250 | HITEC San Antonio Part 1

Speaker A: This is Top Floor with Susan Berry, episode 250. Uh, you can find the show notes@top floorpodcast.com episode 250.

Speaker B: Welcome to Top Floor with Susan Berry. This weekly podcast, ride up to the Top Floor, features tangible tips and excellent stories from the experts and characters who elevate hospitality. And now, your host and elevator operator, Susan Berry.

Speaker A: This special episode of Top Floor with Susan Berry was recorded at hitech in San Antonio. Produced by hftp, Hitech is the hospitality industry's largest technology conference, bringing together thousands of hoteliers, innovators and solution providers to explore what is next for our business. I am so grateful to our friends at HFTP and High Tech for hosting us and for the opportunity to record live from the event. One more milestone before we get started. This is Top Floor's 250th episode and we are releasing it the same week as the United States 250th anniversary birthday. It is a fun coincidence and sort of a fitting reminder that hospitality has always been part of how people experience this country, from its oldest ends to the newest innovations announced on the high tech trade show floor. We didn't plan it that way, but I will take it. First up, we are sharing three stories about things that were not even a little bit what they appeared to be. A B and B, a hotel full of furries, and a flight that wasn't going down because of a bomb.

Speaker C: I am here with Lee. Lee, tell everybody about yourself and about your company.

Speaker D: Sure. I am Lee Zolkunis, the founder and CEO of 1ax Consulting. We are a digital marketing hybrid digital marketing and consultancy that specializes in independent boutique hotel digital marketing and commercial strategy.

Speaker C: Amazing. And is your background in independent hotels?

Speaker E: It is.

Speaker D: I came up through Kimpton before Kimpton was IHG and then Thompson and Joie de vivre and had, um, even a stint at the startup Sonder.

Speaker C: Oh, how interesting. Well, as a, uh, yes. I have to press this button and see if you know what it is.

Speaker D: You've got mail. Yeah, of course.

Speaker C: What does that make you think of?

Speaker D: Well, the movie you've got Mail.

Speaker C: Okay.

Speaker D: It also reminds me of. Oh, you know what it reminds me of? Like, when getting email was exciting. Back when I wanted to get emails and I. There was a time where I was so jealous or like really wanted my email to say, like, sent from my BlackBerry. I thought that was like the highest level of standard.

Speaker C: It was so glamorous at the time. That's so funny. You know, the answers, uh, to that question have been sort of 50. 50. The movie or a lot of people talking about their, um, aim.

Speaker D: Oh, instant messenger.

Speaker F: Yes.

Speaker C: Their screen names. All right, so you talked about remembering a time when getting email was exciting. What about regular mail? Like snail mail? Do you like to get mail or do you dread getting the mail?

Speaker D: No, I think I'm single handedly keeping the postal service alive.

Speaker C: Oh, my gosh. Tell me everything.

Speaker D: I love mail.

Speaker G: Okay.

Speaker D: Um, our mail comes in through our garage and we have a ring on our garage. And so my husband is annoyed that he gets alerts all day long of me checking. He's like, no one likes the mail more than you. It's true.

Speaker C: Um, I am. I might be second place.

Speaker E: Okay.

Speaker D: I love a package. I love sending a letter. I also, uh, since I went out on my own, a lot of hotels still pay via check in the mail.

Speaker C: Yes, they do.

Speaker D: So there's real incentive to the mail happening. I mean, no one loves like IRS mail or AAA promo mail, but in. Oh. I also still really love magazines.

Speaker C: Same.

Speaker D: So getting a magazine in the mail is exciting. I'm, um, I'm, um, here for mail.

Speaker C: Me too. And in fact, I am so into mail that we are launching the Top Floor Mail Club, which is a monthly mail subscription of travel, hotel and hospitality themed goodies.

Speaker D: Oh, my God.

Speaker C: Every month we'll have a different theme. We're gonna launch in July and the first month is the Great American Road Trip. So if you like. How do I get. Yeah, what do you absolutely subscribe and get it. I think it's funny that I am making people at a tech conference talk about m. But I. I do think

Speaker D: that, like, there's something really, like, authentic and like, I just saw your hand, like, tactical about it. Tactile.

Speaker C: Exactly. And as sort of the things we don't want to do become more frictionless. I feel like I, at least me, I'm craving, like doing something with my hands or like spending less time scrolling,

Speaker D: you know, feels really intentional. Even if it's junk mail that you're putting in the recycling bin, you still have to touch it, like flip through what it is before it just feels. It's like a moment of pause.

Speaker C: Yes, that's nice. Did you want to write my ad copy for me? Okay, Lee, we are going to head down to the loading dock where all of the best stories get told. Going down. Lee Salkunas, what is a story you would only tell me on the Loading app?

Speaker D: Okay, so this was, this was one of my very first hotel stories. And it's one That I have just continued to tell over and over again. It's like, great dinner party fodder.

Speaker A: Yes.

Speaker D: I was a, uh, revenue management intern at the Westin Pittsburgh in 2007. Seven. So almost 20 years ago.

Speaker C: Okay.

Speaker D: And I showed up and the first day, and everyone said, have you heard of a furry? Do you know what a furry is? And I don't.

Speaker C: I have been waiting my entire podcasting career to hear this word.

Speaker G: Please continue. Okay.

Speaker D: So I don't. I didn't. I was vaguely familiar with what a furry is. And for the. The listener, uh, it's, um, it's essentially people who are super into animals. Also super into dressing up as animals, being part of animal culture. Know, I think it's sort of like Comic Con, but for animals.

