Global Gurus

Brandon W Johnson is a highly sought-after speaker, award-winning author, and leading expert on leadership and team development in the hospitality and restaurant industry. Known as ‘Positive Energy Guy” he was featured on the Twin Cities Live TV Show and was named an “Emerging Leader” by Twin Cities Business Magazine. He has had many business successes through his journey of being a restaurant Training General Manager, Director of Management Training & Recruitment with Famous Dave’s BBQ and then being an Executive Director of a non-profit (LifeSkills Center for Leadership) and a CEO of LifeSkills Business, a corporate leadership training organization. As part of the LifeSkills team, the trainings that they developed were honored by both Oprah’s Angel Network and Chicken Soup for the Soul book series as a charity of choice. Originally from Dodgeville, Wisconsin, Brandon has a B.A. in Hospitality & Tourism Management and M.A. in Management Technology (Emphasis in Organizational Development ) from UW-Stout. Since leaving his corporate career in 2004 he has consulted with many $500 million plus organizations and trained tens of thousands of people enabling them to find success and fulfillment in their personal and professional lives. In 2010 he founded Brandon W Johnson, LLC (Positive Energy Guy), an organization that provides leadership trainings, keynote speaking and organizational development resources and consulting. His book “Hospitality from the HEART” was honored as “Business Book of the Year” at the Midwest Book Awards and is being used as part of many hospitality and service curriculums in high schools, colleges, and businesses. Together with his wife Katie, their two children Emma and Zachary, and their Yorkie Jazz, they live in Woodbury, Minnesota.

Doug Lipp has a great rep in the hospitality industry. He is an internationally acclaimed speaker, author and consultant on customer service, leadership, change management and global competitiveness. His thought-provoking, learn-by-doing presentation style has motivated hundreds of thousands of people around the world to maximize personal and professional success. By age 29, Doug was the head of the training team at the world-famous Disney University at Disney’s corporate headquarters. Fluent in Japanese, he was later on the start-up team for Tokyo Disneyland, Disney’s first international theme park. After leaving Disney, Doug co-developed an international consulting firm with a Stanford University professor, teaching diverse teams of professionals how to better themselves in the marketplace. Doug is the author of numerous articles and eight books on leadership, customer service, and international business. His latest book, Disney U: How Disney University Develops the World’s Most Engaged, Loyal, and Customer-Centric Employees is full of never-before-told stories offering timeless lessons from Disney’s legendary leaders. In writing Disney U, Doug interviewed with Disney legends, Disney University Founders, and countless Disney Executives and visionaries who welcomed him into their historic days with the iconic leader Walt Disney. Not many know about Van France, the Disney University Founder charged with the task of creating this famous training empire.

Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Danny Meyer grew up in a family that relished great food and hospitality. Thanks to his father’s travel business, which designed custom European trips, Danny spent much of his childhood eating, visiting near and far-off places, and sowing the seeds for his future passion. In 1985, at the age of 27, Danny opened his first restaurant, Union Square Cafe, launching what would become a lifelong career in hospitality.

Thirty years later, Danny’s Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG) comprises some of New York’s most beloved and acclaimed restaurants, including Gramercy Tavern, The Modern, Maialino, and more. Danny and USHG founded Shake Shack, the modern-day “roadside” burger restaurant, which became a public company in 2015. USHG also offers large-scale event services, foodservice solutions for public and private institutions, industry consulting, and educational programming.

Under Danny’s leadership, USHG is renowned not only for its acclaimed restaurants but also for its distinctive and celebrated culture of Enlightened Hospitality. This guiding principle of prioritizing employees first and foremost has driven and shaped USHG’s ongoing evolution from a small group of restaurants into a multi-faceted hospitality organization.

Danny and USHG’s diverse ventures have added to the hospitality dialogue in many contexts including dining options in museums, sports arenas, and cultural institutions, as well as prescient investments in burgeoning neighborhoods. In 2016, USHG launched a pioneering initiative to eliminate tipping throughout its New York restaurants. This new way of business, called Hospitality Included, is designed to compensate the restaurant team more equitably and professionally, while providing clear paths for professional advancement.

