Defining Hospitality

DH - Eric Brey
===

Speaker: [00:00:00] What I do is inconsequential. Why I do what I do is I get to shorten people's journeys every day. What I love about our hospitality industry is that it's our mission to make people feel cared for while on their journeys. Together we'll explore what hospitality means in the built environment, in business, and in our daily lives.

I'm Dan Ryan, and this is Defining Hospitality.

This podcast is sponsored by Berman Fall Hospitality Group, a design-driven furniture manufacturer who specializes in custom case goods and seating for hotel guest rooms.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Today's guest is somebody who has a strong interest in customer needs, wants and behaviors. He served as a corporal in the US Army before he went to school to receive a PhD in hospitality administration and management. He's the leader behind the Nation's first Luxury Management Program. He is a professor of hospitality in the school of management at the University of Wisconsin Stout.[00:01:00]

Ladies and gentlemen, Dr. Eric Brey. Welcome, Eric.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Thank you for having me this morning, Dan. I greatly appreciate the chance to, to talk to you and everyone else who's listening.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Well, I am really grateful as well because on many different levels, like I didn't know that there was a luxury program or the first luxury program. So again, as a fan of hospitality and talking about luxury often, um, I was just very surprised by that. I'm not an expert by any means, but just a huge fan.

Um. I've also shared this with the listeners many times, but one of my favorite, we, I get so much feedback from around the world in doing this podcast, but one of my favorite channels is from students or interns or people early in their career as like a channel of feedback. Where this podcast and the mostly.

Not just the podcasts, but the awesome guests that I have on, um, they change the thinking and they impact these people really like passionate [00:02:00] people about hospitality. Um, they impact them at, at a, at a place earlier in their career where they probably may not have considered the different paths in hospitality.

Um, and. That excitement, I guess must come through because I've been asked to speak at some hospitality schools and I'd like to do that more and more. And it's just like a really cool way to impact others in lieu of this hyBreyd work thing that keeps coming up and people miss that shop, talk around the water cooler or waiting for the, um, waiting for a copy or they don't do faxes anymore.

But, you know, there's just that missed opportunity. So, um. I'm really excited to speak to more educators from the likes of, uh, NYU or Penn State University, or you at University of Wisconsin Stout, or I gotta get someone from Cornell in there. But there's just been many, many, and, um, I. It's a channel that I'd like to look at because like one of the reasons what I love doing this is this [00:03:00] podcast impacts so many people positively.

So that was my long way of saying thank you for sharing yourself and your experience and kind of what your vision is for the future.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: but it, it's easy to talk a lot about the excitement that happens on campus. mean, you know, as a professor sometimes I, I might overlook that excitement because I get to be part of it every day. You know, when you look at students that come in, they have an idea of what they wanna do or where they want to go, but then as they learn more, they realize that the world is, is so much bigger. They still have that passion for hospitality, but maybe what they wanted to do or where they wanted to do it doesn't quite fit who they are. And to see that transformation and to have industry part of that educational process is just such an important part about what we do. And, and I'm sure my colleagues do at other hospitality programs around the world. Uh, but for me, that's just, it's a lot of fun, Dan.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Yeah.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: see where you're coming from. Yeah.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: and one, one of the things I really [00:04:00] miss, this is a whole separate thing, but we, in the pandemic, we moved from New York City to out to Connecticut to where we have space and the kids could run around and like experience what grass is like. Um, I. That was supposed to be a joke. It didn't land very well, did it? But

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: was already thinking about my comeback about the grass that I've gotta mow outside my window, and I'm

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: it,

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: understand why he's looking forward to this, because this is the, this is the pain that exists for me every week of mowing this grass.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: well, yeah, actually they just finished mowing a couple seconds ago. Usually they'll start mowing, like right as I hit record. So that's always fun. Um, but, uh, what I was trying to say is. What I miss the most about living in the city, and I go into the city a lot, but like what I miss the most is the diversity of age, right?

I could go out for a beer with my 60 to 70-year-old neighbor or, um, or I could go have lunch or sushi with the, [00:05:00] the 24-year-old who just graduated from college. And I just feel I miss that diversity of age. I find that, um. Where I am now, it's wonderful, but we're kind of all in the same thing age-wise, right?

So we're all, we all have like, probably more than two kids. We're probably all of a similar age. Um, and we talk a lot about sports, but I, which I love, don't get me wrong, but I, I do miss the, um, the exuberance of the Utes as my cousin Vinny would say. Um, but I. You went from a Lance corporal. A corporal Lance.

Corporal. Corporal,

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Corporal. Yep.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: From a corporal. Um, you served in the Army and then you went and got a PhD in hospitality and now you've created the first luxury management program. So I want to talk about like that journey. 'cause that's super interesting to me because I can imagine you experience a lot of luxury as a corporal in the US [00:06:00] Army and uh, that was an.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: res are amazing, is all I

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Y Yes.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: dining

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: add hot water.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Bdu.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Yeah. Uh, yeah. add hot water and go. Um, but before we talk, uh, uh, kind of dive into that journey, I just wanna know how do you define hospitality? Like what you've, you've had this big arc, but like why hospitality? And then, we'll, we'll go into the first luxury program, but what does hospitality mean to you?

