Lori Mukoyama is a Design Principal and Global Hospitality Leader at Gensler, shaping hotel experiences across cities from Chicago to Tokyo. With a background in boutique retail and large-scale hospitality design, she focuses on the tactile and emotional details that shape guests' experience of a space. Susan and Lori talk about design details, destination differences, and the future of guest experience.

What You'll Learn

• What designers actually control in a hotel, from doorknobs to pillows
• Why "15 feet and down" shapes the entire guest experience
• When hotel design should feel nothing like your own home
• How hospitality design differs across the U.S., Latin America, and Japan
• Why historic hotel renovations are booming right now
• Smart ways brands balance global standards with local culture
• How remote work is changing the layout of hotel rooms
• Why giving designers time to create a concept story matters
• How designing for a "guest muse" transforms spaces and furniture choices
• The coming shift toward multi-generational hotel room design
• Why sustainability innovation is the hospitality industry's next big challenge

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Our Top Three Takeaways

Great hotel design happens "15 feet and down."
While architecture shapes the overall building, the details closest to the guest create the emotional experience. Designers focus on the elements people physically interact with — floors, furniture, materials, lighting, and textures — because those are what guests touch, hear, and notice as they move through the space. These tactile details ultimately shape the hotel's feel.

Global hotel brands succeed when they combine standards with local culture.
Brand standards provide a framework, but the most compelling hotels interpret those standards through local context. Designers use local materials, cultural references, and regional inspiration to create spaces that feel authentic rather than generic. The goal is to keep the brand direction while ensuring each hotel reflects its city and community.

Hotel design is evolving around new ways people travel and work.
Remote work and blended travel have changed how guest rooms are designed. Desks are increasingly positioned to face the room instead of the wall, with lighting and acoustics designed to support video calls and longer stays. Hotels are also expanding into experience-driven spaces like wellness areas and social saunas, reflecting the idea that "offline" experiences are becoming a new form of luxury.

Lori Mukoyama on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lori-mukoyama-4a71a57/

Gensler
https://www.gensler.com/expertise/hospitality

Gensler's annual Design Forecast identifies the top trends shaping the future of the built environment in the age of rapid technological and environmental transformation. You can learn more and download this year's report here. [https://www.gensler.com/publications/design-forecast/2026]

Cayuga Hospitality Consultants
https://cayugahospitality.com/

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

Kurt Oleson is the Chief Operating Officer and co-owner of Custom Channels, a Denver-based company delivering fully licensed, human-curated music solutions for hotels and restaurants. A classically trained pianist turned music technologist, he helped build early music-recommendation algorithms before joining his company. Susan and Kurt talk about licensing landmines and algorithmic ethics.

What You'll Learn:
• Why playing Spotify in your restaurant could cost you $10,000 per song
• How performance and composition licenses protect artists
• How following "passion-adjacent opportunities" can shape an unexpected career
• The upside and ethical gray areas of algorithm-driven music discovery
• Why human-curated playlists still outperform AI in hospitality settings
• How tempo, energy, and traffic patterns should shape your daily music flow
• How many songs you actually need to avoid repetition
• Why commoditizing music undermines its impact on your brand

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Our Top Three Takeaways

Music isn't background noise—it's a business tool.
When aligned with traffic patterns, brand identity, and desired guest behavior, audio can increase dwell time, improve turnover, and even become a profit center.

Playing unlicensed music is a massive legal and financial risk.
One audit could mean fines of up to $10,000 per song, making proper licensing non-negotiable for hospitality operators.

Human-curated music is still a competitive advantage.
AI can assist with scheduling and context triggers, but brand-aligned, emotionally intelligent curation drives better guest experiences.

Kurt Oleson on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtoleson1/

Custom Channels
https://www.custom-channels.com/

Cayuga Hospitality Consultants
https://cayugahospitality.com/

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

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

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

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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