Danny’s groundbreaking business book, Setting the Table (HarperCollins, 2006), a New York Times Bestseller, articulates a set of signature business and life principles that translate to a wide range of industries. A celebrated speaker and educator, Danny has set industry standards in areas such as hiring practices, innovative leadership, and corporate responsibility and addresses a wide range of audiences on such topics around the country.

Danny has been generously recognized for his leadership, business achievements, and humanitarianism, including the 2017 Julia Child Award, the 2015 TIME 100 “Most Influential People” list, the 2012 Aspen Institute Preston Robert Tisch Award in Civic Leadership, the 2011 NYU Lewis Rudin Award for Exemplary Service to New York City, and the 2000 IFMA Gold Plate Award. Together, Danny and USHG’s restaurants and individuals have won an unprecedented 28 James Beard Awards, including Outstanding Restaurateur (2005) and Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America (1996).

Danny and his wife, Audrey, live in New York City and have four children.

Hotelier Tanji is the owner of world’s most popular free hotel management training blog http://www.hospitality-school.com . She and her team run this hotel management training blog to educate young hospitality professionals. Hospitality School (http://www.hospitality-school.com) is world’s leading free hotel management training blog that publishes hundreds of free training tutorials from 2010. Our expert writing team has produced hotel & restaurant management training tutorials, lectures and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for our readers. Thousands of people visit this blog daily to get free & high quality academic and professional training. It doesn’t matter whether you are a hotel management student or a new hospitality worker or a job seeker or even an experienced hotel staff-this site will be suitable and helpful for you all.

With over 18 years of experience as a hospitality executive and meeting planner, Dallas provides an array of consulting services from site selection and hotel negotiation for groups and organizations, to sales and marketing consulting for hotels and conference centers. Dallas has been published in numerous Business Journals offering practical advice to help those forging into this sometimes overwhelming arena. She has also been known to speak to organizations on networking for business, customer service, event planning and the Power of saying “Yes”. Many people who find themselves planning an event do not consider this as their primary responsibility. This site will offer you information to help you collaborate with one of the hospitality’s industry leaders to help you save time and money.

Dr. John R. Walker is the McKibbon Professor and a Fulbright Senior Specialist of hotel and restaurant management at the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manatee campus. John is the former Dean and Marshall Professor of the School of Hospitality Management at United States International University, San Diego, California. John’s years of industry experience includes management training at the Savoy Hotel London. Followed by terms as food and beverage manager, assistant rooms division manager, catering manager, and general manager with Grand Metropolitan Hotels, Selsdon Park Hotel, Rank Hotels, Inter-Continental Hotels, and the Coral Reef Resort Barbados, West Indies. In addition to being a Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management consultant, he has been published in The New York Times, The Cornell Hotel Restaurant Administration Quarterly; The Hospitality Educators Journal and is a member of the editorial review board of the journal: Progress in Tourism and Hospitality Research and The Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality and Tourism. He is an advisory board member for Pearson’s Hospitality and Tourism publications. John has also been invited to teach and give seminars in Thailand; The Philippines; Taiwan; Hong Kong, Japan; Germany; Switzerland; England; Canada and Mexico. John is a leading author of hospitality and tourism textbooks, having authored the following texts which have been translated into several different languages.

Caroline Cooper is founder of Naturally Loyal and author of The Hotel Success Handbook. She’s an experienced customer service consultant and workshop facilitator, specialising in all aspects of the customer experience. A 28 year veteran of the hospitality industry she now shares her experience with other experience based businesses who want to tap into that hospitality ethos of caring for their customers, and turning casual buyers and passing trade into long term naturally loyal customers.