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: So I really, when you think about hospitality, I'm not, I'm not saying I'm a history buff, but I love to look backwards 'cause I truly believe that all the great things we're doing today, I mean, hospitality has so many great definitions and, you know, we're, we're creating excitement. People are, are engaging with this new content, but. At the end of the day, this idea of hospitality is pretty straightforward in my way of thinking, and am, I have a huge respect for Japanese culture. And they have a [00:07:00] term called, and this really is a principle by which it's, it's culturally based, but it also applies to what hospitality really is. And for me it is simply the art of welcoming and caring for guests with a genuine level of, of kindness and attentiveness. You know, when you look at. True hospitality. It is an anticipatory approach where the host is looking for what does the guest want next, and really trying to understand what that guest wants before they even want it with an absolute meticulous attention to detail. The smallest things matter more than anything else, and really, if you think about this form of hospitality, you know it, it's rooted in that respect and the desire to make. encounter, memorable, unique, and then deeply valued by the customer. a thoughtful, detailed approach at the end of the day.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: And, okay, [00:08:00] so let's make a bell curve of hospitality, right?

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Mm-hmm. Yep.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: you have the tails on either side of the bell curve, right? And on the tails it could be, I've been to some really nice service stations driving cross country or filling up with gas, and you like there's something innovative.

There's someone who cares there, right? That's not necessarily luxury. Let's put that on like the lower end of perceived hospitality, but it's there. And hospitality doesn't need to be this fancy thing. It can, like you can experience in all different ways, and maybe a service station's a bad example, but maybe it's a good example.

That's on one tail. Then you go into the center of the bell curve, which is. How most people experience hospitality. It could be at the diner, it could be at the local restaurant, the coffee shop, a hotel experience, But on the other tail, um, there's that idea of luxury. So hospitality, great hospitality is not limited to luxury. It exists. In [00:09:00] this huge spectrum. Um, but how did you go from getting a PhD in hospitality to then developing the first, uh, luxury management program? Understanding that that's not the, that's not like the best example of how hospitality, but it is an important part of it that I think people are still trying to figure out.

Like for me, I still don't. Exactly understand what luxury means. I don't exactly understand what boutique means or independent, like, I don't know where you draw the line between a bed and breakfast and an independent hotel. Um, I don't know where you draw the line between, you know, uh, some kind of a hospitality experience and luxury.

But like, walk us through that spectrum and then how luxury fits into that and what you guys are doing thinking around and what you're thinking is around luxury.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: So what, you know, when I think about hospitality and kind of how I define it, if I said luxury, in that definition, I [00:10:00] misspoke because it has nothing to do with luxury.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: I don't think you did. I'm just say, I'm just, I'm just trying to unpack my understanding of this Peck spectrum. So you didn't, I, I'm not putting you, I'm not putting you in a corner.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Okay. No 'cause, and the reason why I ask that is, you know, I look at, so if you see, if you look at luxury at the long tail on one

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Mm-hmm.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: then let's say the antithesis of luxury, whatever that is on the other tail end to me. It's about the percentage of successful interactions where Omotenashi is at the heart of every interaction. You know, when you think about, you know, whether it be a service station, look at, I'm in Wisconsin, and so Wisconsin is the home of the original dive bar.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Do you have to wear a cheese block on your head to get in?

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: I have three different kinds, I mean,

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: like brand, like Burg versus cheddar versus something or just three different

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Uh,

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: heads.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: you know,

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Oh wow.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: going to a Packer game, it's the wedge. But if I'm going to a, we'll say [00:11:00] fancy game watch, it's the top hat,

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Ah,

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: kinds of cheese heads that you can wear

out, Dan. I mean, this is.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: who knew? There were so many tools.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: This is, look, this Wisconsin, I think is, is the greatest place on earth, but you've got the quirks. when you think about those quirks, one of it is this culture around local, local taverns and the dive bar, the local neighborhood bar. if you think about when you walk into your local watering hole. You know, not the big chain ones, but the, the ones that are more neighborhood

based You walk in, if you go there enough, you know, they know your name. They, they try to welcome you. They have omotenashi in the way they're doing things. Because it really is from the heart. They are connecting with their guests. They are creating those memorable experiences, making sure that you're deeply valued. And so wherever you wanna put that local tavern or local bar on that spectrum of luxury and kind of anti luxury. To me, it's about the [00:12:00] percentage of experiences that successfully occur. So if you

think About the, the best luxury properties, whether they be independences or chains, they're seeking to have every experience, a hundred percent interactions, all based upon that. As you move down that spectrum, you still have those experiences, but it might not be quite the same.

Mm-hmm.

And, you know, I, service stations is a great example. I mean, you've got, you know, nationwide people know of Bucky's.

An incredible experience here in the upper Midwest, we have a place called QuickTrip, and it's not the QuickTrip of the South. It's spelt differently, but it's really based in that more hospitality oriented vein. I would never say pumping gas is a luxury experience, but when you go in, they try to have those pieces

Hmm.

You feel welcome, that make you feel like you're, you're an important part of their day. And so for me, luxury is just getting it right all of the time and doing it in a [00:13:00] really great place or a really great location with phenomenal facilities, but even for luxury luxury's about the service, about the experience done in a certain type of location. But luxury is still just an interaction.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: how do you unpack or like how do you app, okay, if I'm coming in to study luxury at the University of Wisconsin Stout, like what does that syllabus look like? Course, track course of learning.

Um, how do you, how do you unfold that to your students? How do you pitch it to them? Like how do, who's the ideal student coming to you? What are they, kind of, what's in their head and how do you. F make that heart to heart connection. I like that. Um, although in the pub, I think it goes heart to liver, but, how, how, what's your, um, what's the arc of teaching in there and like how, and the thesis that you're trying to accomplish?

I.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: at the fundamental level, it's trying to get students to rethink of the experiences that they've had [00:14:00] what hospitality is. So when you think about, you know, most hospitality programs with students, they're required to do internships, they're required to, to work in industry, but those experiences vary, you know, from a, a Courtyard, which is a great hotel brand all the way up to a Ritz Carlton. And for the luxury management, it's trying to get them to think about how to do things differently in a way that fits the mindset of a luxury customer. You know, if you're at a Hampton Inn, you know you're there for a very specific reason. More likely you're taking you, you know, you've got your kids, you're going on hockey trips and basketball and et cetera, et cetera.

