
Sustainable Hospitality Podcast
Attention hospitality professionals! Juggling the endless responsibilities of running a successful hotel business while trying to prioritize sustainability can feel like an impossible task. The Sustainable Hospitality Podcast is here to help you navigate this challenging landscape and make sustainability an achievable goal for your business.
Hosted by industry experts Amy Wald and Kathy Sue McGuire, ISSP-SA, this weekly podcast features engaging interviews, actionable insights, and real-world success stories from the world of sustainable hospitality. Tune in every week to discover how you can balance profitability, guest satisfaction, attract talent and achieve environmental responsibility in your hospitality business.
We will break down the myths that sustainability is time consuming and costly. You will also learn about regulations, standards and frameworks to be on the lookout for.
Sustainability has a ROI and a true business case and we are here to tell you all about it. From the right certification for your hotel to telling your story without the fear of greenwashing we will give you the insights and confidence you need!
We are your sales and marketing teams new best friend in order to ensure your organization can win those RFP's.
Need to streamline, and understand ESG reporting? We have it all covered!
From sustainable procurement to IOT, we have all the information you need to adopt the iniatives and strategies required to not get left behind in this competitive and evolving market!
Whether you're a hotel owner, manager, or hospitality professional looking to implement eco-friendly practices, reduce your carbon footprint, and attract sustainably-conscious minded guests, the Sustainable Hospitality Podcast is your go-to resource for all things green hospitality.
Join us as we explore the latest trends, best practices, and innovative strategies for creating a more sustainable and successful future for the hospitality industry.
Sustainable Hospitality Podcast
The Mindset of A Concierge | Sarah Dandashy
In this episode of the Sustainable Hospitality Podcast, we welcome Sarah Dandashy, a true hospitality trailblazer. With over 18 years of luxury hotel experience and an impressive background as an award-winning concierge, Sarah has transformed her passion for hospitality into a multimedia empire.
From her early days at the concierge desk to her current role as the founder of Ask a Concierge, a multi-platform social media brand with over 250,000 followers, Sarah shares her incredible journey of combining her love for hospitality with her expertise in film and television.
Key Takeaways:
- How she fell into hospitality and turned it into a thriving career
- The world of luxury travel, revealing the latest trends
- The growing importance of sustainability and how a concierges can play a vital role in promoting eco-friendly practices and guiding guests towards more sustainable choices, without compromising on the overall experience
- Crafting magical moments for guests to navigating the ever-evolving landscape of the hospitality industry
- Becoming a member of the prestigious Les Clefs d'Or and a winner of the esteemed "Best Young Concierge" award
Join us as we uncover the secrets behind Sarah's success and discover how the philosophy of a concierge can be applied to any role, any organization, and any aspect of life. Get ready to be captivated by the magic of hospitality and learn how to create unforgettable experiences that will leave a lasting impact on your guests and your career.
Quote: “A good concierge is only as good as their connections.”
Show Notes:
Buy Sarah’s book: Hospitality from WIthin
Visit her website: www.AskaConcierge.tv
Join to follow her journey:
https://www.instagram.com/askaconcierge/
https://www.facebook.com/AskAConcierge/
https://twitter.com/AskAConcierge/
https://www.youtube.com/c/AskAConciergeTV
#SustainableHospitality, #LuxuryTravel, #ConciergeMindset, #HospitalityIndustry, #Guest Experience, #SustainableTourism, #LesClefsdOr, #HospitalityExcellence, #CareerAdvice, #HotelTrends #SustainableLiving #GreenHospitality #TravelTips #HospitalityLeadership, #CustomerService, #LuxuryLifestyle, #TravelInspo, #HospitalityProfessionals, #SarahDandashy, #AskaConcierge, #MultimediaMogul, #SustainableChoices, #EcoConsciousTravel, #MagicalMoments, #HospitalityCommunity, #CareerGrowth, #ServiceExcellence #ResponsibleLuxury, #BleisureTravel, #SustainabilityPodcast
00:00:01.988 --> 00:00:03.329
Well, welcome back, everyone,
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to another episode of the
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Sustainable Hospitality Podcast.
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I'm Amy, your host,
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and this episode is
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sponsored by GreenLux.
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Don't forget to go to GreenLuxInc.com,
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that's G-R-E-E-N-L-U-X-E-I-N-C,
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and sign up for our
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newsletter so we can bring
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you the greatest and latest
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breaking sustainable hospitality news.
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On today's episode,
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we are thrilled to have Sarah Dandeshi.
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I said that right?
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Yes.
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Yes.
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And Sarah,
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if you have not seen her on Good
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Morning Hospitality,
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maybe you've read her book,
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Hospitality From Within.
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She has a website, askaconcierge.tv,
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that we're going to talk all about today.
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Sarah has over 18 years of
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luxury hotel experience,
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and she has worked with top
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hotels in the country, like the Peninsula,
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Four Seasons and the Fairmont,
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many, many others.
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She was a hotel concierge
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for over 15 years and is a
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part of Le Clé d'Or International,
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which she's going to tell
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you about in case you do
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not know about it.
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She also has won a special
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award from them and also
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helped foster a future
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generation of concierge
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award titled The Equivalent
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of Best Young Concierge.
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And going beyond the
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traditional concierge desk,
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she created Ask a Concierge,
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a multi-platform social
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media brand that has over
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250,000 followers.
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Today,
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we are going to discuss how she went
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from being a concierge to
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this multimedia mogul.
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We're also going to talk
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about the important role
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that a concierge plays in a hotel,
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but how that philosophy can
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truly be integrated into
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any role and any organization.
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We're also, of course,
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going to touch on
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sustainability because I
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think a concierge can play
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a tremendous impact when it
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comes to your sustainability.
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endeavors in your hotel.
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And then of course,
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she's going to bring us
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those trends that she's seeing right now.
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So you know what to look for
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in the market as both a
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traveler and a hotel owner.
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So without further ado,
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enough of me talking.
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Sarah,
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thank you so much for joining us today.
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How are you?
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I'm doing well.
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Thanks so much for having me.
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Yes.
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We know you're jet setting around.
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You've got a birthday coming up.
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You're getting ready to go
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on a Margaritaville cruise.
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Yes.
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So carving out the time we
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are so grateful for.
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So, Sarah, oh, my gosh.
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How did you carve out this
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incredible career of yours, which I love?
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I love these stories of
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people that start in
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hospitality or really any industry,
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but dig into what they
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really love and and curate
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their own career.
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their own profession, really.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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No, definitely.
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It's been an interesting journey.
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And I think a lot of people
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don't necessarily realize,
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but I've been building this
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for over 12 years now.
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So, I mean, it's not just like...
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fresh on the scene, like, oh,
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within a year.
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It's been over a decade of work,
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but it's been very, very exciting.
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It's, you know,
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Ask a Concierge and what
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sort of has developed into
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my career has been really
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the melding of two of my worlds.
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I've
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very much uh have done quite
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a bit of work in film and
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tv and then I also worked
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in hotels and hospitality
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for anybody that knows how
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the entertainment industry
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is it can sometimes be
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challenging as you're
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getting into it and
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breaking into it and I was
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basically working in hotels
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while I was also pursuing
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my endeavors in the
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entertainment industry and
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that's where this sort of
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combination of my two
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worlds happened and I ended
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up creating ask concierge
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basically started doing travel videos
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um at the time I was still
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working at a property and I
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was like well I'll just
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talk about what I do for
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work and I'll just share
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what to eat see do in la
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somebody's interested in it
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that's why they call the
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hotel right so we started
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creating these videos and it
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very quickly spiraled from
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there and just grew into so much more.
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And I've had the opportunity
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to interview other celebrity chefs,
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travel to many different destinations,
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work with so many incredible hotel brands,
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ultimately then write a book,
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now speak at different engagements.
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I cover a lot of trends on TV.
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It's been this really, really fun journey.
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And then I host two different podcasts,
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as you mentioned,
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Good Morning Hospitality
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being one of them.
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And then I'm also host for
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the podcast for Visit West Hollywood.
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So it's the tourism board in
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West Hollywood, which is where I live.
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So it's kind of a nice full
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circle moment to keep me
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grounded while I'm here and
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between my travels.
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But yeah.
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It's been a very, very fun journey.
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But I like to share that so
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that people understand that
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it is not an overnight thing,
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that it has been something
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that's been building for quite some time.
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And also so that they
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understand the in-depth
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understanding and
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background that I might
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have in creating content
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from a film background on
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top of then obviously
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knowing hospitality so well
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and intimately.
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So it really was kind of
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having sort of two careers
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at the same time that were
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running parallel.
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And then at some point-
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Let's make them intersect.
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And voila, here we have Aska Concierge.
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And I love that you pointed that out.
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I did not mean to imply that
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it's an overnight thing.
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Oh, no.
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You did not imply that at
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all by any means.
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I just think it's so great when you can,
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you know, we live in a world where you,
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if you have the expertise-
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Yeah.
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And you're engaging and
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talented and you really
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want to do something.
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You can tell you're
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incredibly passionate about it.
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You know,
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if you're thoughtful enough and
00:06:02.125 --> 00:06:04.487
passionate enough and motivated enough,
00:06:04.906 --> 00:06:07.889
you can really create whatever you want.
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So this is our inspiration.
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Yeah, no, thank you.
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And honestly,
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that's the power of social media.
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I mean, it really is like, yes,
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I know it's sometimes it could get a,
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you know, bad, but it has a bad,
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bad reputation,
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not like a reputation where it's like, oh,
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it's just this or it's, you know,
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it may be, you know, not deep enough,
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or it can be a time suck or whatever.
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Yeah,
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you have to be mindful about how you
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use it and consume it.
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But if you're creating on it,
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and you are smart about it,
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it is incredibly
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incredible what it can do for your career,
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no matter what that is.
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I mean, whether you're a chef,
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whether you're a concierge,
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whether you're a fireman, I don't know,
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whatever it is.
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No, you're exactly right.
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And just, you know,
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showing up all the time, being authentic.
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Yes.
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And I'm continuing to pursue that.
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So bravo to you.
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I love it.
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And I love I love I love a hotel.
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I love a concierge.
00:07:02.557 --> 00:07:05.497
So I can't wait to hear all those stories,
00:07:05.577 --> 00:07:06.379
except we probably can't
00:07:06.418 --> 00:07:07.059
get into all those.
00:07:07.119 --> 00:07:09.560
But I will say there's some in your book.
00:07:10.199 --> 00:07:11.341
So we're going to make sure
00:07:11.401 --> 00:07:13.845
that people hear those stories,
00:07:13.964 --> 00:07:16.668
go out and grab her book, um,
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hospitality from within,
00:07:18.170 --> 00:07:20.673
which has tons of great lessons in it.
00:07:21.033 --> 00:07:22.274
And we're going to talk about that too,
00:07:22.314 --> 00:07:24.838
but so let's go back to, you know,
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all the, you know,
00:07:28.112 --> 00:07:30.113
the being the concierge.