Speaker C: Totally.

Speaker D: Um, but there's also this, like, really cool, kind of artsy, creative side where there's a lot of, um, like, fan fiction that takes animals and drawing. That's animals. So there is a community of people that dresses up sort of Disney. Disney costume style, except, um, anaphomorphic. Uh, and then they meet at these conventions to share their tips. I don't know. Just to come into community with each other, I think. Um, so I very quickly found out that the Westin Pittsburgh was the host hotel for the Pittsburgh Furry Convention.

Speaker C: Amazing.

Speaker D: And it didn't matter that I was in revenue management. It was like all hands on deck. Everyone is in ops for the week.

Speaker A: Got it.

Speaker D: And it was, uh, a full buyout. So it was over 600 rooms.

Speaker C: Wow.

Speaker D: Sort of four to a room. Right. Like a big double, um, bedded, high occupancy room. And it was just the. It was connected to the convention center. So most of the events happened at the convention center, and we were just responsible for the lodging. Um, but it was just the number of things that came up throughout the week that I don't think we could have anticipated. Like, uh, we had to open all of the service elevators because everyone's costumes were so big, they kept getting stuck.

Speaker C: Stuck.

Speaker H: Oh, my gosh.

Speaker C: Are you serious?

Speaker D: Yeah. So we had people going, like, back of the house, up and down the elevator because their tail was knocking, forgetting stuff.

Speaker C: Oh, my gosh.

Speaker D: Um, we had furries. Ah. In costume in the pool. Um, which I guess is. It was just like a sight to see something that we weren't used to.

Speaker C: That feels very uncomfortable. Like you're wearing a fox outfit and

Speaker D: then you're, like, soaking wet.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker D: Comes down.

Speaker C: Sounds like a recipe for drowning.

Speaker E: Yeah.

Speaker G: I don't know.

Speaker D: I think it was popular awesome. Um, and then perhaps maybe I think what was most ironic is because it was a full buyout, we had to flip the entire house when they checked out. And we were having a very conservative Christian group check in. Um, and so again it was, everyone was in housekeeping and just going through the rooms and finding stray ears, stray whiskers.

Speaker C: Oh my God.

Speaker D: Um, yeah, it was, it was really community bonding, both for the furries, but also like as a hotel for the hotel. Really enjoyed it.

Speaker C: That's amazing.

Speaker D: And then of course as revenue, we ran a displacement analysis because couldn't like full buyout, didn't accept other people in the hotel at the same time. Did it make sense? But their stay pattern was so good over uh, 4th of July weekend that.

Speaker A: When nobody else is coming.

Speaker C: Exactly.

Speaker D: Um, I think they signed like a multi year, like a three year contract for it.

Speaker C: That is spectacular. Thank you so much for joining me on the loading dock. And find your tail on the way out.

Speaker D: Exactly. I love it. Thank you.

Speaker A: Lee runs 1ax Consulting, helping independent and boutique hotels with digital marketing and commercial strategy. So next time your favorite hotel's website does not look like it's from 2018,

Speaker C: you can probably thank her.

Speaker A: Next up, a honeymoon bed and breakfast that may or may not have been a glitch in the matrix.

Speaker C: I am here with Dominic. Dominic, tell us all about yourself and about your company.

Speaker B: Good morning Susan. Thanks for having me. Uh, so my name is Dominic Locasio. I've been in hospitality for over 20 years and uh, I am currently with Positron Access Control. We do ethernet over coax. It's a next generation way to use the existing cabling to help other providers get their access points, IPTV, other solutions into the room without having to re cable.

Speaker C: I will tell you that Positron Access Solutions sounds like the most futuristic space age company name that I've ever heard.

Speaker B: Our CEO actually hired a consulting firm to come up with the name, nothing else. But that sounds cool and technical.

Speaker C: It does sound cool and very technical. Well, futuristic name aside, I am going to perhaps take you back into your history. Okay, when I press this button, I want you to tell me what it makes you think of.

Speaker B: Um, it makes me think of when I actually had an AOL account. Got all those CDs in the mail. Like every other day you would get another cd and my first Rolodex where I didn't have any email addresses on it at all because they didn't really exist at the time.

Speaker C: It's funny because our uh, folks who have Been to see me or to talk to me have fallen into two categories. Either they had an AOL address or they saw the movie you've got mail, and that's what it makes them think of.

Speaker B: Uh, also my favorite is when I still get clients who have an AOL address. Um, I think they're probably not technology buyers.

Speaker C: Very true. Oh, that's so interesting. Has that ever happened where you're like, absolutely.

Speaker F: Really?

Speaker C: Before, email was like a burden and a full time job in and of itself.

Speaker B: It's a great point. I used to think like, oh, wow, I've got an email. I'm so important, people need to talk to me right now. I better look at that on my BlackBerry.

Speaker C: Yes, yes, totally. Email and BlackBerry go hand in hand in terms of that sort of cachet and glamour of the business world. Well, aside from email, how do you feel about snail mail? Are you a fan, an enemy?

Speaker B: Like it hate, um, almost is exclusively just ads now, or I've been approved for another loan or something like that. But I still get the mail every day. Like if leave town, the mail does not get picked up till I come home.

Speaker C: Interesting. I love to check the mail. It's like a highlight in my day. Is there anything that you've ever gotten in the mail that was like the best thing you ever got in the mail?

Speaker H: Hmm.

Speaker B: M. My daughter had surgery when she was young and I got a $2,000 refund from the hospital in the mail. Did not know it was coming. So yeah, that, that might be the best thing I ever got.

