Connecting the Room - Michelle Finn - Defining Hospitality
"Identify a need, see something that doesn't exist. That's pretty much what we did."
Audio Links:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPX
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386
In this episode, Dan Ryan sits down with Michelle Finn, longtime industry fixture and the driving force behind Alis Design Plus, to trace the evolution of hospitality trade events from HD Expo's chaotic 1990s launch (earthquakes, riots and all) to today's design and investment ecosystem. Michelle unpacks her "dinner party" philosophy of hosting, the power of relationships over transactions, and how she scaled that intimacy from a dozen guests to thousands of attendees without losing the human touch. The conversation moves through mentorship, the rise of owner involvement in design, the new Alis Cala expansion into the Caribbean, and even a few fun detours into what a Vogue or Garden and Guns hotel might look like.
Takeaways:
Great hosting scales the same way whether it’s twelve people at a dinner table or twelve thousand people at a trade show. The fundamentals never change: anticipate needs, create the right environment, and make people feel seen.
Word of mouth is the most powerful and hardest metric to engineer. Trust and reputation compound over time, and there is no shortcut to earning them.
Identifying a market need before it is obvious is a repeatable skill. Michelle built HD Expo, BDNY and Alis Design Plus by watching where the industry was headed, not where it had already been.
Resilience is built through relationships, not avoiding setbacks. Canceled shows, earthquakes and a citywide verdict-day shutdown did not end her career, the trust she had built with customers and leadership did.
New attendees get the most value from events by being intentional. Set a goal to meet ten people you do not know, attend the educational sessions, and stay open to the unplanned conversations too.
"Identify a need, see something that doesn't exist. That's pretty much what we did." - Michelle Finn
Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.
Impact estimates vary by project. For the most up-to-date figures, please refer to the transcript
Connect with Michelle:
Guests Website: https://www.alisdesignplus.com/
🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by BERMANFALK
Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/