Einstellen ist nicht Ihr einziges Problem

Heather DwyerThere's still a lot of technology I think that we can leverage in the hospitality industry, but I also think that there's so much of going back to the basics as well. You know? I think it goes back to investing in staff, training in those staff members. I notice even when I'm on a project, like, how much of an impact you can make when you really sit down with your coordinator or really sit down with that, you know, analyst and explain why why you're doing things.

the Future of HospitalityHello, everybody. Welcome back to the future of hospitality. Actually, this episode is part of our special series, unscripted hospitality, where we really just talk honestly without filters about industry trends we're seeing and, of course, the amazing people that are impacted by it. And today's episode is powered by Auhai, leading global sales organization represent the world's finest luxury hotels and resorts. And so let's dive in. Today, my guest is someone that I'm really excited, Heather Dwyer. We met each other fairly recent through mutual friend, and she has a remarkable journey, you know, moving from the hoteliers side like myself, but, you know, being a very successful business owner supporting hotels know, from a consulting perspective.

the Future of HospitalityWe've heard Dwyer Consulting. And then also a staff in placement agency, Concierge. Right? They're pronounced correct? Or... Yes. Okay. Awesome. So, Heather, welcome. Thrilled to have you and looking forward to the chat.

Heather DwyerAbsolutely. Well, thank you so much for having me. You know, growing up in the the hospitality industry, you know, I've always admired a lot of people that speak on these podcasts and use it as a way to just, you know, further knowledge in our industry, which is something that I think we're always craving as hospitality people. So I'm honored to be here. Thank you.

the Future of HospitalityYeah. Absolutely. Yeah. And and talking about that, why don't you share a little bit about your own journey? Right? How you got starting the business and then some of the highlights throughout the career that eventually led to be where you are

Heather Dwyerin your, you know, current place. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. So, I mean, when I was younger, you know, grew up in an Italian neighborhood, started working in a bakery. That was kind of my first entry into customer service. From there, I worked at community centers and, you know, started doing site visits there at a young age. And I had a mentor there that said, you know, you'd be great in hospitality. I said, what does that consist of? She said, you know, hospitality, hotel industry, restaurant industry. So I ended up applying to University of Nevada, Las Vegas, UNLV, go rebels, and started my journey out West. Before that, I worked at a golf course, actually a private golf course in Boston.

Heather DwyerAnd then when I ventured out to work at restaurant group in Las Vegas and got my feet wet in food and beverage, catering, private events, all of that. Have never worked harder in my life than when I worked in food and beverage. I'll tell you that. Natural progression, you know, was at UNLV. I got an unbelievable opportunity to apply for a post college management training program, with MGM Resorts International. So I was one of the 50 people selected out of, about... I think it was 3,000 people that applied to this from all over the country, and I I got selected. So I was able to start my hospitality career as far as hotels and, you know, group sales goes in that segment.

Heather DwyerI rotated in every department in hotel. So I was a bellman one day. I was valet another day, housekeeping. So I really got a a full scope and view of what it was like working in every area of the hotel and really how all of them pieced together. Started my career, working in group and convention sales. Absolutely loved it. And then I ventured out to California, ended up starting to work for boutique and luxury hotels, which I really, really enjoyed. I found that I could just be, a little bit more hands on in that kind of segment rather than larger hotels. I really like the personalization of boutique hotels, so fell in love with that segment and was doing that for five years. And then a little something called COVID happened, which I think we all know what happened with that.

Heather DwyerWas hanging on by a thread. My hotel closed down. I was luckily able to get absorbed by a sister property, and the sister property, I was at there for five months, was in the trenches just like everyone else in the hotel industry. We were, you know, doing lateral service, helping fold pool towels, roll ups for room service. I mean, you name it. We were all doing whatever we could just to get... Come together as a team. Then the inevitable happened, you know, it was unprecedented times. Group business was not coming back. So August 2020, they ended up deciding to, you know, let the sales arm, go, you know, the group business go anyways because in California, we couldn't have group gatherings over a certain number of people.

Heather DwyerI had an entrepreneurial itch that was kind of always in me, and it was louder than ever, working, you know, at that time, especially when I saw the way that hotels kinda needed to pivot and do things differently. So I took the severance that I got from my company, and I basically put it all into entrepreneurial entrepreneurial classes. I I invested in a life coach. So really just started to entrench myself and immerse myself in that world, and it was the best thing I could have done. I mean, I would say after kind of looking back and then starting my consulting projects, I think I was a consultant before I knew I was a consultant.