That's a very different expectation than if you and your significant other are at a Ritz and trying to get students to. You know, who believe they have a lot of great experience to understand that hos that hospitality at the luxury level is just different. And so we do that through a, I mean, we frame it in the types of classes we [00:15:00] teach, but it's also in learning objectives. really focusing on concepts like how do you handle customer experience management? How do you, the flow of when a customer arrives to when they leave, does true professionalism look like? You know, I've, we, you know, before we started our conversation, you told me to remind me to turn my

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Hmm.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Okay. You know, I have to remind my students that every day, and if they don't, I get to answer it for 'em

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Oh really?

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: so used to this technology.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: okay, I don't want to derail where the conversation was going, but I'm really curious. I see some, I see that come up on like reels or TikTok or something every now and again.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Mm-hmm.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: the best answering of a, of, of a student's phone that you've done, or most memorable?

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Oh, I mean, there, there, there's a lot of them. You know, some are appropriate, you know, to be, to be aired out. Others are probably a little questionable. Um, in that I had a lot of fun with their, with

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: And are they just melting, turning red, and just totally embarrassed as [00:16:00] that's happening.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: at this point they

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Okay, good.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: when

they sign up for my class. And, and it doesn't matter if it's a luxury management class or strategy class or a capstone, it's the same

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Hmm.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: You

know, leave your phones on, try to text, try to snap, do all the things that you do it. If I catch you, I get to finish it.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Oh my God, that's amazing.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: and they know that, you know, and the best one, uh, was singing Happy Birthday to someone's mother. Um, you know, she was calling her daughter in class and forgot to turn her phone off. She was a great student, and I was like, well, you know, let me answer that. And she's like, well, it's my mom, it's her birthday. I got this covered. So the whole class saying happy birthday to her,

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: you know, so I've done

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Oh, that's amazing. I bet that made the mom's day.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Oh it did. Yeah, it did. When you get to meet them at

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Oh yeah.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: and they're

like, Oh you are the professor that did that. So, but I mean, I think just, you know, just that little bit of fun, you know, that that's part of that, that, you know, the students know that there to connect [00:17:00] with them and to teach them. if you are, if you're really listening to someone that you enjoy listening to, that you're engaged with, that you understand, you appreciate, you tend to pay better attention. And so I use these little quirks in my teaching style get students to, to create that relationship, which after COVID is so important.

Just so extremely important. what I love about teaching is that you use those little moments to create those connections so that you can push 'em a little harder. when you have a student group like we do upper Midwest, you know, really hard workers, great students might not have experienced a lot of luxury. really gotta get them to buy in so that when they realize and they go to work for, you know, a five star property, you've gotta think differently. You've gotta act differently than what you do right now. It's not that what you do is wrong, it's just that this is the expectation at that luxury

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: It is interesting, as you said, that like not having the experience of luxury. Um, I was once working on a project many, many years ago [00:18:00] in daca, Bangladesh

and

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Mm-hmm.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: in the bathrooms. Of this luxury property. I do furniture for hotels, but in the bathrooms, like on the ground floor, there were, in the men's room, there were urinals with like, there were ashtrays above each urinal, right?

Because people used to smoke all the time everywhere. Um, and I remember going in there during pre-opening and there were bars of soap. In each of those ashtrays, above the urinals because they, the people who were doing the pre-opening and were working there, they were working really hard. They were attending to detail, but they didn't really understand why that fixture was there and what it was for, or you know, you imagine like some of the housekeepers in these developing countries, like they grow up out on a farm, they maybe have not seen.

Like a right angle in the, in their built environment. Right? A built like, or a how to make a bed with a straight line or all that other stuff, right? It's more about survival [00:19:00] and then they come in and it's like, it's, I can't imagine what that transition must be like from where they grew up to like all of a sudden being in a Four Seasons and trying to make a bed.

Like that's, that's mind blowing to me.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Well, and, and, and really what we're trying to do is create something that is transferable to other countries. You know, as we look at kind of trying to expand our footprint, you know, we're very much a Midwestern program with a international history. some of these nations, you know, whether it be India, Vietnam, Japan, places that we're, we're creating relationships with other educational institutions. have to make sure that the curriculum transfers from kind of a Western ideology to a very different

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Hmm. I think, um, when we spoke earlier, one of my favorite, um, stories that you showed that I think, and I'm gonna mispronounce it, [00:20:00] that really exemplifies Oma Tene, OMA Tanashi, um, you're, you were trying to instill, actively trying to open up a campus, a sister campus, brother campus in Japan. Is that correct? Okay, so you went out there and as you were pitching this university or as part of a hot, a master planned hotel development, I don't wanna mess up your story, but you went out there with some beer from Wisconsin that wa, that had the, that had the property's name or the location's name, I forget.

But tell us that story. I love that because again, more than just going there with the can of beer. It was really the thought. I mean, that's so incredible to me and it's those little touches that I think really help define what luxury could be, but carry on.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Right. So, you know, right before COVID we had an opportunity to be part of, uh, a global hospitality summit. Uh, it was us, um, and some other universities such as like, uh, Michigan State, [00:21:00] central Florida, UNLV. And we did these panel discussions in multiple cities in Japan. during these conversations. My message, which was a little bit different than other research institutions, was more about the applied education, the things that we're talking about today, Dan. And, you know, there, there was a, a business leader in the crowd that said, you know, we we're looking to develop an integrated resort. We'd love to see if you'd be part of that process. To make a long story short, um, it, it didn't work out, but we're continuing to work to look through that process. But during one of our visits, we had a local brewer here in town craft a beer.

