209 | 4th Anniversary!

Happy anniversary, Top Floor!

Calvin Tilokee is the founder and creative director of RevPAR Media, blending 20+ years of revenue management and marketing with a sharp creative streak. Known for illuminating hospitality brands and roasting industry quirks with his beloved hotel-meme persona, @revparblems, Calvin bridges data, strategy, and humor. On this anniversary episode, he flips the script as guest host, guiding a lively tour through pandemic pivots, podcast production, and personal pet peeves.

What You'll Learn About:

• Where Susan found the nerve to launch a business without a cash cushion or safety net.
• Calvin’s own origin story: furlough → pandemic pivot → RevPAR Media, full steam ahead.
• The birth of Top Floor: from “Going Up” to the brand you know (and why the original name got nixed).
• Why the show expanded beyond marketing, and why that makes it more fun (and nosier).
• Production secrets: heavy prep, tight edits, and Susan’s biggest guest pet peeves.
• The fan favorites everyone mentions: the sister episodes (aka laugh tracks with plot).
• What’s next: more episodes, collabs, maybe a digital magazine, and some video—selectively.
• Dream guests: Cindy Gallop and Sara Blakely (manifesting!).
• Big swings Susan wants to try: investigative series + hospitality history deep dives.
• Legacy goal: helping pros discover dream roles they didn’t know existed.
• Three Loading Dock stories for the price of one… but you’ll have to listen for that.

Our Top Three Takeaways:

1. Entrepreneurship isn’t about perfect timing or eliminating all risk.

Susan launched Hive Marketing in 2009 without savings or a safety net, betting that the chaos of the financial crisis made “failure” reputationally safe, and she’s never looked back.

2. Top Floor’s edge is curiosity + craft.

The show evolved from a marketing niche to a “curiosity cabinet” for the entire hospitality industry, staying audio-first with tight editing and meticulous preparation, and measuring success by growing influence and genuine relationships.

3. The next chapter is expansion and experimentation.

Susan’s eyeing more episodes, collaborations, a digital Top Floor magazine, selective video/live moments, and investigative or history-of-hospitality series, aiming to surface hidden career paths and inspire listeners while the industry modernizes to match guest behavior.

Calvin Tilokee on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/calvintilokee/

RevPAR Media
https://www.revparmedia.com/

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

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

Top Floor
https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/

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

Cindy Gallop's Brain-Altering HBR Article
https://hbr.org/2022/04/stop-criticizing-women-and-start-questioning-men-instead

Other Episodes You May Like:

03: Dude, Calm Down with Calvin Tilokee
https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/episode/03

53: It's Your Birthday 🎂
https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/episode/53

Playlist: Shenanigans
https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/episode/category/Shenanigans