David Kong, Dorothy Dowling, Rachel Humphrey, Lan Elliott
296 episodes listed below
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At It’s Personal Stories, A Hospitality Podcast, we believe that leadership is shaped as much by setbacks and self-doubt as by achievements and accolades. That’s why we go beyond titles and résumés to uncover the personal journeys of hospitality leaders—the moments of vulnerability, resilience, and courage that define true success. Since 2022, our mission has been to empower the next generation of leaders by sharing unfiltered stories of growth from across the industry. With more than 250 interviews and counting, we’ve built a library of candid conversations that reveal not only strategies for professional advancement, but also lesson...
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Hospitality executives and educators turn career experience into practical lessons about leadership, commercial responsibility, mentorship, and advancement.
It's Personal Stories, A Hospitality Podcast builds its interviews around the decisions, detours, and working habits behind hospitality careers.
A hotel executive codes his calendar by business priorities; your inbox may wish it had tenure.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A reflective hospitality conversation about resilience, numbers, and leadership.
Dorothy Dowling guides a calm hospitality conversation with Anne Larkad, and the focus stays on a career shaped by strong women, resilience, and steady operational discipline across P&L ownership, real estate development, and advisory work with boards and developers.
A steady, practical look at leadership under pressure.
Laura and Dorothy center the discussion on leading through upheaval: bankruptcy, ownership transition, and a full reset, without losing sight of client relationships or team focus.
A reflective hospitality conversation about trust, credit, mentorship, and choosing effective work over perfection.
Hospitality leadership and design sit at the center of Miriam Torres's story as she reflects on the career turning points that shaped Parker Torres Design.
A steady hospitality story about sponsorship, growth, and resilience.
Keith Pierce and Rachel Humphrey talk through a hospitality career built on sponsorship, timing, and people who open doors. Pierce moves from his father's long run at Lodging Hospitality to hotel school, New York internships, and an early stop at the Waldorf Astoria, then keeps…
A hospitality career story about leadership, labor, and the patience needed to keep moving forward.
Chef Frank Desplechamps offers a grounded look at a career shaped by leaving France, moving through Michelin style restaurants and luxury hotels, and then stepping into leadership, coaching, and cultural change.
Hospitality leadership shaped by disruption, honesty, and the work of building people.
The piece frames hospitality leadership as a response to instability, not a fixed title. Rachel Humphrey follows Georgene Muntz from a childhood marked by a single mother, 12 schools in eight years, and time with grandparents to a 25-year career in other industries and then the…
A reflective hospitality story that turns research and memory into a reminder to bet on yourself.
Calvin Stovall's path runs from a desk clerk job in downtown Chicago into a career that stays rooted in service. The interview then turns to the book that grew out of research on black hotel ownership, and the best thread is the one about how a friend, a publisher, and deeper…
Hospitality leadership, startup judgment, and AI are filtered through one long operating career.
David Millili's arc through hospitality gives the conversation its center, while the discussion broadens into board work, startup advising, and podcasting.
Michelle Russo, founder and CEO of hotelAVE, traces her career from HVS and John Hancock to Deutsche Bank and then to building her own company.
David Mililli, founder of the Modern Hotelier Podcast, discusses his career journey from hotel busboy to tech CEO, sharing insights on innovation, AI in hospitality, and leadership lessons.
Lan Elliott welcomes Miriam Torres, co-owner of Parker Torres Design, Inc., and frames her career around a few key turning points.
Nelson Knight, President of Real Estate and Investments at Apple Hospitality REIT, tells Rachel Humphrey how a high school leasing job in the Richmond, Virginia area led to 20 years at Apple Hospitality.
Monique Lee, Group Vice President of Sales at Wyndham, shares her journey from childhood hotel stays with her grandmother to leading global sales teams.
Rachel Humphrey welcomes Georgene Muntz and quickly gets to the story behind her leadership.
Rachel Humphrey welcomes Calvin Stovall, CEO of Iconic Presentations.
Rachel Humphrey talks with Tina Patel, CFO of Promise Hotels, about how she came into hospitality leadership.
Laura joins Dorothy to trace how her sales career began.
Lan Elliott talks with Liz Dallagher, Chief Operating Officer of Marite Hotel Management, and asks her to walk through the path to leadership.
Rachel Humphrey asks Keith Pierce about his path to leadership.
Lan Elliott welcomes Kaushik and opens with his path to leadership.
Dorothy Dowling talks with Anne Larkad about the personal path behind her hospitality leadership.
Rachel Humphrey welcomes Suzanne Bagner and starts where the show often does: with the path to leadership.
Andy starts with scale.
Rachel Humphrey interviews Myra Biblowit, the board director for Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, on It’s Personal Stories, and Myra explains how her main career was almost 23 years leading the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, which she says is now the largest private funder of breast cancer research worldwide.
Lan Elliott opens with a warm welcome and invites Chef Frank Desplechamps to walk through the main turns in his career.
David Kong introduces Monica Moser, founder and director of MMC Consulting, and frames her 30 years in hotel design and team transformation for listeners of It's Personal Stories.
Jeff Weinstein, editor-in-chief of Hotel Investment Today and former editor-in-chief of Hotels Magazine, traces a 40-some-year hospitality journalism career that started with newspapers, electronic publishing, and a restaurant trade publication.
Allison Handy, Chief Commercial Officer at Aimbridge, shares her 27-year journey in hospitality, from cold-calling hotels via the yellow pages to navigating mergers and balancing motherhood with a high-flying career.
Host Rachel interviews Dr.
An interview with a hospitality leader discussing his career journey from operations to technology and innovation.
Host Rachel Humphrey interviews hospitality leader Nancy Mendelsohn about her unintentional journey to leadership and pivotal moments that shaped her career.
An interview with a hospitality leader discussing his family background and formative experiences that shaped his career.
Hospitality leader Roger Hill shares his career journey and the key moments that shaped his success.
Host Lan interviews Noreen Ahmed about her career inflection points in hospitality, highlighting the lesson that hard work alone isn't enough without advocating for oneself.
An interview with Dina Balan, president of Stay Pineapple, discussing her unconventional path to leadership in hospitality.
A hospitality leadership podcast interviews Amit Shrupathi, Chief Development Officer of Wyndham Hotels, about his personal career journey and pivotal moments.