How using LinkedIn can help you reach your goals

Good morning. Today we’re looking at:

• Marketing: How using LinkedIn can help you reach your goals

• People: Hilton Connie Award-winning hotelier Craig Poole on second chances and creating opportunity

• Technology: How to think about the relationship between AI and humanity

• Investing: Investors say the hotel industry's future hinges on improved brand relationships

• From our community: a contribution from Michael Hraba and Marcin Wichary

Let’s jump into it…

MARKETING

How using LinkedIn can help you reach your goals

with James Ferguson for the Hospitality Daily Podcast

LinkedIn is responsible for most of the things I've been able to create for you here at Hospitality Daily. In the past week, our stories reached more than 50,000 people on LinkedIn alone - which blows my mind.

And it's not just me - time and again, I've heard from hoteliers that this social network plays a key part in their success and what they're building. One of those people is James Ferguson, Director of Culture at Wurzak Hotel Group. We met James on this show a few episodes ago, and as part of his focus on building and scaling organizational culture, there's a big PR and communications element to his work as well. In this episode, you're going to hear how he uses LinkedIn, and what it does for him.

In their words: “When I post, it expands tenfold.“

Listen now

PEOPLE

Hilton Connie Award-winning hotelier Craig Poole on second chances and creating opportunity

by Craig Poole and Glenn Haussman for No Vacancy

What’s going on: Craig Poole is the back-to-back winner of the Hilton Connie Award and shared his mission to use hospitality to transform his community. For Craig, his hotel is not just a business, but a mission to change Redding, Pennsylvania - the second poorest city with the second highest crime rate. He hires people from the community - including those who have had trouble with the law - and gives them second chances. His philosophy is to hire people based on where they're at today, not on what they did yesterday, and to “love the person but hate the act.” He hopes to inspire others to hire “second chance employees” and change lives.

In their words: “We take care of our people because the people that work here have been in marginalized communities, have been in prisons, and have lost a lot of self-esteem. The best advice I say is to hire people where they’re at today, not what they did yesterday. I don’t care what you did, because what you did has nothing to do with what you’re doing. So I hire for today and for tomorrow, and as long as I do that, I’ve been successful.“ - Craig Poole

Listen now

TECHNOLOGY

How to think about the relationship between AI and humanity

by Kevin Kelly on the Rich Roll Podcast

What’s going on: Kevin Kelly is a technology theorist, the co-founder and executive editor of Wired Magazine, and the author of bestsellers such as “What Technology Wants.” As part of an expansive interview with Rich Roll, Kevin spent 40 minutes talking about the potential of AI, its relationship with us, and what that can and should look like. A few key takeaways from the conversation:

• Technology's progress is inevitable, but the character of AI is not

• The character of AI will be determined by our collective choices

• AI can help us become better humans

• The exponential growth of AI is a myth and there is no evidence of it (“The idea that AI is on a runaway exponential curve... is just Hollywood. It’s a good story, but there’s no absolutely no evidence whatsoever in any direction that it’s on a runaway exponential curve.")

In their words: “I call AI the universal intern. It’s embarrassing to release the intern’s work. You want to check it. But it’s a cooperation. We’re going to use AI like we navigate with GPS. [Technology has been like an] assistant librarian who searches the web for us. Now we have the interns who help us create things. What we’re going to is these AIs which are really smart in some dimension, but are unlikely to be smart in another dimension at the same time.” - Kevin Kelly

Listen now (starting around minute 58)

INVESTING

Investors say the hotel industry's future hinges on improved brand relationships

by Trevor Simpson for Hotel News Now

What’s going on: Among a host of challenges facing hotel developers and investors, improving brand relationships often falls under the radar - but executives at the 2023 Meet the Money national hotel finance and investment conference said the industry is at an inflection point when that work becomes even more important.

In their words: “The biggest risk of the hospitality industry being disrupted is the lack of investment in technology from brands.” - Greg Friedman, CEO of Peachtree Hotel Group

Read now 

FROM OUR COMMUNITY

From Michael Hraba and Marcin Wichary