Heather DwyerI was always the person that when I started a new hotel, I'm like, why don't these Delphi templates upload correctly? Do you know you can upload them differently so the coding matches? Who's your marketing team? How come we don't have a restaurant one sheet to send to customers in Cvent? So I was always kind of the person that was, like, partnering with marketing or I was, you know, working with the IT team to fix issues or just trying to find where the holes were and the gaps were and where I could kinda fill in. I would say probably where I really shined and where I... My passion was was always investing in the coordinators or the junior staff below me. So that was a natural transition into kind of where the trajectory took me after that. So I was always the one saying to the coordinator, here, roll your chair over, look over my shoulder. I wanna show you what this means. This is why you take this attrition clause out. Or when you merge a cancellation grid, this is why you have to change these. So I always just took an interest, to mentoring younger staff because I felt like that's what... Where my success came from was I had so many great mentors that invested in me and showed me how to do things. So, again, I was just always appreciative to kinda send the elevator back down.

Heather DwyerSo starting in my consulting practice, you know, in in 2020, and I now just hit, you know, milestone of five years, not being a w two employee. And that's a Wow. Thank you. It is a milestone I do not take for granted. That definitely when I was rounding the corner to that, I was like, oh my goodness. I'm so grateful. So starting out, you know, I started helping hotels with various projects, and they were like, you know, Heather, can you help us with this? And then it just naturally kinda morphed into me assisting hotels with task force projects. You know? I was helping some non hospitality companies upscale their customer service as well as their sales organization.

Heather DwyerBut then when I really started working in the task force side of the hotels, I was really starting to see where the areas of opportunity were and where the gaps were. Because it... Again, it was an unprecedented time in COVID where we had a mass exit of great people or people got laid off. They shifted to other industries. We lost a lot of knowledge in large sizable volumes that we had to replace very quickly. So you didn't have the next generation that was training and mentoring the next generation that was taking over these positions in a lot of cases. So, again, natural things to me when I was working with these hotels of, well, where's your restaurant one sheet? And do you have a a room type one sheet? Or where do you send customers when they're looking for this? Do you have a landing page for that? So I started to notice just the impact I was able to make to kind of, you know, again, bridge that gap of some of the knowledge that was lost in these hotels.

Heather DwyerAnd then I started to see just other niches of, like, maternity leave coverages and hotel openings or hotels that were transitioning to new owners, and then, you know, that staff left. So I had to duplicate myself in a way, and that's where Concierge was born, where I basically found all other great people in the industry that wanted project work and wanted to, you know, help hotels in the same way I did. So I ended up having some people that took a leap of faith with me, and I started to place them at, great hotels, you know, some of them at being Al High hotels, the four and five star boutique luxury hotels is really where our niche is. And then from there, you know, hotels were saying, you know, Heather, this is great that you found us temporary staff. Are you able to help us find someone full time? And I was like, actually, I do know someone that's looking for a job. So every arm of my organization that I've added from Dwyer Consulting Company with the training and the coaching and the speaking, and then again, kind of branching off of Concierge with the task force and recruiting and the fractional leadership, all of it was birthed out of basically what the industry needed at that time. So I'm extremely grateful that I'm able to still serve an industry that I love, and it's just doing it a different way now.

the Future of HospitalityWow. Wow. That's that's amazing. Well, so first, there's a lot in here. But first, congrats to your point. Five years, you know, building something from zero in, you know, in a very challenging, you know, dynamic in our industry. It's not easy. Right? And it takes a lot of guts. So, you know, congrats. I know that's just the start. I know, you know, hasn't been easy probably, and you can talk a little bit more, you know, later about that. But a few things that I love. Right? I think number one, if anyone that's listening to this that is considering hospitality or is studying hospitality, right, is just about to start the journey, you know, reach out to Heather. I mean, as you heard, she did every type of job that there is. Right? So I think, you know, you have great insights into, you know, what takes to perform well in certain areas.

the Future of HospitalityYou know, to your point about FNBs, very... There's a lot of time requirement. It's very hard job. It can be very fulfilling, but it takes a lot of commitment. Right? Holidays, night times, weekends, whatever, to then sales, which is a different type of pressure, a little bit more structure, you know, time commitment in a way. But, you know, you you have the constant pressure delivering results. But I I love the... You know, what you mentioned about pivoting because, you know, in life, a lot of times, we have hard times. Right? And you mentioned, like, hey. They they closed. They they let an entire sales team go. So it'd be easy for someone at that time to kind of, you know, give up or feel sorry for yourself. And I loved what you said about, hey.

the Future of HospitalityYou know, I used every cent that they gave me starting away and investing in myself. Right? Investing in my education, my coaching, and my business. So do you think that because of that situation, it kind of helped or you had the itch, so it kind of gave you no excuse to go all in and try hard? Or I don't know. How how did you process that time?

