Have you ever been on a cruise ship? No?! If you need some convincing, this podcast episode featuring @Wybcke Meier, the CEO of @TUI Cruises, will tell you all you want to know about the cruise world. Wybcke spoke to @Philip about how TUI cruises came together and told us how traveling on a #cruise works with the incredible size of the ships and the number of passengers on board. She also explained how people experience cruises and activities on shore, as some plan them themselves and others use cruise offers. Wybcke also highlighted that the crew members are the most significant part of the business, as they play the most important part in making each cruise work and the experiences unique. As Phil and Wybcke discussed sustainability and ways to reduce our carbon footprint, she also mentioned the upcoming latest addition to the TUI Cruises-fleet, which will be much more environmentally friendly than previous ships. Last but not least, she also let us in on the secrets surrounding her family’s bakery and her favorite thing in her day-to-day life as CEO: working with the best team to improve the cruise experience for guests. Enjoy the show.

After 3 years of absence, the ITB Berlin, the world’s largest exhibition event for the hospitality industry, will be back in full throttle this year. We know you are as excited as we are, so here is a little personal service for you from us. Deborah Rothe, the Exhibition Director of the ITB Berlin, joined us on the podcast and we asked her what to expect from ITB Berlin 2023 and how it will differ from the last live ITB Berlin event back in 2019. Deborah told us about her career path to becoming the new exhibition director just weeks prior to this year’s event and the most memorable exhibitor stand from the years she has been involved with the ITB. Needless to say we asked her about the infamous afterparties that take place throughout the city during the week of ITB and Deborah shared the craziest moment of her career in working on exhibitions related to the ITB with us. Enjoy the show.

Missing the beach? So are we, so we brought somebody to the podcast that knows all about beaches, hotels and hospitality. Alexander Schneider, president of Nikki Beach’s Hotels & Resorts division came to visit us and told us the touching story of how the name “Nikki Beach” came about, the company’s transition from beaches and F&B to hotels and what a true “Nikki Beach experience” for guests is all about. Alex and Fritz discussed the evolution of Nikki Beach, where Alex would like to open other locations and why city locations are very much an option for the brand. The two of them also debated about the change in tourism and travel, the social responsibilities in developing new destinations, as well as the importance of creating a positive workspace. Lastly, Alex let us in on the hype around one of the hottest (quite literally!) destinations in hospitality development at the moment and told us about his most memorable travel moment. Enjoy the show!

Christoph Hoffmann, Founder of the 25hours Hotels, came to visit us on the show and talked to us about his path into hospitality and founding 25hours Hotels, their success, his way of thinking in concept & design to create a certain atmosphere with food & beverages, staying local and his future plans with Bikini Island & Mountain Hotels. The successful hotelier, who started in a wine shop, explained to Philip how his past experiences in gastronomy developed his interest in hospitality. From #NewYork, to #Jerusalem, to #Hamburg and working in Sales & Marketing at Kempinski’s Atlantic Hotel, he decided that he wanted to do something of his own. That’s where the story of the famous 25hours Hotels commenced, starting one of the most successful stories in recent hotel history. Christoph told us about the meaning of concept and atmosphere in the design of his hotels as well as the importance of well-thought-out F&B Outlets. He also explained to us why he is very optimistic in the partnership with Ennismore and Accor and told us about his latest project, the development of Bikini Island & Mountain Hotels. Needless to say, we couldn’t let Christoph go without asking some of our usual questions about his favourite books, most memorable vacation destinations, podcast recommendations and more. Enjoy the show!

Torgeir Silseth, the CEO of Nordic Choice Hotels, joined us on the podcast after the Nordic Hotel Conference in Copenhagen and talked to us about the Conference itself, including his participation in the talk “The Battle of the Giants”, how he got to Nordic Choice Hotels, their challenges and what’s coming in the near future. Patrizia and Torgeir talked about his way into hospitality and the industry, as well as his journey to becoming a General Manager and ultimately a CEO. Torgeir let us in on the growth of Nordic Choice Hotels, from being a small chain that grew into a hotel group with more than 200 hotels in Scandinavia and the circumstances of expanding in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Lithuania. Since the NHC in Copenhagen had been postponed due to the pandemic, Torgeir also shared with us the importance of keeping the culture intact during times like these – prioritising open and transparent but also welcoming communication towards your employees since the situation was hard on both parties. To round off the podcast, Pat and Torgeir discussed the bright future ahead of us in the hospitality industry. Enjoy the show!