Jim Sullivan, CEO and Founder of Sullivision, He is a veteran of over 20 years in the hospitality and retail industries. He’s worked for and with companies as distinct as Walt Disney Company, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and American Express. Not a “theorist”, Jim is well-known as a brand-builder, motivator, trend-spotter and problem-solver. He has built his reputation designing successful leadership, sales, marketing, and customer service programs for the “Top 200” foodservice and retail chains. He’s the author of two books that have sold over 400,000 copies worldwide, including the 2010 best-seller MultiUnit Leadership: The 7 Stages of Building High-Performing Partnerships and Teams and Fundamentals: 9 Ways to Be Brilliant at the Basics. His DVDs called Jumpstart! The Art of Effective Pre-Shift Meetings and The Shift: are being used in over 30,000 companies worldwide. Sullivision’s clients include: Walt Disney, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, Applebee’s, Papa John’s, Target Stores, Wal-Mart, Subway, Marriott, Anheuser-Busch, McDonald’s, Universal Studios, Southwest Airlines, Panera Bread,Golden Corral, American Express, KFC, Culver’s, Outback Steakhouses, Hershey Foods, Dunkin Brands, Friday’s, Taco Bell, Chili’s, P.F. Chang’s, Burger King,Denny’s, and tim Horton’s.

Jacob Tomsky is a Hotel industry expert and author of “Heads in Beds”. He has worked in hotels for more than a decade, doing everything from valet parking to manning the front desk. He’s checked you in, checked you out, separated your white panties from the white bed sheets, tasted your room service, cleaned your toilet, denied you a late check out, laughed at your jokes, and taken your money. And in “Heads in Beds,” he pulls back the curtain on the hospitality business, revealing the crazy yet compelling reality of an industry we think we know. Prepare to be amused, shocked, and amazed as he spills the unwritten code of the bellhops, the antics that go on the valet parking garage, and the housekeeping departments dirty little secrets. “Heads in Beds” is more than just a memoir. Jake explains the secrets of the industry, offering easy and legal ways to get what you need from your hotel without any hassle– from scoring late check-ins and upgrades to getting that pay-per-view charge knocked off your bill. This book will give you the knowledge you need to get the very best service from any hotel or property, from any business that makes its money from putting heads in beds. Or, at the very least, it will keep the bellhops from taking your luggage into the camera-free back office and stomping the hell out of it.

Leonardo Inghilleri is a recognized expert and innovator in the area of organizational effectiveness and strategies, client service excellence, leadership development, and human resources practices. He is the President of ICG – Inghilleri Consulting Group Inc., a management consulting firm dedicated to customerfocused organizations. Prior to ICG, Leonardo served for eight years as Managing Partner of West Paces Consulting and ten years at The Ritz-Carlton as Executive Vice President, Brand Executive for BVLGARI Hotels & Resorts and Senior Vice President of Human Resources for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. Here, he played a key role during a time of tremendous growth, developing innovative business and service concepts still considered a benchmark for excellence in the hospitality industry today. Leonardo was also a key architect of the unprecedented Ritz-Carlton’s second winning of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Other highlights of his leadership include the creation of The Ritz-Carlton Learning Institute and The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center. Leonardo also worked for The Walt Disney Company in Orlando and Paris, as part of the executive opening team of Disneyland Paris, and has also held management positions within the travel and hospitality industry in Italy, England and the United States. His innovative business concepts are captured in his book, Exceptional Service Exceptional Profit, an international best seller. Born in Rome, Italy, Leonardo has been married to his business partner, Solange, for 28 years. They are now enjoying being empty nesters and all that goes with it!

Howard Cannon–is the world’s most sought after forensic restaurant expert witness, with more than 200 cases and several hundred pre-litigation consulting matters to his credit. He is called on by judges, juries, plaintiffs and defense lawyers, members of the media, and industry executives to provide his unbiased opinions pertaining to an astonishing variety of incidents where employees, customers, and vendors become injured, harmed, sickened, maimed, or killed on the premises of restaurants across the United States.

For more than 30 years, Howard’s passion has been the restaurant & bar industry and helping others (no matter how successful they may already be) become more profitable by providing safe, healthy, and secure businesses for their employees, customers, and vendors. Howard’s core strategies and best practices come from his extensive background and experience with working with many of the biggest chains in the industry to hundreds of independent mom-and-pop restaurants. Howard has helped hundreds of thousands by guiding them through the process of opening and operating a restaurant while abiding by the laws of the land as it pertains to safety and health.

He is the author of several books, including Restaurant OSHA Safety and Security© (2016) – The Book of Restaurant Industry Standards & Best Practices; and, the bestselling The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Starting Your Own Restaurant© (2001) and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Starting a Restaurant©–second edition (2005), published and distributed in bookstores in dozens of countries around the globe.