Heather DwyerThat's a great question. I think that I'm a type of person that's always a very curious person, and I'm always wanting to learn and try new things. So at that point in time, I thought to myself, okay. What are my options here? Do I go back to another hotel, a different type of hotel? I'm like, okay. I've done the big box hotels. I've done the branded hotels. I've done the independent hotels, the luxury hotels. For me, I I was craving a new challenge. I was like, I need to learn new skill sets. I need to try new things. And I also just saw just a very glim... Quick glimpse working with entrepreneurs, how they were in control of their business where it's... That can be scary. Right? Because it's a double edged sword.

Heather DwyerIf they make the wrong decision, they take the accountability for that. Right? So your marketing piece failed, your email campaign failed, but I also saw how quickly you could get things done. I'm from the East Coast. We want everything done yesterday. Okay? So you give me an idea, and I want to see it come to fruition right away. I would say that working with independent hotels where I really thrived is I did have more autonomy there, and things came to fruition much quicker than at bigger companies, but not... Still not fast enough for me. So I think for me when I was an entrepreneur and I started to create a LinkedIn page or create a website and I wanted to do a lead form, I just saw how quickly things were coming to fruition and how much of an impact it was making so quickly also. You know? So I would say the salesperson in me just felt like, you know, wow. Like, if I really set these goals and milestones and I see what's happening and how it's coming to fruition, that was just really fulfilling for me.

the Future of HospitalityWow. That is great. Yeah. Thanks for thanks for the share. You know, and then now you're five years in, you know, these two different but complementative type of business. Like, you know, what are you seeing right now from the needs of hotels, you know, the things you you help usually properties the most. I don't know. What insights do you have to share with everybody from that end?

Heather DwyerYeah. I mean, I would say that that staffing in hotels since 2020 has still been an ebb and flow. You do have some of those companies where they were lucky, where they got to retain a lot of staff and... Or that's... Those staff members kind of got to bring up the junior staff members. But I would say in general, I mean, there there is still a lot of burnout in the hospitality industry. I have found now just working in, other... Work... Working with other industries and now being in the entrepreneurial world, there's still a lot of technology I think that we can leverage in the hospitality industry. But I also think that there's so much of going back to the basics as well. You know? I think it goes back to investing in staff, training in those staff members. I notice even when I'm on a project, like, how much of an impact you can make when you really sit down with your coordinator or really sit down with that, you know, analyst and explain why why you're doing things.

Heather DwyerI am very, hopeful for hospitality when I see how much more departments integrate with each other. I mean, back when I first started in hospitality, I didn't really fully understand how revenue tied in and how, you know, digital marketing tied in and ADR and kind of, you know, all those things. And I have found now being on projects that these 25 year olds, they're speaking dorm lingo. I mean, they are... Director of revenue managements are really sitting down and explaining to them, you know, what it means when you're kind of setting those rates and transient versus group and group mixes. And I am very impressed in that way. But I would just say, you know, as far as, like, what I'm seeing, it it it goes back to, are you investing in the staff and really their quality of life? I know that everyone got a taste of kinda working from home, and we still do get a lot of applicants with our company that say, you know, we wanna be part of this company because we wanna work remote, which as we know, we're in a people business that that isn't always possible when it comes to hospitality to work remotely.

