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The stories from the places where people gather.
Dana Kadwell (00:00)
And today we're talking to Kate Foster, the owner of Hospitality Marketing Solutions. Kate is a seasoned hospitality professional with extensive venue and hotel operations and expertise. She opened and managed a new concept event venue, served in the launch teams for two multimillion dollar hotels on both coasts and consulted on historical venue renovation. Beyond venues and hotels, Kate has planned over 500 weddings and executed corporate events for brands like Ferrari, LA Lakers, and
now specializes in sales training for hospitality teams across North America and the Caribbean. She enjoys sharing her expertise at industry conferences, including cater source and a special event, wedding business CEO summit, ABC world of weddings conventions, and the association of club catering and event professionals national conference, wedding summit series luxury edition. She maintains active involvement in the hospitality community as a member of triangle NACE and ABC association of bridal consultants.
Kate brings a wealth of behind the scenes experience and a passion for the resilience and adaptability required to thrive in the ever evolving hospitality landscape. Welcome Kate.
Kate Foster (01:00)
thank
you! ooh, i need to have you on my PR team!
Dana Kadwell (01:04)
You know what's so funny
is I think, I don't think I ever put a face to a name because I'm obviously super involved in NACE and just didn't even realize that you were who you were for so many years.
Kate Foster (01:17)
we're backyard businesses, sometimes it's hard to make that connection when we're often working outside of our neighborhood a little bit.
Dana Kadwell (01:20)
I know.
It is. I think COVID really threw a big wrench in everything too. Like I just felt like it was just this like ever evolving, like door people coming in and coming out. You just kind of were just on your own Island. And it felt like a lot of times just trying to survive like the craziness of it all. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you for joining us today. Also for you guys listening, Kate is also one of our speakers for the venue masterclass, which we're super excited about.
Kate Foster (01:39)
100%. 100%.
Yay! Very
excited.
Dana Kadwell (01:52)
Yes, I am super stoked, very excited about your topic. I'm much needed one to chat about in the industry. ⁓ But obviously you're not a venue owner, but you have so much experience in venue operations and whether it's help starting one or coming in and helping with sales or whatnot. So I thought it was a little bit of a different kind of guest, but a really fun opportunity to talk to somebody who
Kate Foster (02:11)
Absolutely. Yeah.
Dana Kadwell (02:15)
isn't an owner, maybe put even some of that lens in some of the situations that were, that you have experienced in the past. So why don't you start our guests off a little bit with how you got into the industry, like how you kind of got to where you are now.
Kate Foster (02:27)
Yeah, great question. It's funny when I think back about my journey to where I am now, it was definitely not linear by any means. I sometimes think that the events industry is like this addiction that kept pulling me back in. And even though I thought oftentimes I was going to step away or take a take a different direction, but it just kept pulling me back in. And I think that's kind of a testament to to like my love and passion.
Dana Kadwell (02:43)
Mmm.
Kate Foster (02:55)
for the industry. So I guess with that being said, the way that in my mind, I kind of define my start in the industry really was triggered by my time working in the US Senate in Washington, DC. So I actually worked for the North Carolina State Senator after college, and it was an amazing opportunity and really enjoyed my time there, but not long after I started,
Dana Kadwell (03:09)
⁓ okay.
Kate Foster (03:23)
there was an election and the president that was elected was of the same party as my senator. So I had the opportunity to participate in the inaugural ball. And so through that process, it was really the first time that I was exposed to kind of the planning and execution of an event of that magnitude of that significance. ⁓
Dana Kadwell (03:33)
Hmm. well.
Mm-hmm.
Kate Foster (03:47)
I mean, I had never heard of like a White House social secretary. You I didn't even know that that was a job that existed, that there was someone who got to orchestrate all of the social events for the White House. ⁓ And I swear my next life, I want to come back and that be my job. I mean, that be my career, because I think that that would be so incredible. But so I attended the inaugural balls. And I do say plural.
Dana Kadwell (04:00)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Kate Foster (04:14)
specifically, I don't think most people realize that there are multiple balls that take place during inauguration. So I think that year there were actually eight balls that took place. Yeah, no, I did not go to all eight. I don't think I could have survived. Right? I mean, I would not have been able to survive all eight of those, I can tell you, but
Dana Kadwell (04:24)
Wow.
I was going to say, what did your closet look like at that point? Like how many different dresses did you have to have? It's crazy.
Yeah.
Kate Foster (04:38)
It was incredible and know politics aside just the experience of seeing events again of that formality and elegance and entertainment and different themes and different designs and just you know the types of people that were attending and just the experience that they were able to have. It was very impactful. mean truly impactful in my life and
It was that takeaway for me was kind of that moment when I realized politics is not for me. This is this is not my journey. And, know, it was early enough in my career where I wanted to I kind of was at this crossroads. So up to that point, I'd actually already planned about a half dozen weddings or so. So it was something that I was already tinkering with. But.
I really had to step back and say, okay, do I want to continue to go in the direction that I'm in, or do I want to take an insane leap of faith and transition into events? I, about four months after the inauguration, I put my notice in and packed up from DC and came back to North Carolina. And my, you know, from there, kind of the journey got a little bit bumpy, I will say.
