No Vacancy With Glenn Haussman

Greg Juceam is President and CEO of Extended Stay America as and he's successfully scaling Premier Suites in the middle of one of the hardest building environments we've seen in years.

Suraj Bhakta doesn't sugarcoat the moment. He sees a strong Q1, then watches geopolitics and travel costs squeeze demand again. No Vacancy is the official podcast of AAHOACON, and I talked with Suraj Bhakta of New Gen Advisory on the show floor about how owners react when the Fed shifts, travel gets expensive, and buyers and sellers hit pause.

Red Roof treats AAHOACON like the Super Bowl, and Matt Hostetler explains why: owners, franchisees, and partners all show up in one place. No Vacancy is the official podcast of AAHOACON, and I talked with Matt Hostetler, Chief Development Officer at Red Roof, about growth, franchisee support, and how Red Roof helps owners win when the economy tightens.

MyPlace just hit 125 properties. That milestone matters even more now, because extended stay keeps getting more competitive. During the Hunter Conference, I talked with Eric Myers, VP of Franchise Development at My Place Hotels, about how they keep growing, where they're expanding next, and what he sees heading into 2026.

Bruce Ford keeps coming back to one idea: the next traveling economy will book and spend differently. He tracks the data as SVP at Lodging Econometrics, so he sees the shifts before they feel obvious.

The Lantern has been open four weeks, and Grey Raines already talks about it like a platform, not just another hotel. During the Hunter Conference, I talked with Grey Raines, CEO and Managing Partner of Raines Company, about what they're building next, why they've exited some management relationships, and why adaptive reuse keeps showing up in their deals.

Justin Jabara, President of Meyer Jabara Hotels, keeps AI simple: give hotel teams time back so leaders spend less time buried in admin and more time actually operating. During the Hunter Conference, we talked about what that looks like in real life, plus why their growth focus shifts away from new builds and toward acquisitions and third-party management.

Final chapter. In Chapter 6 of this CoralTree Customer Journey series, we take everything from the last five weeks and put it at the property level. Customer journey work only matters when a hotel team can execute it in real time. This chapter shows what that looks like on the ground. I talk with Curtis Bova, General Manager of Hotel Polaris, about how he turns guest journey strategy into real moments on property - from reading context clues at arrival to training teams for perceptive hospitality and building experiences guests can only get there. Here is what we cover: ·        How the team looks for the purpose and intent behind each stay ·        Perceptive hospitality and using context clues at arrival ·        QR-based itineraries built around guest motivations ·        Hotel Polaris-specific moments (paper airplanes, Flights at Five, themed details) ·        Small touches that also create ancillary revenue opportunities ·        Hiring for personality, onboarding, and empowering prepared people ·

Women enter hospitality at the same rate as men. Then the numbers thin out hard at the top. That gap isn't about "pipeline." It's about progression. Suzanne co-hosts #NoVacancyNews with me, and we talk with Emily Goldfischer of Her Tenure about the leadership study she and her team did with Forbes Travel Guide and what it reveals about what helps women advance—and what still gets in the way.

During the Hunter Conference, I talked with Ben Campbell, CEO of Hospitality America, about what he sees right now: demand pockets, the real booking window, and why operators need to get serious about data before AI forces the issue.

We lost industry icon Kirk Kinsell this past week, and I wanted to re-share this 2024 conversation because it captures who he was and what he meant to many of us: a generous leader, a calm force in the room, and one of the people who helped shape the way this industry thinks about leadership and relationships. In this episode of Icons and Experts with my co-host Doug Artusio from the Extended Stay Lodging Association. Kirk doesn't do chest-thumping. He does substance.

I ran into Wayne West III of Newport Hospitality Group during the Hunter Conference and asked what owners actually want from management right now—and what separates operators who keep getting repeat deals.

Friend of the show CJ Arlotta returns to do some clever PR tricks to make people think Glenn, Craig and Doctor Producer Suzanne are actually funny over here celebrating Happy Hour to get the weekend started. Plus, Bruce Ford joins for added fun.

While I was at the Hunter Conference, I asked John Schultzel of Olympia Hospitality a simple question: where do you actually find profit when there's no silver bullet—just pressure everywhere?

Sacramento doesn't have a Golden Gate Bridge. So they built demand with experiences—and then proved it with room nights. For #NoVacancyNews, I talked with Mike Testa (President & CEO, Visit Sacramento) about how Sacramento positioned itself around farm-to-fork and then stacked events that drive real overnight stays from different customer groups.

Chapter 5 of this 6-part CoralTree Customer Journey series gets into the guest-facing side: how the strategy shows up in communication and touchpoints across the stay. A strong customer journey does not come from slogans. It comes from leadership decisions, team training, and operational discipline - and now you can see it in the guest-facing moments. I talk with Angela Berkey, VP of Customer Engagement at CoralTree Hospitality, about using guest preferences, local context, and property-level ideas to shape pre-arrival messages, arrivals, in-stay surprises, and post-stay rebooking moments. Here is what we cover: ·        How they use guest preferences to shape communication before arrival ·        Arrival moments like a personalized welcome beverage ·        In-stay surprises and delights that feel intentional ·        Departure touchpoints that support loyalty and return visits ·        Post-stay messages tied to what the guest actually did (like spa visits) ·        Why the experience still changes by

Graduate has lived inside Hilton for a year and a half now, and the brand is growing without losing the personality that made it work in the first place. For #NoVacancyNews, I talked with Parker Henderson, the brand head for Graduate, at the Hunter Conference about what Hilton distribution changes, what owners should know, and how Graduate makes development easier with plug-and-play F&B concepts.

While I was at the Hunter Conference, I talked with Greg O'Stean, Chief Development Officer, Hotel Equities about what makes a real owner–operator match—and what operators have to prove in this market. hashtag#NoVacancyNews

The latest Hotel Business Hot Topics session, "Rethinking Hotel F&B: Smarter Strategies for Profit, Community and Stability," in partnership with Entegra, featured an insightful discussion between moderator Glenn Haussman, founder/host, No Vacancy Live podcast, and a panel of industry leaders on how hotels are controlling costs, optimizing procurement and transforming food and beverage into a core revenue driver while creating experiences that resonate with today's guests and local communities.   You'll hear insights from Glenn Haussman (moderator) alongside leaders from Crestline Hotels & Resorts, Davidson Hospitality Group, GF Hotels & Resorts and our Head of Culinary, Lynn Hay.

Glenn freezes, Suzanne can't hear anyone, and Craig somehow turns Milk Duds into a conspiracy theory. That's a normal Friday. For #NoVacancyNews, Friday Night Audit rolls into Episode 205 with Craig Sullivan, Dr. Producer Suzanne, and guest Stephanie Hills (and yes… even her name comes with a plot twist).