Transcript: Episode 132: Know No Limits
LISTEN TO THE EPISODE:
Susan Barry: This is Top Floor, episode 132. You can find the show notes at topfloorpodcast.com/episode/132.
Narrator: Welcome to Top Floor with Susan Barry. 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 Barry.
Susan Barry: Welcome to the show. I'm Susan Barry, and I am delighted to be here. To be back at the 35th Hunter Hotel Investment Conference to record another round of Loading Dock stories. Regular listeners will know that a typical episode of Top Floor includes at least one, often more, funny, crazy, or just plain weird stories about the unique and unusual things that happen in hospitality.
These are the kinds of stories that are never forgotten. They get shared in the break room, at department head meetings, and most especially on the loading dock. And they usually leave the listener crying, laughing, or speechless. At a conference full of hoteliers, there is no shortage of loading dock stories.
In this episode, I'm bringing you a mix of stories I heard from Hunter Conference attendees. If you listened to this episode and are dying for more, stay tuned for episode 133 or go back and listen to our playlist from past Hunter Conferences, which you can find in the show notes.
Going down!
Susan Barry: I am delighted to be here with Stacey Silver, who is going to tell us a little bit about how her Hunter is going so far.
Stacy Silver: Susan, first of all, thank you so much for having me. Love being here at the Hunter Conference. Um, cannot believe it's the 35th year of the Hunter Conference. Um, I've attended it more than I'd like to know, but so far over 2,100 people I've heard.
Susan Barry: Oh, wow.
Stacy Silver: Buzzing with energy. I mean, if you look out on the crowd, I think it's a who's who of hospitality.
Susan Barry: Absolutely. And very exciting to see that their speakers on the podium achieved a 51 percent ratio of diverse speakers - so that was exciting. I know there was a really concerted effort to make that happen this year, so it was good to see.
Stacy Silver: And I don't know if you heard Lee Hunter at his opening, but he talked about that they focus specifically on hearing from different voices and different perspectives. And I think it makes the conference even better because we know specifically how much women and underrepresented minorities bring to the table. I remember being in these conferences in the early 90s. There were not as many of us as I look out today and see here.
Susan Barry: Yeah, there's definitely a lot of women. I felt like in looking at the content that there is also a really interesting focus on multi- generational reps, so younger people not just having this be sort of the bastion of the senior elder executives. So I'm glad to see that as well.
Stacy Silver: 100%. The fact that the Hunters are, you know, honoring Bob Hunter is so special to me because Bob was one of the first people I met in this industry. Helped me so much with my career and being the parent of a junior at the Cornell Hotel School who's entering the industry on his own, I love seeing the next generation take their place.
Susan Barry: Oh, that's really cool. All right, Stacy, I have to know, do you have a Loading Dock story that you want to share with us?
Stacy Silver: So I'll give you the PG version or maybe the G version if that's okay, cause I don't know if I can tell the full story. The parties involved are still in the industry.
Susan Barry: Okay!
Stacy Silver: Um, but when I was a little bit younger, in my twenties, I went to a, I guess at that point it was holiday and worldwide conference. And at the conference, some of my guy friends - whose names shall not be mentioned, but they will know who they are - told me they were taking me out for Chinese food.
Susan Barry: Okay.
Stacy Silver: You know what Chinese food is code for, right?
Susan Barry: No.
Stacy Silver: Strip club.
Susan Barry: Shut your mouth. I did not know that.
Stacy Silver: In guy talk, apparently it is. And when they go for Chinese food as a group, watch out ladies.
Susan Barry: Wow.
Stacy Silver: So they thought they were going to pull one over on me and they took me to a Chinese food strip club. And, um, I saw many people who ran out when they saw me there. Now remember I'm in my twenties,
Susan Barry: Uh-huh.
Stacy Silver: Not married. So what do you do, 20 year old female in a strip club? You get trashed. The only way to survive is you put your feet on so no one can get you a lap dance.
Susan Barry: Uh huh.
Stacy Silver: And you just start drinking. So, I forgot her name, but one of the women who worked there came and said, "Oh my God, honey, how are you here?"