00:07:30.494 --> 00:07:31.694
Yeah.
00:07:31.714 --> 00:07:34.076
So how did that,
00:07:34.495 --> 00:07:35.656
I think I read in your book
00:07:35.697 --> 00:07:37.838
that you were originally working in F&B.
00:07:37.858 --> 00:07:38.617
Yeah.
00:07:39.077 --> 00:07:39.317
Right.
00:07:39.358 --> 00:07:40.338
And then you were,
00:07:40.858 --> 00:07:42.439
you just kind of like luck,
00:07:42.680 --> 00:07:43.420
not lucked out.
00:07:43.600 --> 00:07:44.980
They saw the talent in you,
00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:47.382
but they offered this position to you.
00:07:47.742 --> 00:07:49.103
And so what were those first
00:07:49.843 --> 00:07:51.204
few days on the job?
00:07:51.283 --> 00:07:51.963
What were some of those
00:07:52.564 --> 00:07:53.685
If you will tell us some
00:07:53.764 --> 00:07:56.726
crazy requests or worries.
00:07:57.067 --> 00:07:57.307
Well,
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I think so many of us that work in
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the hospitality industry
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can relate to the fact that somewhere,
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sometime at some point,
00:08:04.711 --> 00:08:05.733
somebody took a chance on
00:08:05.773 --> 00:08:07.514
you and they maybe offered
00:08:07.533 --> 00:08:08.295
you a position that was
00:08:08.314 --> 00:08:09.815
like either completely
00:08:09.855 --> 00:08:10.396
different than what you
00:08:10.435 --> 00:08:11.757
were doing or like a couple
00:08:11.776 --> 00:08:13.057
of steps above what you were doing.
00:08:13.617 --> 00:08:15.540
And shout out to those individuals,
00:08:15.740 --> 00:08:17.321
those leaders that see that
00:08:17.440 --> 00:08:18.622
in younger generation and,
00:08:19.281 --> 00:08:21.024
younger generations of, um,
00:08:21.185 --> 00:08:22.286
hospitality professionals,
00:08:22.326 --> 00:08:23.387
because that's where you
00:08:23.447 --> 00:08:24.548
create the hospitality
00:08:24.747 --> 00:08:26.050
professionals of tomorrow
00:08:26.470 --> 00:08:27.591
and being able to give that
00:08:27.651 --> 00:08:29.413
confidence to them is so huge.
00:08:29.533 --> 00:08:31.935
So, um, I just have to give a shout out to,
00:08:32.076 --> 00:08:33.017
cause it happens all the time.
00:08:33.597 --> 00:08:33.677
Uh,
00:08:33.758 --> 00:08:35.399
my story isn't necessarily unique in
00:08:35.440 --> 00:08:35.639
that.
00:08:35.659 --> 00:08:37.783
I mean, it's unique to me, but, um,
00:08:38.143 --> 00:08:38.703
but that's,
00:08:38.803 --> 00:08:39.825
we see it all the time and it's
00:08:39.945 --> 00:08:40.725
so special.
00:08:40.826 --> 00:08:42.206
So, uh, I've been,
00:08:42.267 --> 00:08:42.988
I've been working at the
00:08:43.028 --> 00:08:44.109
four seasons in Washington,
00:08:44.129 --> 00:08:45.230
DC as a hostess.
00:08:45.269 --> 00:08:47.633
I had also worked at bars, restaurants, um,
00:08:47.692 --> 00:08:48.373
as a bartender.
00:08:48.413 --> 00:08:50.235
So I definitely more of a F and B, um,
00:08:50.696 --> 00:08:51.056
background.
00:08:51.096 --> 00:08:52.397
When I moved to Los Angeles,
00:08:52.837 --> 00:08:54.379
I got a chance to interview
00:08:54.658 --> 00:08:56.321
at a five-star five diamond hotel,
00:08:56.500 --> 00:08:57.282
the Lermitage,
00:08:57.302 --> 00:09:00.284
which at the time was a raffles property.
00:09:00.304 --> 00:09:01.105
And then it became a
00:09:01.145 --> 00:09:02.086
Fairmont and then it became a
00:09:02.326 --> 00:09:04.187
viceroy, blah, blah, blah.
00:09:04.548 --> 00:09:06.109
But at the time I was like, oh,
00:09:06.168 --> 00:09:07.629
I'll just apply as a cocktail server.
00:09:07.669 --> 00:09:09.770
Now, mind you, I'm like 22 at this point,
00:09:10.630 --> 00:09:11.192
very young,
00:09:11.371 --> 00:09:14.373
very green and thinking that'll be fine.
00:09:14.452 --> 00:09:15.813
And that's when the general manager said,
00:09:15.974 --> 00:09:17.595
I think you'd make a great concierge.
00:09:18.075 --> 00:09:18.875
Now, to be fair,
00:09:18.995 --> 00:09:20.657
I actually had been fairly
00:09:20.697 --> 00:09:22.118
well-traveled as a kid,
00:09:22.158 --> 00:09:23.099
and I had also already
00:09:23.219 --> 00:09:24.059
worked at a five-star,
00:09:24.100 --> 00:09:25.701
five-diamond property, granted,
00:09:25.780 --> 00:09:27.581
as a hostess in the lobby bar.
00:09:28.003 --> 00:09:29.844
But I had an idea of the concierge,
00:09:30.924 --> 00:09:31.985
and I told him, I was like, look,
00:09:32.005 --> 00:09:32.886
I'll be honest with you.
00:09:33.366 --> 00:09:34.467
I just moved to LA.
00:09:34.488 --> 00:09:36.369
I know how to get from my
00:09:36.408 --> 00:09:38.350
house to the gas station to here,
00:09:38.370 --> 00:09:39.772
because I got to the interview.
00:09:40.753 --> 00:09:42.494
But I'm good with maps, right?
00:09:42.693 --> 00:09:43.815
And he just chuckles.
00:09:43.855 --> 00:09:45.616
He looks at me like, oh, okay,
00:09:45.677 --> 00:09:46.538
you're good with maps.
00:09:46.618 --> 00:09:48.139
That's your selling point.
00:09:49.059 --> 00:09:49.900
You know, I'm a kid.
00:09:50.061 --> 00:09:50.921
But back then,
00:09:51.062 --> 00:09:52.702
you had to give people a map
00:09:52.763 --> 00:09:53.724
and tell them where to go.
00:09:54.043 --> 00:09:54.465
Yeah.
00:09:54.504 --> 00:09:56.245
Well, it was also me trying to be like,
00:09:56.505 --> 00:09:58.227
you know, I can figure out the city.
00:09:58.248 --> 00:09:59.528
And he's like, you'll be fine.
00:10:00.070 --> 00:10:01.711
And so I pretty much started.
00:10:01.770 --> 00:10:02.532
And I had been in Los
00:10:02.591 --> 00:10:03.452
Angeles probably less than
00:10:03.472 --> 00:10:04.413
three weeks at that point.
00:10:05.354 --> 00:10:08.676
And I had to learn all the hot restaurants,
00:10:08.735 --> 00:10:10.756
had to learn where places were,
00:10:10.777 --> 00:10:12.697
even just understand, you know,
00:10:13.418 --> 00:10:15.298
what was in the immediate neighborhood.
00:10:15.359 --> 00:10:18.000
And so for that first month,
00:10:18.020 --> 00:10:19.422
because I worked at night,
00:10:19.922 --> 00:10:20.861
every night after work,
00:10:20.981 --> 00:10:21.942
I would drive up and down
00:10:21.982 --> 00:10:24.024
the streets because it wasn't as crowded.
00:10:24.224 --> 00:10:25.203
crowded and there wasn't any
00:10:25.244 --> 00:10:26.245
traffic at that time.
00:10:26.345 --> 00:10:27.345
And then I would be like, okay, great.
00:10:27.644 --> 00:10:29.046
This is where the Chanel store is.
00:10:29.105 --> 00:10:30.745
This is where Spago restaurant is.
00:10:30.806 --> 00:10:32.226
This is, you know, et cetera,
00:10:32.267 --> 00:10:34.327
to really just get the lay of the land.
00:10:34.648 --> 00:10:35.827
So that at least when I was
00:10:36.187 --> 00:10:37.208
sending somebody somewhere,
00:10:37.249 --> 00:10:38.509
I had an idea.
00:10:39.070 --> 00:10:39.950
And then, um,
00:10:40.049 --> 00:10:41.509
I had a colleague at the time
00:10:41.591 --> 00:10:42.711
who still actually works there.
00:10:42.750 --> 00:10:43.750
She's wonderful.
00:10:44.331 --> 00:10:45.152
So gracious.
00:10:45.591 --> 00:10:46.692
She said to me, you know,
00:10:46.731 --> 00:10:47.452
one day she was like, Hey,
00:10:47.533 --> 00:10:48.732
let's make a plan one night
00:10:48.773 --> 00:10:49.493
and let's just go to a
00:10:49.552 --> 00:10:50.433
bunch of restaurants,
00:10:50.974 --> 00:10:52.073
not necessarily eat at a
00:10:52.114 --> 00:10:53.615
bunch of restaurants because you're
00:10:53.774 --> 00:10:54.975
Certainly as a 22 year old,
00:10:55.015 --> 00:10:56.197
I didn't have the budget for that.
00:10:56.756 --> 00:10:57.278
But she was like,
00:10:57.658 --> 00:10:58.958
you're good with menus and
00:10:59.019 --> 00:10:59.559
understanding it.
00:10:59.580 --> 00:11:00.000
But just like,
00:11:00.019 --> 00:11:01.441
let's just go walk through
00:11:01.441 --> 00:11:03.163
10 different restaurants,
00:11:03.182 --> 00:11:03.962
like the most popular
00:11:04.003 --> 00:11:05.323
restaurants that we send people to.
00:11:05.725 --> 00:11:06.565
So at least you can get an
00:11:06.666 --> 00:11:08.486
idea for the atmosphere and the ambiance.
00:11:08.886 --> 00:11:10.187
So one night we did that and
00:11:10.207 --> 00:11:10.908
we went through a bunch of
00:11:10.928 --> 00:11:11.509
different places.
00:11:12.389 --> 00:11:13.010
And although we didn't
00:11:13.030 --> 00:11:14.010
necessarily eat there,
00:11:14.390 --> 00:11:16.533
you could get a sense and a feel for it.
00:11:16.832 --> 00:11:18.094
And it was such a wonderful
00:11:18.913 --> 00:11:20.514
way to get this introduction.
00:11:20.534 --> 00:11:23.096
And so it was a combination, obviously,
00:11:23.116 --> 00:11:24.577
of taking it on my own
00:11:24.618 --> 00:11:25.899
initiative to learn it.
