Distinguished
Welcome to the Distinguished podcast with Dean Arun Upneja of Boston University School of Hospitality Administration.
We skip the small talk and get right into the top-of-mind topics in the world of hospitality, including and certainly not limited to inflation; recruiting and retaining talent; the need to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion; wellness and wellbeing of our team and our guests; climate action; and the impact of robotics and a.i. on the future of Hospitality. And that’s just to name a few.
On this show, you’ll hear from executives, general managers, founders, and investors who live and breathe Hospitality. The “distinguished” guests on this podcast represent all areas of our industry from hotels and restaurants to entertainment and sporting venues, travel and tourism, and of course, a favorite pastime for many of us —shopping — because, to put it simply, Hospitality is, at play in most parts of our lives and livelihood.
Distinguished
Big Brand Hotels: Striving to be Guests’ Everything with Julienne Smith, Chief Development Officer, Americas of IHG Hotels & Resorts
The “You Can Be Anything” Barbie slogan could apply just as easily to the ever-expanding brand choices of major hotel groups such as IHG Hotels & Resorts which now has 6,200 hotels in more than 100 countries. In a similar fashion, over the decades, the Barbie portfolio has grown to encompass 250+ careers, countless outfits, and multiple dreamhouses. Plus, Barbie has gone far, having traveled throughout the world (and to outer space)!
In the hotel world, striving to be the guests’ “everything” for work and play (or the blending of the two) is the dream. Julienne Smith, Chief Development Officer, Americas of IHG Hotels & Resorts, illuminates the qualitative values and practices that deliver on the brand promise of exceeding quality expectations.
Bringing Barbie and hotel brand worlds together, we might just want to add “Bleisure Barbie” to the collection!
The “Distinguished” podcast is produced by Boston University School of Hospitality Administration.
Host: Arun Upneja, Dean
Producer: Mara Littman, Director of Corporate and Public Relations
Sound Engineer and Editor: Andrew Hallock
Graphic Design: Rachel Hamlin, Marketing Manager
Music: “Airport Lounge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