And I said, "Well, my lovely friends told me they were taking me for Chinese food. They were having a grand old time making fun of me."
And she said, "Well, what are you in town for?"
And I said, "We're here for a hotel conference."
And she said, "Oh my God, do you know X?"
And again, there's not enough drinks to let me tell you who X is, because again, still in the industry.
And I said, "Of course I do!"
And then they took, she took me to the back room. Every guy's wet dream. I was in the back room of the strip club. And at that point there were no cell phones, there were only pay phones. So she called the hotel and asked for the gentlemen. Um, I do not know what transpired after that because when I told them why I'd gone to the back room, we booked it out of there.
Susan Barry: Are you serious?
Stacy Silver: Oh, the guys freaked out.
Susan Barry: They didn't want to be spotted.
Stacy Silver: They did not want to be spotted because the gentleman was a highly respected - not married, so he wasn't cheating on his wife…
Susan Barry: Uh-huh!
Stacy Silver: ...you know, completely okay to do whatever...
Susan Barry: Do his thing?
Stacy Silver: Do his thing, but they were petrified when I said the name. The best part though is the next day – You know, how the booths have skirts under them? You know, when you're at a trade show? The gentleman comes walking down the hall and I'm standing with them. I literally tried to hide under the table. He took me by my hands, pulled me up, kiss me on both cheeks and thanked me. So I guess you could say I was a pimp.
Susan Barry: Wow, that is amazing. So, now what I have to find out is, do people still go get Chinese food at conferences? Stay tuned. News at 11.
Stacy Silver: It would be a great thing to find out.
Susan Barry: Yes, yes indeed. Especially Atlanta, that is like a big cultural thing here.
Stacy Silver: This was in Vegas to be fair.
Susan Barry: Got it.
Stacy Silver: So what happens in Vegas? Stays in Vegas.
Susan Barry: Heard, understood.
Stacy Silver: Except on your podcast.
Susan Barry: Well, thank you so much for joining me at the loading dock and I look forward to seeing you again soon.
Stacy Silver: Thank you for having me. It's been a pleasure. Take care.
(Elevator reaching floor sound effect.)
Susan Barry: I am here with Catherine Bolling, who I just met at the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference. Catherine, what are you doing here?
Catherine Bolling: Susan, thank you so much for having me. It's my first time at the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference.
Susan Barry: Oh, nice!
Catherine Bolling: First time sponsor. I work with Lead Line where I'm the Vice President of Sales, managing the hospitality industry-- sector, if you will. Uh, we streamline recruiting for firms looking to hire the top tier talent. I worked for luxury hotels for about 15 years before moving into this space –
Susan Barry: Awesome!
Catherine Bolling: – and I am passionate about bringing in associates that are going to excel your guests needs.
Susan Barry: Always in Washington, D. C. or other markets?
Catherine Bolling: Uh, I spent three years in Atlanta. I actually started my career two blocks from here, at the Ritz Carlton Atlanta in room service. Moved into banquets, food – all food and beverage operations. I used to joke, I've run everything but a food truck. And then I had a food truck facades made for a ballroom event. And, uh, I think that's close enough.
Susan Barry: You knocked that off the list. I was asking about D.C. because before I moved to Atlanta, I was in D.C. and I opened the Weston Arlington Gateway in Ballston. So I wondered if our paths might have ever crossed.
Catherine Bolling: We must have because after I left diplomatic – or excuse me – after I left banquet operations I moved into diplomatic and international sales, which was a very exciting career in Washington DC.
Susan Barry: Yes, yes. Awesome. Well, you must have some good stories from that career. Do tell.
Catherine Bolling: Oh, I do.
Susan Barry: Tell me something crazy, Catherine.
Catherine Bolling: One of my favorites, uh, as a luxury hotel food and beverage manager that had recently left room service and moved into banquets, I was walking by the amenity cart one day. Luxury hotels use these to customize and deliver preferences to their guests. And I happened to see an amenity cart that had a very interesting setup. It was a tray containing an onion, a container of sour cream, and a bag of potato chips. I took a step back and looked at that amenity request, because it was a bit odd, and I laughed out loud when I saw that the guest preference was actually for sour cream and onion and potato chips.