You know, it was a, it was a bottle of beer and the, the name of the beer was Omotenashi and it had our sports logo on it. Um, UW Stout, you know, it was just a really thoughtful. Process that we went through to come up with this gift that went over quite well because it related not only to our potential partnership, but the cultural [00:22:00] meaning and, and all the things that we really thought through.

And I have to be completely honest, I can't take credit for that. I've got a great colleague here at Stout named Scott Pearson, who is Office of International, um, studies. He is the director of that, of that, uh, department. Scott has an eye for detail. And he was the one who said, look, this is, he spent years living in Japan, so he understands the culture, that understanding, that detail, those little things to do differently.

I mean, I'm always learning about better hospitality and sometimes it's from outside our industry because these cultural pieces that, you know, you, you, you've gone internationally, there's things that. You know, we don't always pick up on, but the more and the little things you do that align with your customer, if you will, it just meant so much.

And so I've got that bottle of beer sitting behind me. Um, I had to keep one just as a, as a momentum, if you will, but it was, uh, it was really well received.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: that's awesome. I love it. And, [00:23:00] and it, it's really about making. I, I saw this, this guy speak, he wrote a book, um, his name wa is John Ruland. Ru Ruland, I can't remember exactly. Um, I think he sadly passed away recently, but he wrote this book called Gift Ology, which is like about the art of giving gifts.

And, you know, there's all those corporate gift giving things that happen where you get like your logo or like you might do a UW Stout logo and give it to someone, but he ba his whole idea was. That's a terrible idea, right? Because you're making it about you, the giver. How do you think about your gift from the person that you're, or the entity that you're giving it to?

It's like do like a really nice knife with their name on it or their family name on it, so it's something that they'll use all the time. They're also going to remember where they got it from, right? And that it's gonna be that heartfelt moment that they're gonna connect to. And I [00:24:00] think that that's why I think we could all learn a little bit more from that, because the thoughtfulness behind that, Scott had, um, Scott Pearson, good job.

I'm envious that you came up with that. Uh, but the thought that Scott put behind that, and then for you guys to go. Make it through security and not have it confiscated, first of all. But then also to have like that, they must have felt such thought and care behind receiving that. Um, I think that there could be a, a course on gift giving for all.

Like I would love to take that because I just think I'm always struggling to figure out what the, the most thoughtful gift could be to give someone. What are your thoughts on the gift giving element of luxury?

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: It has to be authentic, which is what you're talking about, but it also has to be relevant. I think one of the great things about luxury is that they're really leading in a lot of great ways, whether it be, you know, sustainability and the need for that, [00:25:00] or having those cultural experiences that are truly authentic to the destination. So something as simple as, and I'll use Minneapolis as an example, okay, that's an hour away from me. But at the Four Seasons, uh, who by the way, they're, they're great partners of ours. They host our students. They really put on a great learning day event so that they can see, so our students can see what Four Seasons hospitality is all about, At that four Seasons, you know, they give, they always give gifts at each four season, what they do there is they give a Blue Ox, which is

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Paul Bunion.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: the history.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Yeah.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: And it's a quirky little thing that you might not know or understand if you're not from North America, but that's, that's the relevancy. And so if you look at around the world, all about tying their destination to who the people are or what's unique about what they're [00:26:00] offering. If you can take that level of detail when giving gifts, that's really where luxury excels. We, we teach a class, it's called tourism. Culture and place. And that class is all about understanding tourism at a very local level, how it impacts the local culture and how to leverage that relationship to provide unique experiences. And that's not necessarily gift giving, but it's more about diving into what makes a place like whether it be daca, whether it be Singapore, whether it be Tokyo, Shanghai, what makes those places unique? And what are the hidden opportunities to engage with, I don't wanna say a true culture, I think that's a, that's an oversimplification, but the history and really the unique components that make that destination what it is.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: I'm curious about the luxury program some more and, and just. So that I can understand it better. UW Stout has a hospitality program[00:27:00]

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Yes.

Mm-hmm.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: and the luxury program is a subset of that. Or is that open to any course of study? Like does the luxury program strengthen any course of study that people can dip into or do you have to be in the hospitality program and if you are doing hospitality and luxury like, and you finish school.

What are like some of the next steps that some of your graduates have taken? Um, like what's, like, what's a path after school? So just, just describe like how to study it and then what you've seen as like some good examples of, uh, next steps for students who matriculate. I.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: So from a, from a luxury standpoint, have the luxury minor is the way it was, what we call them, so the luxury minor. So a student can sign up for the minor regardless of what their major is.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Oh.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: So when I look at the students that have signed up for the minor, you know, I've got students that are in hospitality, I've got golf management students, I've got [00:28:00] real estate students, I've got business students. Um, you know, it attracts a wide variety of different students who wanna add that skillset. I. To what their degree program is already teaching them. So any student is able to kind of take that minor to get that understanding. one thing that we did as a faculty to really benefit the students was we looked at some of those luxury principles integrated them across all of the hospitality classes. And so you're, you know, you're getting an exposure to what luxury is, no matter what class you're taking in hospitality. But the minor is something that someone who's outside of hospitality, you know, one of the areas could be art. I. to, to understand the luxury consumer, understand that process.

