The Conscious Hospitality Podcast
The Conscious Hospitality Podcast began with the dream of helping people become more present and aware. As David was navigating through life, he was encountering more and more human beings that were sharing their stories with him, and he realized that everyone, regardless of their age or where they were from, had a story to tell. Everyone was on a journey. This is when David finally decided to record the first episode.
The podcast episodes showcase a special guest each week, and the intent is to share the person’s personal journey and how specific moments in their life allowed them to become more present and intentional. In addition, we dive into what rituals they hold to maintain presence and to keep them anchored despite their busy lives.
Thank you to all of the guests that have participated on the podcast so far, and to those who will be part of this beautiful journey.
You can access the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or on YouTube. Episodes air every Monday at 11:11am CET.
The Episodes
Episode 1 - Start with Gratitude
The podcast starts with a personal message on gratitude, the superpower that we all have at our disposal to live a more conscious life. Dive in and begin this journey of transformation and growth.
Episode 2 - Luuk Melisse
Join David as he has an insightful conversation with his great friend, Luuk Melisse, co-founder of Sanctum, a global mindful movement community.
Luuk is a true inspiration. He’s way wiser than his years and he is ready to revolutionize the world of wellness through the global movement community he and his partner Gab have created.
In this episode, they dive into a variety of topics, including his pivotal moments, the continuous journey of taming your ego, building a community, taking intentional control of your time and energy, how we can make an impact on the lives of many people, and more.
Episode 3 - Chris Connors
In this episode, David has the pleasure of speaking to Chris Connors, meditation coach and founder of the transformational app, OPO.
Chris shares his life’s journey and the pivotal moments that shifted him towards a life of intentional service through meditation and mindfulness.
Chris shares his wisdom, and in the episode, they discuss the importance of polarity in today’s world, how beginners can get comfortable with meditation, how to build a safe community, what the spirit of conscious hospitality is all about, and more.
Episode 4 - Miriam Pala and Stanislas Helou
In this episode, David is joined by a special power couple, Miriam Pala and Stanislas Helou. Together, they founded Thinking Luxury, a premium and luxury consultancy firm that helps companies around the world achieve business growth and client loyalty.
In this episode, they discussed the value and importance of respect, the human touch as the magical sparkle of hospitality to create a special customer experience, recognizing your frequency and how to match other people’s energies, reducing the size of your circle but increasing the quality, honoring your time and the time of other people, work life harmony as the way to lead a happy life, and more.
Episode 5 - Simon de Swaan
In this episode, David is joined by a special power couple, Miriam Pala and Stanislas Helou. Together, they founded Thinking Luxury, a premium and luxury consultancy firm that helps companies around the world achieve business growth and clienty loyalty.
In this episode, they discussed the value and importance of respect, the human touch as the magical sparkle of hospitality to create a special customer experience, recognizing your frequency and how to match other people’s energies, reducing the size of your circle but increasing the quality, honoring your time and the time of other people, work life harmony as the way to lead a happy life, and more.
Episode 6 - Todd Marchant
On this episode of The Conscious Hospitality Podcast, David has the opportunity to speak with Todd Marchant. Todd is a husband, father of 5, co-founder & COO of Yipy, a hospitality software company, and founder of Be Whole. Do Good., whose mission is to make wellness principles relatable to children so families can thrive. Todd’s passion for whole-person wellbeing grew out of the struggle to navigate his own challenges individually and as a family. That passion led him to pursuing and receiving several coaching certifications, including ones from the Happiness Studies Academy, the Tiny Habits Academy, Thrive Global, and Heroic Coach. There are so many great insights in this conversation, both on parenting consciously but also on how to build a business that helps other businesses be more aware of their standards of excellence. A few of the topics we discussed on the show were: gratitude for second chances, the power of journaling, controlling the beginning and end of your days, parenting intentionally and giving children the tools to regulate, being able to identify emotions, and more.
Episode 7 - Rocco Bova
This week, David has the pleasure of speaking to his friend Rocco Bova, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of My Humble House. Prior to founding My Humble House, Rocco built an exceptional global career, taking leadership roles with many successful companies, including Aman, St Regis, Four Seasons and Chablé. The conversation with Rocco is full of insight and wisdom, as he looks back at his global life career and the lessons learned that made him more grounded and intentional.
Some of the standout pieces from the conversation include: planning wisely for the difficult times - particularly financially, the importance of continuously searching for what is the right fit for you, the power of taking risks, common human values and generating trust, opportunities in the current hospitality industry, rebirth and what's in store for the future, and much more.