00:11:26.239 --> 00:11:27.220
But then really lovely to
00:11:27.259 --> 00:11:28.480
have a mentor like that,
00:11:28.841 --> 00:11:29.701
that was like taking me
00:11:29.780 --> 00:11:31.241
under her wing to say, hey,
00:11:31.482 --> 00:11:33.244
come take a look at these places.
00:11:33.303 --> 00:11:34.124
And this might be like a...
00:11:35.304 --> 00:11:37.644
economical way of really
00:11:37.664 --> 00:11:38.966
like doing your research
00:11:39.686 --> 00:11:41.566
and yeah and it was just it
00:11:41.605 --> 00:11:44.326
was just trial by fire and
00:11:44.427 --> 00:11:45.326
anything I didn't know
00:11:45.547 --> 00:11:46.586
luckily I had great
00:11:46.647 --> 00:11:47.567
colleagues that I could
00:11:47.606 --> 00:11:49.067
text them and be like hey
00:11:49.427 --> 00:11:50.187
who do you use for this
00:11:50.388 --> 00:11:51.227
granted we had tools for
00:11:51.268 --> 00:11:52.488
that in our system but it
00:11:52.508 --> 00:11:53.368
was also nice to kind of
00:11:53.408 --> 00:11:54.469
just like bat that off of
00:11:54.509 --> 00:11:55.109
somebody and they would
00:11:55.168 --> 00:11:56.328
answer pretty quickly so
00:11:56.708 --> 00:11:58.009
you knew that you were able
00:11:58.048 --> 00:11:58.788
to give a solid
00:11:58.808 --> 00:11:59.690
recommendation when you
00:11:59.710 --> 00:12:00.570
were doing it especially
00:12:00.590 --> 00:12:01.350
when you were so green
00:12:02.090 --> 00:12:04.591
Um, but the one thing that I will say,
00:12:04.611 --> 00:12:05.932
and I think this applies to
00:12:06.033 --> 00:12:08.794
so many people in different industries.
00:12:09.754 --> 00:12:09.894
And,
00:12:10.076 --> 00:12:11.437
and I always say I had the right
00:12:11.576 --> 00:12:12.817
attitude and the attitude
00:12:12.836 --> 00:12:14.619
of a concierge is,
00:12:14.639 --> 00:12:16.340
is I'll find out for you
00:12:16.460 --> 00:12:18.721
because at the end of the day, any day,
00:12:18.801 --> 00:12:19.422
somebody could ask me
00:12:19.442 --> 00:12:20.221
something today and I'm like,
00:12:20.282 --> 00:12:20.962
I have no idea.
00:12:20.982 --> 00:12:21.003
I
00:12:21.202 --> 00:12:21.943
don't know everything.
00:12:22.224 --> 00:12:22.964
That's not the point.
00:12:23.325 --> 00:12:24.785
The point is not to know everything.
00:12:24.865 --> 00:12:27.047
The point is to know how to find it out,
00:12:27.447 --> 00:12:28.788
how to find out the answer.
00:12:28.849 --> 00:12:29.149
And so,
00:12:29.548 --> 00:12:31.410
so long as you have the attitude of like,
00:12:31.610 --> 00:12:32.150
you know, I'm not sure,
00:12:32.191 --> 00:12:33.392
but let me find out for you.
00:12:33.832 --> 00:12:35.214
That completely erases the
00:12:35.234 --> 00:12:35.994
fact that you might not
00:12:36.033 --> 00:12:36.975
know it off your fingertips,
00:12:37.235 --> 00:12:38.296
but you're willing to go
00:12:38.515 --> 00:12:40.778
and do the work for the guest,
00:12:40.977 --> 00:12:41.498
the client.
00:12:41.558 --> 00:12:42.479
And to this day,
00:12:42.499 --> 00:12:44.221
I use that with many of my clients.
00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:44.740
I was like, you know what,
00:12:44.841 --> 00:12:46.501
know, but let me find out.
00:12:46.562 --> 00:12:46.841
Great.
00:12:47.361 --> 00:12:49.844
So having that attitude in whatever you do,
00:12:49.864 --> 00:12:52.424
uh, I think just goes a real long way.
00:12:52.664 --> 00:12:55.106
And I mean, it's authentic to you and, and,
00:12:55.126 --> 00:12:55.167
um,
00:12:55.307 --> 00:12:57.868
and then it also signals to the guests
00:12:58.087 --> 00:12:59.668
that you are valuing their
00:12:59.708 --> 00:13:00.909
requests and their needs,
00:13:00.990 --> 00:13:02.471
which is ultimately number one.
00:13:03.691 --> 00:13:04.292
I love that.
00:13:04.312 --> 00:13:04.772
And you,
00:13:05.231 --> 00:13:07.212
that's a philosophy of yours that
00:13:07.232 --> 00:13:08.053
you can tell the
00:13:09.227 --> 00:13:11.730
lives in all of the work you do.
00:13:11.750 --> 00:13:14.610
For all of us that love hospitality,
00:13:14.711 --> 00:13:15.631
that's something that we
00:13:15.652 --> 00:13:18.714
can all appreciate and know that.
00:13:18.833 --> 00:13:20.294
You know someone's trying,
00:13:20.514 --> 00:13:22.336
you know that they are
00:13:22.416 --> 00:13:23.256
willing to help and
00:13:23.417 --> 00:13:24.638
everybody can appreciate
00:13:24.697 --> 00:13:25.957
maybe not knowing at that
00:13:26.019 --> 00:13:27.198
exact time that answer that
00:13:27.219 --> 00:13:27.940
you're looking for.
00:13:27.960 --> 00:13:29.681
I love all of that.
00:13:30.221 --> 00:13:31.481
So tell us all the different
00:13:31.522 --> 00:13:32.461
projects you're involved in.
00:13:32.481 --> 00:13:33.783
You're involved in so many things.
00:13:33.822 --> 00:13:36.085
We talked about your podcasts.
00:13:36.205 --> 00:13:37.765
What else are you doing these days?
00:13:38.645 --> 00:13:38.846
Yeah.
00:13:38.927 --> 00:13:40.989
So, I mean, I also have, I mean, we're,
00:13:41.028 --> 00:13:42.309
I know we're connected on LinkedIn,
00:13:42.370 --> 00:13:43.750
but I do have a heavy
00:13:43.791 --> 00:13:45.272
social media on Instagram
00:13:45.332 --> 00:13:46.734
and I work with a lot of
00:13:46.813 --> 00:13:50.998
companies doing social content for them.
00:13:52.019 --> 00:13:53.679
So do a lot of social
00:13:53.740 --> 00:13:54.921
content for different
00:13:55.081 --> 00:13:56.722
hotels and destinations and,
00:13:57.482 --> 00:13:58.783
I do a lot of spokesperson work.
00:13:58.803 --> 00:13:59.764
So I work with a lot of big
00:13:59.804 --> 00:14:00.644
brands and when they're
00:14:00.725 --> 00:14:01.666
launching something new,
00:14:02.206 --> 00:14:04.327
I might work on different, you know,
00:14:04.827 --> 00:14:06.149
press tours that they have.
00:14:06.188 --> 00:14:07.408
So satellite media tours
00:14:07.448 --> 00:14:08.570
covering whatever's
00:14:08.610 --> 00:14:09.990
happening as far as trends
00:14:10.051 --> 00:14:12.032
or their new things happening on TV.
00:14:13.232 --> 00:14:14.894
I have private concierge clients,
00:14:14.933 --> 00:14:16.075
so I still very much have
00:14:16.095 --> 00:14:17.274
my fingers in the mix of things.
00:14:17.335 --> 00:14:18.375
I obviously don't share a
00:14:18.416 --> 00:14:19.417
lot of the details of that
00:14:19.496 --> 00:14:22.217
online just due to the discretion of it,
00:14:22.317 --> 00:14:24.679
but that is very much going
00:14:24.799 --> 00:14:25.780
on in the background.
00:14:27.041 --> 00:14:28.883
And a lot of consulting projects as well.
00:14:28.942 --> 00:14:29.962
So I consult with a couple
00:14:29.982 --> 00:14:30.903
of different hospitality
00:14:30.943 --> 00:14:34.785
tech companies and have
00:14:34.846 --> 00:14:35.647
different educational
00:14:35.687 --> 00:14:37.607
pieces as well that I work
00:14:37.628 --> 00:14:38.408
with different companies on.
00:14:38.448 --> 00:14:39.690
So there's never a dull moment.
00:14:39.730 --> 00:14:40.549
And I'm sure there's
00:14:40.570 --> 00:14:41.230
something I'm working on
00:14:41.250 --> 00:14:42.091
that I didn't even mention
00:14:43.412 --> 00:14:45.894
because you didn't know it or you forgot.
00:14:45.913 --> 00:14:47.193
Yeah, probably.
00:14:47.695 --> 00:14:48.215
Exactly.
00:14:48.695 --> 00:14:50.596
No, no, not on the to-do list today.
00:14:50.657 --> 00:14:51.057
That's why.
00:14:51.076 --> 00:14:51.777
Today, right?
00:14:51.878 --> 00:14:52.538
It's coming.
00:14:52.778 --> 00:14:53.538
Absolutely.
00:14:53.958 --> 00:14:55.240
We can all appreciate that.
00:14:56.461 --> 00:14:57.740
So, you know,
00:14:58.562 --> 00:14:59.562
we talked a little bit about
00:14:59.602 --> 00:15:01.764
the philosophy of that,
00:15:01.884 --> 00:15:04.144
but you are part of a very
00:15:04.205 --> 00:15:08.148
prestigious group of an association,
00:15:08.227 --> 00:15:10.369
really, of concierge.
00:15:11.129 --> 00:15:12.691
And Le Claydor,
00:15:12.770 --> 00:15:14.892
which I admitted to you before we got on,
00:15:15.032 --> 00:15:16.432
I had to Google how to say
00:15:16.472 --> 00:15:17.634
it because I didn't want my
00:15:17.714 --> 00:15:19.754
Ohio accent slaughtering
00:15:19.794 --> 00:15:21.196
that beautiful French name.
00:15:21.556 --> 00:15:22.356
You said it perfectly.
00:15:22.376 --> 00:15:23.336
Thank you.
00:15:23.378 --> 00:15:23.798
Thank you.
00:15:24.238 --> 00:15:26.320
talk to us about that and
00:15:26.600 --> 00:15:27.802
the work you did with them
00:15:27.881 --> 00:15:29.244
and you know how maybe
00:15:29.624 --> 00:15:32.748
aspiring um or concierge
00:15:32.868 --> 00:15:34.229
that are aspiring to be a
00:15:34.269 --> 00:15:35.330
part of that how you think
00:15:35.350 --> 00:15:37.312
they could attain that so
00:15:37.432 --> 00:15:38.594
yeah so for a little bit of
00:15:38.634 --> 00:15:39.794
backstory lay clay door um
00:15:40.576 --> 00:15:42.597
in French translates to the gold keys.
