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Ryan Embree:
Welcome to Suite Spot, where hoteliers check in, and we check out what’s trending in hotel marketing. I’m your host, Ryan Embree. Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of The Suite Spot. This is your host, as always, Ryan Embree, thank you for joining me. It’s been a minute. We are going to be continuing our TMG Hospitality Trailblazers series. I am so excited for the next guest that we have today in our trailblazers series. If this is the first time you’re hearing this, we’ve been doing this series almost for a year now. We’ve had almost a dozen hospitality leaders and trailblazers in our industry, and this series is all about the people and the groups that are pushing our industry forward. So very excited with that set up to invite our next Hospitality Trailblazers, Daniel Berman, president and CEO of AD1 Global. Daniel, thank you so much, for joining the Suite Spot today.

Daniel Berman:
Thank you for having me here.

Ryan Embree:
Yeah, and this is your first time here. So what we do with all of our first time guests is we live in an industry or work in an industry rather, where we’ve got all types of stories of how people end up where they are. So, give us a little bit of background on your hospitality journey and what led you to AD1 Global.

Daniel Berman:
Yes, perfect. So thank you again for having me here. I was born in Caracas, Venezuela, move to United States in 2001. And while deciding what to do here and, I learned how to do invest in real estate. Started in 2008, and then I got into the hospitality by mistake. We bought, we bought, and my partners and me, Ari and Alex and me, we bought, almost 500 room hotel, thinking there was a real estate investment. Didn’t understood there was a business within the real estate and we almost lost everything. It took us about two years, almost three years to get that project, on a positive numbers, decided that we love the business. It was very hard, but we learned the hard way and thank God, that’s how AD1 was born.

Ryan Embree:
Wow. You didn’t really start off small huh? When it was straight for the 500 Room hotel. That’s pretty amazing. And you know what, I was talking to Daniel before this episode started because the VP of HR over there in AD1 Global Bertha Cordovis actually gave me my first job in hospitality, which was a bellman, at a resort here in Orlando. So, it’s funny how, you know, we talk about these journeys and hospitality and you, I’ve heard the mistake one before. I’ve heard, you know, the journey of, of saying, Hey, I’m just going to school. This was a side gig. That might be a first for me of hearing, you know, purchasing a 500 room hotel and kind of falling into the industry. But we’re so happy that we found this, you know, and we’ll kind of talk about this love for our industry and transition.

Ryan Embree:
You know, before we start really talking about where we are today, where we’ve kind of gone with this series has kind of started with this rocky road that we’ve been on the past couple years, right. Obviously the pandemic in 2020. We’ve now had some time to kind of time to reflect on that recovery which is nice, but still, you know, battling some headwinds with staffing shortages here and there. Tell me a little bit about, kind of reflecting back on maybe some lessons that you learned from this, the pandemic that our industry as a whole has learned and how you’ve maybe applied that to AD1 global today.

Daniel Berman:
Yes, it’s been a very, very tough years because not only the pandemic, but the aftermath, you know, the inflation, the war, the rates going up and all as a result of the pandemic. But, what we realized is what hit us the most was not the, the pandemic of the raise of the interest. It was the lack of preparation for this type of situation. Nobody knew about the pandemic, nobody expected, but as a business owners, we need to be prepared for the worst case scenario. And I think that was the, the big, big lesson in all aspects. We need to prepare for the wars and hope for the best, but we need, we need to anticipate.

Ryan Embree:
Absolutely. I mean, a again, nobody kind of, as you said, nobody kind of predicted what happened, but it really made our industry evolve and that’s what we’ve been talking a lot with industry leaders is in an industry where we’ve really been kind of slow in comparison to maybe other industries and in implementing things like technology, you know, at the end of the day we had to maybe make some, some decisions that kind of accelerated that pace a little bit. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out because our guests have really, really changed their perspective on what a hotel guest experience might look like. So I wanna fast forward a little bit more to today, Daniel. We’re winding down in this busy summer season. You know, everything that I, that I’ve heard, it’s been a great summer season. ADRs across the board are really, really high thank goodness. We’d love to see that after a couple rough summers when you get to this time of the year, kids go back to school. You know, our industry as a whole kind of starts to slow down a little bit. What are you and your teams doing to prepare for what is typically a slower fall and winter season?

Daniel Berman:
Well, we are taking the opportunity to reorganize, reestablish what we call the AD1 way. Okay. And, and figure out how to enforce and cultivate that culture that AD1 has within all the properties. You know, this is about the employees mainly. You know, we need to take care of them, we need to train them, we need to, teach them, we need to prepare them, we need to be with them. So I think, you know, these low moments are the moments to step back, reorganize, get the culture stronger than ever, and focus on the employees.