Heather DwyerIt has certainly, you know, ebbed and flowed and and it's changed. But, you know, a lot of companies now, are involving DOSs when it comes to kind of ROI and the expectations of owners and doing ownership decks. And so I'm I'm noticing a lot transparency, I think, overall between, you know, owners and as well as other departments go. So I think just upskilling and being knowledgeable about all those things ultimately is good use of knowledge. But, again, going back to the basics of how are you treating your customers? How do... How are you treating your clients? Those those quiet luxury service moments are really what it's all about and what what pays the bills, you know, is making clients and customers happy.

the Future of HospitalityYeah. Yeah. That that is great. I've I've been seeing to your point as well, and I I love that piece, like, on better education, more collaboration, more transparency where because similar to you, when I started my career, you know, I kind of just learned, you know, the little silo of my job, and I had no idea, like, how the hotel really made money. You know, a little bit, but nowhere near where where it is today. And I think it's great because it helps everybody, right, to make better decisions and understand how each role can really make a contribution even if you're not in a revenue generation position.

the Future of HospitalityTo your point, right, just having the ability of building that great experience with a customer. Right? You help with the revenue because that person will come back and so on. So I think there is a lot of, you know, more understanding of how it works in the ecosystem. And then on the other hand, I imagine you do this. Right? I've been previously with, you know, management companies and brands, and I've been, you know, exposed to very different type of ownership groups. Right? You have those that, you know, have long term investments that really, you know, don't focus too much on the cost for now within reason, right, as long as the value will be there.

the Future of HospitalityAnd then you have those owners that, you know, is their family legacy or their... That's the... Everything that they have and every cent is, you know, truly measured, which sometimes can pressure them to make decisions that is not in the best interest of the overall, you know, business Mhmm. Long term. And for you, right, when you're coming in and you see things like this and and you believe, hey. Yes. I believe you should do x, y, and z that may require investing more than you want, but there could be a better return, whatever the case may be. How how are these conversations happening from your end and if that happens? Right? I don't know if you if you feel or see that.

Heather DwyerAll the time. I would say, you know, everyone kinda goes in with a plan, and you have a way that you think that things should be done. And, certainly, there are plenty of industry standards of the way that things are traditionally done. In general, I would say that I learned a long time ago from a teacher, and I myself used to be a theater teacher, is you have to meet people where they are. You can't just dump 20 ideas onto an owner who might not even have a hospitality background. They may be real estate owners, and they they don't know what ADR is, or they don't understand the complications of uploading a group rooming list, you know, into passkey. So you have to meet people where they are and show them the value, and you kinda have to reverse engineer it into baby steps. Like, you know, groups expect a group code after they sign their contract, and these are the steps that it takes to get there. This is why you need a group rooms coordinator because that group rooms coordinator is what produces this and manages that room block and does name changes. So it's really about just breaking things down in a very simplistic way of this is how it's going to impact your client and your customer, and these are reasons why a group won't come back. Third party does not get paid a commission. They're not coming back to your hotel.

Heather DwyerYou know, you have someone that's frustrated with with room... Rooming list changes and housing methods, they're not coming back to your hotel. So it's really about, you know, what does that specific hotel need? And every hotel is different. I mean, if you have remote properties in Hawaii, maybe having a site visit manager makes sense for that hotel. And, again, it's laying out what that person's going to do to say, hey. You have all of your salespeople working remotely, but you have clients that want to do site visits and there's knowing to do site visits. You need to kinda create this position for your ecosystem because this is how it's going to benefit your customers.

Heather DwyerIt's more likely that if a customer does a site visit, they're more likely to convert into a sale. So again, it's just a matter of showing that value to that owner and showing them how it's going to impact not only the staff, but also the client and then their bottom line. You know? Mhmm. Yeah. Yeah. That that that makes sense. And then building on this,

the Future of Hospitalityyou know, what are the biggest needs you see right now from the customers you work with? Right? It could be from the consulting or the the the the agency side, the staffing agency. Any any common things that you see overall as the biggest needs or kind of trends?

Heather DwyerYeah. I would say outside of staffing, I mean, once you find the right people, it really comes down to training those people and onboarding them properly. I have been in a building where I walked into an office, and they say, yep. We have two coordinators here. We have this there. We have this there. And then when I sit down with those people and I ask them, what do you do? I'm a little bit taken back and floored by how much they're not doing for how much they're capable of doing and what that role requires. So I'll say to them, you know, you're merging contracts. Right? Or you're merging the proposals and uploading... And you're doing the CVAP proposals for your sales managers. Correct? And there's so much that people could be doing in those positions that, again, we're... They're finding the right staff. So good news there. You know? We... No. They no longer need task force. They found a full time recruit.