Howard has appeared on national, regional, and local television and radio, and has been featured on The Dr. Oz Show, Live with Anderson Cooper, Hotel Impossible, Travel Channel, CBS, and Fox, to name just a few. Cannon has given hundreds of seminars, speeches, workshops, and interviews, and has been published in countless magazines and newspapers. For more information about Restaurant Expert Witness, Howard Cannon

Dr. Lyn Pont is the founder and President of Manners for Business, a full-service business and international etiquette consultancy. As an expert, she provides keynotes, briefings, workshops and seminars on business and social etiquette, hospitality etiquette, international protocol, youth etiquette, and customer service excellence. She is well respected in the Human Resources community for her hands-on knowledge of the subject and her history as a professional in this critical area. She blends business diversity, customer service, employee motivation, and quality supervisory skills training into her business etiquette presentations. Dr. Pont is an adjunct professor of Human Resources Management and Labor Relations for two university graduate business programs. She was asked to sit on both the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s South Florida Employer’s Advisory Council & the Board of Directors of the Miami-Dade County Women’s Chamber of Commerce. She is a member of the National Speakers Association, the Society of Human Resources Management, and the American Society of Training and Development. Dr. Pont holds a Ph.D. in Leadership and a Master’s degree in Personnel Administration. She was trained and certified by the Protocol School of Washington.

Clayton W. Barrows is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts and is currently Professor of Hospitality Management at the University of New Hampshire where he teaches classes in hospitality management with an emphasis on private club management. He served as chairperson of the department from 2010 to 2014. He has worked in the hospitality industry and hospitality education in the US and Canada for 30 years. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of New Hampshire (in 2006), he was Professor in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of Guelph in Canada. While at Guelph, he also served as the coordinator of the MBA program in Hospitality and Tourism. Dr. Barrows areas of expertise are food and beverage management and private club management. He has published numerous articles in both of these areas in such journals as the Journal of Foodservice Business Research and the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. Additionally, he has co-authored four books relating to the hospitality industry – most recently, the ninth edition of Introduction to Management in the Hospitality Industry. Dr. Barrows is an active member of several professional hospitality organizations including the Club Managers Association of America and the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education. Clayton was the winner of the 2008 Stevenson W. Fletcher Achievement Award from I-CHRIE. Clayton was also the recipient of the University of Guelph’s 2002 Presidential Distinguished Professor Award which he received in recognition of contributions in teaching, research and service. Finally, he is editor of the International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Administration, a Taylor and Francis publication.

David K. Hayes, Ph.D. has over 40 years of experience in the field of hospitality management and education. Dr. Hayes developed the hospitality management program at Texas Tech University. He has held faculty position at Purdue University and Texas Tech University, served as Associate Dean of the University of Houston’s Conrad Hilton College of Hotel Administration, and held the position of Vice President of the Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AH&LA).

An accomplished business professional as well as educator, Dr. Hayes’ hospitality industry experience is varied and includes six years as the Managing Owner of a full-service hotel and conference center in Lansing, Michigan. In 2005, Dr. Hayes formed Panda Professionals Hospitality Management and Training, (pandapros.com); a training resources company that develops customized hospitality education-related materials.

Dr. Hayes is a prolific author, having published over a dozen textbooks, including versions that have been translated into Chinese, Portuguese, Croatian and Spanish.

Kimberly A. Tranter, MBA, CHE, serves as Associate Professor & Director of Resort, Lodging, Tourism, and Event Management Programs in the Hospitality College of Johnson & Wales University in Denver. Recipient of their 2005 Teacher of the Year award. She began her academic career in 2000 at the University of Denver. She possesses over a dozen years of hotel executive management experience, culminating in her position as Asst. Vice President of Marketing for Sage Hospitality Resources in Denver. As a member of an operations team, she directed the revenue generation efforts for a portfolio of a dozen hotels from New York to California. She left Sage to launch a very successful hospitality executive search and marketing firm. Kim is the lead author for the textbook entitled An Introduction to Revenue Management for the Hospitality Industry: Principles and Practices for the Real World published by Pearson Prentice Hall. She served as 2008 President of the Denver Chapter of Hospitality Sales and Marketing Assn International (HSMAI), is a two time recipient of their Outstanding Hospitality Ambassador award, and participates in webinars and special projects. She was named one of HSMAI’s 2008 Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales & Marketing in Hospitality and Travel.