Susan Barry: Oh my god. And they thought it was sour cream, comma, onion, comma, and potato chips. Ladies and gentlemen, I think this is a wonderful opportunity for me to remind you that I am Team Oxford comma. An Oxford comma could have potentially saved the day in this situation.
Catherine Bolling: Indeed. My next one is, you know, the most wonderful part about the hospitality industry is the people and I was lucky enough to meet one of my best friends while working in one of the hotels. He was working as the pastry chef at one of our luxury hotels I worked for. He went on task force for about three weeks. In that time, I lost about five pounds and it took me –
Susan Barry: Because he stopped giving you treats, right?
Catherine Bolling: It took me a few days to realize. It was because I was not visiting his office after BEO meetings.
Susan Barry: Excellent. Excellent. That makes a lot of sense. So what were some of your favorite things that he prepared?
Catherine Bolling: Chocolate nutella banana bread.
Susan Barry: Yes, ma'am! That sounds delicious. How is the Nutella applied in the banana bread?
Catherine Bolling: Oh, he had these creative little pipettes. He would cream the Nutella into a more, uh, creamy surface, I guess, or substance. And then they would use a little pipette and you would, the guests would actually pipe the Nutella cream onto the banana bread themselves.
Susan Barry: Yep. Like sort of- you see that in cocktails, some with little syringes that you can add something to, that's cool. That, ooh, now you're making me hungry.
Catherine Bolling: I know.
Susan Barry: Don't tell me any more stories about dessert or food, please.
Catherine Bolling: Okay, well I've got one that has a little bit of a food twist, but in a way you would not expect.
Susan Barry: Alright, I'll allow it.
Catherine Bolling: So, uh, code and regulations in banquet spaces sometimes prohibit the ability to secure doors open during event setups.
Susan Barry: Okay.
Catherine Bolling: Employees get very creative by building their own door open secure attachments. I have a photo journal of all the creative options I've seen used to open, uh, the banquet doors to make sure they get, the employees can set up the banquet halls.
Susan Barry: Like what? Like tying a sheet around the –
Catherine Bolling: I've seen a head of lettuce. I've seen --
Susan Barry: Stop it!
Catherine Bolling: – yes, I have a picture of a head of lettuce stuck up in between the crevice of the door.
Susan Barry: Oh my God.
Catherine Bolling: I've seen a wet floor caution sign stuck upside down and inserted. And my favorite was a very creative way. Some- someone had taken a piece of silverware and wedged it between the wall protection panel and the door and then tied a piece of saran wrap from food preparation service into the door handle.
Susan Barry: That... sounds dangerous? Question mark?
Catherine Bolling: That's why you're not allowed to do this.
Susan Barry: I think the head of lettuce is probably the best because worst case scenario, like a flying head of lettuce is not that bad of a projectile, right?
Catherine Bolling: Yes, yes.
Susan Barry: Okay. Well, it's been wonderful talking to you. Thank you for joining me on the loading dock.
Catherine Bolling: Thank you so much for letting me share my very fun stories, uh, from my illustrious career in hospitality.
Susan Barry: Excellent, excellent . Thank you.
(Elevator reaching floor sound effect.)
Susan Barry: I am here with Jason Craparo from Hover and Jason is – I think first you got to tell us what Hover is. And then after that, I'm going to hit you up for a story from your past.
Jason Craparo: Sounds good. Uh, Hover drives more direct bookings on, uh, travel and hospitality sites by delivering powerful content from social media or content you may have from the hotels directly on the site. So while the, uh, site visitor is there looking for, uh, room types and spas and the pool scene, they can actually see that content it'll give them greater confidence to book.
Susan Barry: Got it. And so the name comes from hovering over text on the website, right?
Jason Craparo: Text or different elements.
Susan Barry: Got it.
Jason Craparo: So it hovers over your site and you hover over the elements to engage with it.
