HAS THERE BEEN A CHANGE IN WHAT PEOPLE ARE ASKING FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS ?
The world today is over-assorted in many areas ; we don ’ t need another product , service or hospitality provider . What we need is the ability to ruthlessly edit the crowded landscape . It ’ s about getting rid of the 90 % that doesn ’ t fit and keeping the 10 % that does to tell a meaningful story . Due to the saturated hospitality and service industries , I find that my in-the-know clients are looking for me to create a bespoke , luxury experience for them . They don ’ t want more of the same , but instead are looking for something that stands out among the crowd .
WHAT HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN YOUR CAREER ? HOW DID YOU WORK THROUGH IT ?
By far the biggest challenge comes from standing out in a crowded space . Today , Sally Smith down the road has a laptop , website and business card and she ’ s my competition . In order to stand out , you have to constantly innovate and find new ways to do things . We launched Innovative Hospitainment , which is basically what I have been doing for 30 plus years . It ’ s the crossroads of where Hospitality and Entertainment connect , allowing me to program a hospitality outlet in a unique way and always have a new offering on hand to entice and seduce the customer .
HOW DO YOU STAY CALM AND ON TOP OF THINGS UNDER PRESSURE ?
I can stay calm when I know we have done our homework . It ’ s all about intensive pre-production and planning . Making sure the team is communicating and working seamlessly together . By having a strong ‘ whatever it takes ’ culture in my business , I know that if anything goes wrong I have surrounded myself with the smartest people who will get us back on track and pivot without the guest even noticing . It ’ s also about hiring well and finding strong leaders who are calm under pressure .
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