00:15:42.979 --> 00:15:44.100
So if you've been in a four
00:15:44.120 --> 00:15:46.221
or five star property and
00:15:46.522 --> 00:15:47.623
you've spoken to the concierge,
00:15:47.643 --> 00:15:49.184
you might have noticed a
00:15:49.205 --> 00:15:50.225
concierge having two gold
00:15:50.306 --> 00:15:51.427
keys on their lapels.
00:15:51.947 --> 00:15:53.788
I don't wear them now here
00:15:53.928 --> 00:15:54.850
at home because you're
00:15:54.870 --> 00:15:55.630
supposed to wear them when
00:15:55.650 --> 00:15:56.611
you're at desk at
00:15:57.231 --> 00:15:59.173
At the desk at a property, so that's why.
00:15:59.192 --> 00:16:00.993
You don't necessarily see me
00:16:01.212 --> 00:16:02.494
wearing them here now,
00:16:02.553 --> 00:16:04.313
but I did wear them for quite some time.
00:16:05.134 --> 00:16:07.934
And so it's basically the
00:16:08.335 --> 00:16:10.375
highest level organization
00:16:10.416 --> 00:16:11.735
of professional concierge
00:16:12.216 --> 00:16:13.136
internationally.
00:16:13.856 --> 00:16:16.738
It started many decades ago in France.
00:16:16.878 --> 00:16:18.717
It's grown to have many
00:16:18.778 --> 00:16:20.198
members across the world.
00:16:20.259 --> 00:16:21.418
And what's so wonderful
00:16:21.458 --> 00:16:23.299
about it is that it is
00:16:23.379 --> 00:16:24.200
difficult to get in.
00:16:24.559 --> 00:16:28.461
You can't just be a concierge and get in.
00:16:28.481 --> 00:16:29.961
There's a lot of requirements.
00:16:30.261 --> 00:16:31.923
You have to connect with
00:16:32.023 --> 00:16:32.903
others that are within the
00:16:32.984 --> 00:16:34.903
organization because we
00:16:34.923 --> 00:16:35.625
always like to say a
00:16:35.684 --> 00:16:36.985
concierge is as good as
00:16:37.024 --> 00:16:37.745
their connections.
00:16:37.765 --> 00:16:40.807
And that also includes other concierge.
00:16:41.506 --> 00:16:42.528
And every day, I mean,
00:16:42.808 --> 00:16:44.169
just before we hopped on this call,
00:16:44.210 --> 00:16:45.250
I actually sent an email to
00:16:45.270 --> 00:16:46.692
some concierge in Paris
00:16:46.732 --> 00:16:47.474
right now because I have a
00:16:47.514 --> 00:16:48.394
client staying with them
00:16:48.414 --> 00:16:49.075
and they're helping me
00:16:49.535 --> 00:16:52.839
assist a guest of mine.
00:16:53.419 --> 00:16:55.282
And so it's this wonderful
00:16:55.381 --> 00:16:56.322
community experience.
00:16:56.722 --> 00:16:59.985
And, you know, very, yeah, it's so cool.
00:17:00.066 --> 00:17:03.729
So it's very much this, you know, family,
00:17:03.788 --> 00:17:05.711
this brotherhood slash
00:17:05.830 --> 00:17:07.352
sisterhood of concierge.
00:17:08.873 --> 00:17:09.614
And so when you ever,
00:17:09.894 --> 00:17:10.795
if you ever see somebody
00:17:10.815 --> 00:17:12.655
that has those keys, you know,
00:17:12.695 --> 00:17:13.396
you are dealing with a
00:17:13.436 --> 00:17:14.397
consummate professional.
00:17:14.837 --> 00:17:16.440
Now, many years ago, back in 2008,
00:17:16.440 --> 00:17:17.701
they sort of in an effort to,
00:17:20.762 --> 00:17:22.243
encourage younger generation
00:17:22.284 --> 00:17:23.744
of concierge getting their keys.
00:17:24.105 --> 00:17:24.786
They started, um,
00:17:25.006 --> 00:17:26.146
an award and at the time
00:17:26.186 --> 00:17:27.627
they've named the awards in
00:17:28.008 --> 00:17:29.828
honor of different, um,
00:17:30.048 --> 00:17:32.431
members from the past who are very, um,
00:17:32.550 --> 00:17:34.792
prominent and instrumental
00:17:35.032 --> 00:17:36.753
in the history of the organization.
00:17:36.773 --> 00:17:36.814
Um,
00:17:37.575 --> 00:17:38.775
but then they've since sort of changed
00:17:38.795 --> 00:17:39.536
the name and it's called
00:17:39.556 --> 00:17:41.797
the Lake Ladoor award or, um,
00:17:42.298 --> 00:17:43.679
and that is basically like
00:17:43.699 --> 00:17:45.319
the best young concierge award.
00:17:45.339 --> 00:17:45.440
Um,
00:17:45.779 --> 00:17:48.240
So in order to become even
00:17:48.340 --> 00:17:49.161
eligible for that,
00:17:49.441 --> 00:17:50.500
obviously you have to be a member.
00:17:50.901 --> 00:17:52.182
And then each country can
00:17:52.261 --> 00:17:54.461
put forward one person to
00:17:54.521 --> 00:17:55.542
represent that country.
00:17:55.563 --> 00:17:57.063
So it's like the concierge Olympics,
00:17:57.742 --> 00:17:59.483
so to speak, in a good way.
00:18:00.763 --> 00:18:04.345
And they have an international conference.
00:18:04.384 --> 00:18:05.164
They call it International
00:18:05.244 --> 00:18:06.465
Congress every year.
00:18:06.965 --> 00:18:08.026
And so you can't have been
00:18:08.066 --> 00:18:08.625
to one of those.
00:18:08.645 --> 00:18:09.747
You have to be under the age of 35.
00:18:11.287 --> 00:18:12.748
And the country puts you forward.
00:18:12.847 --> 00:18:14.548
And then they have basically
00:18:14.587 --> 00:18:16.828
it's a series of tests, questions,
00:18:17.449 --> 00:18:20.589
interviews between all of
00:18:20.670 --> 00:18:22.290
these young concierge
00:18:22.351 --> 00:18:23.310
leaders around the world.
00:18:23.671 --> 00:18:24.511
And then they ultimately
00:18:24.571 --> 00:18:26.531
choose a winner for the award.
00:18:26.751 --> 00:18:27.093
Of course,
00:18:27.272 --> 00:18:28.692
everyone that's part of it is a winner.
00:18:28.792 --> 00:18:30.554
But it's a really amazing
00:18:30.594 --> 00:18:31.653
process to be a part of.
00:18:32.094 --> 00:18:34.394
And then I won that in 2015,
00:18:34.394 --> 00:18:35.996
the first time the USA had ever won,
00:18:36.036 --> 00:18:36.756
by the way, because.
00:18:37.296 --> 00:18:39.038
That is amazing.
00:18:39.137 --> 00:18:40.019
It was a lot of fun.
00:18:40.078 --> 00:18:41.760
So I always like to say, go Team USA.
00:18:43.643 --> 00:18:46.026
And you actually can say that now.
00:18:46.086 --> 00:18:47.346
Yes, exactly right.
00:18:47.446 --> 00:18:48.647
Well, Team Winner.
00:18:49.048 --> 00:18:51.131
That is something to be so proud of.
00:18:51.171 --> 00:18:52.972
I'm sure you hold that with
00:18:53.053 --> 00:18:54.233
an immense amount of pride.
00:18:55.083 --> 00:18:56.144
Congratulations.
00:18:56.263 --> 00:18:56.763
Thanks.
00:18:57.003 --> 00:18:57.805
It's been exciting.
00:18:57.865 --> 00:18:58.885
And it's also been exciting
00:18:58.925 --> 00:19:00.366
to see just the growth and
00:19:00.386 --> 00:19:02.367
journey of that award, by the way,
00:19:02.548 --> 00:19:04.128
and then the people who
00:19:04.189 --> 00:19:05.569
have been nominated since
00:19:05.650 --> 00:19:06.691
and the winners since.
00:19:06.711 --> 00:19:06.911
I mean,
00:19:06.931 --> 00:19:09.093
there's such incredible talent out there.
00:19:09.192 --> 00:19:11.933
So if you are traveling, I like to say,
00:19:11.953 --> 00:19:13.556
hence the name of my brand,
00:19:13.796 --> 00:19:16.196
ask a concierge because
00:19:16.217 --> 00:19:17.458
they are your key to the city.
00:19:18.058 --> 00:19:20.579
And there really is a craft to it.
00:19:23.026 --> 00:19:25.507
I do love a beautiful hotel
00:19:25.527 --> 00:19:28.468
and I always utilize my
00:19:28.969 --> 00:19:31.609
concierge and they are such
00:19:31.710 --> 00:19:32.450
lovely people.
00:19:32.549 --> 00:19:34.830
And like you said, when you see those keys,
00:19:35.871 --> 00:19:36.432
you know,
00:19:36.531 --> 00:19:39.732
you're dealing with the echelon of,
00:19:40.893 --> 00:19:41.173
you know,
00:19:41.253 --> 00:19:42.794
professional and then of course
00:19:43.253 --> 00:19:44.214
concierge world.
00:19:44.234 --> 00:19:45.115
So yeah,
00:19:47.375 --> 00:19:50.338
Let's talk about sustainability.
00:19:50.499 --> 00:19:51.760
Okay, let's talk about it.
00:19:51.780 --> 00:19:52.862
It's been an elephant in the
00:19:52.923 --> 00:19:54.424
room a little bit, right?
00:19:54.625 --> 00:19:55.526
Sure.
00:19:55.806 --> 00:19:57.429
That's the name of this podcast.
00:19:57.969 --> 00:19:58.730
So tell me,
00:19:59.050 --> 00:20:01.875
what do you think the role of a
00:20:01.914 --> 00:20:02.836
concierge would be
00:20:04.159 --> 00:20:06.803
In a sustainability program
00:20:06.863 --> 00:20:08.265
or initiative at a hotel,
00:20:08.746 --> 00:20:10.648
what kind of impact did they have?
00:20:11.130 --> 00:20:12.951
How do you see them being hands-on?
00:20:12.971 --> 00:20:16.678
How would you have helped
00:20:16.837 --> 00:20:18.180
move sustainability along
00:20:18.220 --> 00:20:19.101
in a hotel maybe?
00:20:19.642 --> 00:20:19.781
Well,
00:20:19.821 --> 00:20:21.364
I think it's about being a part of
00:20:21.423 --> 00:20:22.164
the discussion.
00:20:22.585 --> 00:20:24.047
And so obviously, you know,
00:20:24.086 --> 00:20:26.148
if it's important to you, as it should be,
00:20:26.989 --> 00:20:27.670
being a part of the
00:20:27.710 --> 00:20:29.051
discussion with upper management,
00:20:29.092 --> 00:20:30.292
because a lot of times when
00:20:30.333 --> 00:20:31.594
it comes to sustainability,
00:20:31.993 --> 00:20:33.355
it's about putting forward
00:20:33.415 --> 00:20:35.017
the right practices and the
00:20:35.077 --> 00:20:35.518
right strategies.