Dana Kadwell (05:33)
Yeah.
Mm.
Hmm.
Mm.
Kate Foster (05:49)
⁓ I knew what I was looking to do was to get into events, but I didn't have a real clear path to enter into the industry. And I have to tell you, it was really a little discouraging early on. I applied to every hotel, every venue, every catering company within, I'd say a 30 mile radius of the triangle. And...
I couldn't get hired to save my life. I mean, at this point, I had two college degrees. I had a glowing recommendation from a US Senator and Chief of Staff, and I couldn't get a job answering phones at a hotel. It was mind blowing, so discouraging. you know, and always the kind of the feedback is, well, you know,
Dana Kadwell (06:29)
Gracious. So discouraging. Yeah.
Kate Foster (06:38)
you know, great personality, we think you'd be a great fit, but you need more experience. And that frustrating, right, it's like, how do you get the experience when no one will give you the chance? So I was banquet serving actually while this was taking place. So I was in the trenches working for some local caterers, but I knew that that wasn't the direction I wanted to stay in, but it was a great thing to continue to do in the meantime. So
Dana Kadwell (06:42)
Mm. The Catch-22. two Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Kate Foster (07:03)
not long after kind of this constant rejection, I just decided to take matters into my own hands and naively started a business. And that's when I started my wedding planning and design business. And, you know, I held onto it for about 10 years. Yeah.
Dana Kadwell (07:13)
you
Wow. Yeah. So
if you can't, if there's no position for you, you're just going to create the position and say, well, now I'm just going to hire myself. Yeah.
Kate Foster (07:23)
Exactly.
So early on I learned that I don't take no, right? I don't take no for an answer. I'm going to push through no matter what. I am going to find a solution.
Dana Kadwell (07:31)
Yeah.
I love that. And I think that there, that's, um, it's so funny cause people always talk a lot about like, you know, entrepreneurs and how like bullheaded and you know, it's like they just kind of push their way through. And, and I was just like, well, isn't that just how everybody is? And as I've been, you know, on this earth many, many years, I was like, that's actually not how most people are. It's such a rare thing. And especially I've noticed in this new generation of that ability to
push through and not take no, like to say, okay, like we're walking down this path and like this hurdles here and maybe I really can't get over the hurdle. So I'm going to figure out what's the best way to get around it. Maybe I have to go like, you know, whole extra mile, but my, need to get to other sides. I'm going to figure out how to get to other side where I feel like I see it my kids a lot where they're like, there's a hurdle dude, like I just can't do it. Like turn around, abort mission. I'm like, no, no, that's not what that means.
Kate Foster (08:27)
Yeah.
Dana Kadwell (08:28)
That just
means that you can't take that path, but you gotta find another one to get to other side of it. But, so it's like such a great, such a great character trait. And it's not, it isn't normal, all that to say.
Kate Foster (08:31)
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I definitely think entrepreneurs, have to have this, you kind of have to have a little bit of insanity combined with commitment that is just gonna constantly drive you no matter what the situation, just continue to push you through and push you forward.
Dana Kadwell (08:46)
Yes.
so I want to chat a little bit about, and you mentioned in your bio a little bit about helping really start up some massive venues. So what was your experience working with those multimillion dollar companies? And I have to say too truly, like if this is a number that was thrown out to me 20 years ago, I'd been like, my God, but now I'm like, ⁓ that's what it costs up on a venue. It's crazy.
Kate Foster (09:14)
Right,
right.
Dana Kadwell (09:15)
But I'm sure at the
time that was a really huge budget comparatively to other people were spending and opening up venues you. So what was that experience like as somebody who was super invested in it, but wasn't necessarily like the one writing the checks for it.
Kate Foster (09:30)
Yeah, I mean, I think anyone that has an opportunity to be, you know, open their own property or be a part of opening it is, I think it's life changing. I think it changes you in so many ways. There's a level of naivety that usually comes along with it. And that's a gift. That is a gift because you sometimes don't want to know everything that you're going to have to go through ahead of time or you not do it again, right? ⁓
Dana Kadwell (09:47)
Yes.
That's very true. Yep.
Kate Foster (09:56)
And I've worked with a venue that was three million and I've worked with one that was 30 plus million. And there's one that I worked with and truthfully, I have no concept of how much it was invested in that. So I think the mission is still the same no matter what it is. And that's where I think my passion comes from. And if you're going to do this, if you're going to go into this
this arena, it's got to be at the core. That passion, that love of hospitality is going to be necessary because it's going to pull you through. So doesn't really matter if you're spending three million or 30 million. Your goal is the same. Your mission is the same. Your challenges might be different, but I guess your mindset has to be the same regardless.
Dana Kadwell (10:24)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, I find this whole concept super interesting and it's kind of why I was like, this would be a great conversation because in many of the conversations I've had with lot of venue owners, everyone always talks about you get into it you're like, I can do this. Like whether it's because I used to work in construction, it's just like managing a construction site or it's like, I was, you know, I'm in the industry. I know how to plan weddings, like whatever the reason, false security we have in ourselves says, I can do this. This is like a walk in the park, whatever.