And so you can get it both, you can get multiple ways, I guess is what I'm saying, Dan. And that was very purposeful try and get as much of this integrated into the curriculum as possible. And when I, we look at what our students do [00:29:00] after graduation, you know, we have students that go, you know, into, you know, Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Darden, you know, all of those Great. Organizations, but we have a higher propensity of students who end up going into, uh, high-end private clubs, independent luxury properties, and even four seasons as a chain. And what we have found is that our students really excel some of those

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Hmm.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: properties. And they, you know, we don't have them on campus recruiting, they know, look, these are the great opportunities.

They go out and find them. And our students are, are really sought after because of the work ethic, because of the basic understanding they have of how to, how to succeed in the luxury environment. they perfectly polished? Absolutely not. However, they've got the basic understanding to kind of find that success wherever they go.

Speaker 2: Hey, everybody. We've been doing this podcast for over three years now, and one of the themes that consistently comes up [00:30:00] is sustainability, and I'm just really proud to announce that our sponsor, Berman Fall Hospitality Group is the first within our hospitality industry to switch to sustainable and recyclable packaging, eliminating the use of styrofoam.

Please check out their impact page in the show notes for more info.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: And, and they have a passion for it, right? And that's where, on the polished side of things, it's like, okay, are they perfectly polished? Maybe, maybe not. But they have a passion for it. And that's where I think that many of the companies that you mentioned, they would so much rather hire for culture rather than skill.

Um, because skill can be taught.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Oh, yeah. And, and it, I, it's, it, it's a, it's also the, you know, the, the, the Midwest personality. We're a very casual university and, you know, getting students to flip that switch, they can do it, but we've gotta get them to that next level because that interview process is, is something that, you know, employers look, look for, and look through to find the

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Huh

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: [00:31:00] And that's where that polish

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Um, I wanna go back to that campus, um, that you were trying to start in Japan. I. It was unsuccessful, but you're undaunted and still trying to find something going on there. So tell us, um, a bit about that process and what like the, the vision would be from an international perspective for, for you guys at the at, at UW Stout.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: So there's, there's multiple ways that, you know, universities can grow internationally. And for us and Japan specifically, it was trying to find an industry

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Hmm.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: that, you know, wanted to expand. So if you look at Japan and the, we'll call it the shrinking of the population, In order to find employees, managers, leaders in hospitality, they may have to go outside of Japan.

So the idea was that with us offering our degree, a western degree, if you will, in Japan, we could attract students from across [00:32:00] Asia to come study in Japan and then hopefully stay and work. 'cause Japan's a very sought after destination. Obviously it's gorgeous, you know, the people are fantastic. It's safe, everything you could want, you know, in an international study abroad location. And so that was the basic reasoning, was that it was to help a large resort, which needed 6,000 employees basically get there next. A generation of supervisors and managers ready to lead in hospitality. And there's a lot of other ways to do it. You know, you, you can partner with other universities, you can exchange students, and those are, those are opportunities we're also exploring. But that was the, that was the big I. Kind of the big home run we were going for to try something brand new and different and partner with industry. 'cause that's something as a, as a polytechnic university, that's really what we focus on is partner with industry. And so this was gonna be something that was gonna be pretty innovative. if you look at other great programs [00:33:00] and hospitality, they'll partner with universities internationally to do some great things. I think about like

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Hmm.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: think about Cornell, you know, they're great programs. But they are based with other universities, so we were gonna do it based with a business,

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Oh, oh, and then the un I remember that you were unsuccessful because of COVID. COVID happened. Everything shut down, right? Was that the,

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Yeah,

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: oh yeah. Okay. So as you're talking, I gotta, I'm gonna give Dan Seymour a shout out who I just reconnected with. He's doing this really cool development, I think outside Haba.

So Dan, I'm going to connect you with Eric shortly. And Dan's someone I've known since I was 18. I just saw him, um. At the HD Hospitality Design Show in Vegas. It was really good to reconnect with them. And I want an excuse to go back to Japan. The other thing on Japan, just in the news right now, timely, I guess the us, you know, there's all this debt and deficit talk, but they were trying to do a a 20 or 30 year treasury bill auction, and it wasn't as successful as it [00:34:00] should be because of propagate spending and deficits and blah, blah, blah.

But I'm listening to the radio and everyone's like. At what point do we turn into Japan and when do we become Japan and have a lost couple of decades? And this, and I'm like, they're saying that, like, that's a bad thing. I, I've been to Japan many times. It's freaking awesome. I don't like, yeah, maybe they may have some fiscal things going on, but you don't know it.

It's amazing. Everything works. Everything's on time. Everyone's well educated, everyone cares. Uh, my only complaint about Japan is that. They don't have trash cans anywhere. And that's really bothersome to me because going with kids, they just generate a lot of trash and I, I have to like stick them in my pockets or have to carry a bag.

But like Japan is one of the coolest countries out there. I really love it.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Yeah, and we're, we're planning a study abroad for domestic students, uh, a year and a half from now in January. I.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Hmm.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: To Japan to understand that culture [00:35:00] because that is something that is very different. That if you've never been there to truly understand that. I mean, I, I'm with you. I think the country, the people, everything is fantastic. You know, I fell in love the first time I was there and I've gotten to go several times. Um, but to take students there so they can see that, to be exposed to a tea ceremony, those little pieces that really show back to that omotenashi, if you will, that, that to me is just a great learning opportunity because that's not something you'll see

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Mm.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: else.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Okay. So now I want to go back to the beginning of our conversation where you were a corporal in the army, I'm sure like on that spectrum of what hospitality giving and receiving is. You were probably on the other side of that bell curve, but how did you go from that to wanting to study and commit like.