00:20:35.698 --> 00:20:36.999
standards in place.
00:20:37.500 --> 00:20:39.060
And so whether it's, you know,
00:20:39.740 --> 00:20:41.343
being vocal and being part
00:20:41.363 --> 00:20:42.063
of those meetings,
00:20:42.483 --> 00:20:43.263
coming up with different
00:20:43.324 --> 00:20:45.125
ideas that it can be small
00:20:45.205 --> 00:20:46.487
shifts that the property
00:20:46.507 --> 00:20:48.769
can do that can make a big impact.
00:20:49.568 --> 00:20:50.609
So I always say like,
00:20:50.630 --> 00:20:52.332
be part of that conversation.
00:20:52.791 --> 00:20:54.212
Also understand that guests
00:20:54.252 --> 00:20:54.973
are looking for that.
00:20:55.034 --> 00:20:55.574
Now, granted,
00:20:55.614 --> 00:20:56.595
it all depends on the type of
00:20:56.615 --> 00:20:58.596
property you might be working at.
00:20:59.317 --> 00:21:00.858
Some properties are very
00:21:01.459 --> 00:21:02.440
sustainably furnished.
00:21:02.539 --> 00:21:04.382
forward focus and some,
00:21:04.602 --> 00:21:06.423
it may not be as obvious to
00:21:06.503 --> 00:21:07.546
the average traveler,
00:21:07.625 --> 00:21:08.826
but they are doing things
00:21:08.886 --> 00:21:09.607
in the background.
00:21:09.968 --> 00:21:10.548
So it just, you know,
00:21:10.568 --> 00:21:11.871
like if you're working at a one hotel,
00:21:11.931 --> 00:21:12.530
for example,
00:21:12.691 --> 00:21:14.993
it is very much a part of their ethos.
00:21:15.434 --> 00:21:16.316
And so that's gonna be very
00:21:16.355 --> 00:21:17.277
much top of mind.
00:21:18.436 --> 00:21:19.678
But anything that you can do,
00:21:19.758 --> 00:21:21.318
whether it's just making
00:21:21.739 --> 00:21:23.140
slight suggestions to...
00:21:23.480 --> 00:21:25.622
And I think it's
00:21:25.721 --> 00:21:26.362
interesting because we've
00:21:26.442 --> 00:21:27.722
sort of shifted this way in
00:21:27.762 --> 00:21:29.003
terms of even technology.
00:21:29.423 --> 00:21:29.644
You know,
00:21:29.903 --> 00:21:31.964
very much something as simple as
00:21:32.226 --> 00:21:32.965
the number of times that we
00:21:32.986 --> 00:21:33.987
would send handwritten
00:21:34.007 --> 00:21:36.407
notes up to guests or like
00:21:36.627 --> 00:21:37.769
print out their itinerary
00:21:37.788 --> 00:21:39.029
and send it to our guests.
00:21:39.089 --> 00:21:40.611
And now we can send digital copies.
00:21:40.671 --> 00:21:41.671
And that's something that
00:21:42.090 --> 00:21:43.192
seems so minor and we
00:21:43.231 --> 00:21:44.373
mightn't even like overlook.
00:21:44.712 --> 00:21:46.134
But if you think about how
00:21:46.174 --> 00:21:47.916
much you're saving on that
00:21:47.977 --> 00:21:48.958
because everybody's doing
00:21:48.998 --> 00:21:49.878
things digitally,
00:21:50.299 --> 00:21:52.321
that's a simple way of how
00:21:52.362 --> 00:21:53.443
you can make those changes
00:21:53.624 --> 00:21:55.165
just at your concierge desk.
00:21:55.205 --> 00:21:56.307
Because I know a lot of people are like,
00:21:56.688 --> 00:21:57.848
concierge, sustainability,
00:21:57.888 --> 00:21:58.710
how is that the case?
00:21:59.111 --> 00:22:01.272
But then also think about
00:22:01.333 --> 00:22:02.815
the providers that you recommend.
00:22:03.859 --> 00:22:05.300
And understand that whether
00:22:05.361 --> 00:22:07.102
it's tour companies that
00:22:07.122 --> 00:22:08.823
you're recommending to your clients,
00:22:08.923 --> 00:22:11.984
whether it's, you know, restaurants,
00:22:12.546 --> 00:22:13.826
making sure that you can
00:22:14.047 --> 00:22:16.248
kind of help almost sift
00:22:16.428 --> 00:22:18.789
through that in your destination.
00:22:18.849 --> 00:22:19.871
And then you can provide
00:22:19.911 --> 00:22:21.852
those options to your guests.
00:22:22.612 --> 00:22:23.333
And again,
00:22:23.692 --> 00:22:25.094
What I've found that travelers,
00:22:25.653 --> 00:22:26.354
and it depends.
00:22:26.394 --> 00:22:27.075
Like some travelers,
00:22:27.194 --> 00:22:28.835
they're making very active
00:22:28.934 --> 00:22:30.155
and conscious decisions about it.
00:22:30.215 --> 00:22:32.636
And others, it may not be top of mind,
00:22:33.096 --> 00:22:34.857
but you can give them the
00:22:34.897 --> 00:22:36.137
suggestion for what they're looking for,
00:22:36.178 --> 00:22:37.439
be it a tour, restaurant, whatever.
00:22:37.838 --> 00:22:40.019
And then you can add, and by the way,
00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:41.441
they are sustainably
00:22:41.740 --> 00:22:43.121
focused or they're this or
00:22:43.161 --> 00:22:43.760
whatever it is.
00:22:44.122 --> 00:22:45.102
And all of a sudden you see
00:22:45.142 --> 00:22:46.502
like a sparkle in their eye
00:22:46.522 --> 00:22:47.403
and they perk up a little
00:22:47.423 --> 00:22:48.983
bit because how wonderful.
00:22:49.064 --> 00:22:50.124
They still get to have their
00:22:50.304 --> 00:22:52.065
same great experience
00:22:52.244 --> 00:22:53.546
vacation experience,
00:22:53.705 --> 00:22:54.705
yet they feel a little bit
00:22:54.786 --> 00:22:55.606
better about it because
00:22:55.626 --> 00:22:56.946
they know somebody is doing
00:22:56.967 --> 00:22:58.768
the thoughtful work behind
00:22:58.788 --> 00:22:59.988
the scenes and it's not
00:23:00.068 --> 00:23:00.788
compromising their
00:23:00.808 --> 00:23:02.028
experience by any means.
00:23:02.128 --> 00:23:03.750
So there are a lot of ways
00:23:03.769 --> 00:23:04.911
that you can kind of curate that,
00:23:05.010 --> 00:23:07.511
but I think concierge can
00:23:07.551 --> 00:23:08.592
very much be the conduit
00:23:08.652 --> 00:23:09.913
for more sustainable
00:23:09.972 --> 00:23:11.594
decisions for travelers as
00:23:11.634 --> 00:23:12.433
well as properties.
00:23:13.974 --> 00:23:14.755
Everything you said,
00:23:14.855 --> 00:23:17.296
I totally agree with and resonate with.
00:23:17.395 --> 00:23:21.137
And I think the concierge
00:23:23.257 --> 00:23:26.019
role really is a trusted one
00:23:26.398 --> 00:23:28.900
yes I think especially that
00:23:29.339 --> 00:23:31.260
message being conveyed by a
00:23:31.320 --> 00:23:32.561
concierge is taken with
00:23:32.682 --> 00:23:36.344
even more clout um and so I
00:23:36.604 --> 00:23:37.785
think that's so important
00:23:37.884 --> 00:23:39.105
and you know you mentioned
00:23:40.046 --> 00:23:41.728
the different ways that you
00:23:41.768 --> 00:23:42.829
know hotels will deliver
00:23:42.890 --> 00:23:44.131
based on their offering so
00:23:44.251 --> 00:23:45.953
one hotel is very focused
00:23:46.034 --> 00:23:47.035
on sustainability
00:23:47.115 --> 00:23:47.776
everything is about
00:23:47.816 --> 00:23:49.238
sustainability but then you
00:23:49.278 --> 00:23:51.099
know I do talk to other uh
00:23:51.881 --> 00:23:53.262
hotels or organizations
00:23:53.303 --> 00:23:55.165
that they want it they want
00:23:55.205 --> 00:23:56.606
it to be a little less
00:23:57.188 --> 00:23:58.028
less forward.
00:23:58.068 --> 00:23:58.749
They have more of a
00:23:58.788 --> 00:24:01.070
responsible luxury offering.
00:24:01.090 --> 00:24:03.053
And I think that that is a
00:24:03.133 --> 00:24:05.055
great way to be able to
00:24:05.115 --> 00:24:07.016
enhance your concierge
00:24:07.156 --> 00:24:09.439
offering with a sustainability, you know,
00:24:09.598 --> 00:24:11.220
undertone without it being
00:24:11.400 --> 00:24:12.641
in your face and saying, Hey,
00:24:12.661 --> 00:24:14.182
do you want to buy a carbon offset or,
00:24:14.522 --> 00:24:14.843
you know,
00:24:14.863 --> 00:24:16.805
saying something that just
00:24:16.924 --> 00:24:18.425
doesn't resonate with their brand.
00:24:18.445 --> 00:24:19.386
So I do think there,
00:24:19.606 --> 00:24:20.827
there is a way to do that
00:24:21.288 --> 00:24:22.970
regardless of the type of
00:24:23.029 --> 00:24:23.891
organization that you
00:24:24.611 --> 00:24:25.791
And you can also think about
00:24:25.872 --> 00:24:27.192
something like we'll just
00:24:27.271 --> 00:24:28.913
use Delta Airlines, for example,
00:24:29.333 --> 00:24:30.393
and they are reaching so
00:24:30.413 --> 00:24:32.634
many milestones as far as carbon offset.
00:24:32.953 --> 00:24:33.654
We'll just say that.
00:24:34.035 --> 00:24:34.954
But, you know,
00:24:34.994 --> 00:24:38.135
just the nature of of
00:24:38.336 --> 00:24:41.577
airlines and flights and air travel,
00:24:41.958 --> 00:24:44.318
not necessarily super eco friendly.
00:24:44.659 --> 00:24:46.359
But the fact that and but
00:24:46.380 --> 00:24:47.460
the fact that they're doing
00:24:47.500 --> 00:24:48.500
a lot of things behind the
00:24:48.539 --> 00:24:51.781
scenes to help offset it goes goes on.
00:24:52.801 --> 00:24:54.301
goes a lot in their favor.