Kate Foster (11:07)
hahahahah ⁓
Dana Kadwell (11:10)
And every
single person that I have talked to, not just on this podcast, just in general, I should say every, because that's an extreme statement. I'll say 90 % of people that I've talked to, they've always said that they wish they had somebody that was not so close to the project, but had just as much passion, just as much drive, because they felt like, and I can agree to this,
Kate Foster (11:27)
F.
Dana Kadwell (11:32)
there were moments when the wrong choice was made because it was too emotionally close to the person who owned it or to that, you know, who the person was talking to. And so having this other person that's able to help take it, just add that layer of like, okay, like I empathize with why you feel emotional about this decision, but let's take it back to, you know, let's look at the long run. Is this a good investment or whatnot? So many bad investments we made in the property just in general.
Kate Foster (11:42)
Yes. ⁓
Yep.
Yeah. So many.
Dana Kadwell (11:59)
so many
bad ones like, and it's agonizing and we're still paying for it today, like where it's like, oh, we have to replace these windows that we thought were going to be like, they were cheaper to install, but nobody was like, yeah, but they're going to rot out in seven years. And then you're going to have to pay for them again, you know, and this time it's not like, you know, 2013 it's 2024 and you know, it's expensive. And so there's so many of those things that were just like terrible things. So I love that you just said that it, the,
Kate Foster (12:13)
Yes.
Yeah.
Dana Kadwell (12:28)
that would you say is like the mission is still the same, whether you are the person who is investing in it or the person that is helping open it. Do you have like an experience, like a really memorable experience when you're on one of these venues working out of helping it where looking back, you're like, huh, like if I was the one, like if, if roles are reversed, like maybe you were the owner of it that you would have handled it differently.
Kate Foster (12:51)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, I think maybe not a specific experience, but I do see a kind of some repeated patterns of behavior that could possibly be done differently that I would advise. And you're totally touching on it. But I think one of the most difficult things for venue owners is to, they need to early on. They've got to take the emotions out early in terms of
Dana Kadwell (13:00)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Kate Foster (13:16)
their connection to it. They have to remember that this is a business and they need to remember that their customers are never going to treat the venue with the same love and appreciation that you, venue owner are. And kind of going hand in hand with that is you also need to not, we need to shift our mindset and not think that we're ever finished. So,
Dana Kadwell (13:38)
Mm.
Kate Foster (13:38)
What I mean by that is a lot of times we're, as venue owners, we've got this like opening day or grand opening, or there's some sort of timeline in our mind that we're trying to get to. We're getting our website up, we're getting our packages in place, we're getting our pricing, we're buying all these beautiful fixtures, we're designing the landscaping, and if we can just get to the opening day, we're done. You we made it. Now let's just collect the money. And that's a devastating mindset.
And it's, it's, this is absolutely a continuous journey that needs to be constantly evolving. And if you have that mindset of I'm finished, know, complacency is the enemy of progress and you're going to become complacent at that point. So you have to be thinking about growth, change and adaptation constantly. So all of those fine details that you put so much love into and
Dana Kadwell (14:04)
Mm.
Kate Foster (14:27)
You know, I see people making these decisions, beautiful artwork that they're buying for the walls or these, you know, gorgeous mohair carpet in the groom's suite. It's going to get puked on, you know? Some bride's going to put her stiletto through that piece of art at some point. You know, your Venetian crystal chandelier is going to get a bouquet thrown into it. So make that. I'm not saying don't buy those things, but if you buy them, you need to be
Dana Kadwell (14:37)
Yes it is. It's so true. Yes. Yes. So true.
Yep.
Kate Foster (14:55)
emotionally disconnected from in it in such a way that it will get destroyed. Can you afford to replace it? And are you emotionally ready to accept that? And I mean, oh, that's so hard because a lot of times we feel like this is our home, but it's not. It's your business and your clients just unfortunately are never going to appreciate it the way that you think that they're going to the way that you appreciate it the same way.
Dana Kadwell (15:00)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
is so, so true. And it, and it is a very hard lesson to learn. I think, I don't know if we ever walked into it and was like, we opened, we're done because we, there was always more that we wanted to do, but it definitely felt like there was an exhale, like you could, we could rest. And I, and I remember that first wedding we had, we're like, okay, like we can rest because then we had a gap and it was the worst mistake we ever made ever. I was like, we should have just been continuing to push forward and whatnot, but
Kate Foster (15:41)
Yeah.
Dana Kadwell (15:47)
It is, it is so true and it is so hard. Sometimes I'm a very nostalgic, sentimental person, like to the core of who I am. have the hardest time throwing anything away. I have every single badge from every conference I've ever attended, every name tag, like all that stuff. Like, I ever gonna look at again? No. It's like, like, I'm like dead and gone. My kids would be like, why did mom save all this stuff? Like, what is the point of it? I don't know. I just have a hard time with it. And so there was a really hard point like where we would fill that. We filled the venue with like,
Kate Foster (15:54)
Yeah.
well.
you
Dana Kadwell (16:16)
things that were meaningful to us. And I think it was after the first year, was like, if we want to maintain these things and they like, they need to go, like they need to get out of the venue because they were just getting absolutely destroyed. But yeah, that's so true. But it's, hard. It's hard people to realize it because they don't understand how careless people really are. Cause it's cause you, and it's not that people are malicious or they're intentionally destroying it. They're just don't think about it in any other way as just,
Kate Foster (16:18)
Mmm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
No, no, right.
