50 Shades of Hospitality

In this episode, Andrra Berisha describes how she has dynamically created an envious hospitality management path for herself after her hospitality studies in Switzerland. As the Business Development Manager at Lighthouse , the leading commercial platform for the travel & hospitality industry, Andrra uses her hospitality acumen to drive revenue growth and foster long-term client partnerships.

We ask Andrra to describe her hospitality education and how it has helped her to succeed in the hospitality sector and she gives our listeners some insights on how to creatively and dynamically approach a successful management career. Working in the luxury hotel sector gave Andrra the skills she needed to engage with demanding clients and to understand the importance of having a service-based approach to business.

In addition, Andrra understood early in her career the importance of technology and how to use it optimally. She also explains how she moved from a traditional hospitality role into a more technology-based position and the challenges she faced during this time.

Finally, Andrra gives us her opinion of AI and how this new technology can improve the customer experience while underpinning her solid conviction that the human touch will always be appreciated and needed.

With a proven track record in academia and business development, Andrra is a dynamic force in the field. As the Business Development Manager at Lighthouse , Andrra drives growth by forging strategic partnerships and securing enterprise-level contracts. Based in Pristina, Kosovo, Andrra excels in remote environments, leveraging strong relationships with C-level executives to expand market reach and drive sales.
Previously, Andrra served as a Business & Sales Consultant for Everguest, where they pioneered entry market strategies and elevated client portfolios through innovative approaches to online reputation management. Prior to this, Andrra demonstrated exceptional leadership as the Front Office & Revenue Manager at Four Points by Sheraton, optimizing guest experiences and increasing satisfaction scores through Design Thinking methodologies.
With a background spanning pre-opening project management, client experience design, and sales, Andrra brings a wealth of expertise to every endeavor. From internships at neuvoo to roles at renowned hospitality establishments like Perry Lane Hotel and Penha Longa Resort, Andrra has consistently delivered outstanding results, earning accolades for her dedication and innovation. In summary, Andrra is a strategic thinker, a dynamic leader, and a results-driven professional who continues to illuminate pathways to success in the ever-evolving landscape of business.

In this podcast, Dr. Stowe Shoemaker talks about Hospitality Education at Harrah College of Hospitality at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Stowe has been in hospitality education for over 25 years and in this podcast he shares his insights into how the hospitality field is changing and the importance of hospitality schools keeping up with an ever-changing the industry.

Dr. Shoemaker (Ph.D., Cornell University) recently transitioned to the UNLV Office of Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement after a decade of service as dean of the UNLV Harrah College of Hospitality. He is an acknowledged expert in pricing, revenue management, consumer behaviour and customer loyalty programs.

Dr. Shoemaker has served as an advisor to numerous hospitality service providers over the course of his career including British Airways, Accor, Hilton, Landry’s and Hyatt. He has helped game developers test market new casino games (both slots and table games), developed pricing strategies, developed programs to measure customer satisfaction, modelled the success and failure of marketing programs, and developed segmentation strategies based on consumer motivations in the gaming, lodging and restaurant industries.

In addition to this, he has published two marketing textbooks, Marketing Leadership in Hospitality and Tourism: Strategies and Tactics for a Competitive Advantage and Marketing Essentials in Hospitality and Tourism: Foundations and Practices, and his research has won numerous awards.

Since 1996 Dr. Shoemaker has served as a member of the executive education faculty at Cornell University where he has taught courses in strategic pricing, revenue management, strategic marketing for hotels and restaurants, and customer loyalty.

Dr. Shoemaker has also applied his knowledge of hospitality to help healthcare professionals improve patient satisfaction. He has held a joint appointment at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX and worked with Memorial Healthcare Systems, Houston. His third book, Hospitable Healthcare: Just What the Patient Ordered, will be launched on September 5th 2023 and can be preordered on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

The global hospitality industry is still reeling from the COVID pandemic and trying to find solutions to the many challenges that it is facing. Lack of qualified staff as well as staff retention are causing havoc in many hotels and restaurants. But are we doing enough to face these challenges? Egidio analyses the current situation and pinpoints the lack of vocational education and training for young people interested in entering the field.

In this podcast, Brigitte Lawler from Swiss4Africa describes the work that their non-profit organization, registered in Bern, Switzerland, is currently doing in South Africa. They work with small NPO’s in South Africa to break the cycle of poverty,addressing four of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

They were founded by 5 members a year ago and at the time of founding, three of its members were based in Switzerland while the other two are on the ground in South Africa.

They work with local communities to identify their greatest needs and implement a 2-pronged approach by fixing the most urgent short-term needs and building sustainable models for the long term to get them to a point of being self-sustainable.

