How Starwood Makes Its Hotels Feel Different: Nature, Soul, and Experience

Starwood Hotels builds 1 Hotels, Treehouse, and Baccarat around one idea: products need emotion and soul, not templates. While hosting Starwood's annual conference, I talked with Raul Leal, CEO of Starwood Hotels, about differentiation through nature-led design, human experience, and AI-driven personalization that stays human. 🌿 Raul says nature-led "hardware" sets the tone the second guests walk in 🤖 He uses AI to understand preferences and deliver better moments on-property without creeping people out 🍽️ He treats F&B as brand identity, not a side business 💰 He focuses on total revenue per customer instead of RevPAR-only thinking 🎁 He frames the mission program as affiliation plus perks, not points for points' sake 👥 He uses guest and employee focus groups to keep the brands honest Thanks to Actabl for supporting this episode. Actabl gives you the power to profit. Visit Actabl.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed? Text HOTEL to 66866 for #NoVacancyNews.

Caesars launched its first non-gaming Caesars Republic in Scottsdale, and the property built the guest experience around F&B partnerships like Lisa Vanderpump's Wolf. Glenn Haussman talks with Joe Iturri, SVP of Business Development at HCW, about what that launch required and what owners expect from hands-on management right now. 🐺 Joe says Wolf changed the vibe fast and validated the F&B strategy 🎰 Joe says the non-gaming concept forced the team to create the playbook instead of following one 🍽️ Joe treats F&B as the identity engine, not an add-on 🙂 Joe hires for the smile and builds culture through leadership example and shared best practices 📞 Joe stays involved after takeover and takes the call when problems hit, including 2 a.m. issues Thanks to Actabl for supporting this episode. Actabl gives you the power to profit. Visit Actabl.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

Priyank Patel owns four Red Roof properties, and he built the portfolio over nine years after starting out as an engineer. During AAHOACON 2026, where No Vacancy was the official podcast, Glenn Haussman talks with Priyank Patel, Red Roof owner, about why he chose hotels as an investment strategy to reach long-term goals—and why he kept buying Red Roof. Why he moved from engineering into hotel ownership Why Red Roof support helped him scale from one property to four Why he uses AAHOACON for vendor access and owner-to-owner learning Why he stays involved with AAHOA as a Washington, DC area board member Thanks to Red Roof for sponsoring the studio space on the AAHOACON show floor. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed? Text HOTEL to 66866. #AAHOACON #RedRoof #HotelOwners #Hospitality #NoVacancyNews

During DUETTO PERFORM, I talked with Katie Moro, VP Data Partnerships at Amadeus, about a real problem for hoteliers right now: data everywhere, decisions nowhere. 🛫 Katie explains using airline search and booking signals to separate intent from real demand 📊 She compares booking curves across hotels, airlines, and short-term rentals and adjusts for lead-time differences 🎯 She uses age-range data to tighten channel mix and marketing decisions 🏢 She says group profitability needs more than room nights—meeting space and F&B data matter too ✅ Her first move: audit what you buy, cut what you can't act on, then work backward from the questions you still can't answer Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

Bruce Jordan gives three simple revenue ideas that don't require a renovation—just better packaging and pricing. During AAHOACON, I talked with Bruce Jordan, creator of Hotel Guest Management, about ways hotels can add income when margins feel tight. 👶 Child safety room: charge $30–$50 per night for a childproof setup 👥 Protect group revenue: upgrade the group and lower the rate instead of losing thousands protecting 10 rooms 🤝 Affiliate revenue: package local restaurants and excursions and get paid on referrals 💆 Bonus: sell massages with a retail mindset—if it costs $100, price it at $200 and market it at the desk 📺 Follow Bruce: YouTube Hotel Guest Management | LinkedIn MJF Hotels Thanks to Red Roof for sponsoring the studio space on the AAHOACON show floor. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

Red Roof Chief Development officer Matt Hostetler kicks back with Glenn, Craig and Dr. Producer Suzanne as they kick off the weekend with some drinks, stories from the road and another round of our Hotel Pet Peeves.

Food and beverage drives nearly half of annual revenue at Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort. Glenn Haussman tours Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort with Michael Cook, Director of Sales & Marketing. The property is managed by our friends at Davidson Hospitality Group! 🩴 The flip-flop entrance sets the tone and drives social content 🏖️ The boardwalk + beach location fuels energy and local demand 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 The guest mix shifts by season: couples vs families vs groups 🏢 Meetings live on the 9th floor with ocean views and a 10,000-square-foot ballroom 🔁 Meeting attendees return later for leisure stays with family Thanks to Actabl for supporting this episode. Actabl gives you the power to profit. Visit Actabl.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from hashtag#NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

Front desk upsells didn't just add revenue — they cut turnover by 40% in one operator's portfolio. In video 2 of this series, Geoffrey Toffetti, CEO of Frontline Performance Group, and Sloan Dean, former CEO of Remington, break down how hotels train front desk teams to build rapport, tailor offers, track performance, and pay incentives that actually keep people. 🧠 Train the conversation: ask a few questions at check-in, then match the offer to the guest's reason for travel 📊 Use data for daily coaching: agents see their stats, managers coach in real time, performance improves fast 🎮 Gamify the front desk: recognition + accountability + reward drives behavior 💵 Pay commissions that matter: Remington paid about 10% of upsell revenue to agents; some agents boosted pay 50% 📉 Reduce turnover: Sloan says the program drove about a 40% reduction in front desk turnover 🚀 Promote your best sellers: Geoffrey says hotels can move top front desk performers into sales and banquets Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

Hotels don't need another system; hotels need the systems they already run to talk to each other. I talk with Alex Zoghlin, CEO of Duetto, during Duetto PERFORM about profit-first revenue decisions and connected hotel data. 🧩 Disconnected systems force teams to act on partial data 💰 Profit-first decisions require coordination across departments 🔗 Better access to existing data beats adding "one more tool" 🤖 AI speeds integrations and shortens decision cycles 🎯 Dynamic pricing and build-your-own packages lift total revenue and GOP Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

Profitability keeps getting squeezed even after years of strong revenue growth, so hotels can't live on RevPAR alone. I'm at Duetto PERFORM at Margaritaville Resort, and I talk with Michael Grove, CEO of HotStats, about what his data shows right now—and what hoteliers can actually do about it. 📉 Michael says cost pressure stays the story: labor, wage inflation, loyalty costs, and credit card costs don't go away 💰 He points to the opportunity: ancillary revenue grew 5.8% globally last year while RevPAR grew about 2.5% 🧠 He pushes a total revenue per customer mindset instead of obsessing over rooms revenue alone 🍽️ He says hotels need more creativity to help guests spend money on-property in ways they actually enjoy 🤝 He also talks the HotStats + Duetto connection: insight, tools to act, and measurement in one package Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from hashtag#NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.