What is it that’s at the core of a truly happy workplace? This is a question I uncover with today’s guest, Henry Stewart, Chief Happiness Officer at Happy. Happy is an award winning Learning and Development organisation offering fun and engaging computer and management training. Happy's vision is outlined by…
In this episode, Michael talks with experienced pub operator Kris Gumbrell, CEO of Brewhouse and Kitchen. They are an award-winning pub group and they operate more than 20 pubs spread all over the south of England with more in the pipeline. Kris talks about how the pandemic impacted them as…
Calling in from San Diego, Shawn Walchef is a true maverick when it comes to scaling a restaurant digitally. Since the pandemic, his restaurant Cali Comfort BBQ has been three times more profitable than ever. Within 12 years, it’s gone from $300,000 losing money each year to making $3.3 million…
Having been in the hospitality industry for 50 years, today’s guest has seen how the industry can scale. Robin Sheppard launched Bespoke Hotels with Haydn Fentum in 2000, and the group now manages over 9,500 hotel rooms, 8,000 employees and £815 million of assets across the UK. As a soft…
Dialling in from Antigua, today’s guest has been instrumental in the making of the Hospitality Mavericks business. So I’m excited to bring on Nicole Antonio-Gadsdon, the ultimate HR rule breaker and expert in luxury hotels especially in the Caribbean. We connected a few years ago on LinkedIn, and instantly realised…
Over the past 25 years, Uncle John’s Bakery has remained a staple household name within the Afro-Caribbean Community, with a community expanding across the UK as well as around the world. Founded by his parents, today’s guest is Samuel Mensah, the MD of the company. From the very start, the…
Today’s guest, Victoria Williams, is on a life ambition to change the world for deaf people. Establishing her company teptree 14 years ago, their goal by 2025 is to positively impact 1 million deaf people’s lives. It’s ambitious, but Covid-19 has highlighted how it affects so many people. The innumerable…
There’s often a big stigma behind fast food and QSR, but it’s the best way to be the biggest in the world. As former colleagues, I was super excited to catch up with Mark Hawthorne, Former CEO at McDonald's and Guzman y Gomez. With the fast-changing landscape, we need to…
With this ongoing crisis, leaders need to develop new skills, such as compassion and a growth mindset, to navigate and rebuild this new landscape. When you feel safe within yourself as a leader, this projects to the rest of your team. In this episode I’m excited to speak with leadership…
Edd Heller joined the hospitality industry late in life – just six years ago. Since then he’s proven to be a real maverick by running the Ethicurean Guild, which cooks delicious food from small farms and producers in other peoples kitchens across Brighton. Since the pandemic Edd and his team…
In this episode, Michael talks with experienced operator and tech CEO Dan Brookman of Airship & Toggle. Two platforms that enable operators to engage customers by generating pre-sold revenue and recency and frequency of visit. They work with great brands like Boston Tea Party, Roadchef, Leon, Revolution Bars, Byron &…
There’s a story behind every business, and it’s an area a lot of us neglect to fully communicate with our consumer. So how do we best tell our story? To find out, I catch up with Mark Smith, Founder and Lead Strategist of Double Up Social, an award-winning social strategy…
The hotel industry has faced a big shake up since the outbreak. Now two months after reopening, MD of Dominion Hospitality Drew Brown joins the show to share how technology has helped drive behavioural change for the regional hotel business. As we enter autumn, we look to see what a…
Back by popular demand, Zoey Henderson has worked closely with hospitality brands to be healthier and more sustainable. During lockdown, she launched her own low alcohol beer Fungtn. I caught up with Zoey to learn more about how she came to produce such a drink that is hoppy, textured –…
With a background in theatre and acting, today’s guest Tom Lionetti-Maguire fell in love with the immersive piece. In 2013 he launched Little Lion Entertainment, and operates the likes of The Crystal Maze LIVE Experience. Their mission is to provide live entertainment where the audience is at the heart of…
We don’t have the answers yet, but we need to ask the right questions in order to navigate through the pandemic. What’s clear is that the hospitality business model of low profit margins needs to change. Today’s special episode is from a webinar I had the pleasure of being on…
We’re going to take a different view of the hospitality industry today – through the eyes of investment. Today’s guest is Ali Aneizi, a M+A and Private Equity specialist, and founder of Tamweel Capital – an investment advisory boutique focussed on brand led consumer facing businesses. As the industry is…
What do successful leaders look like over the next few months? To get to the heart of this, Michael catches up with leadership expert Caitlyn O'Loughlin to dissect how most often it’s the simple things that stick. As Leadership Trainer at LifeLabs Learning, she’s seen first-hand that people-first companies are…
Links: https://www.openpantryconsulting.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-de-vries-80bbb685/ Surviving The Shit Storm Episode 6 with Ivan Brewer: https://www.hospitalitymavericks.com/podcast/episode/1e3d2a1e/surviving-the-shit-storm-episode-6-with-ivan-brewer Episode 63 with Josh Koppal: https://www.hospitalitymavericks.com/podcast/episode/27f9ad9f/63-setting-yourself-a-long-term-mindset-with-joshua-kopel Episode 62 with Dr Vikki Barnes: https://www.hospitalitymavericks.com/podcast/episode/37279533/62-leading-with-radical-acceptance-with-dr-vikki-barnes Surviving The Shit Storm Episode 7 with Elaine Batho: https://www.hospitalitymavericks.com/podcast/episode/3d09a586/surviving-the-shit-storm-episode-7-with-elaine-batho Lune Croissanterie: https://www.lunecroissanterie.com/
Facing repeat openings and closings in LA, it’s been a tough time for so many restaurant owners. But it’s given today’s guest some serious thinking time about the kind of life he wants to live. For too long, the hospitality industry has been running on long hours, low-profit margins and…
In this episode, Michael has Head of Operations for The Athenian Patrick Gray as a guest. Patrick has a lifetime of experience from many great brands like Bill's Restaurants, Boston Tea Party and many more. The Athenian was born out of love for Greek food. They launched at the business…
Following months of being on “soldier mode”, we’ve all experienced overwhelm during the covid-19 crisis. Now more than ever we need to be taking care of ourselves. Michael catches up with clinical psychologist Dr Vikki Barnes – a true expert in positive psychology. She is the Founder of Positive Wellbeing,…
In this episode, Michael talks with Amy Ogden. Amy is based in New York City and matches world-class hospitality brands of all sizes with best-in-class agency partners in the areas of digital marketing, web, SEO, paid search, PR, social media, branding and more. Amy gives us an overview of what’s…
In this episode, we have Operations Director Paul Hooker from Boston Tea Party as a guest. The Boston Tea Party is a purpose-driven cafe operator with 24 units across the South-West of England. Paul has more than 20 years of experience in the industry working with some great national brands.…