Heather DwyerBut then that full time recruit is there. You don't want them to be a warm body. You want that person to be in there, and you want to maximize what their skill sets are. You want to make sure that you're sending the elevator back down for them to become the next person that graduates into that senior role that is gonna ultimately keep passing that baton to the junior people coming into this industry.

the Future of HospitalityGot it. And what... You know, after you go in a project, what kind of gives you the most fulfillment? Like, when you leave somewhere or after a period, what gives you the most joy?

Heather DwyerIt's always the people. It's the connection that I make with people. It's knowing that I made a difference in their confidence, knowing that something that we built together is sustainable for their hotels. So it's great to go in, put my cape on, be a hero for a day, but that that... That's such short term fulfillment. For me, it's more about long term fulfillment. So am I going into this hotel and really fixing, like, the the foundation of the issues or, you know, kind of building an onboarding plan that they now can just copy, paste, and use for the next person. And then just having people years later that I don't even necessarily know how much I impacted them, and I get these, you know, I have one actually right here on my desk, but I get these adorable cards in the mail of you don't know how much confidence you gave me in my career or thank you for sitting and showing me that. I know that's not what you were hired for, but I'm so grateful that you took that time to show me that. So I would say just the lasting relationships I have with people is always what's made a difference for me. And that's how I built my business. Right? So, I mean, even Cesar, the person you and I met through, I mean, I've known, you know, her for over fifteen years. And again, it's really about it's really about relationships in general, but in hospitality, especially. All of my all of my business that I pretty much have had, I could build, you know, FBI agent spider web on a big whiteboard showing you how basically all of them have been through referrals. So whether it's someone, you know, referring me a contractor, that contractor introduces me to a new hotel, that new hotel introduces me to a new, hotel when they leave. So for me, it's all about, you know, just keeping those relationships going. So, yeah, that's what makes me happiest when I leave a project.

the Future of HospitalityThat's awesome. Yeah. And it's funny, like, to your point about the referral and, like, how the web works. I remember still today, like, I was a really bad student. I don't remember much from college, but what I do remember, one of the things is like one of my professors, he told... He said, Cesar, you know, you will not need a resume probably after your second or third job. Right? And I was thinking, what is this guy talking about? Right? And then it is. Right? It comes to fruition. And, you know, it doesn't mean you don't need a resume. Right? But it's like, the calls come. Right? The referrals, like, hey. They're looking for somebody. You know? Meet this person. And and then it really allows. And that's one of the things that I really love about this industry.

the Future of HospitalityI can speak to other industries, but I think this industry especially is a lot of these, right, these opportunities, these relationships that you build that you... Even if you never worked with someone, you see them in trade shows, you see them in functions, associations, and you develop those relationships. And you can really support each other throughout their careers in, you know, very, very unique ways that is, you know, I'm sure it comes extremely handy now as well for you. Even even... I think especially from the recruiting side. Right? Because, you know, to get task force, to your point, people probably had to trust you when you're starting because you're not established business and say, hey. I'm doing this. And then, you know, someone said yes. Right? I Yep. I will do that and then to to, know, help attract new talent to your customers.

Heather DwyerYeah. And I think it comes down to, you know, I trust other people that are experts in their field. I would never tell a barista how to make my coffee at Starbucks because I don't know how to use that machine. You know? I I do know a a little bit from my my restaurant days, but, you know, I like to say, you know, kinda like, you know, the the brand FUBU, you know, for us, by us. I like to say the hospitality, you know, for me with concierge, it's... You know, we are hospitality people that built this for for us and by us. You know? So it's like, I don't claim to be an expert on recruiting or consulting or hotels. You know? I have a passion for it, and I know what it takes to really make operational, you know, efficiency and really what makes staff really light up and and want to work hard. You know? It's not necessarily about what is...

Heather DwyerWhat it is that you want to get out of them from a productivity standpoint. It's what are they really good at that they can actually offer to your organization that you didn't even know they knew how to do. I mean, sometimes I sit and shadow these, you know, 22 year old coordinators when I'm on a project, and I'm like, oh, I didn't know you could do that in Excel. You know? And I'm like, wow. You know? So I think that I think that we always are trying to teach something that maybe we needed to learn. And, again, it's great to just be able to have these consultants on these projects and these task force, you know, contractors because they're teaching hotels knowledge that they're also learning from other hotels. So it's kind of lighting a match, and it's, you know, spreading the knowledge throughout all different types of hotels. And, you know, it's not talent that this hotel might have got otherwise if it wasn't just a temporary contractor.

the Future of HospitalityInteresting. On, you know, on the the projects you have been part of from the consulting side, It seems like training the team is a com... Common denominator, right, for the most part. Are there any others that usually there's a, you know, a kind of a consistency across every place you go regardless of the type, location.