Yeah, they just don't. really don't. They absolutely don't. there's also, I mean, I agree with you. don't think the majority, 90 % of your customers are not malicious. not paying attention. They're just not aware of the value that is surrounding them. And then there's, you know, unfortunately there's like the one or 2 % that feel like I paid a lot of money, right? There's a sense of I can do whatever I want. And they don't necessarily appreciate
Dana Kadwell (16:45)
⁓ Yeah, they- yeah.
Right. Yes.
Mm-hmm.
Kate Foster (17:10)
the incredible amount of cost that is surrounding them and ⁓ with the venue. But fortunately, those are few and far between.
Dana Kadwell (17:15)
Yeah.
Yeah.
so let's talk a little bit. You've kind of talked about it a little bit, the adaptability piece of it. And I have always said this, and I felt this really strongly during COVID that...
when we get out of COVID, we can't go back to how we were. Like we can't sell the same way we're to have totally different clients, even though you're only talking about a few years difference here that we're going to have to pivot, we're going to have to adapt. And we saw that a lot of people didn't and it really impacted their bottom line. But I really want you to see if you have any examples of where you've seen venues that have really failed at that adaptability and you don't have to name names and what it was that kind of created.
Kate Foster (17:43)
Mm-hmm.
Dana Kadwell (17:54)
I don't want to say their demise, but kind of created that gap. or if, or if you saw a venue that was like, Oh my gosh, I did this so well. Like they were so successful at this.
Kate Foster (18:00)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, absolutely. ⁓ One venue in particular that I worked with definitely did not find or see the need to be adaptable and to change and to grow. so it and that really applied in every aspect. The the property itself was never there was never a strategic plan in place for improvements in terms of design and the aesthetics and,
If we talk about the hotel industry, we know that there is like a five to eight year kind of ballpark that a hotel knows that they need to refresh. They need to refresh their FF &E and their look. And the expectation is anything outside of that, you start to become dated. And when we're talking about events, the changes are very quickly. I feel like it's changing even faster now. ⁓ So what's gonna be really popular?
Dana Kadwell (18:33)
Yes. Yep.
Mm-hmm.
Yep.
Kate Foster (18:52)
this year is maybe not going to be as popular in two years. So you need to be, again, strategically planning and budgeting for that evolution. So this venue that I'm thinking of in particular, we didn't change the packages, we didn't change the pricing to adapt to market conditions, we didn't change the aesthetics, we weren't showing ⁓ even micro improvements over a period of time. And they did, they closed down. ⁓ And this was before COVID.
Dana Kadwell (19:17)
Mm.
Kate Foster (19:19)
but they were definitely not poised to survive for a significant length of time, unfortunately, because that was a big mindset around that.
Dana Kadwell (19:27)
Yeah. Yeah, I think it is really hard. And I've what I've noticed and you said it totally complacency is the the enemy of progress. But I also feel like it's when you're super successful and like you hit the markers you want. Like I can remember, you know, in in 2019, we had finally really hit where we were where we wanted to be at. And we were going on our under renovation to kind of
Kate Foster (19:49)
Mm.
Dana Kadwell (19:52)
we knew then we could maximize even more. Like we were kind of had hit a max of how many events we could do based on the space that we had. And I remember going into 2020 thinking like, we have this on lock. Like we know how to sell it. It's totally fine. Like, we'll be great. And then obviously COVID happened and everything and everything really shifted and changed. And there was a real fear of we had adapted the wrong way because if you remember is right after COVID, it was the return of the small events.
Kate Foster (20:13)
Man.
Mm-hmm.
Dana Kadwell (20:18)
not because there was government restrictions, but because I think people genuinely realized who was important in their lives. And they're like, I don't want to spend this day with 500 people that I don't know. Like I would rather spend this day with the 80 people. And we had spent so much money on this massive renovation to, to attract that 200, 300 guests count. And I remember thinking like, my God, like we totally pivoted the wrong way. And I remember I was talking to somebody and they said,
Kate Foster (20:23)
Yeah.
Dana Kadwell (20:44)
No, you just need to figure out how can you sell it to a smaller group? He's like, cause this is temporary. Like you can't make decisions based on what's popular right now. You need to think about what is going to serve you in the long run. Can you make a big space look smaller? He's like, yeah, you're creative. Throw some furniture in there, make it look great. And then when you, when it swings back around, so when you have to have 200 people, like how are you going to make it look good with 200 people? And it was like, I don't know. It was like one of the best pieces of advice that I got that it was like, it's not about what's
Kate Foster (20:48)
Yes. Yes.
Dana Kadwell (21:09)
popular right now, it's like, what's going to give you that kind of sustainability over time?
Kate Foster (21:14)
Yeah, absolutely. I was working with a property out in California and they were absolutely due for a refresh. you know, money was tight at the time, but we knew that there was, you know, we had these nice, these luxury suites. And at the time they were selling for about $750 a night, but demand was really going down. And the investment capital that we knew we needed to do a complete reset wasn't quite there yet, but we were close.
