Brady Lowe is a connector, educator, and experience-maker who founded Taste Network and the nonprofit Piggy Bank, spending more than two decades building unforgettable collaborations between chefs, farmers, hotels, and brands. Through his Next 10 coaching and accelerator hub, Brady helps hospitality founders design smarter events, deeper guest relationships, and sustainable revenue with a focus on pairings, playbooks, and pre-visit engagement. Susan and Brady chat during this special in-person episode, recorded at The Pub at EAV.

• How to use Facebook groups, comments, and DMs to attract sports fans and turn them into faithful regulars
• Why "11 to 35 micro-interactions" often have to happen before a guest spends a dollar with you
• Ways to make your social media as personal and welcoming as your host stand or bar top
• The origin story of Taste Network and how a single wine-and-cheese pairing can shape an entire career
• How to think about guest engagement as "relationship currency" that carries your brand through tough times
• What a strong pre-visit engagement sequence looks like for restaurants, hotels, and bars
• Practical examples of surprise-and-delight moments that guests can replicate at home and rave about for months
• How to turn recipes, rituals, and house favorites into high-value digital giveaways that build your email list
• Why most hospitality social media fails (and what to ask your social media person about actual revenue)
• How to download your Instagram data and use AI to audit what's working and who your real audience is
• What to expect from the 2026 World Cup in terms of premium experiences, demand, and guest expectations
• The key non-negotiables Brady uses to design memorable F&B experiences: surprise, emotional sequencing, and human connection

***

Our Top Three Takeaways

1. Engagement before the visit is the new battleground for hospitality success.

Brady argues that guest engagement must begin long before someone walks through the door. Restaurants and hotels should treat Instagram and their websites as extensions of the front door—places where you start building relationship equity. A simple "hello," a thoughtful comment, or an acknowledgment of someone's interaction can fundamentally shift how guests perceive your brand once they arrive. Most brands post but don't connect, and that is the biggest miss today.

2. Hospitality operators need training, tools, and intentionality around social media—and most don't have it.

He's adamant that restaurants and hotels rarely train their teams to engage digitally. Social media isn't just a marketing channel; it's a hospitality channel. He encourages leaders to audit their digital presence, use tools like ChatGPT to evaluate Instagram data, create value-focused lead magnets (recipes, techniques, guides), and measure whether social efforts actually drive revenue. Without this skill set, the business model is incomplete.

3. First-time "transformational moments" are at the heart of memorable hospitality.

From his earliest career epiphany—watching a guest have a life-changing food experience—to building Taste Network and Next 10, Brady centers everything around delivering unforgettable moments. His non-negotiables: surprise, carefully sequenced emotional storytelling, and genuine human connection. These principles apply whether you're designing an event, launching a restaurant, or building community—and they're key to earning loyalty and sustaining brands through peaks and valleys.

Brady Lowe on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tastenetwork/

Taste Network
https://tastenetwork.com/

The Pub at EAV
https://www.eavpub.com/

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Michael Broadhurst is the Chief Operating Officer at StepStone Hospitality, a lifelong hotelier who sprinted from dish pit to nightclub manager to senior posts with Marriott, Starwood, Crestline, and Crescent. He opened the Westin Reston, later led the Westin Arlington Gateway, and built a reputation for turnarounds driven by culture, coaching, and cross-discipline training. Susan and Michael talk about teams, transitions, and top-line revenue.

What You'll Learn About:

• Why quick, personal, and approachable service beats fancy food every time

• How learning Rooms turbocharges a hotel career

• The Westin Arlington Gateway story—and how to revive a once-beloved flagship

• Culture first: rebuilding teams before chasing scores and stars

• When to walk away from an owner deal and the integrity lines you don't cross

• Why management-company churn is rising, and how to avoid becoming a commodity

• A step-by-step takeover playbook that calms nerves and kills rumors

• Sales x Ops, not Sales vs Ops

• The full-service future: experiential stays, destination F&B, and activated spaces

• Solving owner–brand–operator misalignment

***

Our Top Three Takeaways

1. Culture Comes First in Turnarounds

When taking over a newly transitioned or underperforming hotel, Michael's first priority is always stabilizing the team and rebuilding culture. He emphasizes transparency, reassurance, and respect, meeting with associates early to address fears about job security, benefits, and pay. His philosophy mirrors the Marriott fundamental: take care of your associates, and they'll take care of your guests.