Speaker C: Yeah, that is a really good thing to get in the mail. Well, it may seem strange that I'm talking about snail mail at a technology conference, but the reason I am is that Top floor is launching a mail club, a snail mail subscription where, uh, members get a monthly little package from us with themed hotel, travel, hospitality, goodies included. And I think it's funny to ask technology people what they think of that because it, uh, is helping me decide if this experiment is going to really take off or not.

Speaker B: You can do like, I got a random check in the mail, just one in every thousand of them as a

Speaker C: check in it sponsored by Positron Access Solutions. Yes, absolutely. Um, well, I think it's time, Dominic, for us to head down to the loading dock where all of the best stories get told. Going down, Dominic, what is the story you would only tell on the loading

Speaker B: dock back in the day? Um, I booked our honeymoon through a travel agent because that's how you did it. And so we had a um, bed and breakfast that we were staying at one night. And lovely pictures. The brochure that the travel agent showed us, like the paper brochure that she mailed to you. Probably like big four poster bed in floor, Jacuzzi in the room. Beautiful oak furniture. Like this looks really nice. So we drive to the place and it is, it would aspire to be a Motel 6.

Speaker C: Oh, wow.

Speaker B: Like there is a like tented pavilion in the middle. That is the bar. It is closed.

Speaker C: A tent?

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker F: Uh, oh my gosh.

Speaker B: It's like all exterior doors. The check in station is like the piece of glass that you pass the key under. Oh, and it is closed, by the way, at 6pm there's nobody there. So I have to call and wait for somebody to show up. And I'm rethinking my life choices at this point. And I'm like, when we walk into that room, if it is not the brochure, we are out of here.

Speaker C: Okay.

Speaker B: Well, it was like an opening, a time portal. It was exactly that. It was beautiful hundred year old Victorian furniture, like solid oak stuff, plush carpets. What is this place? And then we went and had dinner in the basement where we had a four course meal with wine pairings. This has to not really exist. And so we've gone back and it's no longer there. So it may be it never existed.

Speaker C: It was a glitch in the matrix for sure. That is so funny. Where in the country was it?

Speaker B: It was in Orlando. It was called Buckets, which maybe should have been my first clue.

Speaker C: Buckets.

Speaker B: Buckets.

Speaker C: Okay.

Speaker B: I think it's a Denny's now.

Speaker C: This story is killing me. I will be spending several hours researching Buckets later on today to find out if anybody else had this experience or if we need to check you in to an inpatient.

Speaker B: Please send me a letter by mail letting me know if that's the case.

Speaker C: I will do it. Dominic, um, thank you so much for joining us.

Speaker B: Thank you so much, Susan. Really appreciate it.

Speaker A: Dominic works with Positron Access Solutions, which lets hotels deliver next gen WI fi and IPTV over their existing cabling. No expensive rewiring needed, which honestly sounds more reliable than that bed and breakfast. The last story in this set takes us 35,000ft in the air with a sound nobody on that plane wanted to hear.

Speaker C: Our next guest is Doran Dreyer here at High Tech 2026. Dorin, tell us about yourself and about your company.

Speaker H: Morning.

Speaker I: Great to be here.

Speaker J: Um, yes. So my name is Doran Dreier and I'm the co founder and CEO of Gratifyd company that specializes in electronic cashless tipping technology.

Speaker G: Okay.

Speaker J: We're launching uh, today at hitech for the first time. Our product, which is called Tipmo. Uh, Tipmo actually enables guests in hotels and other places to tip cashless tipping with using NFC technology and wearable devices. Really cool technology. Uh, it's going to be revolutionizing the way people see tips and use tips and actually receive tips.

Speaker G: Excellent.

Speaker C: Well, I'm all for our hard working folks getting more tips, so I'm glad to hear it. Okay, well we're here on the loading dock because that is where everybody goes to tell their best stories. Going down Doran. What is a story you would only

Speaker G: tell on the loading dock?

Speaker J: So this story is actually that flight that I took. Must have been I, um, 10, 12 years ago, uh, flying in Europe and we're taking off in Paris and like halfway through our, our journey, hear this sawing sound coming from somewhere. Like somebody sawing at the wing.

Speaker C: Like a saw, like, like a saw.

Speaker J: Like something sawing? Yeah. Uh, and it's, it was scary. And so they alerted the flight attendant, went to the captain and they thought it was bomb somewhere, something. And we descended from 35,000ft to the ground in record time. It was like a kamikaze dive.

Speaker G: Oh no.

Speaker J: We were on the ground within like five minutes.

Speaker C: Where did you have to land?

Speaker J: We had to land, uh, on the border of France and Germany, which is actually France, Germany and Switzerland. The triangle.

Speaker C: Oh my goodness.

Speaker J: So, and we got hauled into interrogation rooms, lo and behold. And it turned out that the sawing of noise was from a BlackBerry. Those were the BlackBerry.

Speaker D: Oh, uh.

Speaker C: You are kidding me.

Speaker H: Yeah.

Speaker J: And was the alarm clock of the BlackBerry somebody forgot to turn off. And that was the song sound. Well, that was a, that was a night to remember we spent in the airport that night. And we released after interrogation. Everyone was thought to be terrorists, uh, uh, but in the end of the day it was just a harmless BlackBerry.

Speaker C: A BlackBerry alarm. Okay, so here's my question for you. What happens to the person who makes that mistake? I mean, do they just sort of live in shame forever or do they have to reimburse the airline? Or what do you, what? Or do they get banned from flying?