Ryan Embree:
I love that. The AD1 way. And you know, I’ve had the pleasure of attending the GM conference that you do on an annual basis, and we’re gonna talk about that a little bit later. But certainly a time of reflection as we get into somewhat slower times. You know, I’ve said on this podcast before is, you know, summer is a great look at a stress test for our hotels and portfolios, right? The occupancy is, is hopefully bustling. We’re getting some really high occupancy numbers and maybe those little issues start to arise in the summer and then the fall and winter season. If what you’re talking about that kind of take a step back, reorganize, this is a great time to get into your guest feedback, see what people have been saying and say, okay, where’s the training involved here? It might be a training issue with housekeeping if you saw cleanliness slide a little bit in your reputation scores. If you’re seeing something on the investment side of, Hey, maybe let’s go ahead and get together. ’cause we saw, you know, that our lobby maybe needs some refreshers in, in this place. So it’s a great time to kind of reflect, I think, both people wise, but also checking out that guest sentiment because we know that those problems could bubble up at the top because our hotels were really stressed test during that time. So I love to, to hear that you’re kind of taking that proactive approach. With the AD1 global portfolio, it looks like you guys are, are really well positioned in leisure markets. And, and that was, I’m sure really, really helpful during the, the pandemic because that’s really what led to charge back to recovery was leisure. Are you still seeing strong demand from the leisure side? That’s question number one. And after, talk a little bit about the business traveler side. Are you, are you starting to see some comeback there and do you think we’re ever gonna get back to that 2019 pre covid levels with business travel?

Daniel Berman:
Well, going to the first one, yes. Leisure travel keeps being strong. We are seeing some kind of effect on the, on the economy, so the hitting the gas pockets, but in the, in the business side, it, it pick up a little bit. I think it’s gonna take a little bit longer. People are used to work from home and doing through, through Zoom meetings like this one, you know, and, but it’s gonna come back. You know, there’s nothing, nothing like person to person face-to-face meetings. I think we, we need to give a little more time and we’ll come back. I think it’s gonna take probably by next year it will come back.

Ryan Embree:
Yeah. And we just talked about you’re doing your employee GM annual conference. That’s something that you’ve always done face-to-face. Right. And, and you know, the importance of kind of getting everyone together. You know, we had the, the pleasure of going out to the hospitality show over the summer, and you’re right, there’s really nothing like kind of that face-to-face interaction. So I’m, I’m right there with you. I’m crossing my fingers. It will be interesting to see kind of that work from home hybrid remote work and how that impacts our business travel. But maybe that’s just manifested in a different way with travelers coming to a hotel, extending their vacations here and there on those days to, to really fill in those room nights. What about international travel? Right? So last summer it was a welcome to get back that international traveler. Domestic kind of led the charge, but international travel picking up, are you seeing that that demand for international travel right now?

Daniel Berman:
Yes, we’re seeing it, especially from Latin America. You know, the being that the, the Euro and the dollar are on par is cheaper to go there than to come here. So, but it is picking up, you know, everybody wants to come here. You know, everybody love USA, everybody wants to travel here. You know, we’re sitting in Florida, it’s packed of, people from Latin America and Europeans as well. But it’s picking up. I’m very confident.

Ryan Embree:
Absolutely. And, and again, our industry is welcoming back, with open arms because we really did kind of see, you know, what that, what life was like without that international traveler who spends a hard earned dollar getting over here and, and goes to a lot of tourist destinations and leisure markets that a lot of our hotels thrive in. So, you know, especially our headquarters being here in Orlando, Florida, we saw a lot of that and know that our hotels were very, very glad to see that pick up. And we hope that continues as well. So, you know, we’re really coming to a crux of the business travelers starting to pick up, leisure travel is still very, very strong and international travel starting to pick up. It could be a really good fall and winter season, something that we haven’t seen in, in quite a few years. So really happy to see that. Let’s turn our attention to AD1 Global and your portfolio, right? You started with that one hotel with 500 rooms. You certainly grown since then and had some explosive growth since 2011 and really have made a name for yourself within the industry. I’m curious, what’s your process when you bring a new property on to kind of get them up to that AD1 standard, that AD1 way that you were speaking to earlier? Where does that begin?

Daniel Berman:
Well, it begins from the moment we put an LOI and we make sure that the whole team gets involved, everybody. So that way they can see their counterparts in, in the hotel that we want to buy and make sure that the people align and understand our culture. Not everybody understands our culture. Not everybody likes it, but lemme tell you, the people that work for us love it. And that’s what we’re looking for. We’re looking for, for people that love what they do and love the company.

Ryan Embree:
Now, Travel Media Group, we’ve had a great longstanding partnership with AD1. And, and one of the many reasons was just your commitment to the guest experience and the journey. And in fact, and I wanna make sure I read this right, your bio on LinkedIn, Daniel reads, “Crafting unforgettable experiences with AD1 Global, where innovative hotel management meets extraordinary guest journeys”. So can you speak a little bit more about that commitment and why this is such a differentiator for you over at AD1 Global?