Their self-sustainable model depends on what best suits a particular community. Swiss4Afrika has realised that these models need to have certain elements:

1. Create an ability to generate income / provide resources to the community so they are not reliant on donations.
2. Develops skills for members of the community that they can apply to contribute to their community well-being. These skills should be transferable so that it enables them to be employable outside of the community.
3. Creates employment opportunities and experience building for members while they are living in the community.

One of their communities is called Soli Deo Gloria Care Centre (Soli), based in Lydenburg. Swiss4Afrika formed an alliance with a global organisation called Meals on Wheels, a type of soup kitchen for the frail and poor in the area. With this alliance, they will be able to train people in kitchen skills and provide a much needed service to the local population.

Randel van Heerden, Director of Swiss4Afrika:

Randel has volunteered in some interesting places around the world. In South Africa he volunteered as a policeman to assist investigations in crimes committed against children. Randel moved to the Philippines with his wife and volunteered to build a school for the poor on a garbage dump in Manila.

With others, he assisted in delivering aid to affected people each time a typhoon blew through Manila. In Guatemala he assisted an NGO called Constru Casa to build homes for the poor. In the Ivory Coast, Randel headed up a team of volunteers who helped to renovate the Abidjan zoo. He was sponsored by the Swiss and German embassies as well as the Calao Foundation in Luxembourg, the San Diego Zoo in the USA and private donors. In 2022, Randel and his wife moved to Switzerland and started Swiss4Afrika.

Brigitte Lawler, Director of Swiss4Afrika:

Brigitte Lawler is the founder of Legenda solutions-focused consultancy specializing in business growth, scaling tech companies and transforming business for the digital world. Having worked in more than 30 countries and lived in 4, Brigitte has developed a global perspective to business in different markets. Brigitte is able to draw on experience as a Global Transformation Manager across several business and functional areas, as well as adapting those skills and competencies in the world of Entrepreneurs and Start-Ups. As a founding member and director of a Non-Profit Organisation, Brigitte equally applies her expertise on organizational, process and people development in an effort to alleviate poverty. Key-note speaker and author.

With over 40 years-experience as a luxury hotel concierge, Robert Watson shares his career path and choices along with some unforgettable experiences with our listeners. Starting as a page boy at the InterContinental Hotel in London, Robert has also worked at some of London’s famous hotels such as Mayfair Hotel, the Park Hyatt Carlton Tower and the Grosvenor.

In this podcast, Robert describes what a concierge does, why this position is still important for prestigious hotels and for their role in satisfying demanding client requests. Robert explains the importance of having a strong network that can be relied upon when a request is particularly challenging.

Robert also gives our listeners an inside look into the International Clefs D’Or, (translated as The Golden Keys), a professional association of hotel concierges, with approximately 4000 members working in over 80 countries and 530 destinations, in literally every corner of the world. In 2009, Robert became the President of this prestigious organization and he has served this organization in other positions such as the Treasurer and Delegate for Great Britain.

With roots dating back to 1929, Les Clefs d’Or was officially founded in France in 1952 as a not-for-profit organisation based on two pillars: Service and Friendship. Before earning the right to wear the golden keys, those who aspire to become a member must have several years of experience as a hotel concierge, pass comprehensive testing and prove, beyond doubt, their ability to deliver highest quality of service.

Joining the Willard InterContinental Washington in February of 2006, Chef Concierge Robert Watson brings to the DC landmark hotel over 48 years of Concierge service experience accrued from working in properties all over the world.

Prior to this, Robert has held Chef Concierge positions at the Grosvenor House Hotel, the Park Hyatt Carlton Tower, and the MayFair InterContinental Hotel in London England. He has also held this prestigious position at the Hotel InterContinental in Luxembourg, the Cape Sun InterContinental Hotel in Cape Town, the InterContinental Sandton Sun Hotel in Johannesburg both in South Africa where he aided in the hotel’s opening. His duties during this time included creating hotel policy and procedure as well as the development of their training manual for all concierges, porters, doormen and drivers.

In 2009, Robert became International President of Les Clefs d’Or. Robert has also held the positions of International Delegate for the Golden Keys of Great Britain and Treasurer of the Golden Keys of Great Britain in addition to being a member for over 40 years. He is currently an active member of the Les Clefs d’Or, USA.

Fluent in four languages, including Spanish, French and Italian, Robert’s international perspective began during his childhood where he was raised in both Uruguay and Costa Rica, and attended a French school before settling back in the United Kingdom to begin his illustrious career. Now based in Washington DC with his wife Paula and son Brooks, Robert Watson offers each guest an in-depth knowledge of Washington DC with a professional and pleasant demeanor.