A New Chapter for Me (and Hospitality Daily)

a note from Josiah Mackenzie

On Monday, I'm starting a new chapter I am very excited about: joining Actabl to lead their marketing team and help them with their mission:

"We empower the people who power hospitality. Actabl is on a mission to scale hospitality’s warmth through intelligent operations. We're building a platform that combines insights and operations to create a GPS for hoteliers that sets a new standard for hotel operations."

I first met Actabl CEO Steven Moore a few years ago when I interviewed him about the then-nascent boom in AI. We talked about what it takes to build a data foundation to really benefit from this exciting technology and the opportunities it opens up. But even more meaningful to me was the vision he shared about the power of technology to support the work of hospitality, which is beautiful - but as anyone who has worked a day in a hotel will tell you, is often difficult.

Over the past few months, through my interviews for Hospitality Daily and research on trends and opportunities, two things clearly emerged:

The profitability of hotel businesses is a top challenge faced by industry participants
The top way hospitality providers want to drive profits is through innovating in guest experience delivery

To me, Actabl sits squarely in the middle of these two areas of opportunity, with a suite of products to better serve guests and provide insight into how to improve profits in a hotel business.

I took this new role because I want to get closer to the day-to-day realities of operating hotels and building tools to make that easier. I'm excited about what we can create together with the more than 12,000 hotels Actabl works with.

What happens to Hospitality Daily?

First, It's been incredible to learn alongside you here through Hospitality Daily, which, in less than three years, has become the largest and most engaged show in the industry.

My new role at Actabl will change my involvement with Hospitality Daily, which will no longer be the "one man band" it has been over the past few years. I'm thrilled to be welcoming some collaborators I trust and have learned a lot from to not only keep the show going but make it better than ever:

Danica Smith as Host and contributor, with a focus on guest experience. I worked with Danica years ago, and she has deep experience in not only developing guest experience strategies but working with hotel companies to implement them, first at ReviewPro and now through her firm MorningStar GX.
David Arraya as Host and contributor, with a focus on team engagement, leadership, and personal development. David is a former GM with experience across Six Senses, Auberge & Four Seasons - and most recently, building Conscious Hospitality, where he helps create environments where leadership thrives, employees feel valued, and customer experiences are transformed.
Emily Goldfischer and Nancy Mendelson from hertelier as Hosts and collaborators with a focus on trends and careers in hospitality. I've deeply admired what they've built at hertelier, and after collaborating with them to host an event on the topic of using media to accelerate your career, I knew I wanted to do more together.
Matthias Huettebraeuker as Host and contributor, with a focus on innovation. Matthias was an early leader at Design Hotels, and now companies like BMW and Lufthansa look to him for help with innovation. His episode with me a few weeks ago was a runaway hit, and it's clear you want more. I do, too!
And last but not least, Ryan Thompson, my producer, who keeps my guests and me sounding great!

It’s been amazing learning and growing with you here, and I’m excited about what the future holds for all of us in hospitality.

If you will be in LA for the ALIS conference next week, let me know, or book a meeting with me here - I’d love to see you there.

Thanks,

Josiah

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a personal update + changes at Hospitality Daily