Your life to this idea of hospitality and um, and luxury.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: So it has absolutely [00:36:00] nothing to do with the military, you know, so the military was, uh, my way to pay

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Hmm.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: uh, as a, as a first generation college student. You know, both my parents were, were factory workers, if you will. Um, and so had to find a way to pay for college. So Uncle Sam was the, was the be best path forward. Um, but my, the whole reason why I wanted to go to college and to be quite honest, is I wanted to own a own a bar. And I wanted to be successful. And so that's kind of that, that was the reason why it was hospitality. much like many of my students, once I got here, I'm like, hold on. There's a lot of great opportunities to pursue. And so while that was the reason why it was education, you know, it was that discovery process that led me on

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Hmm.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: path. And so the military was just a way to, to fund that, that experience. I.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Is it safe to say that one of your experience that you, you had an experience. Whether it be [00:37:00] res or, or something that kind of inspired you to have others not experience that and like give them a better option than an MRE or, I don't know, whatever they give you in the MRE.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: I, it's, there's just, there was so much that was that I learned from that. Period of time, you know, from an organizational standpoint, you know, kind of just growing up. it was just, it was, it was a different, it, it wasn't

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Hmm.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: in many ways to hospitality. I mean, I would have good fun, I've always loved food, you know, so, you know, I'd, I'd create fake menus and just entertain my, my fellow troops. Um, and, and that was a lot of fun. You know, I'd have upper NCOs come down and say, well, Eric, what's being served at the, at the

restaurant today?

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: So that's what I was in elegantly trying to grasp for. I would imagine that like if you have this passion and drive to like to pay for school so that you could have a [00:38:00] bar be successful, like be an inkeeper or barkeeper, it's not about the bar or the business. To me, as I heard you say that and, and saw your eyes, if you're not watching it, I was envisioning you.

Like you said earlier, welcoming those, like, I feel like you want to welcome those guests or customers into your bar, and that's really what was driving you to build that sense of community. And I didn't really get there elegantly, but this is what I was talking about, like, so you did have fun with it.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Oh yeah. No, I mean, look, I mean, it, it, that's, I think that's just, that's my

personality. You

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Hmm.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: light up when I see people. I know, you know, the next time I see you at conference, it'll be a, a giant hand wave, a huge smile.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: I hope it's a hug. I'm a hugger.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: are you a

hugger?

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Yeah.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: I'm, I'm still, I'm still

learning to be a hugger,

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: not,

very Japanese like, but I, I'm a hugger, so I give you permission.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: But I mean, and, and that's, I mean, I, I, I, I love people and that's, you know, everybody says that, but it truly is something that I look, I look forward to seeing [00:39:00] people, I look forward to entertaining all those things that I get to teach and work and, you know. Consult on. Those are all things that

I love to do.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Mm.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: you know, just that period of time in my life it was, I found different ways to express that and have a good time. But yeah, there, it's always been, you know, I love to, I love to cook. I love to have people over, you know, this weekend, we'll, we'll throw a big barbecue up north. Um, you know, and those are all things that I love to do because that's just part of, of who I am and my personality,

if you will.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: I was recently a, a company I'm a partner in and spend. Most of that's like my vocation really. The Berman, Falk, they do cus we do custom furniture for hotels, um, for guest rooms. And they did a little, a nice piece on me about the podcast and defining hospitality. And they pulled out a quote, I sent it to my kids.

'cause I was like, look guys, I'm kind of cool, um, on this like corporate, corporate website brochure. And my son, one of my, one of the things I said in there and my son screenshotted it and sent it back to me [00:40:00] because. I don't know. I feel like I say iterations of this all the time and I think they get annoyed like of me stopping and just talking to random people.

But it was, tech technology is cool, but people are cooler and it reminds me of, I saw David Byrne from Talking Heads Do American Utopia,

and it was a very bare bone stage where you just had like these people playing instruments with no. It was just very simple and Spartan and he said something to the effect that like, you know, we're all distracted by digital technology and all this, but like, people are cool people.

It's like, they're like a bag of potato chips or something. I could just look at people and be transfixed and, and, um, and just watch people and experience people all the time. And I, I think that there's something resonant in that, in the thoughtfulness that you're talking about. Also with this rise of technology, I think that luxury, if you really [00:41:00] break it down, it's not that technological thing that's so amazing, but it's really how do you get into those small moments of humanity and just being there for others.

And that's, again, it's, it's a love of people and making people fee, feel, seen, heard, um, cared for. What are your thoughts on that?

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: So I, I, I think about, um, kind of what the future holds, you know, with technology and ai, and I am a firm believer that the currency that will hold the most value in the future is the interaction between people. I. Um, you know, technology is gonna be great at facilitating a lot of experiences where we'll be able to, you know, to take out the interaction. from a luxury standpoint, what people are gonna pay for. I. always have technology in the background to facilitate that interaction, to make it easier. You know, I no longer have to remember, Mr. Smith likes these three things. It'll pop up on a screen, a device, whatever I have, [00:42:00] but it's gonna be me using that information to create that connection. And the people that understand that now. Prepare for the future where that is going to be that valuable asset are the ones that are gonna be most successful. it's, it's in hospitality, but it's in other areas as well. You know, it's not, I look, I love ai. I, I'm a huge use user of technology 'cause it makes my life easier. But at the end of the day, it's a relationship that matters more. And that's something that, you know, I can, I can post something on LinkedIn, send it directly to you, and that's nice. But if I can find a chance to give you a call. To interact with you somewhere and have something relevant to talk about. That's where, that's where the key is. And luxury is gonna continue to embody that. I think about private clubs as a

great example.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Hm.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: know, if you look at the club space, people don't want technology. They want human interaction because everywhere else they go it's, you know, you go to McDonald's, you don't have to talk to anybody. [00:43:00] You can order on your phone, you can order on a kiosk, pick it up on a shelf. You could do that at any, you know,

fast food restaurant.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: But, but you know what annoys my children? I do talk to the people there because I, I like them and I want, I wanna hear what they're all about.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: And, and you're probably annoying them too. They're like, why is this guy talking to me? I, I'm not working here to have a

conversation. I

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Yes.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: so I can

go have fun tonight. You

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Yeah, totally.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: But I mean, and, and so I mean, there's people like, I, I think we're probably birds of a feather and that I probably talk to people too much too

