No Vacancy With Glenn Haussman

We're exploring maximizing hashtag#hotel Customer Journey opportunity!!!! To kick off this 6-part Customer Journey series, I wanted to start at the top: why this matters now and how leadership turns better service into an actual company-wide plan. We'll be focusing on how CoralTree Hospitality is leveraging tech to connect with customers. In Chapter 1, I talk with Tom Luersen, President of CoralTree Hospitality, about why CoralTree spent a year building this strategy and how they are thinking about customized guest experiences at scale. Here is what we cover: ·       Why CoralTree made the guest journey a priority now ·       Why they spent a full year building buy-in instead of rushing rollout ·       How they built a real plan (not a one-time initiative) ·       Standards of Care vs. standard procedures ·       How they balance technology with high-touch service ·       Why continuous improvement matters as guest behavior changes Next week: we get into the operational backbone - empowerment, trust, and

Puerto Rico rainforest on one side. Ocean on the other. A 607-acre resort in the middle. I talked with Chris Sariego, COO of LionGrove, at Wyndham Grand Rio Mar about how they used a $70 million reinvention to reposition the property around eco-experiences, expand amenity appeal, and keep more spend on-property.

A speakeasy bar with an actual vault door sits off the casino floor at Wyndham Grand Rio Mar. I walk in, meet Michael "Mac" MacDonnell, Vice President of F&B & Entertainment with LionGrove, and we turn it into a "quick chat" that somehow includes popcorn in a martini. #NoVacancyNews

Black Desert Resort shows what "demand drivers" look like when you actually build them. Today we look at Modern luxury on #NoVacancyNews I walk the property with Nicholas Gold, Managing Director, in Ivins (greater St. George / greater Zion), Utah.

Hotels train teams to spot human trafficking and other suspicious activity. Training alone doesn't solve the handoff problem. #NoVacancyNews I talk with Georgine Muntz (CEO) and Patty Jefferson (Chief Revenue Officer) at Visual Matrix about building reporting into the workflow so staff can act fast without leaving their job to go hunt down a manager.

I'm recording this from a hotel room because that's where I live now. I keep hearing "AI" in every hotel conversation, so I pulled in Kevin Duncan, Executive Vice President, Product at Cendyn to talk about what actually works—especially at the front desk. 

Wahlburgers cleans up the messy parts of growth so quality stays non-negotiable.  I'm in Las Vegas with Randy Sharpe, CEO, President, and board member of Wahlburgers. He breaks down what he changed, what he cut, and how he plans growth without letting the brand drift.

This week I attended CoralTree Hospitality's Leadership Forum at Black Desert Resort and spent time with Andre' Fournier, Chief Commercial Officer, about what this event should accomplish once people go back to their hotels on hashtag#NoVacancyNews. Andre explains why CoralTree brings its leaders together, how the company onboarded more than 100 new leaders this year, and how Affinity Teams share real-world ideas across properties. We also talk about why CoralTree puts owners and operators in the same room and what that changes at the property level. We cover:

At CoralTree Hospitality's Annual Leadership Forum, I talked with Tom Luersen, President of CoralTree Hospitality, for hashtag#NoVacancyNews about what the company expects leaders to do once everyone leaves and goes back to their properties. We get into why they bring people together in the first place, how they use Affinity Clubs to keep projects moving, and how they track progress without turning it into theater. We also talk about how they set direction early in the year and where AI, the hashtag#guestjourney, and talent development fit into day-to-day operations. We cover:

Friday Night Audit: the minisode where karma finally collects… with teeth. #NoVacancyNews   Craig Sullivan and Dr. Producer Suzanne Bagnera, PhD, CHA, CED join me for happy hour storytelling starting with "four time zones in one day" and ends with me getting bitten by something, I never even saw. After 200+ episodes of me slinging insults, I consider this a performance review from the universe.  

A $70M reinvestment only matters if guests feel it. I'm in Puerto Rico at the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar with Andro Nodarse-Leon, CEO of property owner Lion Grove, for #NoVacancyNews. Andro walks through how the team rethought this 30-year-old resort around how people actually spend time on property—what they do, where they go, and why they stay. Andro explains how the rainforest, beach, and golf course influence design and programming, and how the rebuild touches sustainability, wellness, and operations—not as buzzwords, but as decisions that change guest flow. We also talk F&B strategy: variety, authenticity, local sourcing, and how you build experiences that keep guests engaged from morning through night. We cover:

Luxury doesn't mean more steps. It means fewer problems before guests even notice them. Suzanne "Dr. Producer" Bagnera, PhD, and I spoke with Mourad Essafi, General Manager of Impression Isla Mujeres (a Hyatt all-inclusive), on #NoVacancyNews about what ultra-luxury actually looks like when you stop adding layers and start removing friction. Mourad talks about how his background in sales and operations shapes the way he runs the resort, why the arrival experience starts before guests ever reach the island, and how small operational decisions change how people actually feel about a stay. We also get into what "endless privileges" really means in practice, why convenience often beats opulence, and how guest feedback turns into real changes on property. We cover:

Most hotels want F&B to drive more revenue. A lot of them still make it harder than it needs to be for guests to actually order. Narda Malakzad and Andrea Laderman, co-founders of Goldi, joined me on #NoVacancyNews to talk about something most hotels underestimate: how dietary needs, allergies, and food preferences quietly kill both guest experience and check size. We talk about what actually happens when guests don't know what they can eat, why people avoid asking questions, and how that friction shows up in lower spend and fewer repeat visits. We also get into how a simple, personalized menu experience changes behavior in the dining room and simplifies things for servers and kitchens at the same time. We cover:

This episode of #NoVacancyNews looks at how a hotel management merger came together — the conversations, timing, and decisions that led up to it. I spoke with Len Wolman, Chairman & CEO of Waterford Hotel Group, and Bob Habeeb, Founder & CEO of Maverick Hotels and Restaurants, about how their relationship developed, how long the process took, and what needed to line up before they moved forward. They explain what they focused on early, why they chose not to rush, and how owner needs and operational realities shaped their decision. They walk through the steps as they happened, without wrapping the story in theory or hindsight. We cover:

The gap between luxury hotels and everyone else keeps getting wider — and ignoring it won't make it shrink. Suraj Bhakta, CEO & Chief Legal Officer of NewGen Advisory, and I spoke on #NoVacancyNews about what's driving that divide. More important, we talked through actionable insights owners outside the luxury segment can actually implement. Suraj and I get into why upper upscale and #luxury continue to separate from the pack, how price sensitivity hits other segments harder, and why relying on rate alone only goes so far. We also talk through practical ways owners are looking beyond RevPAR and starting to think about total revenue without taking on massive capital projects. We cover:

Food and beverage does more than fill seats — it creates memories, reasons to return, and stories guests take home. That's the focus of this episode of #NoVacancyNews, filmed across Resorts World Las Vegas. I'm joined by Josef Wagner, Senior Vice President of Food & Beverage at Resorts World Las Vegas, for a walk-and-talk look at how a modern integrated resort uses F&B to drive engagement beyond gaming. Josef shares how Resorts World approaches pop-ups, immersive lounges, celebrity chef partnerships, and venue flexibility — all with the goal of giving guests something new to experience every visit. From rooftop mixology activations to food hall experimentation and live entertainment integration, this conversation shows how F&B becomes a strategic growth engine, not just an amenity. What stood out to me is how intentionally the team tests ideas before locking them in. Pop-ups act as real-time focus groups, allowing the guest — not a spreadsheet — to decide what stays. We cover:

Most hotels look good. That's not the problem. The harder part is giving people a reason to stay longer, spend more, and remember why they were there in the first place. In this episode of #NoVacancyNews, I talk with Alexis Readinger, Founder of Preen, about food-and-beverage design and how often hotels get it almost right — and why "almost" usually isn't enough. Alexis and I get into why so many hotel restaurants and bars start to feel interchangeable, how that happens, and what gets lost when design decisions don't start with a clear point of view. We talk about experiential dining, design trends, capital choices, and why solid food alone doesn't save a space that doesn't quite work. This interview was supposed to happen in person at ALIS Design. We ended up doing it remotely, which is pretty on-brand for how plans tend to go.

What hotel owners and investors are doing matters more than what gets said on stage. In this episode of No Vacancy, Glenn Haussman connects with Bruce Ford, SVP at Lodging Econometrics, as he reports from ALIS in Los Angeles. Bruce shares what he's seeing in the data and hearing in off-the-record conversations. The discussion focuses on how owners weigh new development versus conversions, how capital continues to move, and what influences decision-making as the industry looks toward 2026. Topics include: • How owners compare new development, conversions, and recapitalization • Where cost pressure continues to affect returns • How AI conversations sound more practical than speculative • Why certain asset types keep attracting investment • How labor and operating costs affect large hotels • Why portfolio reshaping and consolidation remain on the table Sponsored by Unifocus — technology that drives value. Learn more at Unifocus.com.

This Day 3 ALIS update focuses on what the data shows — not predictions, not sentiment. In this episode of No Vacancy, Glenn Haussman connects remotely with Bruce Ford, SVP at Lodging Econometrics, who is on the ground at ALIS in Los Angeles. Bruce walks through current pipeline data and how it lines up with conversations happening at the conference. The discussion stays focused on pipeline mix, renovation volume, brand activity, and where capital continues to move across markets. Topics include: • How conversions and renovations show up across the pipeline • Where midscale brands appear most frequently in current data • What renovation volume looks like compared to prior cycles • How brand consistency factors into development discussions • How financing conditions shape development decisions • Which markets continue to show momentum Sponsored by Unifocus — technology that drives value. Learn more at Unifocus.com.

Regional casino resorts don't win anymore by adding square footage — they win by designing experiences that keep guests longer and spending more. That's the focus of this episode of #NoVacancyNews. I'm joined by Kelly Devine, Principal and Partner, and Emily Marshall, Principal and Interior Design Leader at HBG Design, and guest host Dr. Suzanne Bagnera to talk about the evolution of regional gaming resorts and what operators should be paying attention to right now. We use Gun Lake Casino Resort in Michigan as the case study, breaking down how design decisions directly affect length of stay, guest behavior, operational efficiency, and profitability. This isn't about pretty spaces for Instagram — it's about building resorts that actually perform. What stood out to me is how intentionally HBG starts with operations first. They design the engine before the body, which explains why these projects drive measurable business results instead of just visual impact. We cover: