The Hospitality Mentor

Host Steve Turk revisits an archived Hospitality Mentor Podcast episode featuring award-winning chef and restaurateur David Burke, who shares his path from dishwasher at a Sheraton to culinary school, Europe, and major New York kitchens. Burke recounts being mentored by a country club chef named Jose, attending the CIA, traveling through Europe, and working in top French restaurants and pastry school despite language barriers. He describes returning to the U.S. to work with, Daniel Boulud, and Charlie Palmer, then becoming executive chef at The River Café, earning a three-star New York Times review with a notable photo and winning the 1988 Tokyo culinary Olympics. Burke discusses opening and expanding restaurants, learning business under Alan Stillman, fighting for signature dishes like his pork shank, navigating partnerships, mentoring teams, and advising young cooks to stay focused, learn constantly, document, embrace mistakes, and find balance.Thank you to our sponsor Lodgify for this episode. Make sure to try Lodgify with our promo code THM60. 00:00 Welcome to the Podcast00:33 Sponsor Lodgify Platform01:35 Chef David Burke Intro02:19 First Kitchen Job03:25 Jose Tough Lesson06:34 Parents and Early Drive10:14 Culinary School Path11:21 CIA Mindset and Growth12:57 Europe Opportunity16:13 Chefs and Styles Abroad18:59 Back to New York Rise21:33 Leading River Cafe24:48 Finding Personal Style26:08 Critics and Pressure27:37 Fearless Creativity Basics28:23 NYT Three Star Breakthrough29:21 Chocolate Butterfly Story30:25 Park Avenue Cafe Deal31:34 Miami Beach Opening Chaos33:22 Pork Shank Menu Fight35:13 First Restaurant Renegades37:21 Expansion Partner Fallout38:21 Choosing Business Partners40:14 How Chef Culture Changed43:52 Cookbooks Nightlife Pitfalls45:56 Building Restaurants Today47:08 Mentoring Creative Chefs48:13 Advice To Young Dishwasher50:45 Closing Thanks Sponsor

Host Steve Turk introduces an archived 2022 Hospitality Mentor Podcast episode featuring Raul Leal, then CEO of SH Hotels & Resorts (now CEO of Starwood). Leal recounts starting at Miami’s Everglades Hotel working with his Cuban-immigrant father, setting early goals to become a GM, and progressing through front desk and food-and-beverage roles, including managing a Sheraton with a major nightclub, before becoming a GM in La Jolla and later leading larger Sheraton properties in Denver, Chicago, Cleveland, and Miami. He describes launching and scaling Teton Hospitality and its boutique arm, Desires Hotels, driven by frustration with legacy-brand sameness and belief in internet-driven distribution. Leal shares how meeting Richard Branson led him to build Virgin Hotels from scratch, and why he later joined Starwood/SH Hotels to lead brands including 1 Hotels, Baccarat Hotels, and Treehouse, emphasizing sustainability, better back-of-house spaces, mentorship, clear goals, and kindness in leadership.Try Lodgify with a 60 percent discount on all their yearly and bi-yearly plans with our code THM60 , and that's THM6000:00 Podcast Welcome00:33 Sponsor Lodgify01:38 Archive Episode Setup02:10 First Hospitality Job04:12 Choosing Hospitality Career05:18 Learning Without College05:55 Climbing Into Management08:21 First GM Move West09:27 Mentors And GM Life10:24 Big Hotels Career Ladder11:59 Entrepreneurial Leap14:10 Building Boutique Portfolio15:47 Travel Reality Check17:40 Why Launch Desires20:26 First Boutique Wins21:43 Lifestyle Hotel Edge23:00 Richard Branson Connection23:43 Meeting Richard Branson25:12 Consulting Turns Into Leadership26:41 Inside Virgin Culture28:45 Building Virgin Hotels From Scratch31:00 Choosing The First Property32:24 Chicago Launch And Expansion34:20 Leaving Virgin For SH Hotels36:16 SH Brands And Sustainability40:31 Growth Plans And Openings41:28 Reimagining Back Of House44:04 Advice For Young Leaders45:46 Closing And Sponsor Message

Host Steve Turk welcomes Elizabeth Mullins, President of Evermore Hospitality, who shares her start as a server at New Hampshire’s Lobster Shack and her first hotel role as a Ritz-Carlton Boston management trainee after earning hospitality and business degrees. Mullins recounts being inspired by a childhood Ritz-Carlton visit, spending 28 years with Ritz-Carlton as it grew from six to 99 hotels, opening multiple properties across Asia, becoming a GM multiple times, and later an area vice president. Recruited to Disney, she led global hotel development, renovations, premium services, and worked through the pandemic including the NBA bubble. She then helped open New York’s Fifth Avenue Hotel as COO/Managing Director, learning independent distribution and culture measurement, before joining Evermore after being approached for her luxury-and-scale expertise. She describes Evermore’s “togetherness” concept, Conrad Orlando anchor, 300+ villas/homes around an 8-acre Crystal Lagoon, extensive amenities, and plans for growth, and closes with career advice on courage, speaking up, integrity, and hospitality as a lifestyle.This episode was brought to you by Lodgify. Use code THM60. 00:00 Podcast Welcome00:33 Sponsor Lodgify01:38 Meet Elizabeth Mullins02:00 First Hospitality Jobs03:17 Ritz Spark at Five05:44 Ritz Career Growth09:28 Asia Expat Adventure17:04 Service Lessons Abroad18:54 Leaving for Disney21:07 Disney Hotels Role23:15 Frictionless Check In26:14 Independent Hotel Leap28:36 Independent Hotel Wins29:17 No SOP Reality Check30:06 Distribution Lessons30:54 Agritourism Marketing Advice32:34 Building Culture Systems35:25 Evermore Recruitment Story38:49 Togetherness Travel Concept42:27 Evermore Scale and Amenities44:53 Service Model Evolution46:50 Growth Plans and Year Three49:23 Advice to Younger Self53:58 Wrap Up and Sponsor

Host Steve Turk interviews Jessica and Damien Zouaoui, founders of Oakwell Beer Spa in Denver, a social wellness concept combining a craft beer and wine self-pour taproom with four private spa suites featuring infrared saunas, rain showers, and hydrotherapy tubs infused with hops, malt, and herbs, plus optional zero-gravity robotic massage chairs and room-service refills.They share their hospitality backgrounds, leaving corporate jobs in New York City, and traveling to 25 countries to find a scalable U.S. concept after discovering a beer spa in Poland in 2018.They detail market research that led to Denver, funding challenges solved through Denver’s economic development loan program and a nonprofit SBA lender, difficulty securing a lease, and a DIY buildout using auctions during COVID. Oakwell opened February 26, 2021, emphasizing five-star yet non-stuffy service, adding non-alcoholic options, and aiming to franchise within a year.00:00 Podcast Welcome00:33 Sponsor Lodgify01:38 Meet Oakwell Founders02:10 Beer Spa Explained02:36 Suites And Addons04:22 First Hospitality Jobs05:44 Quitting Corporate Life07:20 World Trip For Ideas10:18 Discovering Beer Spa12:34 Why It Clicked14:49 From Idea To Plan17:09 Funding And Finding Space20:29 Landing the Space20:52 SBA Loan Reality21:35 From Church to Spa22:39 DIY Build and Auctions25:18 Opening Day Playbook26:58 Michelin Casual Service29:35 Touchless Spa Model33:09 Wellness and Moderation36:15 Franchise Plans Ahead37:28 Leap of Faith Advice39:09 Wrap Up and Sponsor

Host Steve Turk welcomes Tim Major, CEO of Operto, to discuss how AI is reshaping hospitality through “agentic teammates” designed role by role to assist or replace specific hotel tasks. Tim shares his path from early hospitality exposure as a Volkswagen tour guide in Vancouver/Whistler to building computers, creating award-nominated music-industry websites, founding a hospitality-focused development company that was acquired by RoomKey, and rising from VP roles to CEO. He explains RoomKey’s early PMS integrations (including with Expedia), the industry’s fragmented tech landscape, and how RoomKey was acquired by Full Steam to consolidate and standardize PMS capabilities across North America. Tim describes using multiple LLMs across departments, AI-driven productivity and potential burnout, and why Operto focuses on outcomes—especially direct bookings, distribution, fraud detection in brand-search ads, and surfacing real-time operational insights—while avoiding AI that harms guest experience. He emphasizes hotels being discoverable in LLMs and advises professionals to start using AI tools now.00:00 Podcast Welcome00:33 Sponsor Lodgify01:38 Meet Tim Major02:26 Aperto AI Agents03:57 First Hospitality Taste05:34 Early Tech Roots06:36 Music Websites Breakthrough08:09 Founding in Hospitality Tech09:48 RoomKey Career Rise11:40 Mentors and Learning13:42 Hard Lessons Contracts14:58 Full Steam Consolidation17:47 Joining Maestro AI Strategy18:50 Building Aperto AI Native21:26 AI Shift Reflections22:33 Everyday AI Workflows24:39 Adoption Gaps and Burnout25:47 Hospitality AI Strategy27:06 Distribution Monitoring Agents27:53 Stopping Brand Ad Fraud31:21 Back of House Automation32:16 Unifying Hotel Data35:56 Personalized Direct Booking38:42 Wellness Itinerary Curation40:16 Next 12 Months Focus41:58 Career Advice and Wrap