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Yeah.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: the reality is that. You know, people that might not do that as much, they still want that, they still desire that connection. I think that's the, that's the human

condition

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Hmm.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: we'll never get over. And technology, while it will be great at facilitating things, at some point, that's gonna be a form of luxury is having and being able to actually talk to somebody rather than, uh, AI bot or

what have you.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Hmm.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: so from a luxury standpoint, and these are the things that, you know, as we look at. [00:44:00] The whole un, our whole university, we are really pushing AI because of our, that Applied Polytechnic approach. And the thing that we're try, that I'm trying to do specifically is, look, you're gonna need to leverage these tools, but ultimately you have to know how to talk to people.

Something as simple as shaking hands and looking at someone's in the

eye, you know,

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Hmm.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: skills, we gotta make sure that we don't lose those because that's where that value's gonna be moving

forward.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: So going with that, talking to people motif, imagine that, uh, uh, you're, I'm gonna ask you like, pretend you're talking to a student at UW Stout or someone, a prospective student who is either interested in, in hospitality or in the hospitality school already. Imagine this is a brochure for the, the luxury program.

How do you talk to those people to get them to come take a look and experience it? How do you, how, how? What's your pitch? Pretend. [00:45:00] Pretend you're talking directly to them right now.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: so, I, I, I have a good friend, um, his name's Bernie and Bernie used to teach that, you know, your brainstem is connected right to your wallet. And so when I talk luxury, talk about, you know, the unique places you'll go, the people you'll meet, but it's also, that's where the, that's where the future value's gonna be.

That's where, you know, if you are in that mindset, you know the compensation is at a higher level. when we look at the cost of education. we look at everything else that's going on in the world. You know, it's the great experiences. It's being able to talk to people, but it's also, look, this is a unique skillset that will, that will, that, that will, that has higher compensation. it's being absolutely honest that it's, it's, a different expectation from the customers. But if you're in your personal experience, the value you'll get from those interactions and the financial are all there. it [00:46:00] really is. If you have that mindset or if you have an interest in getting that mindset, which is why the minor is here, the value at on the back end is th is threefold, at

least.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: I love that idea of the brainstem being connected to the wallet because it's really that idea of that limbic fight or flight, like primeval, primordial, I don't even know what the word is, but like it's that. Basic human instinct. And again, going back to that spectrum of luxury, maybe I don't get me wrong, I love Disney.

I love Disney World, Disneyland, but I'm not like one of those fans that gets buttons all over and goes, but I totally understand that there's a passion and I know some good people, Daniel Berman, who are like that, but like they, Disney has figured out in their and, and it is a kind of luxury as well, but they have really perfected that.

Limbic brain to wallet connection because they are better than anyone at separating. [00:47:00] You from your money when you are at that park and you don't even, you don't even think, you see your child with those eyes saying, can I have this? Or whatever. And you're just like, oh, I'm already in so deep for this trip.

And of course, Vivian, Annabel or Theo, you can have that. Um, but they, they have really perfected that. It's like lightning in a bottle that they've got,

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Yeah, so have you, you've been

to Key West,

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: yes.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Yeah,

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Yeah,

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: I think, I think Key West

does it just as well as

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: I got arrested there once.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Well, now I have questions for

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Okay. Wait, let me tell this quick story. I don't, I don't know if I have this, like, I don't know if I've ever told this story. Um, but I want to go back to your Key West thing. Um, I was there, I, uh, for spring break in college. I think I was 20. And I had a fake idea I'd had since I was 16 years old. His name was Joel Schlau.

I had a whole thing memorized and I, and there's so many kids at Spring Break at Key [00:48:00] West, um, that there's extra law enforcement there. So one of the first bars I went into, which I think was like hogs, breath Saloon, I think I still have the t-shirt. Um, there was a bouncer at the door and he's like, this isn't you.

And I was like, yeah, I am Joel SI read the whole thing and. A TF agents were walking up the street

And they're like, is there a problem here? And I was like, Nope, no problem. I was like, can I have that Id back? And then it was too late. And they're like, all right, well we're gonna write you this ticket.

And they had like a special kangaroo court, which was like a a, they said, come, come to the city hall or whatever at noon, or No, 9:00 AM Saturday, like the next day. And they had like a folding plastic card table with like. Some administrator of justice there and they're like, okay, um, you're a spring breaker, so we'll expunge this from your record, but you either have to pay $170 fine or work on the chain gang for a day, and like [00:49:00] $170 in 1994 was like my budget for the whole week I was there.

So I was like, oh, I'll just, I'll do the chain gang. And I, it was before cameras, maybe those disposable. I don't have a picture of it. I want. But I had to wear an Orange Monroe County jail jumpsuit and I, but I met all these other kids that were, that got in trouble for the same thing, and we were cleaning out irrigation ditches.

There were like snakes and stuff. I remember being terrified and then I wasn't really terrified. I don't mind snakes, but then they had us have lunch in the Monroe County Jail, like in that octagonal thing with the. The picnic tables like in the middle of the cells and people are hooting and hollering at us while we're, while we're eating like soggy bologna sandwiches and cartons of milk with like ice in it.