00:24:54.663 --> 00:24:54.942
So again,
00:24:54.962 --> 00:24:55.742
I think that that's a really
00:24:55.782 --> 00:24:56.502
interesting example,
00:24:56.563 --> 00:24:57.022
even though it's not
00:24:57.063 --> 00:24:59.963
necessarily a hotel about how, how, um,
00:25:00.124 --> 00:25:01.305
a business that is not
00:25:01.484 --> 00:25:05.365
inherently eco-friendly or sustainable,
00:25:05.385 --> 00:25:07.926
there's sustainability, um, focused,
00:25:08.426 --> 00:25:09.586
they can do it in other ways.
00:25:09.646 --> 00:25:10.186
And again,
00:25:10.247 --> 00:25:11.788
doesn't compromise the guest experience.
00:25:13.242 --> 00:25:14.183
So well said.
00:25:14.344 --> 00:25:15.424
And I think that's when you
00:25:15.505 --> 00:25:17.126
utilize things like your website,
00:25:17.727 --> 00:25:19.849
social media, your storytelling,
00:25:19.890 --> 00:25:21.631
your ESG reporting and put
00:25:21.651 --> 00:25:23.113
that on your website so
00:25:23.173 --> 00:25:24.394
people can still find it.
00:25:24.433 --> 00:25:25.496
They know what you're doing,
00:25:25.596 --> 00:25:27.196
but they don't feel as though.
00:25:27.917 --> 00:25:28.157
You know,
00:25:28.198 --> 00:25:29.798
they have to be a different
00:25:29.939 --> 00:25:31.700
person maybe when they come
00:25:31.759 --> 00:25:32.601
to your hotels.
00:25:32.621 --> 00:25:33.621
Definitely.
00:25:33.881 --> 00:25:34.981
Thank you so much for that.
00:25:35.061 --> 00:25:35.241
All right.
00:25:35.261 --> 00:25:35.422
Well,
00:25:35.442 --> 00:25:38.503
then let's let's move into some state
00:25:38.523 --> 00:25:40.085
of the market, some trends.
00:25:40.105 --> 00:25:40.184
Yeah.
00:25:40.884 --> 00:25:41.685
Some, you know,
00:25:41.965 --> 00:25:43.646
sustainable or not sustainable.
00:25:43.846 --> 00:25:45.708
What are you seeing out there?
00:25:45.867 --> 00:25:47.449
What do you think should be
00:25:47.509 --> 00:25:49.810
top of mind for hoteliers
00:25:50.090 --> 00:25:51.951
as they are looking to the
00:25:52.051 --> 00:25:54.413
future and trying to stay relevant?
00:25:54.472 --> 00:25:56.994
Because this is a crowded market.
00:25:57.654 --> 00:25:58.536
It is a crowded market.
00:25:58.776 --> 00:25:59.757
It is competitive.
00:26:00.237 --> 00:26:02.159
So what are those things you're finding?
00:26:02.818 --> 00:26:04.721
Now, well, first of all, I will say,
00:26:04.840 --> 00:26:05.922
and this certainly makes sense,
00:26:06.321 --> 00:26:08.083
it all depends on the market.
00:26:08.423 --> 00:26:10.925
Every market's going to be very different.
00:26:11.486 --> 00:26:13.407
A beach destination in
00:26:13.428 --> 00:26:14.228
Florida is going to be very
00:26:14.248 --> 00:26:15.788
different than New York City or Chicago,
00:26:15.828 --> 00:26:16.269
for example.
00:26:16.509 --> 00:26:17.490
But that being said,
00:26:18.391 --> 00:26:19.730
some big things that we are seeing,
00:26:20.030 --> 00:26:22.011
we've been talking about it for some time,
00:26:22.031 --> 00:26:23.751
but it's still very strong
00:26:23.791 --> 00:26:25.232
into this year and moving forward.
00:26:25.593 --> 00:26:27.034
The notion of leisure travel.
00:26:28.253 --> 00:26:28.554
Many,
00:26:28.614 --> 00:26:30.335
many travelers that are now traveling
00:26:30.355 --> 00:26:31.035
for business,
00:26:31.394 --> 00:26:32.375
because business travel has
00:26:32.414 --> 00:26:33.236
really come back,
00:26:33.675 --> 00:26:36.156
are absolutely adding on
00:26:36.336 --> 00:26:38.257
extra days to their stays.
00:26:39.137 --> 00:26:40.038
It's something like
00:26:40.938 --> 00:26:43.882
It's something high like 97%
00:26:43.882 --> 00:26:45.144
of business travelers,
00:26:45.463 --> 00:26:46.746
should they add on extra
00:26:46.786 --> 00:26:47.886
days to make it more of a
00:26:47.946 --> 00:26:49.588
leisure trip at the end or prior,
00:26:49.930 --> 00:26:51.511
will stay in the same
00:26:51.692 --> 00:26:52.772
property that they were
00:26:52.952 --> 00:26:53.954
already booked in.
00:26:54.315 --> 00:26:56.298
That is a huge percentage.
00:26:56.778 --> 00:26:58.439
So again, as a hotelier,
00:26:58.778 --> 00:26:59.919
what are you offering that
00:26:59.959 --> 00:27:01.098
can appeal to both business
00:27:01.118 --> 00:27:02.220
travelers but then keep
00:27:02.279 --> 00:27:05.200
them longer for more of a leisure stay?
00:27:05.800 --> 00:27:07.141
I think that that's a really big thing.
00:27:07.520 --> 00:27:08.441
Luxury travel.
00:27:09.142 --> 00:27:10.402
People are spending more and
00:27:10.442 --> 00:27:12.682
more on luxury experiences,
00:27:13.403 --> 00:27:14.742
and it's just booming.
00:27:15.303 --> 00:27:16.124
It is booming.
00:27:16.203 --> 00:27:17.544
So any time that you can
00:27:17.584 --> 00:27:20.065
have this luxury element to your industry,
00:27:20.625 --> 00:27:22.164
even if you might be saying, oh,
00:27:22.224 --> 00:27:23.986
but the economy or this or that, no.
00:27:24.286 --> 00:27:24.486
Nope,
00:27:24.645 --> 00:27:25.968
people are still spending and they
00:27:25.988 --> 00:27:26.769
are still traveling.
00:27:26.868 --> 00:27:30.011
So definitely the luxury
00:27:30.051 --> 00:27:33.015
segment is just growing at
00:27:33.214 --> 00:27:34.436
a very fast pace.
00:27:34.936 --> 00:27:36.959
Then also you have more of
00:27:36.999 --> 00:27:39.981
these like fun lifestyle properties.
00:27:40.875 --> 00:27:42.396
that's really big as well too.
00:27:42.797 --> 00:27:43.778
Lifestyle properties are
00:27:43.798 --> 00:27:44.498
sort of seen as an
00:27:44.557 --> 00:27:45.679
extension of boutique
00:27:45.699 --> 00:27:48.319
hotels and they might be under, you know,
00:27:48.339 --> 00:27:49.580
larger umbrellas,
00:27:49.601 --> 00:27:50.902
but like a Marriott or a Hilton,
00:27:50.961 --> 00:27:51.561
whatever that is,
00:27:51.981 --> 00:27:52.623
but they just have
00:27:52.663 --> 00:27:53.303
something a little bit more
00:27:53.343 --> 00:27:54.884
personality and people are
00:27:54.963 --> 00:27:57.525
really seeking that as, um,
00:27:57.744 --> 00:27:58.546
as they're traveling.
00:27:58.645 --> 00:27:59.946
So there's so many different,
00:28:00.247 --> 00:28:01.307
different options and ways
00:28:01.366 --> 00:28:02.887
to stay play and do all of,
00:28:03.087 --> 00:28:03.808
all of the things.
00:28:03.949 --> 00:28:06.470
But, um, the great thing is it's like,
00:28:06.869 --> 00:28:09.471
it travels just going is increasing, um,
00:28:10.231 --> 00:28:11.693
continuously increasing to
00:28:11.733 --> 00:28:14.136
grow and that's showing no
00:28:14.217 --> 00:28:16.039
signs of stopping anytime soon.
00:28:16.140 --> 00:28:18.343
So the pie is just getting bigger.
00:28:19.124 --> 00:28:20.065
Don't have to worry about
00:28:20.085 --> 00:28:22.146
your slice of it because there are many,
00:28:22.186 --> 00:28:23.189
many people traveling and
00:28:23.209 --> 00:28:24.611
looking for different ways to travel too.
00:28:25.909 --> 00:28:29.051
Yes, I just saw, oh gosh, who was it?
00:28:29.531 --> 00:28:30.794
I think Booking.com,
00:28:30.834 --> 00:28:32.996
they've now released a new
00:28:34.277 --> 00:28:36.779
train travel that they're promoting.
00:28:37.079 --> 00:28:39.883
And gosh, I think in the United States,
00:28:39.962 --> 00:28:41.364
we aren't as familiar with that,
00:28:41.403 --> 00:28:42.184
but what a great...
00:28:43.606 --> 00:28:44.788
opportunity to have a new
00:28:44.928 --> 00:28:46.407
segment to promote.
00:28:47.628 --> 00:28:48.750
Train travel has definitely
00:28:48.789 --> 00:28:49.589
been very popular.
00:28:49.710 --> 00:28:51.530
Obviously it's hugely
00:28:51.570 --> 00:28:52.711
popular in Europe just due
00:28:52.771 --> 00:28:54.732
to how elaborate the system is there.
00:28:55.133 --> 00:28:57.034
The train system is, um, we could,
00:28:57.673 --> 00:28:58.535
ours is just not as
00:28:58.615 --> 00:28:59.434
elaborate in the United
00:28:59.494 --> 00:29:01.155
States and the U S is so
00:29:01.195 --> 00:29:02.316
much larger that it takes
00:29:02.355 --> 00:29:04.017
that much longer to get
00:29:04.037 --> 00:29:05.298
from point A to point B. Um,
00:29:05.877 --> 00:29:08.239
But but for those that are seeking it,
00:29:08.719 --> 00:29:10.059
it can be an incredible
00:29:10.279 --> 00:29:11.319
experience and definitely a
00:29:11.359 --> 00:29:12.039
nice wonder way.
00:29:12.420 --> 00:29:13.820
Wonderful way to savor the
00:29:13.840 --> 00:29:15.060
sort of slow travel,
00:29:15.101 --> 00:29:17.221
which is also becoming pretty popular.
00:29:17.642 --> 00:29:19.202
My on my bucket list is the
00:29:19.222 --> 00:29:22.084
Belmont train from Paris to Venice.
00:29:22.163 --> 00:29:25.265
I'm like, let me get the lottery, please.
00:29:25.365 --> 00:29:26.065
Exactly.
00:29:27.566 --> 00:29:27.826
So.
00:29:29.098 --> 00:29:31.020
Let's, for the sake of time,
00:29:31.080 --> 00:29:32.241
I'm sure you have a private
00:29:32.281 --> 00:29:33.503
jet waiting for you that
00:29:33.523 --> 00:29:35.244
you need to hop onto to go.
00:29:35.265 --> 00:29:36.547
My clients, not me.
00:29:36.586 --> 00:29:38.048
Let's be very, very clear.
00:29:38.147 --> 00:29:40.190
Well, hey, whatever it is.
00:29:40.230 --> 00:29:42.313
So let's wrap up with maybe, gosh,
00:29:42.353 --> 00:29:44.275
do you have any favorite
00:29:44.535 --> 00:29:47.137
standout travel moments,
00:29:47.218 --> 00:29:48.578
concierge moments,
00:29:49.119 --> 00:29:51.082
anything you can leave us with that's
00:29:54.307 --> 00:29:56.167
I will share a fun story
00:29:56.208 --> 00:29:57.068
that I love to share.
00:29:57.108 --> 00:29:58.250
It's actually in my book too,
00:29:59.009 --> 00:30:00.290
but it just never gets old.
00:30:00.851 --> 00:30:01.771
And it's this idea,
00:30:01.791 --> 00:30:02.551
because we kind of talk
00:30:02.592 --> 00:30:04.512
about what is it about
00:30:04.634 --> 00:30:06.954
hospitality that really just inspires us?
00:30:07.654 --> 00:30:08.915
And it's the idea that we're
00:30:08.976 --> 00:30:09.957
able to create these
00:30:10.277 --> 00:30:11.657
magical memories for people.
00:30:11.738 --> 00:30:12.919
They may not remember our names,
00:30:13.618 --> 00:30:15.400
after a year or five years, whatever it is,
00:30:15.759 --> 00:30:16.941
but they'll remember how we
00:30:16.980 --> 00:30:17.740
made them feel.
00:30:17.780 --> 00:30:18.040
And these,
00:30:18.161 --> 00:30:19.362
we created these magical
00:30:19.402 --> 00:30:20.182
memories that they might be
00:30:20.662 --> 00:30:22.002
sharing these stories at
00:30:22.083 --> 00:30:23.363
dinner table conversations
00:30:23.403 --> 00:30:24.663
for decades to come.
00:30:25.183 --> 00:30:27.204
How cool to be a part of that experience.
00:30:27.704 --> 00:30:28.506
And so what,
00:30:28.625 --> 00:30:29.885
and this notion of magical
00:30:29.945 --> 00:30:33.048
moments based in Los Angeles,
00:30:33.208 --> 00:30:34.347
there is a wonderful place here.
00:30:34.387 --> 00:30:35.729
That's called the magic castle.
00:30:35.749 --> 00:30:36.729
If anybody's into magic,
00:30:36.769 --> 00:30:37.690
they probably know of it,
00:30:38.049 --> 00:30:38.789
but basically it's a
00:30:38.829 --> 00:30:40.270
private members only club
00:30:40.471 --> 00:30:41.631
of magicians and other
00:30:41.871 --> 00:30:42.751
people that are part of that.
00:30:43.372 --> 00:30:44.373
And the only way that you
00:30:44.393 --> 00:30:46.374
can get invited or get
00:30:46.574 --> 00:30:47.413
access to it is you have to
00:30:47.473 --> 00:30:48.694
be invited by somebody
00:30:48.714 --> 00:30:49.816
that's a member of it.
00:30:50.215 --> 00:30:52.176
And then they have shows all night long.
00:30:52.196 --> 00:30:52.958
You can do dinner.
00:30:52.998 --> 00:30:54.298
They've got Houdini's room,
00:30:54.458 --> 00:30:55.058
all of this stuff.
00:30:55.118 --> 00:30:56.839
And it's magic all night long.
00:30:57.140 --> 00:30:58.580
And by the way, you have, you have to wear,
00:30:58.601 --> 00:30:58.641
um,
00:30:59.320 --> 00:31:01.761
like proper black tie attire,
00:31:02.182 --> 00:31:03.022
men and women.
00:31:03.103 --> 00:31:05.845
So it's definitely a thing to go to.
00:31:05.865 --> 00:31:08.026
I had clients asking to go
00:31:08.605 --> 00:31:09.747
and I had a contact so I
00:31:09.767 --> 00:31:11.127
could get an invitation.
00:31:11.167 --> 00:31:12.268
But the tricky thing was
00:31:12.288 --> 00:31:13.169
that they wanted
00:31:13.189 --> 00:31:14.549
specifically to go when it
00:31:14.569 --> 00:31:15.450
was right around the time
00:31:15.490 --> 00:31:16.490
of Valentine's Day.
00:31:17.631 --> 00:31:18.912
And so you can just imagine
00:31:18.932 --> 00:31:19.972
that was booked up quite a
00:31:20.012 --> 00:31:20.613
bit in advance.
00:31:20.633 --> 00:31:21.634
And it was relatively short
00:31:21.693 --> 00:31:24.115
notice for such a popular holiday.
00:31:24.536 --> 00:31:25.977
So they're like, oh, goodness.
00:31:26.017 --> 00:31:26.836
And I'm like, well,
00:31:27.136 --> 00:31:28.337
we put you on the wait list.
00:31:28.377 --> 00:31:29.259
But in the meantime,
00:31:29.759 --> 00:31:30.599
what do you think about if
00:31:30.660 --> 00:31:32.401
we bring the magic castle to you?
00:31:33.141 --> 00:31:34.422
And the guest was like, what?
00:31:34.701 --> 00:31:35.423
Tell me more.
00:31:35.982 --> 00:31:36.502
And mind you,
00:31:36.542 --> 00:31:37.804
this is coming right off the
00:31:37.844 --> 00:31:38.365
top of my head.
00:31:38.404 --> 00:31:39.846
Well, I was like, well, I can...
00:31:40.746 --> 00:31:42.086
interview some magicians,
00:31:42.205 --> 00:31:43.165
present them to you and you
00:31:43.186 --> 00:31:44.626
can choose one and they can
00:31:44.666 --> 00:31:46.386
come and do a magic show in your room,
00:31:46.987 --> 00:31:47.567
in your suite.
00:31:47.906 --> 00:31:49.268
And they were like, that would be amazing.
00:31:49.367 --> 00:31:50.948
So ended up calling,
00:31:51.107 --> 00:31:52.448
interviewing all these magicians,
00:31:52.887 --> 00:31:53.769
presenting them.
00:31:53.909 --> 00:31:55.249
The guest chose one.
00:31:55.729 --> 00:31:56.628
This particular one was
00:31:56.689 --> 00:31:58.789
actually bringing a rabbit and a dove,
00:31:59.089 --> 00:31:59.670
go figure.
00:32:00.150 --> 00:32:00.970
And even though we were a
00:32:00.990 --> 00:32:01.829
pet friendly hotel,
00:32:01.849 --> 00:32:02.369
I had to have the
00:32:02.430 --> 00:32:03.810
conversation with my general manager.
00:32:03.931 --> 00:32:04.871
I know we're pet friendly,
00:32:04.911 --> 00:32:05.891
but it's not like dogs.
00:32:06.371 --> 00:32:07.771
can we let like a dove and a
00:32:08.212 --> 00:32:09.094
rabbit in the room?
00:32:09.114 --> 00:32:10.816
And the general manager just
00:32:10.836 --> 00:32:13.057
looked at me like, Oh, only you,
00:32:13.298 --> 00:32:13.858
only you.
00:32:13.939 --> 00:32:14.839
And he was like, of course.
00:32:15.400 --> 00:32:17.481
So, um, because they disappear, right?
00:32:17.721 --> 00:32:21.405
Uh, anyway, um, so ended up approving it,
00:32:21.645 --> 00:32:22.366
had it happen.
00:32:22.727 --> 00:32:23.989
And the guests were so
00:32:24.088 --> 00:32:25.931
touched and it was such a special thing.
00:32:26.810 --> 00:32:28.133
And, um, what a fun, um,
00:32:28.732 --> 00:32:30.194
idea to be a part of.
00:32:30.655 --> 00:32:30.895
I mean,
00:32:30.915 --> 00:32:32.538
this was a special anniversary for
00:32:32.557 --> 00:32:33.798
them that they'll forever
00:32:33.858 --> 00:32:34.640
talk about that.
00:32:35.300 --> 00:32:37.584
And that's what's the
00:32:37.784 --> 00:32:39.266
specialness of what we do.
00:32:39.326 --> 00:32:41.347
We create, it's magic.
00:32:41.468 --> 00:32:43.329
We are the magicians of hotels.
00:32:44.030 --> 00:32:45.632
And so if you look at it that way,
00:32:45.672 --> 00:32:46.751
it kind of ignites this
00:32:46.892 --> 00:32:48.571
spark in you to be like,
00:32:48.791 --> 00:32:49.972
how can I get creative and
00:32:50.012 --> 00:32:52.073
do the sort of unexpected?
00:32:52.894 --> 00:32:53.673
Because it's in those
00:32:53.733 --> 00:32:55.213
unexpected moments that A,
00:32:56.355 --> 00:32:58.474
the guests are totally delighted by,
00:32:58.494 --> 00:33:00.915
but then B, it also fuels you too.
00:33:01.576 --> 00:33:02.477
We all know we're really
00:33:02.537 --> 00:33:04.357
excited and that much more
00:33:04.518 --> 00:33:05.577
eager to get something done
00:33:05.637 --> 00:33:06.558
when it's unique and
00:33:06.679 --> 00:33:07.798
interesting and all of that.
00:33:07.900 --> 00:33:10.141
So finding those creative
00:33:10.181 --> 00:33:13.001
moments definitely make a mark for guests,
00:33:13.041 --> 00:33:14.123
but they also really just
00:33:14.222 --> 00:33:15.503
inspire you to keep doing
00:33:15.544 --> 00:33:16.263
what you're doing.
00:33:16.364 --> 00:33:21.166
So that power of giving it
00:33:21.207 --> 00:33:24.469
forward just only pays you back tenfold.
00:33:25.393 --> 00:33:26.673
So my story.
00:33:27.315 --> 00:33:27.674
Yeah.
00:33:27.755 --> 00:33:29.436
And, and you carry so much pride,
00:33:29.497 --> 00:33:29.978
I'm sure.
00:33:30.057 --> 00:33:31.038
And knowing that you helped
00:33:31.078 --> 00:33:32.721
create such a special moment for someone.
00:33:32.800 --> 00:33:33.381
It's fun.
00:33:33.421 --> 00:33:35.303
And there've been so many special moments,
00:33:35.363 --> 00:33:36.483
you know, I mean, it's like,
00:33:37.464 --> 00:33:38.266
and some of them might not
00:33:38.306 --> 00:33:40.208
be as glamorous as that or whatever.
00:33:40.749 --> 00:33:40.848
Um,
00:33:40.909 --> 00:33:42.069
but I love that just because of the
00:33:42.130 --> 00:33:43.471
magic element and it's that
00:33:43.531 --> 00:33:44.472
reminder that it's
00:33:44.492 --> 00:33:45.614
something that's so simple,
00:33:45.993 --> 00:33:47.496
but can make a huge difference.
