George Poll has spent decades building some of Long Island’s most celebrated restaurants. Alongside his brother, he’s crafted iconic dining experiences from Bryant & Cooper Steakhouse to Toku Modern Asian, blending culinary creativity with sharp business acumen. Recently, George took his expertise to Miami, where the journey to open Toku wasn’t exactly smooth sailing—facing all the challenges that come with launching in a new city. This episode is a masterclass in the fine balance b...

Set to reopen after a seven-year restoration, the Waldorf Astoria New York is poised to redefine ultra-luxury hospitality. In this episode, Managing Director Luigi Romaniello takes us through the journey of bringing the Waldorf Astoria back to life, from restoring storied frescoes and architectural details to creating highly personalized experiences for today’s sophisticated travelers. He shares his philosophy on ultra-luxury, emphasizing service precision, meaningful guest connections, and t...

Kate Buhler, founder and president of Profitable to Train, is a leading expert in hospitality service excellence and profitability. With decades of experience across luxury brands including Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, Baccarat, Peninsula, and Bulgari, Kate is known for her unique approach to training that drives both employee satisfaction and financial success. Her new book, Inhospitable: Lessons Learned from a Lifetime in Service, tackles a critical question in...

Aldau Development has earned a reputation for excellence in both Real Estate and Hospitality, with developments in Egypt and the United Kingdom. Their strategic partnerships with marquee brands such as Hyatt International, IHG, and Deutsche Hospitality have further cemented their standing internationally. Boston University School of Hospitality and Questrom School of Business designed a customized Executive Education program for Aldau -- a testament to Aldau's commitment to leadership a...

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump both have proposed eliminating taxes on tips for service workers. While seemingly beneficial, it might just not add up according to renowned economics expert Larry Kotlikoff. Named one of the world’s 25 most influential economists by The Economist Magazine, Kotlikoff has advised the Federal Reserve, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and various other prestigious organizations. He is also a Professor of Economics at Boston University, with expert...

What does it take to truly redefine leadership in today's fast-paced world? Lori Mazan, co-founder and Chief Coaching Officer at Sounding Board, shares practical and transformative strategies to address this challenge. In her new book, Leadership Revolution: The Future of Developing Dynamic Leaders, Lori offers a fresh perspective that rethinks outdated leadership norms. In this special podcast episode on leadership, Arun Upneja is joined by Dr. Taylor Peyton, an expert in Leadership an...

The battle over raising the minimum wage for tipped workers and permitting tip pooling bounces to the Massachusetts ballot this November. Saru Jayaraman, President of One Fair Wage and Director of the Food Labor Research Center at UC Berkeley, argues that the current tipped wage structure perpetuates low pay and high turnover. Although the wage increase would occur over five years, opponents assert the mandate would be detrimental to some small and independent restaurants and could fail to in...

Beyond good, bad, and mediocre service, how much we tip and why we tip is rich with psychological implications. Find out what tipping reveals about us as consumers and our need for affirmation and societal status. Shedding light on the complexities behind tipping is nationally recognized expert Michael Lynn, Ph.D. , Professor of Services Marketing at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. A former bartender, busboy, and waiter, Michael Lynn, has also devoted his academic caree...

Recognized for her leadership, Dondra Ritzenthaler now sets sail toward a new horizon, taking the helm as Chief Executive Officer of Azamara Cruises, the award-winning, luxury cruise line based in Miami, Florida. Dondra recently spent time at BU School of Hospitality as the Howard Johnson Executive in Residence, inspiring students and faculty with her passion for learning and mentorship. Dondra shares her outlook on leadership and professional development and the excitement of moving fr...

Restaurant work is undeniably tough. Long hours, fierce competition, and thin profit margins characterize this demanding profession. The challenges only intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, testing the resilience of workers and business owners alike. Dining constitutes both an undeniable pleasure and a thriving business sector. It is integral to our lives and livelihood. In this Distinguished podcast, Stephen Clark, President and CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association (M...