Stephen Barth is the author of Hospitality Law and co-author of Restaurant Law Basics. Stephen is an attorney and the founder of HospitalityLawyer.com. As a professor at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, University of Houston, he teaches courses in hospitality law and leadership. He also has over twenty years of experience in managing people in private business. Through his experiences as a lawyer, professor, employer, negotiator, key note speaker, mediator and father, Stephen has developed breakthrough expertise in Emotional Energy, Emotionally Intelligent Leadership and motivational speaking.

Michael Garvey is a veteran of more than 20 years in the hospitality industry.He has held various hotel sales and conference services management positions.Past employers include Landry’s Inc., Hyatt Regency and Hawk’s Cay Resort. . His most recent position was as Associate Director of Sales and previously was Director of Conference Services at Hawk’s Cay since 2002.He is originally from Prince Edward Island in Canada and moved to the US in 1993 and then to South Florida in 1997.Michael moved to the Florida Keys in 2002 and then moved Boca Raton in 2005 after being given the opportunity to work from a home office for Hawk’s Cay.Consistently throughout his career, Michael has been recognized as a top producer receiving multiple leadership and sales awards including manager of the quarter in 2003 and 2005.Michael has been an active member of MPI, NACE, serving on various committees within these organizations.

Ken Hoffman is a restaurant and hospitality expert with over 30 years of experience leading several of the world’s favorite chains. Hoffman and his expert advice are featured in many publications, textbooks and videos. One textbook, Principals of Operational Management” features Ken Hoffman’s leadership strategies, cost saving techniques and profit promoting plans, and is used in most master degree programs around the world. Kenneth Hoffman fmp also is a certified business consultant and founder of International Restaurant & Hospitality Consulting Group, motivational speaker, corporate CEO (restaurant chain) certified forensic witness expert for the hospitality and was also named as one of the top 3 Hospitality Gurus in the world.. Kenneth Hoffman fmp is a member of the following professional groups Restaurant Operations Executives, Expert Hospitality Witness and is recognized as an Educator for the Gerson Lehrman Group. Ken has also is a motivational and guest speaker for the National restaurant Association, International Restaurant & Hotel Association and many international companies and universities.

Dr. Simon Hudson is the SC Center of Economic Excellence in Tourism and Economic Development’s Director. In conjunction with industry, faculty and graduate students, the Center performs tourism and hospitality-based research and disseminates and grows SC tourism’s knowledge-base through publications, public seminars, workshops and forums. As Director and Endowed Chair for the Center of Economic Excellence in Tourism and Economic Development at the University of South Carolina, Simon’s got an impressive title. But it basically means he researches ways to put SC’s tourism back on the map and into the black. He mentors Masters and PhD students who all get hands-on experience in real tourism expansion projects. And he also tours the world, enlightening audiences from universities and industry on every kind of travel research from wintersports to medical tourism.

Dr. Fevzi Okumus is the CFHLA Preeminent Chair Professor within the Hospitality Services Department at the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management. He was the founding Chair of the Hospitality Services Department from 2007-2013. He received his PhD in Strategic Hotel Management from Oxford Brookes University, UK. His teaching and consultancy areas include strategic management, leadership and lodging/hotel management. His primary research areas include strategy implementation, corporate social responsibility, competitive advantage, crisis management, destination marketing, information technology and developing countries. He has widely published in leading journals. He has over 230 academic publications (over 120 refereed journal articles, three books, 12 book chapters and 85 conference presentations and reports). His publications have received over 5825 citations and he has an h-index of 39. He chaired/co-chaired and served on numerous PhD dissertation and master thesis committees. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management (IJCHM), which is a SSCI journal with an Impact Factor of 2.874. He is also the Co-Founding Editor of the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights. He serves on the editorial boards of 25 international journals. He is a frequent speaker at international conferences. He is a Visiting Professor at San Yet Sen University’s Business School in Guangzhou, China. He has received numerous prestigious research awards and recognitions including “The Michael D. Olsen Research Award” in 2016; “The University of Central Florida Scroll & Quill Society Award” in 2017, the “CFHLA Preeminent Professor” again in 2017 and the John Wiley & Sons Lifetime Research Achievement Award from ICHRIE in 2018.

