Spheres of Hospitality - David Kaplan - Episode # 036

David Kaplan is the Founder of Death & Company, the CEO at Gin and Luck, Co-author of several books including “Cocktail Codex”, the Co-Founder of Midnight Auteur. He likes to create human connections and memorable moments through cocktails and wonderful hospitality service. He sits down with host Dan Ryan to share his insight on #hospitality and how important it is to just be nice. 

Takeaways: 
 
  • Hospitality is defined by creating moments of human connections. It’s all about connecting people within communities or total strangers to each other.
  • Walt Disney didn’t like movies because there was a finite end and no way to improve it once it was out there. Be like Walt and always strive for improvement where you can. 
  • Fans, followers and guests are the reason why a business is successful. Crowdfunding is a great way to offer equity in your business to those people. 
  • Now is the time for independent boutique hotels, as these are spaces that are often overlooked. 
  • The best hospitality feels really authentic because it is. You want the guests to feel the warmth and compassion in the bar, hotel or restaurant.
  • An experience starts at the door. You want to create a memorable experience once a guest steps right through the door. 
  • It’s a tough time with a lot of hospitality services being short staffed but it’s important to have a great culture even through these difficult times.  
  • You want to make sure what you are doing is something that gives back to the community that it is located in. 

Quote of the Show:
 
9:18 “Hospitality for me and for our company is defined by creating moments of human connectivity, moments and stages for that human connectivity.  For us it really starts with our teams, our staff, our investors, forming a community and connectivity within those folks within our worlds, and then extends out to our guests, fans, followers. Those are moments of hospitality. Those are our spheres of hospitality, and then cascading that connectivity out into the community.” 
 
Links:
 

Shout Outs:
 
1:42 BDNY
3:35 EOS
4:08 Ryan Diggins
4:11 Ramble Hotel
8:01 Walt Disney
13:01 SeedInvest
15:03 “The Great Game of Business” 
15:45 New York Times
15:47 Forbes
15:48 Wall Street Journal
19:44 Star Trek
23:01 “Little Giants”
30:05 Delta
49:27 “Things To Do In Denver When You Are Dead”
49:49 Andy Garcia
54:34 Jerry Orbach

Ways to Tune In: 

Creators and Guests

Dan Ryan
Host
Dan Ryan
Host of Defining Hospitality
Spheres of Hospitality - David Kaplan - Episode # 036
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