stephen talk about slow-moving fans, metaverse hotels, and why virtual robots are nothing to fear.

We're celebrating Top Floor's first birthday with a visit from our very first guest, Cat Meek. Susan and Cat did their very best to keep it together through this episode, but honestly, there is a LOT of laughter edited out. Thank you for supporting the show!

Dax Cross has history and law degrees but has spent the last 17 years leading a tech company. As Chief Executive Officer at Revenue Analytics, Dax has discovered how to turn end-user insights into a successful Saas company that helps its customer grow revenue. Susan and Dax talk about fried seafood, undergrad shenanigans, and orange juice algorhithms.

As Chief Commercial Officer at Crescent Hotels and Resorts, Dawn Gallagher has her dream job. By continuing to change change her criteria for success, Dawn has followed a path through reservations, revenue, and sales that parallels nicely with the industry's evolution into commercial strategy. Susan and Dawn talk about empathy through ops, avoiding external pressure, and blowing smoke rings.

Davonne Reaves went from front desk clerk to hotel owner in less than a decade, and she wants to make it easier for everyone else to do the same. Davonne's new venture, Vesterr, is a crowd-funding platform for hotels and other real estate deals. Susan and Davonne talk about grandmas, career paths, and airport lounge miracles.

As the recent winner of the E20X People's Choice Award, Beachy is making fun easier. Serial entrepreneur David Stange turned his teenaged experience as a beach boy into a multi-million dollar app that eliminates the friction of food, beverage, and recreation sales on the beach. Susan and David talk about rogue moving companies, paper chair rental charts, and drive market vacations.

As the "Real Women of Vacation Rentals," Alex Husner and Annie Holcombe host authentic conversations on their weekly podcast. Alex and Annie have made their careers in the vacation rental business and are on a mission to capture the story, idea, strategy or decision that led to their guests' big A-HA moments. Susan, Alex, and Annie talk about the Kleenex of vacation rentals, TJMaxx on the red carpet, and birthday extortion.

Kaylon Beck is hard-working and hyperactive, which is how she’s managed to hold down a day job while working on her successful side hustle. Beck & Call, Kaylon’s hospitality business, was created to fulfill her passion for Houston’s Third Ward community, where she grew up and plans to open a bed and breakfast. Susan and Kaylon talk about safety through signage, family holidays, and brushes with Beyonce.

Growing up in a 15-room inn, Rachel Vandenberg swore she would never work in the family business.  She changed her mind when, after nine years in the Netherlands, she had twins. Rachel and her husband, Mark, made peace with taking over her parents' property by making their mark on the business. Susan and Rachel talk about making tough decisions, experimenting with new things, and testing out beds for rabbits.

The best part of collecting loading dock stories at conferences like HITEC is the variety of subjects they touch on. From sex workers to shoe shines to claustrophobic elevators, this episode will make you laugh, cry, and scratch your head. If you missed it, be sure to catch episode 44 for more HITEC Loading Dock stories.