The Leading Hotels of the World have cemented their legacy in hospitality for years. Their current President and CEO, Shannon Knapp, joined us on the show and Patrizia and her spoke about the importance of remaining open to new opportunities, that success is not always a linear path and the essence of having mentors in your life that help you navigate through your career. Shannon highlighted the great opportunity of having been able to restructure the organization and invest in developing the data and technology infrastructure. She also spoke to us about the importance of matching the right guest with the right hotel as a travellers preferences are shifting towards emotional wellness, sustainability as well as trading up. We could not let Shannon go without talking about gender parity, female leaders in hospitality and learned that the first president of LHW was in fact a woman named Edith L. Turner. On a final note, Shannon gave us an insight into how she wants the legacy to remain and what goals LHW is striving to achieve in the next ten years. Enjoy the show!

Pascal Jenny, the president of Arosa Tourism in Switzerland came to visit us on the show and talked to us about saving bears, the Arosa 2030 vision and the uniqueness of skiing. The former professional handball player told Philip about the Arosa Bärenland Foundation, whose mission is to save bears, and how they do it by complementing their tourism marketing efforts. Pascal talked to us about visitor numbers in the region, Arosa's target group marketing and the Arosa 2030 vision, which aims to reduce the ecological footprint of the entire destination year by year. Philip and Pascal also spoke about their thoughts on employee satisfaction in the hotel industry, appreciation, consumption today and how it used to be. Obviously we couldn’t let Pascal go, before he answered some fun questions about sports, sustainability, and board games! Enjoy the show!

You heard it here first and to mark the occasion, Mieke Veldhuis, Chief People & Culture Officer at The Social Hub, is our guest on our next podcast episode. She revealed to us why The Student Hotel outgrew its name and is changing it to The Social Hub and why the new name is true to the core meaning of TSH. Fritz and Mieke talked about hybrid hospitality and how it resonates with the hub, change management and the challenges that TSH had to face in the past. The Social Hub connects all kinds of stays under one roof: students, short stay hotel guests, long stay hotel guests, co-working and co-living and so Mieke explained the role and importance of people and culture in all that. Mieke also highlighted why she got into hospitality and how her paths crossed with TSH, having worked in retail most of her life. To wrap up, Mieke let us in on a personal secret, what the future holds for The Social Hub and her most memorable hotel experience. Enjoy the show!

In this episode we had the chance to speak to the Co-founder and Managing Director of Limehome, Dr. Josef Vollmayr. We were introduced to the rise of alternative accommodations and the success of sharing economies. Florian and Josef spoke about the companies USP of having no manual interaction in the guest journey as well as building value through technology following the change in customer behaviour. As Josef is a founder, the gentlemen shed light on the key challenges of start-ups and we got an insight into the dynamic venture capitalist scene for tech-enabled hospitality products. Josef reflected upon the benefits of focussing on smaller cities and properties, gaining insights from American concepts and logically we couldn’t end the episode without talking about our dreams and wishes for the future. Enjoy the show!

We are back with a brand new podcast season of #smackstories and stopped at nothing short of one of the biggest names in Hospitality globally to kick off the season in style. Sébastien Bazin, Chairman & CEO of Accor Group, joined us on the show and had a lot of fun giving us a recap on his past 10 years with Accor and what is planned for the upcoming years. Sébastien & Fritz discussed Accor’s idea of augmented reality, a more leaner and agile business concept, a shift in the developers mindset as well as an orientation towards sustainability. Sébastien also explained to us what the core of Accor’s Heartist® concept is and why the love for people is so important for this industry. We also learned how to make a loyalty program sexy and how to connect with local communities. Needless to say that Fritz and Sébastien couldn’t help but briefly talk about their mutual passion for football and do a quick analysis of Fritz’ discoveries while visiting one of the Mama Shelter properties for the first time as he was on a date there several years ago. Enjoy the show!