2. Integrity and Fit Matter More Than Growth

Michael insists that StepStone walks away from deals that don't align with their values. He's clear that integrity and impact outweigh expansion, rejecting "numbers on paper" deals or partnerships without shared ethics. His approach to ownership relationships is built on honesty, ROI clarity, and long-term collaboration. He'd rather under-promise and over-deliver than chase short-term wins.

3. The Future of Full-Service Hotels Is Experiential

Looking ahead, Michael predicts that full-service hotels will survive by becoming destinations, not just places to stay. Success will depend on differentiated experiences like vibrant F&B concepts, live entertainment, wellness and fitness activation, and localized service that connects emotionally with guests. He believes traditional "three-meal" models are obsolete; the new era of full service is about lifestyle, energy, and creating a sense of place that guests (and locals) seek out.

Michael Broadhurst on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-broadhurst-13626b5/

StepStone Hospitality
https://www.stepstonehospitality.com/

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In this special episode of Top Floor, Susan talks with three founders whose products made this year's Hospitality Holiday Gift Guide. Michael Albert from Hotel Humor, Megan Grant Pederson from Cherish Tours, and Jim Higley from Puffer Hug each share the story behind their companies and why their creations make meaningful gifts for hoteliers, travelers, and hospitality pros. Tune in for cozy ideas, thoughtful experiences, and hospitality-themed treats for everyone on your list.

Michael Albert on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-a-albert/

Hotel Humor
https://hotelhumor.com

Megan Grant Pederson on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-grant94/

Cherish Tours
https://www.gocherishtours.com/

Jim Higley on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimhigley/

Puffer Hug
https://pufferhug.com/

Taylor Scott is a hospitality lifer turned leadership coach who cut his teeth at Walt Disney World, led sales at Disney Vacation Club, and earned his MBA from Cornell's Hotel School. He's the author of Lead with Hospitality and the leadership fable Give Hospitality, translating world-class service principles into practical playbooks for teams. Susan and Taylor talk about connection, culture, and coaching.

What You'll Learn About:

• Why "don't reply to everything" is terrible leadership advice.

• How sales and leadership mirror each other: build trust fast, influence behavior faster.

• The Connect–Serve–Engage–Inspire framework you can run on a busy lobby shift.

• LEAD as a service checklist: Listen, Educate, Act, Deliver.

• The mindset shift from SOP security blanket to entrepreneurial trial-and-error.

• Grad school's real ROI: "building shelves" in your brain + a global network.

• How to lead high achievers with the 3 C's: Choice, Competence, Community.

• "Guest first, team always" and "Purpose over policy" as decision filters.

• Turning fear-based flailing (hello, mushroom panic) into guest-centered choices.

• Why the next leadership frontier is re-teaching human connection in an AI world.

Our Top Three Takeaways

1. Leadership and Sales Share the Same Core: Connection and Influence

Taylor makes the case that sales is leadership, and leadership is sales. In both roles, success depends on making people trust and like you quickly, then inspiring them to take action. His "Lead with Hospitality" framework — Connect, Serve, Engage, Inspire — provides a clear path for achieving this in daily operations: connect with people on a human level, serve them first, engage with generosity and purpose, and inspire them through storytelling and authenticity.

2. The Best Leaders Create Environments for Motivation

Drawing from the self-determination theory, Taylor explains that people become self-motivated when they experience choice, competence, and community — his "three C's." High achievers, in particular, thrive when leaders give them autonomy, recognize their expertise, and foster a sense of belonging. Leadership isn't about control; it's about designing the conditions where people can thrive.

3. Purpose Over Policy: Leading with Humanity

From his experiences at Disney and Cosmopolitan, Taylor emphasizes two enduring leadership mantras: "Guest first, team always" and "Purpose over policy." Great leaders prioritize people and purpose over rigid rules, empowering teams to make guest-centered decisions. As hospitality evolves with AI and generational change, Taylor predicts the next frontier of leadership will be relearning how to connect on a human level — teaching empathy, conversation, and connection in an increasingly digital world.

Taylor Scott on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tscott1502/

Lead with Hospitality
https://leadwithhospitality.com/

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Lisa Holladay is the first Chief Experience Officer at TIGER 21, where she crafts learning, access, and connection for a global community of ultra-high-net-worth, largely first-generation entrepreneurs. Formerly the global brand leader for The Ritz-Carlton and a luxury portfolio lead at Marriott, Lisa brings a rare guest-centric lens to designing unforgettable moments online and off. Susan and Lisa talk about privacy, personalization, and peer-to-peer power.

