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Josiah Mackenzie

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  • 5 min

Jon Tisch: What 45 Years at Loews Hotels Taught Me

🏨 Jon, starting his career in fall 1975, completed an internship at WBZ TV and graduated from Tufts in May 1976 to become a TV producer. He joined Loews Hotels in January 1980 and announced his retirement for December 31, 2025, marking a 45-year career. Loews operates 24 hotels with 14,000 rooms. Jon emphasizes the importance of team member relationships and community impact, implementing initiatives like renaming the “back of the house” to the “heart of the house” to highlight employee value.
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  • 1 min

How Hospitality Leaders Can Get Stuff Done: Purpose, Clarity, Trust – Amy Yip

📚 Amy Yip, an executive coach and TEDx speaker, discusses key leadership strategies. She emphasizes the importance of purpose in driving productivity, effective communication to avoid breakdowns, and conflict as a catalyst for innovation. Google’s research highlights trust as the most crucial factor in team effectiveness. Leaders in hospitality can learn to foster a culture of psychological safety to enhance team contribution and alignment. Practical insights can be applied to create high-performing teams.
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Leadership vs. Management: The Career-Defining Shift Amy Yip Learned at Google

📑 Amy Yip, former Google global food program leader, now coaches leaders at Amazon and Verizon. She emphasizes moving from management to authentic leadership, focusing on trust and inspiration. Mentors, including a Google VP, encouraged her growth through challenging opportunities. Her experience highlights leadership as fostering potential and thriving environments.
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When Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney Bought Wrexham AFC, This Hotelier Made the Most of the Moment: Steven Hesketh

🏟 Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's purchase of Wrexham AFC focused global attention on a small Welsh community. Steven Hesketh, CEO of Savvy Hotel Group, shares how local hospitality operators collaborated to leverage this attention for regional growth. This initiative emphasized placemaking and community pride. The podcast also highlights innovative hospitality strategies, encouraging industry professionals to adapt these ideas for business transformation.
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  • 10 min

How Hilton Cut 6-12% in Labor Costs Across 600 Hotels While Improving Service and Staff Satisfaction – Michael Escalante

📈 Michael transitioned from aerospace engineering to hospitality, driven by mentorship from an executive in the industry. Initially, he embraced a blank slate to address operational challenges. Michael's approach involved hands-on learning in hotels' laundry and housekeeping departments, identifying inefficiencies and leveraging existing technology. Within a year, he influenced 200 hotels with a methodology named R5, focusing on the right person, place, time, action, and method. His process, emphasizing change management and cultural shifts, transformed into a regional success.
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  • 1 min

Labor, Leadership & Leveling Up: How Michael Escalante Went from Aerospace Engineer to Hilton’s Global VP of Operational Excellence

📈 Michael Escalante, once an aerospace engineer, transitioned to hospitality, eventually becoming Hilton's Global VP at the Center of Operational Excellence and President at hotelAVE. Currently, as CEO of R5 Hospitality Solutions, he uses scientific thinking and people-first leadership to uncover hidden value and improve hotel operations, delivering significant labor savings across hundreds of hotels. Check out Actabl's resource on a smarter, people-first approach to hotel labor management, linked for further insights into profitability.
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AI Psychosis & Humanity in Hospitality Leadership – Sloan Dean

🤖 Josiah Mackenzie and Sloan Dean discuss "AI psychosis," highlighting how over-reliance on AI can erode reality and critical thinking. The conversation covers leadership evolution, focusing on the hospitality industry's role in maintaining human connection amid digitalization. Sloan, a CEO and father, voices concerns about societal impacts when excessive thinking is outsourced to AI. They suggest the hospitality sector's unique capacity to counteract these isolating trends and emphasize a people-first approach to labor management.
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Not Done: Sloan Dean After Remington – How He’s Betting on Himself and What’s Next

📚 Sloan Dean, former CEO of Remington Hospitality, shares his decision to resign after 8 transformative years to pursue entrepreneurship. He is now enhancing his skills through MIT AI courses. Dean highlights his belief in calculated risks and clarifies that becoming CEO was not his ultimate goal. Resources and further insights from Sloan Dean are available on platforms like LinkedIn and various podcasts. Subscribe to Hospitality Daily for more updates and insights.
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