Susan Barry: Makes sense.
Jason Craparo: Or tap. Tap on mobile.
Susan Barry: So I hear that you have a crazy hospitality coincidence in a business that is fraught with coincidence and small worldness. I think you have one of the best small world stories I've ever heard. You have to tell.
Jason Craparo: Well, coincidentally, we are at the Hunter Conference by an invite from the CEO of TPG resorts, Mike Marshall. Uh, he recently made an investment into Hover. And when we were talking the first time we met back in November, uh, come to find out when I was 17 years old, I worked as a Bellman at the Binghamton Regency, in Binghamton, New York. And I was going to community college, didn't know what I wanted to do, just kind of taking liberal arts, uh, fast forward twenty years later, uh, I start this tech company and Mike was actually the owner of the Binghamton Regency while I was working there.
Susan Barry: That is so crazy!
Jason Craparo: Came full circle.
Susan Barry: So how did you guys find out? Did, so you pitch him for an investment in your company and then do you say like, and I have a long storied history in the hotel business because I started as a bellman when I was a teenager at the Bingham Regency.
Jason Craparo: Binghamton. Yep.
Susan Barry: Yep. And then he's like, hold on a minute. Like, how did it go?
Jason Craparo: It was actually at a bi tech event.
Susan Barry: Okay.
Jason Craparo: And I wasn't pitching him for an investment. So he was one of the people that we met with to show the technology to use for all the TPG resorts.
Susan Barry: Got it.
Jason Craparo: And he quickly said, "Hey, I want to put in on the company. Like, are you guys accepting investment?"
Susan Barry: Mhm.
Jason Craparo: And so it was through about an hour conversation, uh, at the bar that we were just talking about the past and, uh, different jobs we'd had and different places that he'd run or owned or managed.
Susan Barry: Gotcha. Well, that is yet another hospitality small world story. Thank you so much.
Jason Craparo: Thanks for having me.
(Elevator reaching floor sound effect.)
Susan Barry: So excited to be here with Lynn Zwibak and Lynn and I know each other from Female Founders in Hospitality. What are you doing here at Hunter?
Lynn Zwibak: Well, thank you so much for having me.
Susan Barry: Of course!
Lynn Zwibak: I'm really excited. And I am actually here at Hunter representing Women in Travel Thrive. I'm the current co-chair for the organization and I'm happy to be leading our diversity efforts.
Susan Barry: Excellent. And so you guys had an event this morning or you participated in an event this morning?
Lynn Zwibak: We did. We were hosting a table at the table. Which is the official name and it's basically a structured discussion on diversity issues that are impacting the hotel industry.
Susan Barry: Gotcha. Interesting. So, what we've been doing, Lynn, is talking to all of the hoteliers here at the Hunter Conference about the crazy stories that no one has any shortage of. And I know you have lived so many interesting places, both here and abroad, that I have no doubt you've got a great story to tell. So take it away, Lynn.
Lynn Zwibak: Well, thank you. And yes, I have had the opportunity to live in multiple countries due to my husband's work.
Susan Barry: Mm hmm.
Lynn Zwibak: Um, and the story or the incidents that come to mind are from my first abroad experience in Kenya.
Susan Barry: Oh, wow.
Lynn Zwibak: Yeah. Talk about culture shock.
Susan Barry: Really?
Lynn Zwibak: Yes. Quite different on many levels. We underestimate the differences in culture and think that that just relates to food and clothing and language. It goes so far beyond that.
Susan Barry: How so?
Lynn Zwibak: Well, from a funny hotel story, their relationship with asking people for things, in particularly payment, well, is, is not. There is no relationship. In other words, they do not take credit card guarantees because the culture thinks that it's rude to ask people for money.
Susan Barry: Oh my gosh.
Lynn Zwibak: And I was hired to create revenue management at an independent hotel that was located on the same block as the U. S. Embassy and, uh, which also houses the African headquarters for USAID and the United Nations African mission.