Heather DwyerYeah. I mean, every brand that I've worked with, they kinda have their own, like, you know, signature that they use, and there's certainly great training companies that I actually refer business to when a hotel needs something that's a little bit more, you know, laid out and a little bit more formal, like, you know, teaching, like, the funnel method, you know, and whatnot. I would say where I try to thrive when I go into an organization, again, is really... I don't have necessarily, a a training program that I put into place. I go in and ask them what's working, what's not working. Let me see your market.

Heather DwyerYou know, I kinda delve in and look at some of their reports to see, you know, what what segment they're handling. Are there certain industries they're handling? Are there certain trade shows that they're not going to? And I tried to kinda do more one on one VIP coaching with the teams to try to get them to understand, okay. This is what you need to do for your market specifically that this person over here that has a local market doesn't necessarily need to do. So I would say I approach it in that way. And really, like, you know, when it comes to some of the younger staff too, I mean, it's great. There are companies that have a great, onboarding process when it comes to, like, new hire orientation.

Heather DwyerThey talk about the values of their hotel and the commitment there. But, you know, I try to also kinda delve in with these, you know, coordinators or salespeople and, you know, really just coach them on mindset. So what is it that it takes to be, you know, a great salesperson? You know? Like, are you listening more than you're talking? Like, how are you giving your site visit? You know? Just kind of really talking about, like, asking questions and not necessarily being the one that's always talking. So a lot of sales etiquette, I focus on, let me see how long your emails are. Are you actually answering the questions that customers are asking you? So, again, it's more sales refinement, I would say, than me building kind of like a a curriculum of of like a sales one zero one when it comes to hotels.

the Future of HospitalityYeah. Yeah. That is awesome. And then, you know, as you were talking, I don't know why I wasn't necessarily linked to that, but it triggered my mind. Like, so you spent many years, the majority of your professional career as an employee, right, where it's fairly structured and all that. And then now you're responsible for your own success to your point. Right? You know, the the wins and the losses, it's... Right? It's truly on you, and you don't have anyone. Right? You know, in theory, anyone else kind of. What are, like... Was there any, like, big shock or, I don't know, unexpected things that came in these last five years that, you know, you just didn't have exposure to or never thought about as you're getting this started and running?

Heather DwyerOh, yeah. I am a salesperson at heart. I wanna make people feel good. I wanna bring business in. I wanna sign contracts. I was not anticipating all the operational things that I had to do in my business, taxes, cash flow, payroll, accounting, sending invoices, following up with invoices. So that was certainly a learning curve for me, and that's why early on, I was so grateful when I took those entrepreneurship classes. A saying that people will always kind of, you know, mantra, if you will, in the entrepreneurial world is, you know, hire your weaknesses. So the first person that I brought on to my business was a operations manager, and he runs all of that side for me. So he does all the invoices to clients. He does the payroll to my consultants. They invoice him. They send expenses to him. So I would say that that part of the business did not light me up, and that's not where my strong suit was. I know enough to be dangerous. I know how to run I know how to run a p and l statement out of my, you know, my QuickBooks and, you know, re... Read kind of cash flow. I had to go down to, you know, my bank and take out a line of credit for the first time because, you know, you're only as good as your word. And when you start taking on payroll for ten, twelve people, you know, you... That's their livelihood. And that's that's what what is kept... That's what kept me up the... Awake the most, I would say, my business is not paying myself and going into an emergency fund or, you know, rehearsing what I what I might, you know, say if I I can't, you know, pay pay someone. I would I wouldn't that would... I would have never got to that point, and that was the part probably that was the biggest learning curve for me was the financial piece, the, you know, kinda cash flow piece.

Heather DwyerAnd then, you know, and then just learning everything that there is to to know about partnerships and referrals and LLCs versus s corp. So all of that, you know, kind of came in baby steps of me learning. And now looking back now, I'm like, wow. I... That... Back then, it seems so complicated. Now five years in, it's... You know, I can explain an LLC versus an s corp versus sole proprietorship in my sleep. So

the Future of HospitalityThat is awesome. That is... Yeah. I I would have no idea how to go to a bank and and make my case. Right? They gotta be... You know, I think to your point, there's so many new things that you've really gotta just kind of learn and congrats. That's exciting. Thank you. And then love the, you know, hire your weakness because it's so true. Right? Then really allows you to focus on what you're amazing at, what, you know, refuses your bucket, right, your energy, and Yeah. And allows you to be successful and grow, you know, however you wanna grow. You know? And then from your... All the jobs you've had except for this one now, what was your favorite?