What You'll Learn About:

• How Shakespeare and student teaching shaped Lisa's storytelling superpowers

• The pantyhose policy heard 'round the world

• Why "over-engineered" hotel rooms (hi, mystery nightlights) kill delight

• Turning virtual events from sleepy streams into sparky, small-group salons

• TIGER 21's Learn–Access–Connect framework for members who "have everything"

• Designing money-can't-buy moments (like lunch on a Costa Rican cane-sugar farm)

• Hosting without being subservient: "ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen," updated

• Measuring what matters: retention, sold-out events, and the "you can feel it" factor

• The next luxury frontier: invisible security and privacy as core experience

• Breaking the ballroom mold—escaping the sea of sameness in event design

Our Top Three Takeaways

1. Storytelling and Empathy Are the Heart of Hospitality

Lisa traces her career from Shakespearean acting to luxury marketing, showing that storytelling, performance, and understanding your audience are universal skills. Whether crafting a brand narrative or leading a guest experience, she believes the best hospitality professionals think like empathetic storytellers—anticipating needs, creating emotional resonance, and delivering "the right kind of drama."

2. Exceptional Experiences Are Built on Authenticity and Human Connection

From Ritz-Carlton to Tiger 21, Lisa emphasizes that the most meaningful luxury isn't opulence—it's authenticity, access, and connection. At Tiger 21, she and her team design "money-can't-buy" moments that surprise even ultra–high-net-worth members, like an unglamorous but deeply human visit to a family-run cane sugar farm. Whether at a five-star resort or a midmarket hotel, she believes memorable experiences come from personal touches, genuine local insight, and small gestures that foster belonging.

3. The Future of Luxury Is Privacy, Security, and Individualization

Lisa predicts that true luxury will soon be defined by safety and discretion as affluent travelers become increasingly protective of their digital and physical privacy. She calls on the industry to go beyond superficial personalization and cookie-cutter design—to innovate around invisible service, security, and emotional intelligence. Her "magic wand" wish is to see hospitality move away from sameness and toward transformative, one-of-a-kind experiences that feel both safe and singular.

Lisa Holladay on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisaholladay01/

TIGER 21
https://tiger21.com/

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Jake Zwaagstra is the CEO of TriCelta Development and a veteran builder of complex hospitality projects from the Las Vegas Strip to tribal mega-developments. He's worked both GC-side and owner-side, translating vision into budgets, drawings into buildings, and chaos into opening days. Susan and Jake talk about function over flair and momentum over mayhem.

What You'll Learn About:

• The owner's-eye view that changes everything about building

• Lessons hotel development can steal from nuclear projects

• The real difference between a project manager and a development manager

• What developers actually do day to day on hotel builds

• Smart ways to stay ahead of supply-chain chaos

• Why front-desk mockups save years of operator frustration

• The three-part formula for better design decisions

• How model rooms power everything from IT to marketing

• Why tech-forward hotels still need human touch

• How to rescue a luxury project from $1,100-per-foot wallpaper

Our Top Three Takeaways

1. Development Management Is More Than Construction

Jake distinguishes development management from project management—it's about guiding the project from concept to completion, not just managing timelines and contractors. His team's role is to translate an owner's vision into an operationally sound, financially viable, and buildable reality. They stay several steps ahead of potential roadblocks—whether that's tariffs, supply chain issues, or union disputes—to keep the project moving and protect the owner's investment.

2. Function and Long-Term Operations Trump Aesthetics

Jake's philosophy is clear: never "value engineer" something that affects the operator's ability to run the property. Early decisions—like front desk ergonomics, model room mockups, and material choices—should be made with the day-two operator in mind. He prioritizes function over form, lead time over looks, and performance over preference to ensure hotels are built to operate smoothly and sustainably long after the ribbon-cutting.

3. Communication and Accountability Are the Secret Weapons

Lessons from outside hospitality, such as his experience building a nuclear enrichment facility, reinforced Jake's belief in over-communication and structured accountability. His "Plan of the Day" approach—daily 15-minute check-ins to clarify goals and track follow-through—keeps massive projects aligned and moving. That same mindset applies to hospitality development: clear expectations, daily progress, and follow-up ensure no one loses sight of the big picture, even on complex, multi-year builds.

