Transform your team without big budgets: practical talent development that actually sticks.
Discover how frontline managers become the real multipliers of growth.
Guest: Marcel Petzold, Director of Talent Development and HR Shared Services at Marriott International, Fiji. Marcel brings operational and regional experience building human-centered L&D that reduces turnover and raises engagement.
- Turn training into measurable change by equipping managers to reinforce skills on the floor
- Create internal mobility paths that keep top talent in-house and accelerate careers
- Spot early warning signs and retain staff through short, purposeful one-on-ones
- Design development that balances practical daily coaching with scalable learning tools
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 your next growth move in hospitality.
Hear how Tarji Carter turned a nontraditional hotel career into a franchise-building engine.
Tarji Carter, founder of The Franchise Player, brings 20+ years in hospitality and franchising and created the Franchise Game conference. She shares practical, actionable guidance for managers and leaders.
- Decide if franchise ownership fits your goals and avoid costly common mistakes.
- Use relationship-led sourcing to shorten deal timelines and accelerate development.
- Build the operational and wraparound team that drives real profitability.
- Protect your mental health and budgets while scaling your 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

Handle high expectations without losing the team or the guest.
Yaron Jansen explains how to lead luxury operations so service stays exceptional under pressure.
Host Emma Wunderink speaks with Yaron Jansen, Director of Operations at De l'Europe, who brings nearly two decades of luxury hospitality experience and oversees a historic Amsterdam property recently awarded three Michelin keys. He rose through the ranks across food and beverage and senior leadership roles, shaping a solutions-first approach from the floor to the executive suite.
- Stay operationally grounded while expanding accountability and complexity so daily standards never slip.
- Manage occupancy and guest flow to protect service quality and maximize revenue.
- Build a leadership team that fills your gaps and keeps decisions practical and executable.
- Align standards with purpose to engage a multigenerational workforce and reduce pointless questioning.
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

Front desk mistakes are costing you revenue and repeat guests. Learn practical fixes in one conversation.
Emma Wunderink reveals how to train receptionists, boost upsells, and turn every lobby into a competitive advantage.
Guest: Emma Wunderink, hospitality consultant at Cohesive Consultancy, with leadership experience at Sofitel Legend de Grand Amsterdam and Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam.
- Build front desk teams that deliver consistent luxury service and increase upsell revenue.
- Train receptionists to convert local knowledge into authentic recommendations guests trust.
- Empower every department to act on small guest cues that drive retention and positive reviews.
- Use automation and AI to remove admin work so staff can focus on emotional connection.
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 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.
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

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