Speaker J: I hope they get banned. Basically. Imagine the cost associated flight. Having uh, people stay at a hotel and having another plane come. It's a lot of money. But at the end of the day it's, it's a harmless mistake. You know, somebody forgets to turn off the Phone. You know, it happens.

Speaker C: It does. It happens.

Speaker J: It happens.

Speaker C: Well, Doran Dreyer, thank you so much for joining me on the loading dock, and I appreciate you being here.

Speaker A: Doran's company, Gratifyd, just launched Tipmo at High Tech, a cashless tipping wearable for hotel staff. Worth noting, no blackberries were harmed in its development. And that is act one. Our next set of stories from the loading dock at High Tech is all about wardrobe malfunctions, a zoom interview gone wrong, a wedding dress that took an unscheduled trip through the industrial laundry, and an outfit that did not survive a COVID test.

Speaker C: Buckle up.

Speaker A: Or in this case, maybe zip up.

Speaker C: I am here with Lexi. Lexi, who are you and what are you doing here?

Speaker F: Yes, so I am with Bermoco. I started the business within the last year, and I am here to help startups within the hospitality network, uh, grow their business.

Speaker C: Amazing. And so do you focus on tech startups, startup hotels and restaurants or something else?

Speaker F: So I do a lot right now within the tech space within hospitality. Uh, however, my background also goes into working with hotels as individuals as well. Um, I did recruiting for about 12 years specifically within hospitality.

Speaker C: Uh, all right, well, so if you're like me and you like email, how do you feel about snail me?

Speaker F: You know, it can. It can be really used for great things. I personally don't do it a ton anymore. It kind of gets lost. However, when I was in recruiting, I would a lot of times suggest if someone really wanted a position, uh, sending a letter that thanked the company.

Speaker C: Yes.

Speaker F: And I would say there are three people who got C suite positions because they sent a thank you letter.

Speaker C: Oh, that's good to hear. We should do a whole episode on that. That separately, the.

Speaker F: The. The company, uh, actually called me and goes, wow, I have not received a letter in the mail in so long. The fact that this person actually took the time to send that to me, they're the person.

Speaker C: All right, well, it is time for us to head down to the loading dock where all of the best stories get told. Going down. Lexi, what is a story you would only tell me on the loading dock?

Speaker F: So I was interviewing this woman and we had great interview. All of a sudden, she.

Speaker C: We're on video.

Speaker F: All of a sudden, um, she had something come up and she had to quick, like, grab something above her. Stands up and has no pants on. What?

Speaker C: Are you kidding me?

Speaker H: Yes.

Speaker C: And she was in a full suit,

Speaker F: from what I could tell, for a very professional position. Um, and then stands up and she sits back down, but. But does not realize it even ever happened. Like, she comes back down and continues talking.

Speaker C: Did you say anything?

Speaker F: I didn't say anything at that time because I was.

Speaker E: I was like, well, how do you.

Speaker F: What do you say to that?

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker F: Um, but I will say that after that interview, I did give her tips on, um, how you know what to wear for an interview and to make sure that your screen stays in places and just be aware that, let's say you have pajamas on. On the bottom.

Speaker C: Oh, my God. That is in bloody sane. I love it. You hear those stories. But I've never, like, had anything like that happen to me. So I'm very glad that I insist on wearing a full outfit every day, because I'm so scared and paranoid I'm gonna do something stupid.

Speaker G: Right.

Speaker F: Well, like on Shark Tank, there's always the. He does the. I'm, um, blanking on his name, but he always does the videos of, um, podcasts, and he wears his boxers with the suit top because he likes jokes on what that is.

Speaker B: Uh-huh.

Speaker F: But I think it's always, you know, in my. In my position, it's so important that when those things happen, you still really coach them on it, because that can happen in another situation. And it is like. It's not like they did something realizing.

Speaker C: Right. And I mean, I wonder how many people are out there, like, huh. I wonder why I never got to call back on that interview. Um, because you flashed your panties. Dumb. Dumb.

Speaker F: Exactly. Exactly. So hopefully that never happened to her again after we, you know, we worked on it.

Speaker C: Well, Lexi, thank you so much for joining me on the looping dot.

Speaker F: Thank you. This is amazing.

Speaker A: Lexi runs Burmo, helping hospitality startups grow, and apparently also runs a side practice in Zoom Interview wardrobe consulting. Next up, a wedding dress, an industrial washing machine, and a love story written by mistake.

Speaker C: I am here with Lindsay. Uh, Lindsay, who are you and what are you up to?

Speaker K: Hi, Susan. My name is Lindsay Wanger, Vice President of Sales for directful. Directful is an autonomous marketing software tool for hotels where we drive repeat bookings upwards of 80% rebookings for hotels, even from past OTA guests that have stayed at, uh, respective properties.

Speaker C: That is a brilliant product. I'm so happy that somebody invented it. So, basically, for the listener who's not familiar, if you book through a third party into a hotel, the hotel does not have access to your contact information. So this is a way for the hotel to create a deeper relationship. Yes. Is that pretty accurate?

Speaker K: Exactly. We want the guests to come back and book direct. So those hotels, all our hotels and hotels around the world, will be able to create long standing relationships with their guests.

Speaker C: All right, Lindsay, well, we are gonna head down to the loading dock where all of the best stories get told. M. Going down. Lindsay. What is the story you would only tell me on the loading dock?