So instead of just kind of accepting defeat and slashing prices, which oftentimes I think out of desperation, we're like, any money is better than no money. We went in, we did a new photo shoot. We did some very minimal upgrades to like the linens and some of the superficial touches, did a really beautiful photo shoot, new collateral, new marketing material. And instead of slashing the prices, we actually doubled
the room right, we went from 750 a night to 1599 a night and consistently we started selling out 100 % every single night on peak nights and was able to quickly generate the revenue that we needed to go in and do a complete reno of those spaces shortly after that. that's the kind of like, I think example of adaptability where it didn't take a lot, but we didn't take this kind of mindset of lack, it was a mindset of abundance, right?
Dana Kadwell (22:08)
Mm.
Wow.
Hmm.
Yes.
Yes.
Kate Foster (22:37)
we tailored it to the market and what the market was needing at the moment and that changed. And of course you're gonna have to A-B test things along the way, but sometimes very small tweaks and adjustments can feel like a completely fresh look or a fresh experience for a new set of eyes.
Dana Kadwell (22:55)
Yeah, that is crazy. It's like, just think consumer psychology is insane. Like it's just, and it is so much psychology and it sometimes, and I remember we were actually just talking about Saturday in the office and we hadn't raised prices in a couple of years because we really raised more prices on the bar side. and my salesperson said, I'm going to be honest with you. If I was somebody and I saw that prices were the same from two years ago, like that would be a red flag.
Kate Foster (22:59)
Yeah, yeah, it's true.
Yes.
Dana Kadwell (23:20)
And I was like, really? Like as a consumer? Cause she was getting married this time. She's like, yeah, because I'm like, I'm thinking what's wrong. Like why are they not changing? Cause she's like, the world's more expensive, which means I know that your employees are more expensive or things. So what, you know, I was like, that's such an interesting, um, perception like that. I never really thought I would just think like, Oh, people are like, Oh great. Like they're pretty consistent. Like they're not, you know, gouging us with the blaming on inflation or whatever. It's just.
Kate Foster (23:26)
Yeah.
Yes.
Dana Kadwell (23:48)
you know, but it was super interesting.
Kate Foster (23:49)
Yeah, that sense of scarcity is
so important. And you're kind of implying that when you are showing that there is an increase in your prices, that the demand is there, even if it's artificial. regardless, and we have to remember that we're not selling with our own wallet, right? So we've got to take ourselves, again, out of the equation here. And we have to believe in the value of our product. And just like the cost as your seller
Dana Kadwell (23:59)
Mm-hmm, yep.
I know.
I know.
Kate Foster (24:16)
Demonstrated the cost of everything else is increasing. You know, we've got to evolve with that. So It's it's really important that we're constantly looking at these things like the there's you know, the physical part of things But then the marketing side and the selling side we have to be looking at this on a regular and at minimum annual basis
Dana Kadwell (24:18)
huh.
Yeah.
Yeah. So, kind of pivoting a little bit. ⁓ what are some of the things that you really loved about working on the venue side of the industry that you're like, they don't get the opportunity to do on the planning side of the industry.
Kate Foster (24:46)
I mean, I think that there's a variety of aspects to the venue side that I really enjoyed. mean, I think, you know, the planning side there is there's a lot of handholding for a really long period of time, to be honest. And I did kind of gear toward that full service part of that. So you're really in it from picking on a wedding dress to
Dana Kadwell (24:58)
Yeah, it is true, it is true.
Kate Foster (25:11)
to all the things. And I think this, to me, and not to understate it, but I think the simplicity of, if we can just remember our role is the venue, right? Our commitment is to the venue and our responsibility is to the venue and not try to take on a whole bunch of other things that are not our responsibility, like kind of stay in your lane. What's your zone of genius? It's your venue. And that's what you're responsible for. And be really, really good at that.
There's a freedom that comes with that. And talking about the psychology of selling, I think that site tours themselves, there's a lot of psychology that can be incorporated into site tours and that need to be kind of mapped out and planned ahead of time. But I, you know, I absolutely loved that aspect of it. love, you know, the moment too of like being a part of
Dana Kadwell (25:40)
Mm.
Kate Foster (25:59)
that special opportunity or moment in the couple, or I shouldn't just refer to weddings, but when they see your space for the very first time, when it's theirs and it's fully decorated, and just know that you've kind of been a part of bringing that to fruition and that they're in love with your space as much as you are at that moment, it's pretty rewarding.
Dana Kadwell (26:06)
Yeah.
It is. And I feel like from the planner side, like there are definitely moments and I, in every moment with my client, it's when they walked down the aisle and it was when they would see the reception space and that was like that euphoric 2.5 seconds, but you could never bask in it because you're like, all right, great. You love it. All right, let's some photos. Come on, let's get going. You know, and there was like always the next thing and you were just like this professional, like a chaos coordinator.
