Top Floor Susan Barry

David Lund is the Hotel Financial Coach, a thought leader and trainer on using finacial data to drive your business decisions and your career. A 30-year hotel vet, David has seen everything, a lot of which he shares in his book, The Prosperous Hotelier. Susan and David talk about railroads, scams, and Russians.
What you'll learn about in this episode:
Why it is so important to ask questions How to get better at understanding the P&L What railroads have to do with luxury hotels How much time to spend on your expense checkbook What GMs and owners who don't share numbers are up to Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts 
"I love Susan, Top Floor, and the Loading Dock." If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps other people like us find the show and makes our guests feel good about being on it. 
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From a haunted vacation rental to a casualty-free plane crash, the teams of the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference and Hunter Hotel Advisors brought their A-game stories to the mic for this trip to the Loading Dock. Experience the highs and lows of a life in hospitality when you listen to what just maybe our best collection of funny, crazy, and just-plain-weird stories yet!
You will hear about:
- Showering in the dark
- A styrofoam wedding cake
- The stolen and returned Mustang
- Canceling the Hunter conference
- Losing a boom box and making a sale
- Jetski tours of an abandoned resort
- The unlikely event of a water landing
Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts 
"I love Susan, Top Floor, and the Loading Dock." If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps other people like us find the show and makes our guests feel good about being on it. 
Tap to give us five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Be sure to let me know what you liked most about the episode! Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast or restart automatic downloads. It's the best way to make sure you don't miss out.

Brian Miller is CEO of Patrice & Associates, a hospitality staffing franchise company with 180+ locations in North America. As a staffing expert, Brian says that there are demographic forces at play that will continue to put pressure on the labor market. Susan and Brian talk about French fries, franchising, and first-time executives.


What you'll learn about in this episode:
How the aging workforce and low birth rates impact labor Unexpected types of franchises, including Patrice and Associates What a candidate should expect from a recruiter Why companies have no choice about becoming more felxible The lesson of a giant pink eraser
Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts
"I love Susan, Top Floor, and the Loading Dock." If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps other people like us find the show and makes our guests feel good about being on it.
Tap to give us five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Be sure to let me know what you liked most about the episode! Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast or restart automatic downloads. It's the best way to make sure you don't miss out.

Glenda Lee is a workforce development leader specializing in bringing young adults into hospitality. After a long hotel sales career, Glenda spent a few years in the classroom and learned all kinds of things about what early career candidates are looking for at work. Hint to hotels: Rethink your rules and regulations. Susan and Glenda talk about first-time professionals and obstacles to hotel career success.

Frank Reeves is Chief Evangelist at SHR Group after having been co-founder and CEO of Avvio. At Avvio, Frank was doing AI in travel long before ChatGPT and digital key automations were even being discussed in the hotel industry. Susan and Frank talk about how hotel guests are like serial killers, how cancellations can be de-risked with data, and how three wet lads worked their way to a successful exit.

From Chinese food to burning cardboard, this year's Loading Dock stories from the 35th Hunter Hotel Investment Conference did not disappoint. Listen to these funny, crazy, and just-plain-weird tales from hoteliers, and count your blessings if none of the crazier things have ever happened to you!