Speaker K: Oh, my goodness. Susan. Okay, so I'm a wedding sales manager working for a uber luxury resort on an island. And I had the most amazing, magnificent wedding planned for this bride and groom. They flew in from a very posh location from the northeast to the island. The bride brought her dress on the plane, as all do, of course, like you do. She reached out to our housekeeping department to have her dress cleaned and steamed because it had gotten wrinkled from the plane. Okay, I kid you not, I cannot make this up. Within a few hours, I found out that the staff had put her dress, her beautiful wedding dress, into the industrial washer dryer machine. Uh, where you wash your sheets for the hotel beds.

Speaker C: No.

Speaker K: And the hotel linen and towels. Yes. This actually happened.

Speaker C: What?

Speaker K: No, the dress actually stayed intact, Susan, but it came out a.

Speaker C: Like a.

Speaker K: A dark brown, um, versus a pearl white.

Speaker C: What? What? No. I don't even know how to respond to that.

Speaker D: What did I do?

Speaker K: I started sweating, uh, hyperventilating. I'm the right now her main contact, and she says some precarious words which I don't know if I'm allowed to say on the show.

Speaker C: Like, she probably threatened murder.

Speaker K: I'm sure she threatened murder and said, I want my whole wedding comped.

Speaker C: Okay.

Speaker F: The whole nine.

Speaker K: You ruined my day kind of thing. Like, terrible. Um, I then went into what Lindsay usually does is stay organized through the chaos, stay calm. Took a couple deep breaths. I then found. So it wasn't a custom dress. Thank goodness it was a dress wasn't custom. No, it was not custom. There was only. So her dress was a designer dress. I worked with our PR agency, who I got our PR agent to get on a plane, courier another dress that was only available in one part of the state where she was from, and bring it into the island so that she could have it on her wedding day. And I. I literally, by the skin of my teeth, got a brand new dress for this bride.

Speaker C: Oh, my God. In the same size.

Speaker K: But it took two days to get this figured out. I didn't work on anything else but getting the brides a new dress.

Speaker C: I feel like I'm watching the bear right now. That is the level of anxiety that I'm experiencing secondhand from the this story. Okay. You saved the day along with your PR person. So congratulations on that. I'm curious how the bride, like, did it turn the situation around or did she burn down the resort when she left?

Speaker K: She did not burn down the resort. The resort still remains intact. Um, but she did stop hyperventilating and came out of her room when the new draft arrived. Okay, so crisis diverted.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker K: Ah, Lindsay saved the day, plus the team. It was a team effort. Right, but it was just like you need like one person to coordinate all the moving parts of this. Um, but it was an incredible experience. I never want to relive it again.

Speaker H: Mhm.

Speaker K: No one should ever relive this again. Um, and it's something I would only tell to the people in the loading dock.

Speaker C: Uh, amazing. I have another question. Did you have to call the whole wedding?

Speaker F: Absolutely not.

Speaker C: Oh, good. Oh, I'm so glad. I was so worried. Okay, that is a relief. That like soothes my anxiety a little bit. Well, Lindsay, thank you so much for joining me on the loading dock.

Speaker K: Thank you so much, Susan. You're the best.

Speaker A: Lindsay's company, Direct Full helps hotels turn one time bookers into repeat guests. A much smaller crisis than the one she survived in that story. Our last wardrobe story takes us from an island laundry room to a meeting with a celebrity mogul where one outfit did not make it to the finish line.

Speaker C: Kate, tell everyone who you are and what you're up to.

Speaker E: I'm Kate Adamson, CEO and co founder of a company called Folio. Folio is the only spend management system purpose built for hospitality.

Speaker G: Amazing.

Speaker C: And who is your user? Is it hotels or something else?

Speaker E: We have built everything for on property teams. So chefs, head of housekeeping, the folks on the ground that actually do the work. Because our view is if it's not used, it's not useful.

Speaker A: Amazing.

Speaker E: Uh, but we sell to hotel management companies and owner operators.

Speaker C: Understood. Well, this feels like the perfect time to ask you a completely unrelated question.

Speaker E: Oh, excellent.

Speaker C: What's the best thing you've ever gotten in this?

Speaker E: Whoa. How to answer that and think through. I mean it obviously is a gift. Um, the most recent, most memorable gift that I can think of is when I had my first baby five years ago. Uh, I got. And it was in the midst of COVID And you know, we're all deprived of human connection.

Speaker C: Yes.

Speaker E: And I got a gift from my sister who's now expecting her first baby. Um, that was a book of, of advice from all of the women in our lives on uh, how to be a Great parent. And what about me would be great? And it was an unbelievable gift.

Speaker C: So I feel like I need to take a crying break.

Speaker E: I know. We should. We.

Speaker C: That is the sweetest thing that I've ever heard.

Speaker E: It's really special. We recently rediscovered it and it's become a book that I read to the five year old as a bedtime story. Occasionally she, uh, gets a little bored, but it's the dream for me that is to see all these people I love.

Speaker C: All right, Kate, we are going to head down to the loading dock where all of the best stories get told. Going down, Kate, what is a story you would only tell on loading dock?

Speaker E: Prior to starting Folio, I, uh, was exploring what exactly it is that I wanted to build. And I had an opportunity to co found a company with, with a famous momager celebrity who has has a number of daughters whose name also start with K who have built excellent businesses. And she wanted to build a bank for entrepreneurs to start their business and grow their business. And one of the best. A funny moment was in that meeting. I mean, and you can imagine, you know, she, she's a stunning lady, so warm, so supportive of female entrepreneurs. Um, it was in the midst of COVID so I had to have a Covid, you know, swab test.

Speaker A: Uh-huh.