Episode 8 - Josiah Mackenzie
In the next episode of The Conscious Hospitality Podcast, I have the pleasure of speaking with the one and only Josiah Mackenzie, Host and Producer of Hospitality Daily, the #1 hospitality show in the world. In this conversation, Josiah speaks to us about his upbringing and how it led him towards the creation of Hospitality Daily, as well as how he sees the industry evolving and, as always, how he lives his days consciously and with intention. Some of the insights highlighted in this episode, including: recognizing imbalance and adjusting, balancing the benefits and drawbacks of social media, managing phone addiction and setting boundaries, traveling with purpose, playing the long-term game, and more.
Episode 9 - Jordan Seifert
In this week's episode of The Conscious Hospitality Podcast, David has the pleasure of speaking to my friend Jordan Seifert, co-owner of United Solar, a solar energy company based out of Arizona. Jordan is an incredibly intentional individual and everybody that knows him elevates thanks to his wisdom, despite his young age. He is highly disciplined and appreciates the journey he is on, and he shares his upbringing and path to get him to this level of intentionality. He is a true inspiration that we can all learn from. Jordan has a very unique story, filled with lessons and insights, including: the power of breath work and becoming centered first thing in the morning, growing up without family and what that does to your value system, frequencies and alignment in the field of possibilities, balancing masculine and feminine energies, creating a family-like community, becoming a teacher and impacting others, and more.
Episode 10 - Fernando Cuevas
This episode of The Conscious Hospitality Podcast features Fernando Cuevas, founder of Better360, a hospitality consultancy company centered on people development and team dynamics. He comes with 15 years of human resources, learning and development experience with some of the world's most prestigious hotel brands. We chose Fernando because of his exceptional wisdom and experience in hotels and resorts around the world, in all aspects of human development. Fernando talks to us about his life and the moments that marked him and made him more conscious, as well as throughout his successful career in both property and corporate level roles. This is a very practical conversation with many insights shared, including: gratitude for resiliency, the stories we tell us and how they limit us, the power of "yet" and a Growth Mindset, the importance of effective communication, creating a culture of feedback and authenticity, daily habits to keep you consistent and disciplined, and more.
Episode 11 - Amad Rashad Thompson
This week, David has the pleasure of speaking to Amad Rashad Thompson, Owner & CEO of Astute Talent Management and author of the inspirational book, "Shyft Into Fokus: A Guide to Living a Purposeful Life". This talk is full of inspiration and wisdom from Amad, who has a very special relationship with God, which led him to making a bigger impact with the launch of his recent book. We get into a variety of different subjects: gratitude for opportunity, the beauty of humanity and not judging, genuine connection with other humans, the positive side of burden, the relationship with God or higher spirit and listening to his calling, and more.
Episode 12 - Laina Caltagirone
This week David welcomes his friend and soul sister, Laina Caltagirone. Laina is a certified life coach, self growth expert, speaker, attorney, wellness consultant, and Founder of Soulcation Retreats. She has been featured in E! News, Well+Good, The Zoe Report, CURATEUR, Byrdie, and more.
Laina helps people all over the world become the best version of themselves and learn how to create fulfilling lives through mindset, manifestation, and personal and spiritual growth.
This episode is packed with practical insights, including: setting the tone to start your days right, rewriting your story, breaking free from fears and limiting beliefs, manifesting the life you want, creating a space for self-care, and more.
Laina also shared her blog post with all of her favorite books on Manifestation and the Law of Attraction.
Episode 13 - Steve Turk
In this episode, David has a conversation with his friend Steve Turk, Managing Director at Turk Hospitality Ventures and founder of The Hospitality Mentor. Steve is a true inspiration for everyone in hospitality and he has spent his career highlighting the passion in hotels and resorts. Originally from Miami, he has an impressive career of 24 years, first in operations in some of Miami’s most renowned hotels, working for brands like Loews Hotels, Mandarin Oriental, Nobu Hotels, Trump Hotels, Delano, and Viceroy, and then venturing out on his own as an entrepreneur. This conversation is full of insights, which is no surprise considering the expansive career Steve brings with him. Some highlights include: being born with leadership qualities, the power of growing up in a diverse culture and leading international teams, motivating different demographics by being present, from cabana boy to leading teams in the best hotels throughout Miami, having loyalty to people vs teams, how to measure career decisions, holding proper one on ones with your team, power vs. opportunity, and more.