Heather DwyerOh, you know, I have to say, well, I've had so many great jobs that I've worked with so many great friends. There is definitely something really fun about working in the restaurant business in particular. You know, you do an employee meal before each shift, so, you know, that we used to call it Comida. So we'd all come together. We'd break bread. We'd eat. We'd over the specials, and then we would work a shift. We'd get off. We all kinda had a routine of different restaurants we'd all go to after work to then be waited on, you know, oh, make sure you order three of these, get the bottle of the Montepulciano that we love. We'd all, like, hang out on a Sunday night. I had no email I had to check. I didn't think about, you know, anything that I had to do after I left that job until I had to go back the next day.

Heather DwyerSo I would say I had a lot of fun working in the restaurant industry. I think the breaks after you worked in in food and beverage were so fulfilling because you worked so hard during your shift. Physically, mentally, just trying to keep the pieces going. I would say that probably working in the restaurant business was one of my favorite jobs that I had.

the Future of HospitalityThat is awesome. Yeah. It can be a lot of fun. And to your point, the the... Even though you... We have built a lot of that in sales teams as well, but they... Yeah. You get so tied together, right, to your point because, you know, you you gotta work in sync a 100% every day, but then you have the pre and post, you know, shifts that really builds that super tight and...

Heather DwyerYeah. Yeah. Well, I think I think it was at a time in my life too where life didn't feel as serious. So Yeah. You know, my rent was still cheap. I had a roommate. You know, it was kinda just, oh, I'll figure that out later. You know, I was 21 and, you know, 22 years old. So, I would say that that was just a lot of fun just being able to just have that time in my life where I had a lot of really close friends that we just spent so much time together inside of working and outside of work.

the Future of HospitalityYeah. Yeah. Got it. And then, you know, as we come towards the close, I have two things that I would love to hear your your thought, and I think you you have great value to add. One is, like, you know, for any listeners that are just really starting, or they're not sure what they wanna do, you know, given your expertise and experience, what are some tips or thoughts you can share with them?

Heather DwyerOh, there's a lot. I would say one of my favorite quotes that I always like to kind of sprinkle into my LinkedIn post or even personal post is what Steve Jobs says about the dots don't always connect looking forward, but they connect looking backwards. You know, there was times that I had tough days working as a, you know, w two employee where I'm like, why am I the one stuck doing this? Or, you know, like, ugh, like, I'm I'm getting so frustrated. No one's calling me back. But you... Clarity doesn't come from thoughts. Clarity comes from action. So I find that a lot of people, you know, that I mentor, which I'm very I'm very grateful that I get to mentor, you know, people that are just starting out in their careers.

Heather DwyerI say just try something. You know, what you learn from working at a at a coffee shop, you never know that may carry on to something that you might use someday, or the way you might organize something in a in an, you know, in a in a hotel someday might come from something that you learn even if it's not the even if it's not the exact same way you learned it at that coffee shop. You might say, oh, well, when I worked at a coffee shop, we used to do our scheduling like this. I'm like, whatever it is, there's so many transferable skills. I would say that, you know, people who are starting on their career, just just listen to what people have to say. You can take it with a grain of salt, but meet up with as many people as you can. Like, one thing I did when I got, you know, laid off and let go from my hotel job is I made it a point to always meet up with people for coffee. So whether it was someone that I hadn't talked to in a few years, and then that sparked her talking to me about, like, independent health insurance. I had no idea how to get health insurance at that time. And that ended up spiraling into me meeting my health insurance broker, and she and I started a networking group together that's local here in Orange County.

Heather DwyerEach each dot can kinda connect to different things that you might not know or realize that might be end up being a resource for you someday. And I thought... I think to myself, wow. Thank goodness that I stopped by that happy hour at IMAX because if I never had that conversation with this person, I would have never ran into them on the show floor, and I met that person. So for younger people just starting out, I would just say, just keep yourself busy. Keep your network fresh. Ask that person, hey. Do you wanna go get a coffee after work? Do you wanna go grab a cocktail?

