Stop leaving revenue on the table: learn when to raise prices with confidence.
Practical steps for owner-operators to replace gut feeling with data-driven pricing.
Guest: Tim Boersma, Revenue Manager, RoomPriceGenie. Tim helps independent hoteliers shift from static pricing to timed, data-led decisions across Benelux owner-operated properties.
- Capture higher night rates for events and peak demand while keeping guests satisfied.
- Reduce pricing risk by using simple metrics and day-of-week analysis to optimize ADR and occupancy.
- Free up your time and retain control by adopting measured automation that you can monitor.
- Gain incremental wins and trust so you can safely test higher rates and increase profit.
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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

Life, travel, and human connection shape us long before we put words to them.

In this episode, Cesar Wurm sits down with Sarah Dandashy for an open, unscripted conversation about the moments, cultures, and experiences that influence how we connect with others, in hospitality and in life.

From growing up between worlds to creating unforgettable guest experiences, this conversation explores presence, perspective, creativity, and the human habits behind lasting guest loyalty.

Sarah Dandashy is a luxury hospitality and travel media personality and founder of Ask a Concierge; TEDx speaker, best-selling author, TV and podcast host with roles on Good Morning Hospitality and Skift.

In this episode, you’ll hear how to:

• Turn constraints into meaningful, memorable guest moments.

• Use storytelling and owned content to build trust beyond the stay.

• Apply simple check-ins and micro-routines to lead with clarity and avoid burnout.

• Stay informed through lightweight daily habits that support better decisions.

This episode is part of Unscripted Hospitality by Cesar Wurm, part of the Future of Hospitality podcast.

Follow us for weekly conversations on hospitality, hotels, and guest experience.

Disclaimer: This podcast shares personal stories, experiences, and opinions from hosts and guests. These are individual perspectives and not official advice from The Future of Hospitality.

Luxury hospitality runs on performance, but at what human cost?
This roundtable explores how regenerative hospitality and wellbeing can reshape the future of hotel work, leadership, and culture from the inside out.

Guests: Fenna Hofmeester and Emma Müller, students at Hotelschool The Hague, Anemoon Schepel, Senior Lecturer at Hotelschool The Hague, and Cesar Wurm, SVP at ALHI, share real experiences from the front line of hospitality. Host Arjan Eikelenboom guides an open conversation on pressure, emotional labor, inequality, addiction, leadership responsibility, and what the next generation truly needs to thrive.

• Understand why emotional labor is one of the biggest hidden pressures in hospitality.

• Learn how inequality still shows up behind the scenes in global hotel operations.

• Discover why wellbeing must shift from reactive support to preventative culture.

• Explore how regenerative hospitality goes beyond sustainability and into human recovery.

• See how students and leaders together are reshaping hospitality culture for the future.

Follow The Future of Hospitality for weekly insights into hospitality, hotels, leadership, 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

TikTok is stealing attention and AI is rewriting search.
Learn practical steps to protect direct bookings and turn intent into revenue.
Guest: Serge Berezhnoy, founder of InsightArc and AI-driven guest intent expert, explains how hotels can reclaim distribution. Host Alon Shkuri guides a focused discussion on TikTok, AI agents, and real-time personalization.
- Identify guest intent in real time to deliver offers that convert more bookings.
- Use authentic local creators to drive higher-performing social traffic at lower cost.
- Leverage reviews and Google Maps signals to appear in AI-driven search and agents.
- Apply simple personalization segments to boost direct conversion without heavy tech lift.
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

Hear how to fix staffing, training, and revenue gaps in hotels in one candid conversation.
Heather Dwyer shares practical, fast actions you can apply this week.
Guest: Heather Dwyer, founder of Dwyer Consulting and Consiére, hospitality consultant and staffing specialist with deep hands-on hotel operations experience from MGM to boutique luxury. Hosted by Cesar Wurm.
- Turn staffing churn into reliable task force and full-time hires that reduce operational risk.
- Deploy targeted onboarding and coaching to boost coordinator productivity and guest satisfaction.
- Speak owners' language with ROI-focused proposals that win investment for critical roles.
- Apply entrepreneurial cash-flow and hiring lessons to scale consulting or in-property initiatives.
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

Want guests who feel at home without scripted service?
Learn how Beaumier's CEO Billy Skelli Cohen builds simple luxury that empowers staff and elevates stays.
Guest: Billy Skelli-Cohen, CEO of Beaumier, leads a collection of characterful hotels across the Alps, Provence, and the Mediterranean and explains how guest-led design and people-first culture drive measurable guest satisfaction and operational simplicity.
- Increase guest satisfaction by replacing scripts with flexible, guest-led check-in and service.
- Cut design and maintenance costs while boosting luxury perception through simple, repeatable materials.
- Improve staff morale and retention by designing first-impression onboarding and ongoing appreciation systems.
- Strengthen local storytelling and community ties to create authentic experiences that sell.
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