TJ Callahan transformed neighborhood eateries into thriving “go-to” destinations with his acclaimed farm-to-table restaurants in the heart of Chicago. He is the co-founder and owner of Farm Bar and is the farmer at Brown Dog Farm, the Farm Bar farm in Southwestern Wisconsin. With an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago under his belt, he's stirring the pot on a topic affecting thousands in the hospitality industry: eliminating the tipped wage. From the fields of his farm to the...

Think back to your youthful days of travel, hostels along the way were a hub for forging connections with fellow wanderers and were part of the adventure. If you traveled in pre-Internet days, some 20-30 years ago, you didn’t always know what you were getting. The hostel you found in a guidebook could be off the beaten path and might have been not so “hospitable.” Today, the landscape of hostels has undergone a profound metamorphosis. What was once perceived as budget accommodations exc...

So, you want to be a C-suite executive? It will certainly give you a leg up to hear about the steps to filling those corner office suites from a search firm expert, Ann Fastiggi. To shed some light on the path to the C-suite, we continue our Leadership Series with Ann Fastiggi, a member of the Global Consumer Practice at Spencer Stuart, a global executive search and leadership advisory firm. With more than 20 years of executive recruiting and leadership consulting experience, Ann focus...

Imagine the triumph of human ambition as we glide through the skies, a testament to our enduring quest to conquer the very elements — thirty thousand feet aloft, inside a slender cylinder of steel. Within this confined space, humanity gathers, shoulder to shoulder: a microcosm of society. It's under these conditions that our distinguished guest today crafts an oasis of tranquility and impeccable service. How does one orchestrate such a feat of customer care under these conditions? This ...

Continuing our Leadership Series, we spotlight Cindy Novotny, who earned the “Radical Mentor” moniker for her no-nonsense approach to delivering results in the areas of leadership, sales, and customer service excellence. Having traveled more than 10 million miles over the course of her career, Cindy helps emerging professionals to CEOs to fly past their comfort zone of “we’ve always done it this way” habits and soar to greater heights of success. Get tips and actionable advice from Cindy who ...

The “You Can Be Anything” Barbie slogan could apply just as easily to the ever-expanding brand choices of major hotel groups such as IHG Hotels & Resorts which now has 6,200 hotels in more than 100 countries. In a similar fashion, over the decades, the Barbie portfolio has grown to encompass 250+ careers, countless outfits, and multiple dreamhouses. Plus, Barbie has gone far, having traveled throughout the world (and to outer space)! In the hotel world, striving to be the guests’ ...

If you have ever worked in a toxic workplace, you have learned the hard way that dysfunctional organizational cultures are harmful and hinder employee performance. Taylor Peyton, Ph.D., senior organizational psychologist for BiasSync, and co-founder of Mojo Moments, defines organizational culture as “a force, both visible and invisible, that massively influences employee behavior and an organization’s chance of success.” Telltale signs of a good, thriving work culture go well beyond a company...

Being the CEO of globally recognized companies for decades is much like driving a race car at high speed: both thrilling and intensely challenging. Reaching a finish line after being on the fast track represents a tremendous feat. After the fanfare ends, and the adrenaline subsides, what do you set your sights on next, especially when you have tremendous drive inside of you? For Niren Chaudhary, it’s back to the shop to re-configure the current model into what he calls: Niren 3.0. This new ve...

Waiting to be served drinks and food and settling the tab rank most certainly as the pain points of the dining experience. As the famous song goes, "You got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative." In that spirit, to relieve the friction and induce more seamless service, Tim McLaughlin combined his skills as a technologist with his experience as a brewery restaurant owner to cofound GoTab, a restaurant commerce platform. GoTab increases the volume of hospitality and profitability ...

California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed a new law that raises the minimum wage from $15.50 to $20 per hour for fast-food workers starting April 1, 2024. Chris Simms, CEO and Founder of Lazy Dog, a casual dining restaurant that started in California and spans 49 locations across the US, joins the podcast for a discussion of how this law may impact employees, owners, franchisees, and consumers across the entire food-service industry. In this podcast, we look (and will con...