Leora Lanz is an associate professor at Boston University's School of Hospitality Administration and a former global marketing leader who helped grow HVS from seven offices to forty worldwide. After decades in destination marketing, hotel operations, and consultancy, she turned her classroom casework into two books on developing a marketing mindset. Susan and Leora talk about critical thinking, conscious marketing, and career courage.

What You'll Learn:
• Why you need to "know enough to be dangerous" in digital marketing
• What crisis communication in hotels teaches about compassion
• Why today's marketing funnel feels more like a pinball machine
• Why hospitality and marketing are fundamentally the same
• How to shift from "you should" to "we will" with owners
• When the ROI of a hospitality degree really kicks in
• How set-jetting and streaming shows shape travel trends
• Why wellness, sustainability, and community are marketing power plays
• Why career reinvention requires courage and community

***

Our Top Three Takeaways

Marketing Is a Mindset, Not a Tactic

Marketing isn't about flashy campaigns or one-hit wonders. It's about critical thinking, strategic planning, and starting with clear goals and KPIs. Everyone in hospitality (not just the marketing team) needs to think this way to build real, lasting impact.

Shift from "You" to "We"

Great marketing happens when teams act as true partners, not outside advisors. Saying "we" instead of "you" creates a sense of shared ownership and stronger alignment with stakeholders. That mindset builds trust, buy-in, and better results.

Hospitality Is a Competitive Advantage

Hospitality is more than an industry; it's a philosophy that can differentiate any business. Purpose-driven marketing rooted in wellness, sustainability, and community creates deeper, more meaningful connections. The future depends on honoring both emerging talent and seasoned voices while keeping that purpose front and center.

Leora Lanz on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/leorahalpernlanz/

Buy the Books
http://www.tinyurl.com/MarketingMindsetseries

Cayuga Hospitality Consultants
https://cayugahospitality.com/

Hive Marketing
https://www.hive-marketing.com/

***Ad Giveaway***
Enter here! https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/win

Travis Burns is Executive Vice President of Business Development at Remington Hospitality, where he's helping scale the company's third-party management platform. A former aerospace professional turned hotelier, he walked into the Hyatt Regency Tulsa Downtown asking for any job, and built a career spanning sales, operations, and investment strategy. In this episode, he unpacks profit over prestige, luxury's lift, and gut-driven growth.

• Why GOPPAR matters more than RevPAR
• How to win the GOP war—even if you lose the STR report battle
• What your business mix really costs you (and why it matters)
• How to know when saying yes is a trap
• The intuition advantage in a world drowning in data
• Why being first isn't always best in hotel innovation
• The real driver behind luxury's post-COVID surge
• Why great luxury GMs still have to obsess over labor and cost control
• Why new capital—not institutions—may drive 2026 transactions
• The one change Travis would make to the industry overnight

***

Our Top Three Takeaways

Revenue Without Profit Is a Mirage
One of the clearest themes in this conversation is Travis's insistence that top-line performance is meaningless without margin discipline. He pushes owners and operators to look beyond RevPAR and focus on GOPPAR, emphasizing that not all revenue is created equal once costs are accounted for. The real work, he argues, is understanding *how* revenue is generated and being willing to sacrifice headline wins in favor of long-term profitability.

The K-Shaped Recovery Is Reshaping Hotel Strategy
Travis offers a grounded explanation for why luxury and upper-upscale hotels continue to outperform other segments. It's not that affluent travelers are price-insensitive; it's that post-COVID travelers are taking fewer trips and assigning more value to each one. When travel becomes part of the story rather than just a place to sleep, guests are willing to pay more, as long as luxury remains distinctive and doesn't slide into sameness.

Say Yes, but Know When and Why
On careers and leadership, Travis reframes the familiar advice to "say yes" with an important caveat: every investment of time and effort should come with an exit strategy. Early-career hustle only works when it leads somewhere, whether that's growth, learning, or the next opportunity. Without a clear payoff, ambition turns into exploitation, and knowing the difference is a critical leadership skill.

Travis Burns on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/travis-burns/

Remington Hospitality
https://www.remingtonhospitality.com/

Cayuga Hospitality Consultants
https://cayugahospitality.com/

Hive Marketing
https://www.hive-marketing.com/

***Ad Giveaway***
Enter here! https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/win

Other Episodes You May Like:

212: Hotel Meth Takedown with Debbie Feldman
https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/episode/212

181: Smoky Light Pole with Tommy Beyer
https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/episode/181

107: Trash Can Fire with Tracy Prigmore
https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/episode/107

Susan Barry is the founder of Hive Marketing and the host of Top Floor, bringing hotel sales, marketing, and ownership-side perspectives to the mic. In this solo episode, she reintroduces herself to new listeners from Hotel Online and HFTP and zooms out on a timely industry controversy to ask a much bigger question about power, history, and responsibility in hospitality. This episode is short and sweet, much like Susan.

How Susan went from English major to hotel exec to founder and podcaster

Why "hotels should stay out of politics" is a myth

How hotels shape tax, labor, and zoning policy

Why hotels are natural hubs for political activity

How history proves hotels become power centers in crises

How hotels can be tools of refuge or control

What the Minnesota ICE controversy really exposes

How brand power works in an asset-light hotel model

***

Our Top Three Takeaways

1. Hotels are never "apolitical," even when they claim to be.
The episode argues that hotels are inherently political because they operate at the intersection of real estate, labor, capital, and public visibility. From lobbying on taxes and visas to hosting political events and managing labor relations, hotels participate in politics constantly—whether or not they acknowledge it.

2. History shows hotels repeatedly become power centers during moments of crisis.
Across wars, genocides, and social movements, hotels have functioned as command centers, sanctuaries, negotiation hubs, and tools of control. Examples from World War II, the Rwandan genocide, and the U.S. Civil Rights Movement illustrate how hotel spaces and staff actions can enable resistance, protection, or oppression depending on who holds power.

3. Modern brand–owner dynamics turn "neutral" decisions into political acts.
In today's asset-light model, brands wield enormous influence through flags, loyalty systems, and distribution, while owners carry the financial risk. When a brand intervenes or withdraws, it is making an economic and political judgment that can instantly reshape a property, raising hard questions about authority, accountability, and local decision-making.

Susan Barry on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/susandbarry/

Hive Marketing
https://www.hive-marketing.com/

Cayuga Hospitality Consultants
https://cayugahospitality.com/

Female Founders in Hospitality
https://femalefoundersinhospitality.com/

Other Episodes You May Like:

99: Believers to Church
https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/episode/99

91: Pool Heat Miser
https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/episode/91

71: Public Restroom Couple
https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/episode/71

64: Roman Bird Murmuration
https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/episode/64

59: Cat Hair Pants
https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/episode/59