Stop guessing on pricing and comp sets. Learn how to turn STR data into decisions that protect GOP and growth.
Host Cesar Wurm speaks with Isaac J. Collazo, analytics leader at Smith Travel Research, who brings 25+ years across Marriott and IHG and a proven talent for making hotel data actionable.
- Create on-the-fly comp sets to validate development pro formas and test market assumptions.
- Combine STR and CoStar insights to identify nearby demand drivers and targeted prospects.
- Present owners what they care about by contextualizing RevPAR with submarket trends and GOP impact.
- Speed analysis with AI while keeping human validation to avoid misleading outputs.
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

Discover how wellness becomes the defining advantage in luxury hospitality.
Guest: Patrick Fernandes, CEO of Alchemy Wellness Resorts and Executive Managing Director at Carillon Miami Wellness Resort, joins Host Armando Cerda to unpack 25+ years of luxury leadership and the tactics that turn wellbeing into measurable guest value.
- Embed wellness as an operational philosophy to increase guest loyalty and premium rates.
- Deploy touchless wellness circuits and high-tech restorative journeys that boost guest recovery and satisfaction.
- Build culture through trust, recognition and purpose to reduce turnover and deliver authentic service.
- Apply curiosity, humility and resilience to lead teams and accelerate innovation.
Practical strategies and examples for managers and leaders who want to reframe luxury around wellbeing.
Follow 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 Fly Fairly team unpacks how Gen Z is reshaping travel with new expectations around transparency and flexible payments. From buy now, pay later to the rise of discovery-first planning, this episode explores what OTAs must change to keep up with the next generation of travelers.

Recenter hospitality around generosity and memory.
Learn how to shift from scarcity to service and lead teams that thrive.
Steve Fortunato is a leadership expert, entrepreneur, and founder of the event venues, the Harper and the Fig House, and roomforty a catering company that served the Los Angeles area for 20 years, and has now relocated to Santa Cruz to do intimate, immersive gatherings that create lifelong memories.  Known for pioneering the Host Mindset, Steve helps leaders and organizations cultivate genuine relationships that drive performance, foster belonging, and sustain long-term success. His transformative approach empowers leaders to navigate complexity with authenticity, generosity, and empathy.

- Design guest experiences that create lasting memories and drive repeat business.
- Replace scarcity-driven habits with a generous operating system that boosts staff morale and retention.
- Hire and develop coachable talent and lead with systems that protect home life and resilience.
- Launch experiential dining concepts and use tactile details to elevate perceived value.
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'

Stop treating transportation like a commodity. Learn how hospitality wins riders, loyalty, and revenue.
Patrick Goddard turned hotel service into a thriving intercity rail experience that customers love.
Guest: Patrick Goddard, CEO of Brightline Trains Florida, leads the $6B project that relaunched private intercity rail in the US, delivering 300,000 monthly riders, a 75 NPS, and 95% on-time performance.
- Design passenger journeys that feel like a hotel stay, increasing loyalty and repeat bookings.
- Convert car-centric travelers by marketing real guest benefits that reduce friction and boost adoption.
- Scale operations while protecting service: tactics to raise capacity, manage GDS distribution, and improve yield.
- Lead teams through industry change using a white-belt mindset, resilience hiring, and values alignment.
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

Turn underused property into a profitable, tech-forward hotel.
Learn how Jordi De kort scaled five hotels and opened a new resort in Curaçao using mobile key, receptionless check-in, and sustainable systems.
Guest: Jordi De kort, founder and hotel developer at Steinmetz | De Kort, operator of five hotels and the Nova Curaçao resort, shares hands-on lessons from fast-growth hotel development.
- Cut operating costs by adopting mobile key and automated check-in without losing guest convenience.
- Increase occupancy and average length of stay by designing rooms for long-stay comfort and flexibility.
- Future-proof projects by integrating software-ready infrastructure during construction to simplify operations and reporting.
- Improve financing and margins with energy measures such as A-label standards and solar installations.
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

Maximize bookings without competing on price.
Optimize your OTA shop window to attract the right guests.
Guest Khalifa Saqer, CEO of HostelHop and hospitality consultant with 13 years' experience, joins Host Gabriella Gomes Branco to share tactical growth strategies for hostels.
- Make your OTA listing the shop window: better photos and traveler-focused descriptions that raise conversions.
- Turn OTA traffic into direct bookings by packaging clear value, improving reviews and responding strategically.
- Leverage partnerships like transport integrations to expand reach, lower marketing effort and add traveler perks.
- Design spaces and experiences that foster trust and belonging to boost repeat stays and referrals.
Actionable, practical advice for managers and leaders who want more visibility, revenue and guest loyalty.
Follow 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