And then we went out and finish it. Um, but that was my, I got arrested in Key West and it's never showed up anywhere, like in anything. I hope it doesn't now, but I think it was just like a thing that they had for spring breakers and I wanted to take [00:50:00] home that jumpsuit so badly, but they wouldn't let me.

I wish I had a phone with a camera at that point too. Anyway, go on to your Key West story.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: I don't, I don't think any story I have can beat that one. I mean, that's a, that's, that's a great story. But I, but I think that's, that, that to me is so. honesty. Um, I, I am a key west. Both my wife and I are, you know, all in on Key West. We love it. You know, we love to take our friends down there, show 'em around, you know, we've got the, we've got the great spots that we love to go to, where the locals go, the tourists go. Um, but I think that's where I. come in and say, look, key West is one of those places that's truly authentic. You know, you've got some, you've got some great spots for the cruise shippers. You know, that's here. Here's a little taste of Key West. But you start in Key West and you move up the keys as you go to Marathon City, you know, the further north you go, the more kind of, they say

old keys, it is,

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Mm-hmm.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: is a great example of there's something there for everyone. [00:51:00] They embody and they embrace

that.

And so it's just a great collection of individuals and there are other great places that have, you know, great food, great live music, but Key West has its own

vibe

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: I find that totally, I, I find that totally true. Especially like if you look at like, it's like Land's End. It's like the last stop before wherever, right? Key West.

Provincetown San Francisco, like you're at this peninsula and you can't go any further and like it. I don't know. It's like the most wonderful gang of misfits send to tend to congregate at these places and it's the most fun.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Yeah, it is. But, but even like Key West, you know, when they seceded

from the US

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Hmm.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: know, for all of like two minutes, you know, that independent feel that that whole piece, they understand kind of who they are, they embrace it, and when you come down there, if you love it. You find that authenticity, you find all of those things that we're talking about [00:52:00] now, is every place the greatest?

Absolutely not. But that's part of the charm of the whole destination. So you don't have to look at it just as like an individual hotel or restaurant. can have that look and feel. It's authentic. And I think to me that's probably more important than a put on or a false sense of hospitality. If you

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Yeah.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: like, yeah, this is, this is a vibe.

I get it.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Yeah,

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: that there's just cool places

everywhere, I guess is

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: I get that. Yeah, but you know what? There's not enough cool places like all those places I, me mentioned in New Orleans and like we need more of those places where people just are themselves and they're not wearing a mask. And again, I think that goes back to the whole idea of people are cool, technology's cool, but people are cooler and it's all about, some people complain that the word authentic is overused, but it's true.

I don't know what other word to use, because if you're really doing it right, you just, you feel it. It's in your heart. Right? And I don't know, I, I've really enjoyed [00:53:00] this conversation.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Yeah, no, I mean, so I, but, but I, you know, I think about the word authentic, overused experience is

overused.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Yes.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: it? Charman who says have a bathroom experience? thanks. That, no, that's not what I'm here for. You know, an experience is something I do with friends at a bar, you know, at a restaurant. Um, so there are terms that are overused because people wanna attach themselves to something that's really, truly

great.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Yeah,

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: it's unfortunate when these words get overused because then those that really embody it kind of get overlooked once in a while. I. Like the great places on earth, you know, they don't go around calling them, calling themselves authentic.

They just

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: they just are.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Key West.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Yeah.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Orleans, you

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Yeah.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: just who they are.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Totally,

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: it's, it's cool. I mean, yeah, I, I love that, you know, technology's cool, but people are cooler. I agree. I think, you know, I love talking to just random strangers and hearing their stories and just getting to know 'em because [00:54:00] got a story and when they let their guard down, I. It's a pretty cool story to hear.

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: totally. And people, and that's the thing, like I guess people just need to let the guard down a little bit more. But I guess it's that first follower, right? We can be the people who are letting our guard down and, and having those conversations and collisions with people. Um, and hopefully that's like the drop of water that starts the waterfall of other people saying, oh wow, that was a cool experience.

I'm just gonna dilute my mask just a little bit and just be more open and comfortable. Um. Eric, this has been a fantastic conversation. I know you're busy, like running a program and at a school and all this stuff, so I just wanna give you a wholehearted thank you for your time, your experience, share, and uh, putting yourself out there with all of our listeners and hopefully growing the listeners.

If people wanted to learn more about you or the program, uh, what's the best way for them to get in touch?

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: Probably the easiest way is just go to LinkedIn and

just search [00:55:00] Professor

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Brey.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: know, that that's the easiest way to find me. Um, message me through there and I'd love to carry on the conversation, you know,

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Cool. Cool. We'll also put up the, the university website as well. Maybe we can link to the, um, the luxury program. I don't know if there's a URL for that. but thank you. I appreciate you.

eric-brey_1_05-23-2025_085756: No, thank you for giving me a chance to come on and talk. I mean, look, I love talking all this great stuff and you know, your energy is, is is infectious. This is fantastic. And so I, I've really enjoyed, you know, a Friday morning before we go on holiday, you know, spending time with you. So thank you for, for having me on.

I, I really do.

I, I really enjoyed it, so

dan-ryan--he-him-_1_05-23-2025_095756: Well, you are most welcome and thank you to all of our listeners. Without you, we wouldn't be here talking to incredible people like Dr. Brey. Or Eric, you can call him Eric, I'm sure you can, but he is a doctor. Uh, but if, if this has changed your idea of hospitality or you know, someone who might be thinking about a career path or wanting to explore luxury and they could benefit from this conversation, pass it to them, send them the [00:56:00] link.

Um, also be sure to like, comment, subscribe. All of that helps with distribution and impact of others. So I appreciate all of you and we'll catch you next time.