Episode 14 - Kate Buhler
In this episode, David has the pleasure of welcoming the fabulous Kate Buhler to the show. Kate is an incredible woman and a true testament of what hospitality means. Kate started her career to supplement her livelihood as a performer, and she fell in love with the industry. She spent the first part of her career in a variety of roles in luxury hotels, before pivoting into the world of revenue management and training. With this change, she began Profitable to Train, and through this company she is an independent consultant, evaluator, trainer and public speaker. Kate has also just released her book, Inhospitable: Lessons Learned from a Lifetime in Service, a MUST read for any hotel professional out there. In the book, she shares some fascinating stories of her times in hotels or working with teams. This conversation is so fascinating, and we get into a variety of interesting topics, including: gratitude for age, the power of embracing discomfort, where to start in hospitality, where hospitality is headed, how the WHY makes a smarter team member, losing our curiosity as a society , and much more.
Episode 15 - Bashar Wali
In this epsiode, David has the honor of welcoming a "true OG of Hospitality", Bashar Wali. Bashar has a 30-year career in hospitality, including GM roles with Starwood and then taking on Executive Leadership roles with Grand Heritage Hotel Group and Provenance Hotels. His first GM role was at the age of 27, and he has since built an inspiring career. With over 30 years of experience, Bashar is an "OG" of hospitality. He is one of the most passionate believers in our industry and he has held strong views and opinions over the past two decades. In July 2020 Bashar founded This Assembly, a hotel development and advisory firm that is created to help us think differently about hospitality. Bashar is highly versed and connected in the hospitality world, all thanks to the passion and conviction he has held throughout his life and career. His insight resonate deeply with thousands of hoteliers all over the world. In this episode, we dive into some fascinating topics, including: the power of legitimate authority. Doing what you are passionate about, the importance of representing the feminine energy in the workplace, being authentic in your point of view, the beauty of being part of a cult, how fear moves you away from your true self, and more.
Episode 16 - Daniel Waite
In this episode, David has the opportunity to speak to his friend Daniel Waite. Dan is a hospitality consultant centered in the human side of the business. He has held roles in HR leadership in some recognized companies, including: Morgan's Hotel Group, Waldorf Astoria, Loews and SH Hotels. Daniel's passion is surrounding talent and how to get the best out of them. Dan's leadership style is all about lighting a fire inside people. How do we inspire others to be better? Daniel has modeled his life on this idea and style. In this wonderful episode, we discussed Daniel's upbringing and life stories, and there were several key insights. These include: gratitude for our spouses and the support they provide us, early watershed moments that cause a drastic shift in us, pushing us beyond our comfort zones, how living on both sides of the track builds empathy, pushing boundaries in hospitality with a human perspective, and more.
Episode 17 - Simon Casson
This week's episode of The Conscious Hospitality Podcast features the great Simon Casson, Chief Executive Officer of Corinthia Hotels Limited. Prior to joining Corinthia Hotels as CEO, Simon created a beautiful career for himself with one of the most prestigious luxury hotel brands in the world, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, becoming President for the EMEA region. However, Simon's career has very humble beginnings, as he started out as a potwash, growing up the ranks. Simon shares the story of his life and career, including his ambitions to grow and chase success, as well as the lessons learned from his journey. This episode is full of great insights, including: gratitude for nature and the small moments, being gloriously YOU, the balance between harnessing empathy and driving excellence, the energy and light a leader can bring you, the counterintuitive power of vulnerability, and much more.
Episode 18 - Tom Roelens
In this episode, David speaks to Tom Roelens, Managing Director of Atlantis Dubai, one of the most spoken about hotels in the world at the moment. Prior to joining this fascinating project, Tom held executive leadership roles at Four Seasons, including the two resorts in Lana’i, Hawaii, where I had the pleasure of calling him my boss. Tom, originally Flemish, is a true globetrotter, and he and his wife Sara love exploring different cultures and cuisines around the world. In this episode, we discuss several important topics, including: making the choice to have a great day, maintaining your child-like essence, pushing yourself towards excellence, learning to truly enjoy the moment and not take anything for granted, being respectful of other cultures, the power of heartfelt hospitality and living from the heart, and more.