Can a safari lodge teach hotels how to give back more than they take?
Emma Müller shares practical, scalable steps to move hospitality from sustainable to regenerative.
Guest: Emma Müller, student at Hotel School the Hague with experience in South African luxury safari lodges, an internship in Frankfurt, and co-creator of a minor in regenerative society.
- Reframe success beyond RevPAR so your property measures social and ecological returns.
- Implement small, high-impact changes that scale into lasting community benefits.
- Use guest experiences and staff engagement to strengthen conservation and local hiring.
- Apply practical models such as water-cycling, tracker academies, and solar integration.
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

Make music work for your guests: small playlist changes that boost dwell time and revenue.
Discover how branded soundscapes shape guest perception across hotels, restaurants and retail.
Guest: Danny Bas, Sales Director at Xenox Music Media. With 13 years at Xenox and a 35-year track record supplying background music to hotels, retail and venues worldwide, he shares practical music, licensing and tech strategies for hospitality leaders.
- Increase guest dwell time and repeat visits by aligning playlists to brand, time of day and venue.
- Reduce compliance risk and simplify royalties with practical guidance on Buma, Sena and business licensing.
- Streamline operations with scheduled programming for breakfast, bars and seasonal campaigns.
- Leverage AI and retail media to personalize atmosphere while preserving the personal service clients expect.
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

Managing humanity under pressure: practical leadership that turns complaints into loyalty.
Short, low-cost tactics you can use this week to boost guest satisfaction and team morale.
Jordy Smit, General Manager at Courtyard by Marriott, brings over 16 years with Marriott, pre-opening experience at Moxie Utrecht, and hands-on leadership running hotels in Berlin through COVID. In conversation with host Arjan Eikelenboom he shares how servant leadership and empowerment drive measurable results.
- Empower your team to resolve complaints on the spot so guests leave happy and return
- Use micro-recognition and on-the-spot gestures to keep morale high during peak service
- Create team-led activations to rebuild culture, reduce turnover, and increase engagement
- Shift from command to coaching to lift guest satisfaction scores within months
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

Can Amsterdam grow tourism without sacrificing livability?
Hear how one policy shift and targeted real estate can move visitors out of the crowded center.
Guest: René van Schie, Director Accommodations and Leisure, Metropool Regio Amsterdam. Host: Arjan Eikelenboom. René moved from managing the Vondelpark youth hostel to coordinating hotel and leisure development across 30 municipalities, giving him hands-on insight into zoning, place-making and community-focused tourism.
- Avoid costly hotel projects by learning where not to build and how to align with municipal strategy
- Use high-quality regional attractions to redistribute visitors while protecting neighborhood life
- Design mixed-use hotels that preserve public space and activate communities for locals and guests
- Leverage hotel zoning for short-term housing solutions and smarter planning decisions
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

Want 10 to 30% more revenue without adding listings?
Learn the daily habit and design choices that turn operations into a growth engine.
Guest Eric Moeller, CEO of Freewyld, a founder who turned operational excellence into a growth engine and a leading voice in short-term rentals. Hosted by Gabriella Gomes Branco.
- Capture 10 to 30% more revenue by owning your pricing tool and checking market pacing daily.
- Stop reactive price slashes and implement a revenue strategy that responds to competitor bookings and demand.
- Boost direct bookings and repeat stays by designing intentional, tech free experiences that reconnect guests.
- Scale faster by hiring revenue or design experts when you are not obsessed with those functions.
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

Skip a daily clean, plant a tree, and turn guest choice into measurable sustainability impact.

Hear how one hotelier made this idea global and planted close to 700,000 trees.
Guest: Floris Licht, hotelier, entrepreneur and founder of Company: Hotels for Trees, and General Manager at DoubleTree by Hilton Amsterdam Central Station. Host: Arjan Eikelenboom.
- Save housekeeping costs while funding verified tree planting projects.
- Boost staff recruitment and team engagement with hands-on planting days.
- Offer guests an easy carbon-aware option that integrates with PMS and digital check-in.
- Convert group and corporate bookings into tangible CSR outcomes and marketing stories.
Practical tactics for quick implementation and measurable guest-facing impact.
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

Stop losing bookings to complexity and outdated systems.
Make technology work for guests, staff, and your bottom line.
Susanne Frankenhauser, hospitality sales and distribution consultant at TH-Experts, draws on hotel apprenticeship roots and hands-on experience with reception, sales, PMS, channel managers and website integrations to help independent properties modernize.
- Fix revenue leaks by identifying unused PMS features and cleaning booking data
- Boost direct bookings with focused content and consistent portal pricing in 4 to 8 weeks
- Select right-sized technology and roll it out step-by-step to protect brand and budget
- Blend smart automation with human service to raise guest satisfaction and repeat business
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