Kate Foster (26:26)
Yes.
yeah yeah yeah yes
yes
Dana Kadwell (26:44)
fire putter
out or I felt like with the venue, you're absolutely right. You can really step back and really be in that moment with them because your only job is the venue. And so you get to see, I get to see the, how the mom's reacting and how the dad's reacting and how the groom's been in the bridesmaid. And like it really, to me opened up my eyes to how many more people were present on the day. Whereas when I was a planner, I was so focused on the couple, like how they were, what was going on with them. And
Kate Foster (27:05)
Yes. Yes. ⁓
Dana Kadwell (27:11)
And you know, granted like obviously pay attention to the parents and stuff like that, but like being part of the venue, you get to see everything. You get to see the aunt and the cousins and the grandma. Like it's just such a different experience that like, I totally agree with you. It is, it's like a freedom of the freedom to genuinely bask and enjoy the day as opposed to planning. You're just never still. So you, so you can't like overly enjoy it, you know?
Kate Foster (27:29)
Yep.
Never still. Never still. Yeah, definitely.
I agree. It's almost like you're an air traffic controller when you're you're the venue host. And everybody's like, you're the planners flying the plane and the, you know, the the vendors or the crew, but it you can you definitely have a more 360 degree view of the experience. And I love I love I love that. I mean, love all aspects of it. But
Dana Kadwell (27:40)
Yes. Yes.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Kate Foster (27:59)
I feel like from the venue side, there's just a lot of fun to be had.
Dana Kadwell (27:59)
Sure.
Yeah. Well, what really surprised you about kind of leaving this world of venues and going into sales? Like what was, what was that like? you, again, like, I feel like it's another big leap of faith in your career, to like, say, I'm going to start something new. Like, what was that? What was that journey like?
Kate Foster (28:17)
Yeah, absolutely. It's kind of another one of those pivotal moments where I don't know if it was the big picture plan, but as as you know, as seasons change and we change as people, it was it was the right time. And it was a slow journey. If I look back, I do think that there was a big mindset shift that had to help happen for me personally. You know, having had that wedding planning business for 10 years, when I went specifically into
hotels and then became a hotel seller and then director and then regional director. My mindset, I truly kind of saw myself only as a wedding planner. I never saw myself as anything else from that. And it took me a while to actually shift and fall in love with the selling aspect of it and kind of realize that I love that part because selling really is helping.
⁓ It's just in a different capacity. And when I started to embrace that, ⁓ it was a much easier transition now I get to not just help, before I was helping the couples, I was helping my corporate clients, but now being able to kind of step in and help educate the managers and their sales team.
Gosh, it's so rewarding. I mean, it really, really is. And especially, I do think since COVID, there has been another shift, not only in our industry, but kind of for myself as well. I really feel like the skills that we're teaching and imparting into these owners, these managers, these sellers, it's a transferable skill. our world was turned upside down.
Dana Kadwell (29:48)
Mm.
Kate Foster (29:52)
five years ago and a lot of people lost a career that they'd had for many years. And so I look at it like I'm giving them the skills that they can take anywhere and that when they really fine tune and leverage and understand that we're not trying to convince people to spend money on things they don't want or need, we're not con artists, we are truly ⁓ trusted professionals, trusted advisors that are.
guiding them through the process of making the decisions that will give them the best possible experience. It's truly helping them along the way. But when you really develop that as a true skill set, you can take that anywhere. If you're not in events or venue management, you can take that anywhere. And I think when you understand that, it gives you a kind of a confidence that you're gonna be okay. You know, if...
Dana Kadwell (30:30)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Kate Foster (30:41)
If the world gets turned upside down again, you're going to be able to adapt and take that somewhere else if you have to. And it's so rewarding. Like I absolutely, I love what I get to do. I love, get to travel. I see these amazing venues. I work with these incredible people that are passionate about what they do. And, you know, I know that I'm pouring into them and helping them better their professional development. And it's just, it's incredible. I feel so, so fortunate.
Dana Kadwell (31:08)
Yeah, I love that. That's such a really great way to explain what it means to be the industry, I mean, it is fun. is a lot of positive things about it, but it is hard and there is so many skills you have to have like if I was a manager,
right outside of the industry and someone came to me and said, I was a venue, whatever. I'm like, ⁓ you can manage some stuff. Like you can handle all the crazy things that comes your way. You know, like there's just definitely a different level of, of understanding just of humans in general, because you're around them so much. And there's so many, like so many different types of people. Like that's the thing that I have loved the best is I say all the time, like I can talk to a brick wall because I have literally met at this point, probably, I mean, easily.
tens of thousands plus people and everyone's different and every single time you're in the conversation, you can find that common thread that you have. Like no matter how different you are, no matter how different your views are, whatever, there's always one common thread that you can figure out how to connect with them. And it is my absolute favorite thing to do. And I'm like randomly in a group of like people that I don't know, you know? But being in the industry taught me how to do that, you know? It taught me how, because the dad wanted to come talk to you about some random thing and you're just like.
Kate Foster (31:50)
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yes
Dana Kadwell (32:15)
Don't want to be rude. You're like, okay, cool. Let's find out what we can talk about together, you know? Yeah. So I love that.
Kate Foster (32:17)
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, I think honestly that a big part, I say I'm a sales coach and trainer, but really I'm a communications coach and trainer. It's really what it's all about. The simplest version.
