A year of wild stories & hospitality innovation

In this celebratory New Year's Eve episode of Hotel Moment, host Brenna Turpin, Marketing Coordinator at Revinate, reflects on an extraordinary year for the podcast that saw it reach over half a million listeners and climb to the top three on Apple Podcasts for Hotel Technology. Rather than simply counting downloads, she curates the wild stories, crisis moments, and bold decisions that reminded listeners why hospitality is such a special industry.

What you'll learn:

Redefining luxury service: Jeff Wielgopolan, Service Director at Meadowood Napa Valley with over 20 years in luxury hospitality including former global senior vice president of learning and development at Forbes Travel Guide, defines luxury as "the ability to not have to think" where guests simply show up and pay while every need is anticipated, explaining how intentional interactions move guests from past travel stress to present moment awareness to future excitement.
Training philosophy transformation: Jeff challenges conventional staff training by asking whether teams are taught what and how to do tasks versus why they do them, demonstrating how bell staff asking "how was your trip?" while guests enjoy beautiful views disconnects them from the moment by making them think about cramped airplane seats instead of being present at the property.
Hiring smarter than yourself: Sky McLean, founder and CEO of Basecamp Resorts, describes building a $600 million hospitality empire by acknowledging she had no idea how to run a hotel after managing just two Airbnbs, immediately hiring an operations manager and accountant, emphasizing that success comes from putting the right people in the right seats by matching their skill sets and desires with organizational needs while treating people the way she wants to be treated.
Scaling through empowerment: Sky's approach from those first two hires grew Basecamp to 300 employees and expansion into wellness tourism with Everwild spa concept combining Nordic spas, hot and cold therapy, and stunning mountain settings, demonstrating the innovation that happens when entrepreneurs hire great people and empower them to run.
Crisis management under impossible conditions: Ben Campbell, president and CEO of Hospitality America, describes Hurricane Helene's devastating impact when two feet of rain in 24 hours caused mudslides and left hotels without power for a week and one property without water for three weeks, creating sanitation challenges for toilets, linen, and basic operations while serving as shelter for FEMA workers and displaced residents whose homes washed away.
Operating without systems: Ben shares running a hotel for 14 days without internet or property management system during a previous hurricane in South Florida, managing everything on spreadsheets with room matrices, demonstrating resilience when digital systems fail completely and paper emergency binders become the lifeline for operations.
Values-driven crisis response: Hospitality America's PEACH values (Passionate, Excellence, Adaptable, Community, Humble) weren't just poster words during the crisis but the framework guiding every decision as teams rented box trucks to transport linen between properties, with staff staying late to do laundry for hotels without water, showing hospitality isn't just about good times but being there when things fall apart.
Emergency preparedness essentials: Ben emphasizes never taking anything for granted, maintaining fully updated emergency binders on paper because digital systems fail, creating comprehensive crisis binders with step-by-step documentation covering all bases, and choosing to be more prepared than underprepared for any threat to the area.
Culture as first strategic priority: Agnelo Fernandes, CEO of Cote Hospitality managing properties including a dude ranch in Arizona with over 200 horses, reveals his strategic priorities start with culture and leadership rather than top line revenue, spending his first two years as CEO resetting culture with minor tweaks in some cases and major cleanses in others because culture is the beginning and end of pretty much any organization.
Long-term thinking over quarterly returns: Agnelo's unconventional approach told investors and boards that culture would be fixed first before growth, maintaining a "brag book" of positive feedback and accolades as reminders of the leader he wants to be and the impact he wants to have rather than focusing on immediate returns that typically drive quarterly decisions.
AI exploration without implementation pressure: Agnelo's team spends one hour weekly playing with AI by thinking through problems faced during the week, using artificial intelligence not to solve issues directly but to be inspired to think about different options, identifying 40 different aspects of their business that could be transformed while emphasizing that people will never change even as technology evolves.

Throughout the compilation, Brenna emphasizes the common thread connecting these diverse stories: hospitality is fundamentally about people, seeing what others need and showing up to meet that need, having the courage to do things differently when different is what's required, whether through massive financial risk based on vision, showing up daily during crisis, prioritizing culture over short-term revenue, or redefining luxury as effortless care.

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Episode Highlights:

[03:10] Luxury is the ability to not have to think - Jeff Wielgopolan from Meadowood Napa Valley delivers a memorable definition: "Luxury is the ability to not have to think. It's the greatest luxury that you can give somebody. From a guest perspective, all you should have to do is show up and pay." This reframes luxury away from marble bathrooms and thread counts toward anticipating needs before they're expressed.

[03:44] Moving guests through time - Jeff explains intentional interactions: "Upon arrival, I will always say that my best arrivals move the guest from the past into the present into the future. The front drive deals with the past, the front desk deals with the present, and as the bell escorts you to your room, they tell you about the future." When bell staff ask "how was your trip?" while guests enjoy beautiful views, they disconnect guests from the moment by making them think about cramped airplane seats.

[06:00] Hire people smarter than you - Sky McLean shares her scaling strategy: "The key in this whole thing is hire people smarter than you at the thing you need them to do. I knew I have no idea how to run a hotel. I ran two Airbnbs. That doesn't make me a hotelier. So I hired an operations manager and an accountant. It's always about putting the right people in the right seats."

[07:25] Hurricane Helene crisis management - Ben Campbell describes devastating conditions: "Two feet of rain in 24 hours. We had two hotels. One lost power for about a week. One hotel lost water for about three weeks. How do you stay sanitary without running water? I rented a box truck, drove up to that hotel, got all their linen, drove it down to our Embassy Suites in Greenville. The staff stayed late, did the laundry, then did all the laundry for the hotel that didn't have water."

[08:54] Operating without technology - Ben shares previous hurricane experience: "I went 14 days without internet. I went 14 days without a property management system. We were running a hotel off of a spreadsheet that I created with a room matrix." In 2025, his team ran hotels on paper for two weeks because they had no other choice during the crisis.

[11:12] Culture before revenue - Agnelo Fernandes reveals his priorities: "If you look at our strategic priorities, it starts with culture. It doesn't start with top line. It doesn't start with anything else but culture and leadership. I spent a good part of my first two years resetting culture. In some cases, minor tweaks and in some cases, major cleanses. Culture is the beginning and end of pretty much any organization."

Chapters:

00:00 - Intro
03:10 - Jeff Wielgopolan on redefining luxury and intentional service
06:00 - Sky McLean on building a $600M empire through smart hiring
07:25 - Ben Campbell on crisis management during Hurricane Helene
11:12 - Agnelo Fernandes on culture as first strategic priority
15:00 - People-centered hospitality