Dr. Abraham Pizam is Dean and Linda Chapin Eminent Scholar Chair in Tourism Management in the Rosen College of Hospitality Management, at the University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, U.S.A.Professor Pizam is widely known in the field of Hospitality and Tourism Management and has conducted research projects, lectured, and served as a consultant in more than 30 countries. He has held various academic positions, in the U.S.A, U.K., France, Austria, Australia, New-Zealand, Singapore, Israel and Switzerland, has authored more than 160 scientific publications and ten books, is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Hospitality Management and serves on the editorial boards of 20 academic journals. Professor Pizam has conducted consulting and research projects for a variety of international, national and regional tourism organizations.

Darrell Clifton, CPP, Author, Speaker, Consultant and Director of Security at Circus Circus Hotel Casino in Reno, Nevada. During his 25 years in Security Management, he has spearheaded the creation, writing, and implementation of new policies and programs on such topics as Workplace Violence Prevention, Hotel Security, Casino Security and Surveillance, Crime Prevention, Emergency Preparedness and Business Continuity, Drug Recognition, and many others. Clifton chairs several community and national organizations, including the Downtown Police Tax District, Alcohol Advisory Board, Washoe County Business Preparedness Committee, and the Northern Nevada Chapter of American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS). He also sits on the board of directors for Secret Witness, AlertID, and is the vice chairman of the Hospitality, Entertainment and Tourism Council. He is a frequent contributor to Security Magazine, Casino Journal, and a speaker at ASIS; Reed Exhibitions; University of Nevada, Reno; University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and Gamepath. Clifton is also a FEMA-certified Continuity of Operations Manager and participates in several state task forces to plan, write, and implement Continuity of Operations (COOP), Continuity of Government (COG), and other emergency plans. He was named by Security Magazine as one of the most influential people in the security industry.

Bill Marvin, The Restaurant Doctor is the leading authority on how good restaurants can become great restaurants. He helps independent operators create organizations that can prosper in tough times and bring out their workers’ innate ability to deliver exceptional service. He is an advisor to service-oriented organizations across North America. Bill is the founder of Effortless, Inc., a management research and education company, Prototype Restaurants, a hospitality consulting group and Hospitality Masters Press, publishers of the acclaimed Hospitality Masters Series of books. A veteran of the foodservice industry, Bill has managed hotels, institutions and clubs. He has owned and operated full service restaurants. He has had the keys in his hand, his name on the loans and the payrolls to meet. He has been there. Bill Marvin, The Restaurant Doctor is the leading authority on how good restaurants can become great restaurants. He helps independent operators create organizations that can prosper in tough times and bring out their workers’ innate ability to deliver exceptional service. He is an advisor to service-oriented organizations across North America. Bill is the founder of Effortless, Inc., a management research and education company, Prototype Restaurants, a hospitality consulting group and Hospitality Masters Press, publishers of the acclaimed Hospitality Masters Series of books. A veteran of the foodservice industry, Bill has managed hotels, institutions and clubs. He has owned and operated full service restaurants. He has had the keys in his hand, his name on the loans and the payrolls to meet. He has been there.

Holly Stiel is a World renowned hospitality and customer service expert and trailblazing service philosopher who innovated a method of training based on the practices and principles of the world-class concierge. Her teaching has been heard in 25 languages, from Japan to Johannesburg, for businesses ranging from The Bank of America to NASCAR. Even in a profession defined by superlative service, Holly Stiel stands out as an authority and pioneer in the field of concierge services. In 1976, Stiel became the first female concierge in the country when she created the desk at the Grand Hyatt Union Square in San Francisco. Two years later, she was the first American woman to be admitted to the exclusive Les Clefs d’Or Association for concierges. She has received the association’s Lifetime Achievement award for her broad contributions to her profession. Her books, “The Art and Science of the Hotel Concierge” and “Ultimate Service, The Complete Handbook to the World of the Concierge”, are considered the definitive work on concierge service for hotel professionals. She also authored “Thank You Very Much –A Book for Anyone Who Has Ever Said, “May I Help you?” Her book “The Neon Signs of Service” advances the idea that the development of simple skills can elevate customer service into an art form.