Daniel Berman:
A hundred percent. Somebody does an investment, of course, the bottom line is important. The numbers, you know, at the bottom is important, but sometimes people forget that this is a people’s business. You know, we have the guests, if the guests are not happy, we’re in trouble. If the employees are not happy, the guests won’t be happy. So I think it’s, it’s all about them. I keep repeating the same, that’s all about the employees. It’s all about the family or AD1 family to make the difference, you know, the details of a beautiful smile. The details of saying hello first, you know, it’s all about those old fashioned details to be friendly, to be nice, to be, you know, full of love.

Ryan Embree:
And you know, with so much talk lately about ChatGPT and the technology and implementation into the guest experience, that is all well and good. And there are some ways that certainly our industry can come in here and optimize the guest experience and make it a little bit more efficient. But what makes a guest stay memorable is the people, it’s exactly what you said, right? The memories that, your employees are creating for guests. The feeling that a guest gets when they get that surprise bouquet of flowers for their anniversary, because you overheard them at the front desk talking about that, that is the type of stuff that technology and AI really can’t replace right now and hopefully never does in our industry because it really is a people serving people industry.

Daniel Berman:
What we’re trying to do is to make everybody from all the positions in the hotel aware of technology, we want them to learn how to use GPT and use it in their favor. Try to use GPT to make your your work easier, your communication with the guests more simple. So it’s, instead of seeing it against, let’s use it in favor.

Ryan Embree:
A big topic at the hospitality show that we just attended of saying, you know, this technology shouldn’t be used as a replacement, but more of an enhancement for your employees. And there’s just, so we’re just scratching the surface when it comes to that. But there’s so much fear sometimes, especially over the last couple years with our staffing shortage and where we, where we were with the furloughs and the layoffs in 2020 of being like, I don’t want to get replaced, I don’t wanna get furloughed. But now, today, where we’re trying to invite more people into our industry, right? And, and give them the tools that people, that might be new to our industry to say, let’s make your job a little bit easier. You might be new to the front desk. How can this technology enhance your position and really get you back to the things that make our guests stay memorable, right? We just talked about a few examples there. So if you can make your employees’ jobs a little bit easier to free them up to do the things that make a guest stay special, you’re really gonna see a lot of it on the reputation side, which is something that I know, AD1 Global has a huge, huge commitment to our guest feedback online with reviews, and making sure that there’s a response for every single one of those, guests that leave a review as well. Let’s switch gears, we’re gonna keep talking about the people side of things. And like I said before, I’ve had the pleasure of, you know, attending that AD1 GM Annual Conference, and I can feel such a strong sense of culture there. So you and your team have done a fantastic job of doing that. Talk a little bit about how, you know, events like that really create a strong culture and how you’re using that in what is a challenging time for finding staff right now in our industry.

Daniel Berman:
You know, these events give us the opportunity to talk directly with everybody in a different sense, you know, as a friendly manner, taking a business out of the table. And that gives us opportunity to express and let them express their feelings, okay. And, and really hear what are their concerns and their ideas. There are so many ideas that come out of those meetings, and that brings also an opportunity for them to understand that we need them to help us find other employees that they can recommend. So it becomes a network and a brainstorm of amazing ideas. So we are trying to find people anywhere. There a lot of good people out there looking for jobs, for good jobs. I mean, today, after the pandemic is not only about the money, yes, of course money, you have to pay people well, and you have to be important, but there is something more important today. People want to feel comfortable, people want to be happy, happiness. We realize that if you’re not happy, if you are, you cannot do anything. So I think the key ingredient is happiness.

Ryan Embree:
Yeah. I mean, that, that’s huge. And, you know, especially this younger generation coming up, I mean, they’re gonna be looking to be a part of something special, to be part of an organization that really has a strong sense of who they are, a voice that can be found online. And we’ve seen and heard some really creative ideas of what hospitality companies are doing today to try to show that sense of community and culture. And I think these events that, you know, you’re putting on annually for your GMs and your staff, do a really good job of that. And I’m sure it gives us really insightful to see guest trends. When you get so many hotels and hoteliers in one space and they’re all kind of talking through issues that they might be seeing, you might be able to uncover some patterns and trends that individually you might not see as clearly. So sure, it gives you the upper hand as you go into a new year to try to get that and figure out what it is that’s gonna really make next year tick and what’s trending right now in hospitality. Daniel, thank you so much for joining me. I’m so excited to see the trail, the AD1 Global blazes over the next couple years and into the future. So thank you Daniel, and thank you all for listening to the Suite Spot. We will talk to you next time. To join our loyalty program, be sure to subscribe and give us a five star rating on iTunes. Suite Spot is produced by Travel Media Group. Our editor is Brandon Bell with Cover Art by Bary Gordon. I’m your host Ryan Embree, and we hope you enjoyed your stay.