My litmus test for "useful AI" is simple: does this tool buy back my time, or just find new ways to spend it?
The best insights come from peers. At VRMA, Dennis (Casiola) told me I had to see what Cole Rubin and Conduit were building. This is that conversation.
We're not talking AI hype; we're talking a real-world look at 85% guest message automation with a 95% guest satisfaction score. We dive into the "hospitable AI" model (knowing when to escalate) and the "omnichannel inbox" (including live phone calls!) that makes it all possible.
If you're trying to separate AI hype from reality, this episode provides a clear picture of what's actually possible.
Conduit — https://conduit.ai
Cole on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/cole-rubin-368089159/
#operationalexcellence #AIforthefrontdesk #PMS
📋 In this episode, we discuss:
00:00 - Intro: Cole Rubin from Conduit
01:17 - The Power of Customer Referrals at VRMA
02:46 - What is Conduit? The Elevator Pitch
03:32 - The Origin Story: From Slack App to Y Combinator
05:47 - Finding the "Ideal Customer Profile" (100+ Listings)
07:16 - The Core Problem: Fragmented Guest Communication
08:43 - Building the Omnichannel Inbox (The Foundation)
10:08 - Handling Social Media, Email, SMS & Phone (VoIP)
12:47 - How the AI Maps Contacts from Different Channels
13:43 - Using Slack for the AI-to-Human Handoff
16:00 - The "Game Changer": 85% Message Automation
17:36 - Automating Pre-Booking Inquiries & Availability
18:44 - The "Triangulation" Upsell Workflow (Guest -> Cleaner -> Guest)
21:57 - The Partner Marketplace & Community (The "Salesforce" Model)
24:12 - The Tech Stack: Twilio, 11Labs, GPT, Claude & Gemini
27:25 - Why a Small, Young Team Can Out-Innovate Big Tech
29:16 - Cole's Advice: Ask AI How to Automate Your Business
31:40 - Is Automation More Important Than AI?
32:10 - The Most Important Thing to Evaluate in an AI Tool
34:18 - How to Connect with Cole & Conduit
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