Dana Kadwell (32:26)
Mm.
Yeah.
I, I asked this question, um, with everybody is as a story that you have told mostly nobody. Um, it's okay if you, you've told some people, but mostly nobody, a story that kind of really ties in, whether it's part of your story of how you got to where you are or, um, you know,
Kate Foster (32:38)
Mostly nobody.
Dana Kadwell (32:49)
⁓ story on the job or whatnot, but just kind of that talks about how you got to where you are really ultimately.
Kate Foster (32:53)
Hmm. Yeah.
A mostly nobody story. Well, I definitely have a story that I haven't shared much at all, and definitely not publicly, but it was very impactful. And I do think that it 100 % got me to where I am today. And I kind of think of it that, you know, working in hospitality really saved my life.
And I know that sounds kind of dramatic, but for me, it really did. And so my absolute earliest entry into hospitality was pretty pivotal. So when I was in college, I lived in a house with five other people. And as you can imagine, in college house off campus, ⁓ it was a revolving door of people and parties. ⁓
Dana Kadwell (33:37)
Yes.
Sure.
Kate Foster (33:42)
It was a fun place to be. you know,
I mean, so much so that I lived there maybe a year and a half, two years. And I don't think I ever even owned a key to the front door. Never once. There was always someone there. So you can guarantee that, you know, you could get in. So one night, my one of my roommates and I, one of one of my girlfriends that lived with me, we came home really late, which is not unusual about midnight.
Dana Kadwell (33:53)
That's hilarious.
Kate Foster (34:08)
And we got to the front door and it was locked. So we were both like, okay, this has never happened. And we did a rock, paper, scissors, who's gonna crawl around back and try to break in the back door and get us into the house. And I was the lucky winner on that one. So went around back, got into the back door of the house and...
When I came in, you're kind of coming into like the little kitchen area and I knew something was not right. It was very dark in the house, but as I'm kind of, my eyes were adjusting, realized there's like hundreds of candles lit all over the kitchen, the living room. And there was music, really ominous music playing on the radio. ⁓ So my mind is really racing, like why are candles lit? The door's locked, what's happening?
Dana Kadwell (34:50)
Hmm.
Yeah.
Kate Foster (34:55)
is this a romantic vibe? The music was not giving me romance. So I'm walking through the kitchen, through the living room to get to the front door to let my girlfriend in. And as I'm walking, I look down the hallway and my eye catches, and in the door frame down the hallway is one of my roommates and he had hung himself. And you know,
Dana Kadwell (34:58)
Yeah. Yeah.
Kate Foster (35:18)
moments after that are kind of a blur. know, apparently I kind of froze and was yelling and my girlfriends, you know, banging, let me in, let me in. So I quickly let her in and, you know, we went through all the things you could imagine, calling 911. I performed CPR and, you know, did everything that I could to try to help him at that time.
Dana Kadwell (35:21)
Sure.
Kate Foster (35:44)
And fortunately, fire, or not fortunately, but shortly after that, we first responders were there and it was just a crowd of people. mean, there probably were 10 people in the hallway. despite all their efforts, my roommate lost his life to suicide. And that was May 14th, 1999. And it was life-changing. It was absolutely life-changing.
Dana Kadwell (35:53)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Kate Foster (36:08)
You know, at the time I was very young, I wasn't sure exactly how to process that. And it was very difficult for me to kind of integrate back into my normal routine right after that, as you can imagine. And I really had a hard time sleeping. So I was, you know, at that moment I'm like, okay, I can stay up all night and probably get myself into trouble, or I can find a way to put myself to use. And I started looking for a job.
Dana Kadwell (36:13)
Sure.
I'm sure. Yeah.
Kate Foster (36:34)
as it turns out they were building a new hotel right on the water and They had a position on the opening team available to be the night manager and so Here I am I applied for the job and was hired and you know Went through the process of you know, all the things that you have to do to open a brand new 256 hotel room with
Dana Kadwell (36:49)
Yeah.
Kate Foster (37:03)
multiple outlets on the beach. And I very quickly realized that that position was open because nobody wanted that job. I mean, you can imagine. mean, it was there are so many people that come through there. It's a college town. There's, know, trunks, partiers, there's families. And I was literally the only employee at night.
Dana Kadwell (37:11)
Yeah
Kate Foster (37:26)
running this massive hotel overnight for an extended period of time, for a couple of years. But the interesting thing that happened within myself very quickly is I had a very different perspective about the position, about the role. And I realized that my roommate lived right next door. He was in the room next to me. was someone that I interacted with on a regular basis.
thought I knew him and I had no idea what he was going through. And obviously he was going through something really significant and that he didn't share. And my entire perspective about every single customer, every single guest that came through that hotel was one of empathy. I had just this mindset that I don't know what they're going through. I don't know, you know, why they're here, what they're dealing with. Cause at night you're typically dealing with a lot of problems, you know?
Dana Kadwell (37:56)
Yeah.
Yeah,
sure.