Tara Paster is President of a privately held training company dedicated to reaching, educating, and positively impacting the food and beverage industry by delivering training excellence to all hospitality industry members; via programming that is targeted, effective, and relevant. As a Certified Professional in Food Safety (CP-FS) and a Food Management Professional (FMP), Ms. Paster has helped food industry organizations and operations act smarter, quicker, and safer. She is one of the leading national speakers on food safety and responsible alcohol awareness. Over the past 10 years, Ms. Paster has been leading and cultivating the hospitality industry by new innovative approaches to HACCP and Food Defense Training. As an up and coming author, she has written and published three (3) HACCP training manuals: The HACCP Food Safety Employee Manual, The HACCP Food Safety Manager Manual, and The HACCP Food Safety Trainer Manual along with The HACCP Food Safety Trainer CD-Rom along with a retail food defense training manual, Food Defense Fundamentals Manual “Using S.H.A.R.E. to Protect the Global Food Supply!”. Her passion for food and alcohol safety goes above and beyond by pioneering the industry and publishing an Alcohol HACCP Manager Manual, together with a training curriculum which will change responsible alcohol management as we know it.

Josephine Ive has had many years of experience training butlers and, through her company Magnums, trains guest service staff in Australia and internationally. She believes the skills of guest service have a constant objective – to ensure the comfort and wellbeing of guests. This book reflects her passionate commitment and enthusiasm for this task, as well as her experience, sense of humour and proven teaching skills. Josephine’s background started with a four-year apprenticeship in Catering with the Hampshire County Council in Winchester, England, during which she gained two City and Guilds hotel and catering qualifications. She graduated to supervisory positions with the HCC, studied another City and Guilds course, gained her Teacher’s Certificate and worked as a restaurant manager with the Independent Broadcasting Authority. In 1975 she started her own business as a freelance chef, caterer and butler.

Ron Yudd nationally recognized restaurant, food service, and hospitality coach, trainer, speaker, consultant. Baltimore, Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia Area. Ron Yudd has been President of Points of Profit Leadership Inc. since 1990. He is a recognized expert on developing profit strategies and customer service solutions. Ron provides his clients with the tools for success. He accomplishes this through speaking, seminars, workshops, facilitation, consulting and personal coaching and mentoring.His programs “Leadership Legacy”, “No One Escapes Service” and “Points of Profit” have helped business operators focus in on profit enhancing strategies and service improvement programs. He combines a motivating style with practical “take home” ideas. Ron grew up in the restaurant business working in Washington D.C. area restaurants during high school and college. He worked his way up from bus person to Area Director while working for Emerson’s Ltd. Restaurants, a steak house and salad bar chain.

Dr. Robertico Croes currently serves as the Chair of the Tourism, Events & Attractions department as well as the Associate Director of the Dick Pope Sr. Institute for Tourism Studies at the Rosen College. Dr. Croes recently published a book titled, The Small Island Paradox: Tourism Specialization as a Potential Solution that explains the growth and prosperity of small island destinations. His other recent book is on the application of demand models to a small economy and is titled Anatomy of Demand in International Tourism. Additionally, he is a contributor to several books. His fields of interest include: econometrics applications in hospitality,tourism demand analysis/forecasting, tourism economic impact, competitive and sustainable tourism in tourism development analysis, tourism development applied to poverty alleviation and tourism development in small islands and developing countries.

Mario Ponce is a renowned hospitality professional speaker and the author of the best selling book Waiting on America, whose lessons have been implemented by some of the greatest corporations around the globe such as Hyatt Hotels, Marriott Hotels and Walt Disney World Resorts to name a few. Mario is the embodiment of the hospitality industry, a personable and genuinely enthusiastic expert with over 30 years of experience at the helm of restaurants from globally recognized brands such as The Hard Rock Café Planet Hollywood and TGI Fridays, and operator of numerous award winning private restaurants.