Speaker E: And while that was processing or you know, that 15 minutes before you could go in, my whole outfit dissolved. Going back to that.

Speaker B: Wait, what?

Speaker E: I know. Going back to that.

Speaker C: Let me actually reframe that.

Speaker E: My zipper broke because I had just had that five year old baby who's now five.

Speaker C: Uh, she.

Speaker E: I did not birth a five year old baby.

Speaker C: I kind of wish that was the story.

Speaker E: I, uh, just had that baby five years ago and, um, my clothes didn't fit the same way. And so I was in the bathroom trying to navigate, you know, something that I put a lot of energy into, which was the coolest outfit for this. Of course.

Speaker C: Of course.

Speaker E: And it kind of fell apart. And so anyway, I had this meeting, but it.

Speaker C: Were you naked?

Speaker E: I wasn't. I figured out how to use my romper, uh, ties to sort of pull it all together. And so navigated that showed up. We had a great conversation.

Speaker C: Kate, thank you so much for keeping your clothes on and for joining me at the loading dot.

Speaker E: I now wear much more, um, adaptable clothing that doesn't burst when I overeat or have a good time.

Speaker C: Amazing.

Speaker A: Kate's company, Folio, just launched their first spend management card for hospitality teams, reliable financial technology. Unlike her romper that day in the last set of loading dock stories from high tech. We'll hit on general shenanigans, confusion, mayhem, and broken glass.

Speaker C: I am here with Richard. Richard, tell us about yourself and your company.

Speaker H: Hey, I'm uh, Richard Bradbury and I

Speaker C: work for a company called Core.

Speaker H: Core is a software company that, uh, we do, um, basically everything in the back of the house of a hotel. Everything the property management system doesn't normally do. Asset management work orders, uh, guest request deliveries, housekeeping, that sort of thing.

Speaker C: All right, Richard, we are going to head down to the loading dock where all of the best stories get told. Going down. Richard, what is a story you would only tell me on the loading dock?

Speaker H: Uh, this kind of ties into, into my company a little bit. Um, a lot.

Speaker J: All of our team that work at

Speaker H: the core, that interact with hotels, come out of the hotel perfect as they should. So they're empathetic. When they pick up the phone, they know what's going on. And I tell this story because it was when I was a manager on duty and I was a. Ah, you

Speaker C: just said the magic works to unlock anxiety. And every listener who has ever had to do an mod shift.

Speaker G: Please continue.

Speaker H: One second. The other one.

Speaker G: Tell me more, tell me more.

Speaker H: I came in Saturday morning, I was going to start my movie and parking deck is on the lower level. I get ah, out of my car, I go in, press the button to go up to the lobby level. And there is the soda machine from the fifth floor.

Speaker C: That was like a pregnant pause. I'm like, okay, who cares about a soda machine? Oh, from the fifth floor. Got it, got it, got it.

Speaker H: Behind, behind the soda machine, Press the button, drop the lobby level and walk around the corner to the front desk. And they said, you need to go up to 502.

Speaker C: Wait, can you just back up for one second?

Speaker G: Was the soda machine in the elevator?

Speaker C: Oh, I thought you. I thought you meant it was when you open the elevator.

Speaker G: Opened.

Speaker C: How did it get in the elevator?

Speaker H: We're about to find that out. Motorcycle rally. Mhm. We had a number of clients that were staying with us. And I get up to 502 and the housekeeper is standing outside of the door and she said, you need to see this. So I walk in the door and there are many people passed out.

Speaker C: Oh, they're still there.

Speaker H: And she said, I came in and look, we went into the bathroom and a Honda Red Wing. What? Gold Wing. Sorry, Gold Wing.

Speaker F: Uh-huh.

Speaker H: In the bathtub.

Speaker G: What is going on with these people? They just rearrange everything

Speaker H: Somehow they got this motorcycle onto the elevator up to the fifth floor, and they replaced it with the ice machine. With the, um, soda machine.

Speaker C: That is insane.

Speaker G: So did people start waking up once you were in there?

Speaker H: Nope. What did you do? We just waited until they woke up,

Speaker C: backed your way out and left. We're just gonna leave that.

Speaker H: Uh, how did you get the soda machine put back where it was supposed to be?

Speaker J: And we prepared for Bill.

Speaker C: Oh, my gosh.

Speaker G: What is the cost for putting the soda machine in the elevator?

Speaker H: That wasn't so much. It was the damage that the motorcycle did to the bathtub.

Speaker C: I guess you need to replace the whole thing. Holy guacamole.

Speaker G: What city was this in?

Speaker H: So the hotel that I worked at was right across the street from the stadium, the old stadium before they built the cave. But, um, yeah, we have a crowd.

Speaker C: That is a time.

Speaker H: That was a fun place to work because we used to turn the hotel every Friday. So during the week, we were about two blocks from the cabin.

Speaker G: Okay.

Speaker H: And so we had government all week long, and then the Braves played right across the street. So we had baseball all weekend and then government and then baseball, and then government baseball.

Speaker G: Interesting.

Speaker C: That's like running two totally different hotels.

Speaker G: Wow.

Speaker C: Uh, amazing. Well, thank you so much for joining

Speaker A: Richard's company, Core handles all the behind the scenes hotel operations, work orders, housekeeping, asset management, basically everything except motorcycle in the bathtub removal, which is still a manual process. Next up, a true story about wine, weight limits and glasses that did not survive the night.

Speaker C: I am here with my friend, Jackie Brown. Jackie, tell the people what they want to know. Who are you and what do you do?