00:33:48.140 --> 00:33:48.420
Okay,
00:33:48.440 --> 00:33:50.383
so I have to share one concierge
00:33:50.423 --> 00:33:52.565
story that I know will impress you.
00:33:53.105 --> 00:33:53.885
Okay, bring it.
00:33:54.027 --> 00:33:57.651
You remember, I think the fourth season,
00:33:57.711 --> 00:33:58.932
somebody has bought it now,
00:33:58.971 --> 00:34:01.595
but it was called Pedregal in Colorado.
00:34:01.654 --> 00:34:02.435
Okay, yes.
00:34:02.816 --> 00:34:04.317
And we were there years ago.
00:34:04.337 --> 00:34:04.397
Yes.
00:34:05.318 --> 00:34:06.940
seven eight years ago and we
00:34:07.000 --> 00:34:10.320
had been in um sayulita and
00:34:10.380 --> 00:34:13.081
I had bought a uh you know
00:34:13.262 --> 00:34:14.503
like the skulls the
00:34:14.523 --> 00:34:16.244
beautiful yeah like clay
00:34:16.304 --> 00:34:17.423
skulls and it was black and
00:34:17.503 --> 00:34:19.045
white and through the
00:34:19.105 --> 00:34:21.686
travel it was literally
00:34:21.746 --> 00:34:23.487
just broken into I don't
00:34:23.507 --> 00:34:26.248
know maybe 20 pieces you
00:34:26.268 --> 00:34:28.068
know big deal wasn't it
00:34:28.108 --> 00:34:29.668
wasn't that expensive but
00:34:29.750 --> 00:34:31.110
you know you just got it
00:34:31.150 --> 00:34:31.949
and like you haven't even
00:34:31.969 --> 00:34:32.751
made it home yet
00:34:33.617 --> 00:34:37.201
So we check in and somehow
00:34:37.260 --> 00:34:39.202
the concierge knew I wasn't
00:34:39.242 --> 00:34:40.182
making a big deal of it,
00:34:40.222 --> 00:34:41.023
but I think he was trying
00:34:41.043 --> 00:34:41.963
to throw away the bag.
00:34:42.003 --> 00:34:42.443
And I was like, oh,
00:34:42.583 --> 00:34:44.306
I'm not ready to part with it yet.
00:34:44.346 --> 00:34:46.407
And he said, will you just let me have it?
00:34:46.427 --> 00:34:48.007
I'm not kidding.
00:34:48.047 --> 00:34:49.989
This thing was at least in 20 pieces.
00:34:50.010 --> 00:34:51.510
And I said, yeah, okay.
00:34:51.971 --> 00:34:53.791
So I gave it to him.
00:34:54.293 --> 00:34:55.494
They delivered it back to
00:34:55.514 --> 00:34:56.634
the room the next day,
00:34:57.394 --> 00:35:00.077
completely glued together.
00:35:00.757 --> 00:35:01.378
Oh my gosh.
00:35:02.045 --> 00:35:03.885
Blew me away.
00:35:04.567 --> 00:35:05.847
And it looks fine.
00:35:05.967 --> 00:35:07.688
And it even, I mean, if you look closely,
00:35:07.708 --> 00:35:09.990
you can still see a little bit of, yeah,
00:35:10.110 --> 00:35:12.132
but it sits on a shelf in our home.
00:35:12.293 --> 00:35:13.673
And every time I look at that,
00:35:13.713 --> 00:35:15.934
I think you have got to be kidding me.
00:35:16.416 --> 00:35:18.237
You took the time to do that.
00:35:18.257 --> 00:35:19.237
It was just so incredible.
00:35:19.257 --> 00:35:21.418
So I had to share that because I love it.
00:35:21.498 --> 00:35:22.639
And I love that story.
00:35:22.699 --> 00:35:23.840
And by the way, even though you're like,
00:35:24.161 --> 00:35:25.021
if you look closely,
00:35:25.081 --> 00:35:25.922
you can see that it
00:35:26.023 --> 00:35:27.463
might've been glued together, but like
00:35:28.103 --> 00:35:28.684
I like that.
00:35:28.704 --> 00:35:30.146
Who cares with that story?
00:35:30.166 --> 00:35:32.588
Because that is the story of
00:35:32.648 --> 00:35:34.389
how they're able to piece everything.
00:35:34.449 --> 00:35:35.952
That's probably also
00:35:35.992 --> 00:35:37.773
metaphorically what the concierge does.
00:35:37.853 --> 00:35:39.474
They end up piecing together
00:35:39.534 --> 00:35:40.235
people's lives.
00:35:40.775 --> 00:35:41.317
Great point.
00:35:41.556 --> 00:35:43.018
Great point.
00:35:43.217 --> 00:35:45.701
Saving marriages one skull at a time.
00:35:45.721 --> 00:35:46.922
Yes, exactly.
00:35:47.141 --> 00:35:47.682
Exactly.
00:35:48.641 --> 00:35:51.864
Sarah, tell us how everyone can find you.
00:35:52.565 --> 00:35:53.945
Tell us where they need to
00:35:53.965 --> 00:35:55.166
tune in and what to look
00:35:55.266 --> 00:35:56.608
for in the future from you.
00:35:57.108 --> 00:35:57.489
Yeah.
00:35:57.548 --> 00:35:59.150
Well, uh, you can pretty much, well,
00:35:59.170 --> 00:36:00.030
you can go to my website,
00:36:00.050 --> 00:36:02.233
which is ask a concierge dot TV,
00:36:02.333 --> 00:36:02.994
like television.
00:36:03.313 --> 00:36:04.815
You said it right at the beginning.
00:36:04.876 --> 00:36:05.516
So thanks.
00:36:06.117 --> 00:36:07.538
Uh, and then everywhere online,
00:36:07.577 --> 00:36:09.320
my brand is ask a concierge.
00:36:09.360 --> 00:36:12.902
So Instagram, YouTube, Twitter X,
00:36:12.943 --> 00:36:13.784
whatever they call it now.
00:36:13.804 --> 00:36:13.844
Uh,
00:36:14.744 --> 00:36:15.164
TikTok,
00:36:15.224 --> 00:36:17.264
and then also on LinkedIn under my name,
00:36:17.344 --> 00:36:18.125
Sarah Dandeshi.
00:36:18.164 --> 00:36:19.646
So pretty much if it's a
00:36:19.686 --> 00:36:21.106
social media platform online,
00:36:21.186 --> 00:36:24.108
I am there and I'm answering those reply,
00:36:24.128 --> 00:36:24.947
those DMs.
00:36:25.027 --> 00:36:26.668
So you can definitely be
00:36:26.768 --> 00:36:27.688
sure to stay connected,
00:36:27.789 --> 00:36:29.568
but always a lot of fun.
00:36:29.650 --> 00:36:30.010
LinkedIn,
00:36:30.090 --> 00:36:31.550
more of the professional side of things.
00:36:31.630 --> 00:36:32.451
But if you want to see the
00:36:32.471 --> 00:36:33.590
actual travel side of things,
00:36:34.170 --> 00:36:36.132
Definitely connect on Instagram.
00:36:36.632 --> 00:36:37.552
So much going on.
00:36:39.052 --> 00:36:40.094
And try to keep everybody
00:36:40.173 --> 00:36:42.094
inspired and intrigued by
00:36:42.514 --> 00:36:43.675
experiencing all of these
00:36:43.775 --> 00:36:45.016
destinations around the world.
00:36:45.096 --> 00:36:46.516
So yeah, stay connected.
00:36:47.056 --> 00:36:47.476
Wonderful.
00:36:47.617 --> 00:36:48.538
And get your book.
00:36:49.318 --> 00:36:50.639
Oh yeah.
00:36:51.380 --> 00:36:52.802
Hospitality from within is
00:36:53.043 --> 00:36:55.025
available on Amazon.
00:36:55.065 --> 00:36:56.547
If you want it super quick.
00:36:56.588 --> 00:36:57.630
If you do want a signed copy,
00:36:57.690 --> 00:36:58.911
I do have a website up
00:36:59.311 --> 00:37:00.974
hospitality from within.com
00:37:01.335 --> 00:37:02.976
and I can do a signed copy for you.
00:37:02.996 --> 00:37:04.780
I just may ask.
00:37:05.139 --> 00:37:06.300
Just give me a little bit of time.
00:37:06.340 --> 00:37:07.280
Cause I may not be in town
00:37:07.320 --> 00:37:07.900
when you order it.
00:37:07.960 --> 00:37:09.181
So I need to get home to sign it.
00:37:09.221 --> 00:37:10.442
Cause I do sign every single
00:37:10.561 --> 00:37:12.362
one specifically for the person.
00:37:13.003 --> 00:37:13.362
But yeah,
00:37:13.382 --> 00:37:15.443
so you can find that online as well too.
00:37:15.903 --> 00:37:16.903
And, and yeah,
00:37:17.164 --> 00:37:18.704
join us in for our show on Wednesdays.
00:37:18.724 --> 00:37:21.304
Good morning hospitality on LinkedIn.
00:37:21.945 --> 00:37:22.885
Yes, we'll do.
00:37:22.925 --> 00:37:24.385
We'll put all that in the show notes.
00:37:24.766 --> 00:37:25.947
So everyone knows where to
00:37:26.067 --> 00:37:27.947
find you just in case they
00:37:28.268 --> 00:37:31.128
can't find you.
00:37:31.369 --> 00:37:32.128
Lots of places.
00:37:32.469 --> 00:37:33.710
well have a happy birthday
00:37:33.809 --> 00:37:34.670
we know you have a birthday
00:37:34.710 --> 00:37:36.333
coming up thank you for
00:37:36.373 --> 00:37:38.894
your time today and thanks
00:37:38.974 --> 00:37:40.697
everyone for tuning back in
00:37:40.936 --> 00:37:42.177
we are so thankful you're
00:37:42.217 --> 00:37:43.878
here if you would please
00:37:43.958 --> 00:37:45.161
like and subscribe and
00:37:45.201 --> 00:37:46.681
leave us a review that
00:37:46.802 --> 00:37:48.563
helps us continue to bring
00:37:48.603 --> 00:37:50.505
you these episodes and we'd
00:37:50.545 --> 00:37:51.706
love to hear from you what
00:37:51.786 --> 00:37:53.487
kind of information would
00:37:53.527 --> 00:37:54.469
you like to hear about
00:37:54.708 --> 00:37:56.911
practices guests all that
00:37:56.931 --> 00:37:58.612
good stuff connect with me on linkedin
00:37:59.253 --> 00:38:02.157
And we will see you in our next episode.
00:38:02.436 --> 00:38:04.219
Stay sustainable, everyone.
00:38:04.239 --> 00:38:05.621
See you, Sarah.
00:38:06.141 --> 00:38:06.463
Bye.