Lynn Zwibak: So 40 percent of our clientele was American and at least half of the remainder was international and they didn't take credit card guarantees. And from a revenue management standpoint, that's terrible, but from a cultural standpoint I tried to impart to them that as, as Americans if we don't get asked for our credit card, we don't think we really have a reservation.
Susan Barry: Ah Okay,
Lynn Zwibak: So I had to turn it around as something that they consider rude to something that they were doing us a favor.
Susan Barry: Gotcha. Cause it would give them a confirmation. That makes a lot of sense. What are some of the other countries you've lived in?
Lynn Zwibak: I lived in the Philippines –
Susan Barry: Mmhmm.
Lynn Zwibak: – and they're similar. I did consulting work there, so I didn't have the payment incident, but in restaurants, you have to request the check. It was like that in Kenya also, because again, they think it's rude to bring you the check.
Susan Barry: Oh, wow.
Lynn Zwibak: And, uh, currently I live in El Salvador, where it's also rude for them to bring you the check.
Susan Barry: So does, I mean, does that ever read, like, do people ever just get up and walk away because they're sick of waiting?
Lynn Zwibak: I'm sure. I mean, I've been close. But, usually if we wait, it's not like they disappear, like sometimes in America that happens.
Susan Barry: Uh huh. Especially at hotels.
Lynn Zwibak: Yeah. Yeah, they're there and they're walking, so you just have to wave them down and give them the check signal, but if you don't know that you need to do that, you're going to get annoyed.
Susan Barry: What is happening? That's crazy.
Lynn Zwibak: Right.
Susan Barry: Well, that is good to know. I mean, I think all of those small things that you learn about other cultures help you to be a more empathetic and understanding person, so thank you for sharing that. It was great to have you on the Loading Dock.
Lynn Zwibak: It was great to be here. Thank you.
(Elevator reaching floor sound effect.)
Susan Barry: I am here with Rachel Vandenberg. Tell us everything, Rachel.
Rachel Vandenburg: Well, hello. It's so great to be back with you, Susan, and to meet you in person.
Susan Barry: Yes.
Rachel Vandenburg: After we did a podcast together years ago now, I think you were one of my first that I was on and inspired me to start my own.
Susan Barry: Awesome.
Rachel Vandenburg: Uh, so I own a hotel, the Sunnenski Inn and Suites. I also have a podcast called The Travel Leader, and I'm a leadership coach, um, and I have a great women in leadership event called Accelerate Women Leaders in Travel.
Susan Barry: Excellent well, rumor has it that you have a hotel story to share. Hotel stories are my favorite story. So let's hear it. I'm on the edge of my seat. Tell me everything.
Rachel Vandenburg: Okay. Well, so, uh, this was about, I want to say a year ago, a little more than a year ago. So my gym is down the street from my hotel and we have a, our hotel is in Stowe, Vermont, and the road going by it is the mountain road. And so I'm driving to the gym and naturally, you know, every time when you go by your hotel, you look and you count cars, right? You're like looking to see what's happening.
Rachel Vandenburg: So I'm driving by the hotel and as my head is turning and I'm looking at the building, I see what looks like black billowing smoke
Susan Barry: Oh my god!
Rachel Vandenburg: coming out of the side of one of the parts of the building.
Susan Barry: Never what you want to see.
Rachel Vandenburg: No. Definitely not. Um, so there was obviously a feeling of panic that was rising inside of me, but I knew that it was coming from the room where we have a wood burning fireplace.
Rachel Vandenburg: And I also know that we tend to smoke out that room a lot. And so the denial part of me was like, "Oh, they just smoked out the room." Like, I'm sure it's fine. And I kept driving.
Susan Barry: Are you serious? Oh my God. You're like, not my problem. Got to go. Got to go.
Rachel Vandenburg: I was like, well, my husband's there. He'll take care of it. But then of course I get the phone call from my panicking husband who's there. The fire alarm is going off and of course the sprinklers are going
Susan Barry: Oh no!
Rachel Vandenburg: And that's not just something you can shut off
Susan Barry: Uh-uh.