Speaker G: Susan, thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here. So I am a product marketing consultant. That sounds boring. But what that means mostly for hoteliers, which are most of your listeners, is that all of the technology, when they're trying to just kind of super confusing because everything sounds the same. My job is to prevent that from happening.

Speaker H: Ah.

Speaker G: Uh, I work with the tech companies to help them better explain what it is that they do.

Speaker C: Let's head down to the loading dock because, of course, that is where the all the best stories get told. Going down, Jackie, What's a story who would only tell me on the loading dock?

Speaker G: You know, I'm an avid listener and I do love these segments, but I have not worked in a hotel.

Speaker C: Okay.

Speaker G: So transparently. But I did spend my summer when I was 19 as a server.

Speaker C: Oh, nice.

Speaker G: I am a terrible servant.

Speaker C: I find that very hard to believe. Well, let me rephrase that. Carry on.

Speaker G: So I was much better when I worked at Target before then. And I was in a cashier customer service that was much better. So probably my first mistake was I was a server at all.

Speaker C: Okay.

Speaker G: Okay. Well, if you're in the Olive Garden, the plates are very large and heavy.

Speaker C: They are so heavy.

Speaker G: And you are tiny. You have to hold them on a big tray.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker G: I was probably £100 at the time. Mhm. And so already this. I looked ridiculous. I was in pain. I have to like every day would go home. I had to like stretch out and I was just. It was that great. Now on top of that, they think that they are very distinguished. Yes. So part of that is making sure that you're properly handling wine and such. And so people come and order bottles of wine and there's a certain way you're supposed to do it when you open it with an actual regular corkscrew.

Speaker D: Right.

Speaker G: Not another fancy stuff that I have in my house now. Right, Right.

Speaker C: Nothing easy either. It's a wine key with a knife on it. Right.

Speaker G: And you're not supposed to put the bottom of the bottle down on the table when you do that. Which I still always do. So I could never get it open. So I would always. So some, you know, this, this situation, this couple tell. Maybe they're best move to begin with. Uh, they order a bottle.

Speaker C: We're relying on that bottle of wine.

Speaker G: Right?

Speaker H: Yeah.

Speaker G: They really needed the bottle so I had to, oh, say I like pretend to kind of open it and then say, oh, excuse me, I just need help with this. And I would go and have the bartender open it for me. This was my game. Uh, because I really couldn't do it. Okay. So already that's the situation that's happening now. There's another server. And I was low man on the totem pole. One, I was terrible. Two, I was the new person. And this gentleman who had been there for a while didn't even deign to look at me or talk to me. Oh no, have tears over here. And so I also. There's so many bad things about this. I would never time it right to go pick up my food.

Speaker J: Mhm.

Speaker G: And it would always happen that a runner would grab my food and then I'd be standing there waiting for the food and not know that it had already been run.

Speaker C: Oh no, that's so annoying.

Speaker G: Then this happens. So I finally get the table and something was wrong with their food or whatever. So they get there and they're Disgruntled a bit because they were waiting for something.

Speaker C: I don't know.

Speaker G: Was they had some kind of pasta faju. Right. They got it. But they had ordered something special, and it wasn't customized.

Speaker C: Got it, got it.

Speaker G: Okay. So I leave to go talk to the chef and say, you know, can you rush order, whatever this thing is? And this server, the super top tier one.

Speaker C: Huh.

Speaker G: Walks by me and kind of dodges out of my way. He doesn't see me because I'm fire too. And his huge platter that he has, he kind of shifts over. This couple is sitting next to a ledge that is stacked with wine glass.

Speaker H: No.

Speaker G: Bumps his tray into at least a dozen wine glasses. They fall.

Speaker K: Oh, no.

Speaker D: This couple.

Speaker G: Next couple, their table, their food. Oh, my God. Shatter. And did you start crying?

Speaker C: I'm gonna cry right now.

Speaker G: I was mortified, kind of stunned. Uh-huh. And instantly, you know, like, try to, like, help clean it up a little bit. Went to my manager, was like, you need to just. Right, like this. Please just take care of this.

Speaker C: They're eating glass.

Speaker G: They're eating glass.

Speaker C: Help me.

Speaker G: I don't know what to do. And I'm like, this one. They were already angry. I had already screwed up a couple of things. I didn't. This was not my fault. I was just standing there, but. Oh, my goodness.

Speaker I: Holy.

Speaker A: What did the cut.

Speaker K: Did.

Speaker C: Were they nice about it or were they mean about it?

Speaker G: Oh, they were totally mean. They were instantly like, make us new food. We're taking it to go. I did not get any tip on that.

Speaker C: I bet.

Speaker G: You know, from, like, I was a college student. I was trying to go study abroad. I was like. But that extra, like, $10 would have made a difference.

Speaker F: Yeah.

Speaker C: Uh, did the super server hold it against you? Like, he totally blamed it on you.

Speaker G: Oh, he totally blamed me because I was standing there.

Speaker H: Uhhuh. Of course.

Speaker G: How dare I stand right near my.

Speaker C: That's your invisible customer.

Speaker G: That's crazy.

Speaker C: I, uh, can't. I still have anxiety dreams about waiting tables, and I literally haven't done it in three and a half decades. Like, a really long time. My. What's your. Do you have a stress dream that you have about serving, or did you ever.

Speaker J: No.

Speaker G: But I will tell you, everyone loves the show. Yes, Chef. I started watching 10 minutes of it. I was like, absolutely not.

Speaker H: Uh-huh.

Speaker G: Not watched the show. It's Chef, Chef. You know what I'm talking.