Jake Zwaagstra on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-zwaagstra/

TriCelta Development
https://www.triceltadevelopment.com/

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Ashley Ching is the founder and CEO of InHaven, a company standardizing vacation rentals with hotel-grade essentials and service. After 13 years at Tiffany & Co., she saw how consistent standards create unforgettable experiences and brought that rigor to short-term rentals. Susan and Ashley talk about standards, scale, and service.

What You'll Learn About:

• How a free research study can turbocharge credibility, conferences, and customers

• What Tiffany's playbook taught Ashley about pairing consistency with authenticity

• How Westin's Heavenly Bed reset guest expectations across an entire industry

• The five pillars great operators share—and the warning signs when each starts wobbling

• How grouping by shared demand drivers sharpens ops and marketing

• Why too many owners tank speed, focus, and sanity

• Why empowered on-the-ground pros outdeliver policy-bound HQs

• How hospitality hits dis-economies of scale and where the hidden labor costs lurk

• How a new vacation-rental quality framework helps guests know what they're booking

Our Top Three Takeaways

1. Consistency + Authenticity = Guest Trust

Ashley draws on her Tiffany & Co. background to show that hospitality success hinges on balancing certainty (clear, dependable standards) with authenticity (local character and uniqueness). Just as Westin's Heavenly Bed redefined consistency in hotels, In Haven is working to create a reliability framework for vacation rentals so guests know what to expect without losing the charm of individual homes.

2. The Five Pillars of Successful Hospitality Management

From her case study of Vacasa, Aimbridge, and decades of roll-ups before them, Ashley identified five pillars that predict whether management companies succeed or fail:

Curated portfolio (avoiding too many "bad apples"),

Properties grouped by similar demand drivers,

Limited number of owners,

Local-oriented operations,

Empowered hospitality professionals.
When these pillars erode—especially through over-centralization or owner overload—companies face churn, brain drain, and eventual collapse.

3. Bigger Isn't Always Better: Diseconomies of Scale in Hospitality

Contrary to the industry's obsession with scale, Ashley's research shows that large property managers often face rising costs rather than savings. Unlike manufacturing, where size brings efficiency, hospitality is labor-intensive and complexity grows with scale. More units mean more staff layers, owner demands, and overhead—leading to diseconomies of scale instead of the promised efficiencies.

Ashley Ching on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-ching-inhaven-b56a843/

InHaven
https://inhaven.com/

GET THE CASE STUDY HERE
https://inhaven.com/case-study/

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Al Lagunas is the co-founder of Levee, an AI-driven vision-and-voice platform that converts room inspections into verified data and automated workflows. A first-generation Mexican American from Chicago, Al's people-first lens was shaped by his mom's hotel housekeeping career. Susan and Al talk about pitching, personalization, and productivity.

What You'll Learn About:

• How physical and digital products sell differently

• Lessons from scaling a startup

• The people-first lens Al brings from his family's housekeeping roots

• "Time to Value" as the overlooked metric in hotel ops

• How Levee's one-button vision and voice AI verifies room setup

• Real-time feedback that gets new housekeepers to three-month performance by their fourth room

• Closing the personalization fulfillment gap

• The near-future mix of human teams plus AI agents and robotics

Our Top Three Takeaways

1. Time to Value Is More Important Than "Training Time"

Al reframed the industry's labor challenge: the real problem isn't a shortage of workers, but how quickly hotels can turn new hires into valuable contributors. Instead of focusing on a 10–20 day training period, operators should measure "time to value"—how fast a team member begins producing quality work. Using Levy's AI-assisted inspections, new housekeepers reached the performance level of 3–6 month veterans after cleaning just four rooms, which radically reduces onboarding friction.

2. Personalization Requires Operational Fulfillment, Not Just Data

Guest personalization has long been a "white whale" in hospitality, but Al emphasized that data alone isn't enough. Knowing a guest's coffee preference or pillow type doesn't matter unless the front-line team can reliably act on it. Levy addresses this by making room setup checklists dynamic and verifiable, turning guest data into consistent fulfillment. This shifts personalization from an abstract idea to a repeatable process embedded in daily operations.

3. The Workforce of the Future Will Be People + AI Agents

Al predicts that hotel back-of-house teams will evolve into a hybrid workforce of humans, AI agents, and robotics. Instead of viewing AI as a replacement, he sees it as an extension of labor—helping staff complete inspections, surface data, and automate tasks. This diversification enables leaner, more efficient teams while also opening the door for new types of roles and responsibilities as hospitality operations modernize.

Al Lagunas on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/allagunas/

Levee
https://www.levee.biz/

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