Rachel Vandenburg: at that point. But you have to wait for the fire department to come and they have to allow you to turn off the sprinklers. Uh, so in the meantime, the lobby is flooding with water.
Susan Barry: Oh no! And that is not the kind of water that is like crystal clear from a spring-
Rachel Vandenburg: No.
Susan Barry: -either.
Rachel Vandenburg: No.
Susan Barry: It's definitely not your favorite water.
Rachel Vandenburg: No.
Susan Barry: Oh, god.
Rachel Vandenburg: Yeah. So the water is rising. It's seeping under the walls, you know, the dry wall into other areas like the bathrooms and, um, you know, everywhere in the lobby.
Rachel Vandenburg: Um, so they immediately I turn, I, you know, did a U. E. Turn around, like, you know, got back to the hotel people. And then, of course, Because it's part of the building where our bowling alley is...
Susan Barry: Uh-huh?
Rachel Vandenburg: ...people are having to stop their games of bowling, rush out of the bowling alley. The entire building has to be cleared. We lose a ton of money that day for reservations that we couldn't follow through with.
Susan Barry: Oh no!
Rachel Vandenburg: So, and granted, I'll, I have a confession, this was the second time that we've had a flood in this room due to a tripped sprinkler. So the whole room had to be dried out, repainted, um, but all is well that ends well. It actually, we were lucky, it only took about seven days to get it fully back operational.
Susan Barry: Wow, that's crazy. So was it the fireplace?
Rachel Vandenburg: Yes. So unfortunately, one of our employees had decided to put cardboard in the fireplace and then, uh, so high that, um, this is the other like learning point of the story. We had real garland on the fireplace mantle.
Susan Barry: Ahh!
Rachel Vandenburg: So the fire caught to the garland-
Susan Barry: Oh no!
Rachel Vandenburg: -then set the wreath on fire, -
Susan Barry: Oh my god!
Rachel Vandenburg: and was heading towards the ceiling and that trips the sprinklers. So, that's -
Susan Barry: That is cuckoo. But I really have to wonder about this person thinking they should burn up some cardboard inside in a fireplace.
Rachel Vandenburg: Yeah, no, it was not smart. And clearly we had to have a little discussion about that afterwards.
Susan Barry: Well, I'm glad that you were able to recover and get your room back and next time you drive past billowing smoke...
Rachel Vandenburg: Yeah…
Susan Barry: ...maybe you'll hit the brakes?
Rachel Vandenburg: Right? Exactly.
Susan Barry: Awesome. Thank you for visiting me on the loading dock.
Rachel Vandenburg: Yeah, thanks for having me, Susan.
(Elevator reaching floor sound effect.)
Rachel Vandenburg: I am so excited to be here on day two of the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference. Sarah, tell us your name, where you work, and all about yourself.
Sarah Dinger: Thank you, Susan. I'm Sarah Dinger. I'm the EVP of Franchise Operations for My Place Hotels. It's an honor to be here with you, Susan.
Susan Barry: Oh, it's my honor, absolutely! And we have had CEO Ryan Rivett on the show in the past, as well as I assume your partner in crime Eric in the past. So I'm very happy to have another person from My Place Hotels. So Sarah, as I'm sure those guys told you, one of my favorite things is to hear people's crazy stories from our industry, but I also like to hear about their careers and the special things that have happened to them. So I'm going to stop babbling and turn it over to you and let you tell me what you want to tell me.
Sarah Dinger: Sure. Uh, absolutely. So, um, my background has been in hospitality. I joined, uh, the Rivett family, uh, as the first employee of My Place.
Susan Barry: Oh, wow.
Sarah Dinger: I've had a great honor. Uh, I've got many stories to tell. Uh, there are a lot of stories in this industry, so, um, I always tell my colleagues we should write a book.
Susan Barry: Yes!
Sarah Dinger: So I appreciate the work that you're doing to share these stories because there are many of them.
Susan Barry: Don't you think when people tell you, "Oh, you should write a book," you're like, " Dude, I can't write a book. Nobody would believe this crazy stuff happened."
Sarah Dinger: I could agree with that.