Kate Foster (38:16)
I mean, let me tell you, I knew how to plunge a toilet at 2 a.m. like nobody's business. I learned real quickly about adaptability. I didn't know anything about anything, but I learned to figure it out really quickly. And I just, it was interesting, but it started to heal me. The more I served, the more I helped, the more empathetic that I could be, the more it healed me. And
Dana Kadwell (38:20)
Hahaha
terrible skill to have.
Kate Foster (38:41)
very, you know, very quickly, I realized that this was something that I really truly wanted to do. And I wanted to be able to help and serve people just truly from a heart of gratitude and appreciation and empathy. So I truly feel like that opportunity that that night manager position, you know, healed me over time. And it was so hard. It was so, so hard. There were so many talk about stories. But
Dana Kadwell (39:04)
Yeah.
Kate Foster (39:07)
It was so good at the same time. was absolutely just critical. It changed the whole trajectory, I think, of my life through that experience. So I'm so glad that I landed where I landed. I'm so glad that that opportunity presented itself. I learned so much. And, you know, I'm very grateful. It was difficult, but, you know, again, it brought me into it, I think, with just a very different mindset that's carried me through 25, 26 years later.
through the process. So that's why I say, you know, I think hospitality saved my life.
Dana Kadwell (39:39)
Yeah, well that's like an incredible story. I mean, I'm so sorry it happened to you. I can only imagine like being the one to find that person, like just how devastating and I mean, I don't think I could close my eyes either and try to rest and sleep. And that's such a powerful story. And I think it's, we talk about it a lot in the world about having empathy for others and
Kate Foster (39:42)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Dana Kadwell (40:03)
And I know you have kids and so the conversations you have with them and, you know, the uptick in, in suicide and whatnot, it's, it has impacted so many people. but I think that's a really beautiful way to look at such a painful story as something that kind of created a life for you and allowed you to be, have that empathy for others. And, yeah, that's a amazing story.
Kate Foster (40:23)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, thank you. I mentioned the date of my roommate's passing and my other roommates and I, we historically, we celebrate every year on his passing anniversary. share stories, pictures. always do a couple of shots at his honor. But we shed tears for many, years over it. And I just think it was such an amazing and divine intervention that
Dana Kadwell (40:39)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. Sure.
Kate Foster (40:52)
you know, on May 14th of 2015, you know, I got to replace that kind of painful memory on my calendar with truly the best memory of my entire life. And that was when my son was born. So the fact that it was, you know, 16 years later, the exact date that my son was born is not lost on me. just, I love that now I have, you know, the happiest moment of my life has replaced one of the most difficult. So it's full circle.
Dana Kadwell (41:03)
⁓
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
That's crazy. That's that. gives me goosebumps. It makes you believe in like definitely the supernatural of that's insane. Yeah.
Kate Foster (41:20)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Such a gift.
Dana Kadwell (41:25)
Such a gift. Yeah. Wow. Don't gonna be thinking about that story for a while. Yeah. Okay. Thank you so much for being on here today and just being so real and vulnerable. feel like that is what I appreciate the most about people is just keeping it real. And, you know, I think we talk a lot about being in the venue world. There is, we can, if you're not, you know,
Kate Foster (41:33)
Yeah.
Dana Kadwell (41:46)
laughing or crying like something's not happening, right? Like, so either you're like, I can't believe this just happened or my God, I can't believe this just happened. but I, I love the realness of it and I love your perspective of, know, being a part of all these different venues and, ⁓ seeing from a different perspective of them again, like being in that emotional place of being the owner. but I would love to end it, with what
Kate Foster (41:51)
Yes.
Dana Kadwell (42:13)
as you've worked with so many different people, right? In the different avenues that you've, in all the venues you've worked with, what would you say is the one character trait that someone really needs in order to open a venue or to be the owner or whatnot? Like what do you think that most impair, like if you could just choose one and that's a tall order, it's a tall order, yeah.
Kate Foster (42:33)
Oh, one. Oh my gosh.
I mean, I know we've talked a lot about adaptability, but I'll kind of add on to that would be like fortitude is it's going to be absolutely critical. Like you are going to have to you're going to have to be strong in so many ways, you know, because things are just going to come at you that you never expected, whether it's dealing with personnel and
Dana Kadwell (42:44)
Hmm.
Kate Foster (43:00)
you know, sometimes staffing can be just one of the biggest challenges that you deal with. Maybe it's your vendors or your source suppliers or it's your clients, whatever the weather, you know, Mother Nature is going to come at you. Like there are just so many things and you're capable of so much more than you ever thought you were capable of. And this venue is going to absolutely force that to come out of you. And I think if you just
Dana Kadwell (43:04)
It's so true.
Yeah.
Kate Foster (43:25)
Accept or embrace or believe in yourself that you can do it. You have the capability you have the tenacity you have the courage You're you're built strong enough and you can so I would say embrace fortitude
Dana Kadwell (43:37)
I love that. It's a great one. I will second that. I think it's a such an important one. But thank you so much for spending your time with me today. I appreciate your stories and being here. I know it's always an ask to to be on a podcast and sit and chat. So thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it.
Kate Foster (43:40)
yay! yeah.
Yeah, my pleasure.
Absolutely my pleasure. I loved it. Thank you so much.