Episode 19 - Susie Arnett
This week's episode features Susie Arnett, Director of Wellness Programming for Six Senses Hotels, Resorts and Spas. Susie started her career in movie production before transitioning into the world of hospitality, focusing on retreats and wellness programming. Susie is a master connector and she has built an exceptional global network of humans -- practitioners, healers, hospitality professionals, and more. She has also crafted special, transformative experiences throughout her life. Susie's story is very special and in this conversation there are several fantastic insights, including: matching your passion to your work, how there's nothing more alive than a broken heart, building your community early on, placing yourself in different environments, how travel is about becoming someone else, the energy of a place, and more.
Episode 20 - Cesar Wurm
This week’s conversation is with Cesar Wurm, Vice President of Commercial, Premium Brands, for IHG Hotels & Resorts and author or “The Powers of Addiction, Finding Freedom in Acceptance and Recovery”. Cesar has created an incredible career in hospitality, working for brands like IHG, Trust Hospitality LLC and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Cesar struggled with alcohol addiction for decades, hiding his truth from the world until things got so difficult it was impossible to hide any further. Finally, Cesar decided to open up about his addiction and to become vulnerable about the journey of personal growth he was on. Now, the book is impacting so many of us who, like him, have struggled with addiction in one way or another. The conversation is full of incredible insight, including: gratitude for our True North, our families, the impact of loss at an early age, growing up with alcoholism, learning how to justify your addiction, surrendering and asking for help, how to get begin the journey of recovery, and more.
Episode 21 - Holly Phillips
In this week's episode, David speaks to Holly Phillips, Co-Founder and Strategist of For Digital Sakes, a full-suite digital marketing agency for hospitality businesses. Prior to starting her company, Holly worked on the branding side of Marketing for 15 years, for companies like A+E Networks, L'Oreal and Johnson & Johnson and Nestle. She built a successful career, helping these businesses create successful individual brands around the globe. We dive deep into her life and career and we learn about her upbringing and her desire to make an impact in the world. We touch on many different topics, including: the power of rituals and listening to your cycles, education in digital marketing, the importance of measuring your efforts, discipline when accountability is not there, how to revolutionize your brand ecosystem to drive results, and more.
Episode 22 - Isabel Porzecanski
In this week's episode of The Conscious Hospitality Podcast, David has the pleasure of speaking to Isabel Porzecanski, President of People Traction LLC and official EOS Implementer for The Profit Recipe. Isabel created a beautiful career of 25 years, working for some outstanding companies: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, 50 Eggs Hospitality Group and Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, before decided to make a change into solopreneurship last year. Since then, she started People Traction, and she is now fully dedicated to focus on her passions for people strategy and business coaching for entrepreneurs. In this conversation, we get some exceptional insights from Isabel, including: gratitude for health, the exposure to a big city early in your career, the importance of intuition in decision-making, how every team member is responsible for culture, driving self responsibility from your teams members, how to have people learn through mistakes while maintaining excellence, and more.
Episode 23 - Scott Jeffrey Miller
In this week’s episode, David speaks to his friend Scott Jeffrey Miller, a world renowned author and thought leader. Scott is the former Executive Vice President of Thought Leadership for FranklinCovey, and he still hosts the world’s most popular leadership podcast, “FranklinCovey’s On Leadership”. He is the author of nine books, including “Management Mess to Leadership Success”, and “Everyone Deserves a Great Manager”. In this episode, they hone in on Scott's latest book, “Parenting Mess to Launch Success: 30 Challenges to build lifelong influence and relationships with your children”, which he co-authored with his 14 year-old son, Thatcher Ford Miller. The episode is full of valuable insight on parenting and learning from our mistakes as adults, including: Never taking life for granted, valuing different types of intelligence, owning your mess and going from mess to success, keep going, keep going, keep going, how leadership instructs parenting, being deliberately evangelizing to your children, and more.
Episode 24 - Mano Soler
Have you ever sacrificed a deep passion for career advancement?
Are you able to govern yourself effectively?
In this week’s episode of The Conscious Hospitality Podcast, David has the pleasure of speaking to Mano SOLER, Director of the Les Roches Marbella Global Hospitality Education School.
In this thoughtful and inspirational conversation, Mano shares his life story, including early lessons growing up as a third culture child in Morocco, falling in love with hospitality and then eventually taking a step back to continue following his musical passion, leading him to join Les Roches Marbella, where he has made a beautiful career for himself.
This episode is full of valuable insight, including: gratitude for your upbringing. the intricacies of growing up as a Third Culture child, friendship is friendship, and people are people, finding your way towards what you want, not sacrificing your passions for anything, the energy of musical performance and its parallels in life, the importance of self governance, and much more.