Susan Barry: It doesn't seem real.
Sarah Dinger: No, it doesn't.
Susan Barry: Absolutely true. So, are you going to pull one of those stories out of your hat? Are you saving it for the book?
Sarah Dinger: No, I will share two stories. One is a very heartfelt story that I personally experienced. And I happened to be visiting one of our My Place locations. And I was sitting in the lobby, and I later learned that this family was relocating to the area, and their home that they were building was not finished yet.
Susan Barry: Oh, god.
Sarah Dinger: So they had to check into the hotel. They were going to be there for 30 to 45 days. I didn't know this at the time. And this family walks in the door to check in. And it's an expecting mother. She had a little boy that was maybe 2 to 3, the dad, and then their daughter who was older, 5 or 6 years old. And they walk in, and the little boy says, "Oh my gosh, this is our house?"
Susan Barry: Oh!
Sarah Dinger: He was so excited.
Susan Barry: That's amazing.
Sarah Dinger: And I can only imagine what he was thinking. "I have people here to wait on me! There's like a snack store right here in front of me!" So it was just a good humble reminder of the things and the experiences and the impressions that we make every day.
Susan Barry: That is so adorable. I love that he thought that your hotel was his house. Oh my gosh. I wonder if he was like, "Why do we all have to share one room if we have this huge house?"
Sarah Dinger: Yeah, I didn't see post checkout- check in. But...
Susan Barry: Excellent. All right. What about something a little more... salacious?
Sarah Dinger: Yes. So I have, uh, For some reason, you know, in the industry, even if you're your friends are not in the industry, they always think they need to tell every single story. And I appreciate that because, uh, it's a crazy world, but I had a friend and colleague that travels, you know, all the time, both internationally and in the States.
And, um, he was going to a particular location, more of a downtown feel, and kind of a prestigious place. Walked into the hotel, got checked into his room, everything looked really good. This is several, several years ago. Um, was starting to get uh, settled in, and he opened up the closet door, and a blow up doll fell out.
Susan Barry: No, ma'am!
Sarah Dinger: Yes, and-
Susan Barry: Oh my gosh.
Sarah Dinger: And he walked right out of the room. He caught the first housekeeper that he could. And this is a time when walkie talkies were, you know, the main line of communication.
Susan Barry:: Yes!
Sarah Dinger: The housekeeper gets on the walkie talkie, calls down to the front desk and says, "We have a guest in room 1241 that we need to move because there's a blow up doll in the room." And so that just makes the story even worse-
Susan Barry: Poor thing!
Sarah Dinger: -because everybody in the hotel, now this is broadcasted.
Susan Barry: Oh my goodness.
Sarah Dinger: General manager shows up, you know apologizes you like no other, explains that there was a bachelor party in there the night before- I don't know if that made the story better or worse. Nonetheless, moved into a different room.
Susan Barry: Oh well, that's a relief. You know what I can't stop thinking about is what if he had checked in and was like sleeping in the bed, woke up in the middle of the night and found it? Then he would have thought a murderer was after him!
Sarah Dinger: Oh my gosh!
Susan Barry: Can you imagine? Now I sort of want to leave one behind in every hotel that I stay at.
Sarah Dinger: It'll be your trademark.
Susan Barry: Yes, exactly. Well, Sarah, thank you so much for joining me at the loading dock.
Sarah Dinger: Thank you.
Susan Barry: Thanks so much to the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference for hosting Top Floor. Hunter brings together the hotel industry's most influential leaders and investors for networking opportunities and insightful sessions on hospitality trends. Deals are built on meaningful relationships and Hunter is where those relationships are made and deals get done. For more information, visit www.hunterconference.com .
(Top Floor Podcast Theme plays)
Susan Barry: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for listening. You can find the show notes at topfloorpodcast.com/episode/132. 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 will go a long way in helping us give you more of what you like.
Narrator: Thanks for listening to the Top Floor Podcast at www.topfloorpodcast.com. Have a hospitality marketing question? Reach us at 850-404-9630 to be featured in a future episode.
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