Heather DwyerWhatever it is. I mean, it it can't hurt being active. What's going to hurt people from moving forward is being idle. You know? Again, that clarity is not gonna come from you sitting on your couch thinking about redoing your resume. No. Get your resume done and then email it to someone like me and say, hey. I see you own a, you know, staffing company. Do you mind looking over my resume? Sure. I'll look over your resume. I'll give you pointers. And then I actually have had some of my friends' sons and daughters do that. And I'm like, add your LinkedIn profile. Change this picture. You know? And and, again, I think that there's more people out there in the industry are willing to help than the younger generation realizes, but also in hospitality. I mean, hospitality people, we we... You know, fills our cup. We love helping other people. So I would say just reach out. Don't be afraid to reach out.

the Future of HospitalityYeah. Brilliant recommendations. And, yeah, I couldn't agree more. I think I'll double down that. I think, you know, I believe that if you call anybody, right, if you would call, I would call, or someone just started would call anyone for, you know, like, a a tip, I wanna pick your brain, almost no one is gonna say no. Right? Because, you know, people generally wanna help and, you know, everybody can find five minutes or something to to help you or find someone else that can help. But, yeah, just asking. Right? And and worst case scenario, you hear they know your status quo, then move to the next. Right? And and it's amazing how much you can find. And your point about, like, you know, going to that, you know, extra reception or whatever, I read a book a couple of years ago called the power of one more by Ed Mylett, and it speaks to that. Right? It's like you're sometimes in life, you're almost there. Right? And you give up or something, and sometimes it's just that one little extra step or that one little extra meeting can unlock everything.

the Future of HospitalityRight? And and you never know. And that goes also for taking care of yourself. Right? So it doesn't mean just go go go and and then you crash. Right? But,

Heather Dwyeryeah, that that resonates. Yeah. I mean, I even bring that up to salespeople. You know, when I'm going and doing these speaking engagements or trainees at hotels, I say, ask for the referral. You know? I'm like, you never know. Like, hey. Do you know any other organizations that are looking to plan a meeting? Or, hey. Do you have any other meetings that you plan? I said, the worst they can do is say no. You know, I mean, for me, even with recruiting, I'll randomly reach out to someone and say, hey, Cesar. Do you know anyone in the Orlando area looking for a new job? And you might say, actually, I do. You know? I'm like, we all have a lot of resources more than we realize, And I've never seen anyone get upset about somebody asking for a referral or asking a question. So for me, that's how I built my business is asking people, hey. I see that you have a position open online. Can I help you with that? You know? And then people say, actually, you can. So you just never know what the answer is going to be, but I would say just don't don't be afraid to ask.

the Future of HospitalityYeah. Yeah. That is awesome. And then finally, Heather, is like, what what makes you excited about the future? You know? It can be about your business, the hospitality, anything. You know? What makes you, like, wow?

Heather DwyerI would say what makes me excited about the future and just about, you know, my two businesses is that exactly what we just talked about, the segue, is that there's so much more to learn out there, and there's so many more resources and tools and amenities and things I think that we can bring into this experiential industry. And I think just as technology evolves and as we evolve people more, I just think that there's so much more room to grow for us to have these just really cool experiences on Earth. You know? It's like between, like, cool bedding or diffusers, you know, white noise machines, restaurants, the curated cocktails.

Heather DwyerI just think that we keep up leveling as an industry. And, again, I'm I'm an innovator and entrepreneur at heart. So I think innovation just really excites me about the future and the new experiences that we can have that we don't even know are possible yet.

the Future of HospitalityYeah. That is awesome. Very good. Thank you. You know, thank you, Heather. It's really, really amazing stuff that you shared, and and I... I'm sure it's gonna be super helpful for whomever tunes in. Right? Because I think there is great great tell for someone that's just started, someone that doesn't know necessarily what to do, someone that knows like, hey. I really wanna have my own business. Right? And you shared some great tips, things to consider, some lessons along the way. So, you know, very comprehensive. Appreciate you really sharing from from the heart and,

Heather Dwyerit has been has been an honor. Yeah. Same to you, Cesar. Thank you so much again for having me, and I hope something that I said today resonated. And, again, reach out and ask. I'm always here if anybody wants to pick my brain on anything.

the Future of HospitalityThat is awesome. I'm sure they will. Thank you everybody for tuning in, and until the next one.