Speaker C: The bear. The bear, yes. Yes. It's so stressful.

Speaker G: I know. There's no way I watched 10 minutes and I was like, absolutely not. I am so uptight. I cannot handle this. I do not want to ever relive that.

Speaker C: I feel exactly the same. And I waited tables for years and years and years. There is. That show is too, uh, true to life on the anxiety side. Okay, I have to ask you this. Do you have a favorite meal at Olive Garden? Because I went to an Olive Garden recently for the first time in a really long time and I had the most delicious chicken parmesan. Like, not as good as my husband makes, but almost. It was real good.

Speaker G: So transparently. I love the salad and breadsticks. Yeah, it's fantastic. And it has been a long time since I've been. But I love the lasagna.

Speaker C: Oh, I don't think I've ever had their lasagna.

Speaker G: When I go to a new, like your New York Italian type restaurant, I gotta have the lasagna. Interesting. It's my go to.

Speaker C: That is amazing. Well, Jackie Brown, thank you so much for joining me on the loading dock.

Speaker G: Thanks for having me.

Speaker A: Jackie Brown runs her own marketing consultancy helping hospitality tech companies explain what their products actually do. A skill that may or may not have been useful that night at Olive Garden. For our last story, a man, a Halloween costume, and a job interview he didn't know he was in.

Speaker C: I am here with Adam. Adam, who are you and what do you do?

Speaker I: Hi, thank you so much for having me on today. My name is Adam Birmingham. I'm currently the vice president of sales for Ramsey.

Speaker C: And what is Ramsey?

Speaker I: Ramsey is an AI powered revenue management system.

Speaker C: Oh, wow.

Speaker I: So with traditional pricing solutions or systems, they rely on manual oversight and static rules.

Speaker C: Okay.

Speaker I: So what we do is that we have a team of AI agents that are continually analyzing competitive rates, demand weather, special events, booking trends, and we're actualizing that data and creating recommendations for you.

Speaker G: I love that you said weather.

Speaker C: I feel like that's something that people forget. Well, we are going to head down to the loading dock where the very best stories get told. Going down. Adam, what is a story you would only tell on the loading dot?

Speaker I: So this is good, right? So this is my. This would be my first, like, entrance in the hospital.

Speaker F: Okay.

Speaker I: Right. So, um, I went to school, got a degree in biochemistry. I moved to Boston. But I would come home on the weekends because I had a student out at the time. And so, um, on the weekends I would nanny for this kind of couple.

Speaker G: Nice.

Speaker I: So in this particular time I came home, it was November 1st, and, uh, Halloween got canceled because of rain. So they had to push there. So, um, this couple asked me to take their son out to Judah. So I didn't have an outfit, so I went to, like, Walmart or something like that, and everything was on sale. Beautiful. So Batman is my favorite superhero.

Speaker C: Huh?

Speaker I: And so I'm like, I'm gonna get a B. Jessica. So the only thing that had was like a kid's. I'm like five seven with heels on.

Speaker J: Okay.

Speaker I: So I'm not like a big person. So I squeeze into this meeting.

Speaker C: Are you kidding?

Speaker G: A child? Medium.

Speaker I: Medium. And, uh, I go to the house and I. I grab the son. He's dressed up as, like, Sonic.

Speaker J: Sonic.

Speaker I: But there is, uh, another person that wanted to go trick or treating with us. And we brought, uh, his son. Right. And this person happened to be we. So we, Oregon is at least currently the CRO of uniges.

Speaker H: But he was the.

Speaker I: So long time ago, I used to work for New Market International.

Speaker F: Okay.

Speaker I: VP of sales. And then I became our CEO, and now he's CRO.

Speaker G: Understood.

Speaker I: And so at that point, I was trying to break out of working in the lab, and I wanted to get into sales, right? And so they had told me that I was going to meet this guy, but I didn't know what he looked like and I didn't know what. So I go on trick or treat and dress as Batman. He's not dressed up as anything.

Speaker C: Dressed as kid Batman.

Speaker I: It doesn't fit.

Speaker J: And.

Speaker I: Right. So we're talking like, the pants go, like maybe the top stop.

Speaker C: Oh, my gosh.

Speaker I: So we go on this and we're probably like two and a half hours. Like, I'm drinking beers while doing this and just having a conversation like, questions like, I don't care. And at the end of it, he goes, you know, I think I can hire you at New Market. Come in on Monday. We'll have a job.

Speaker C: And you didn't even know this was a job interview

Speaker I: 15 years ago. I spent 13 of those years at Newmark and BAS and essentially kind of the career I have today is based on dressed up as Batman meeting.

Speaker C: That is the craziest thing that I've ever heard. I love it. Thank you so much for joining us.

Speaker A: Adam now sells AI powered revenue management at Ramsey, A long way from being a nanny, although that may be debatable. Thank you for joining us at the loading dock at High Tech. And thanks again to our friends at HFTP for being amazing partners. We will be back next week with more Loading dock stories from High Tech.

Speaker K: Thanks so much.

Speaker A: For listening. You can find the show notes atuh top floorpodcast.com Episode 250 Jonathan Albano is our editor, producer and all around genius. He even wrote and performed our theme song with vocals by Cameron Albano. You can subscribe to Top Floor on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen, and your rating or review

Speaker C: will go a long way in helping

Speaker A: us give you more of what you like.

Speaker B: Thanks for listening to the Top Floor podcast@uh www.topfloorpodcast.com. have a hospitality marketing question? Reach us at 850-404-9630. To be featured in a future episode.