The Modern Hotelier #101: How to Recover Revenue from Online Travel Agencies | with Janet Ferrer
===
Steve Carran: We're excited to release this episode with Janet Ferrer from Hospitality Holdings. David, what was one of your favorite takeaways from this episode?
David: Well, it's great to not only see somebody from my hometown, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, but somebody from hospitality who's succeeding and thriving. So I thought she was a great guest and really enjoyed interviewing her.
Steve Carran: I agree. It was great to see somebody come from a long time GM to now CEO of her own company. So very cool to see, but enjoy the episode.
David: Enjoy.

David: Welcome to The Modern Hotelier, the most engaged hospitality podcast. I'm your host, David Millili.
Steve Carran: I'm your co host, Steve Carran.
David: Steve, who do we have on the program today?
Steve Carran: Yeah, David, today we have on Janet Ferrer. Janet is the founder and CEO of Hospitality Holdings. As both an on property leader and corporate director of finance, her 27 years at Hospitality lends great insight to her online travel agency, Revenue Recovery Audit Systems, and optimization of financial systems within the OTA platforms.
Welcome to the show, Janet. Yeah.
Janet Ferrer: Paris. Um, I should say bonjour.
David: Alright, great. So we're going to go through a lightning round of questions. We're going to learn a little bit about your background, your career, and then we're going to dive into some industry topics. Sound good?
Janet Ferrer: Yep. Great.
David: What was the first job you had?
Janet Ferrer: was a newspaper girl in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, David.
David: Yeah, we're going to get into that a lot later. Uh, what's something you wish you were better at?
Janet Ferrer: Oh, um, my gosh. Ch ch ch ch, Not Talking So Much, Listening More, a luxury you cannot live without? 
Down Comforter,
David: what's a place you've never been to that you've most liked to go?
Janet Ferrer: uh, Africa, Safari,
David: If you could have a superpower, what superpower would you have?
Janet Ferrer: Reading People's Minds,
David: Alright, if you had your own late night talk show, who would your first guest be?
Janet Ferrer: um, Melinda Gates,
David: Okay. Alright, last one. If you had a time machine Which way are you going to the future or to the past? And what year are you going to?
Janet Ferrer: Believe It or Not, The past, I would go to Georgetown, Pennsylvania in the 80s in our, in our, neighborhood where it was just fun and happy and, and, you know, there's all these memes out there about where the lights would come on and that was your time to go home. I mean, we were in the woods, we just played and there was just no stress and I really loved that time of my life.
David: Good answer. 
Steve Carran: Oh, that's fantastic. So, now we're going to learn a little bit more about who you are and what makes you tick. So, as you said, You are from Doylestown, Pennsylvania. You and David, I'm sure, could talk for hours about Doylestown, but how did that shape you into who you are today?
Janet Ferrer: Yeah, that's a great question. Um, living in Dulles now is a great, great place to grow up. Uh, it still was a lot of farmland back when I lived there. And, my family was very integral to my growing up. My parents, from a very, very early age instilled, um, Several different things in us. First was hard work.
I mean, being a newspaper girl, that's probably never heard of at 12 years old, I would get up, I would fold the newspaper, and to this day, I hate ink on my fingers. I hate it. And I'd go on my bike and we'd, you know, my brothers and I did it. And then we'd have to go collecting, which was the worst thing in the world.
But ever since then, so 12 years old, I, uh, have the job. they also instilled in us a really big. We were volunteering all the time. We just, that's what we did. And that's, we always were giving back to the community. And also a shout out to my mom, Grandma Roro. She brought us on the craziest adventures.
We didn't have a ton of money. We went camping all the time. But we did it. You know, in that area, you can go to New York, you can go to Philly, you can go to D. C. I mean, we were, we went to every single thing that there was to do. And to this day, and my kids will say, I emulate that. And there's like, mom's really crazy, but we've done some really cool shit.
I'm like, yeah! And that's like, it's, it's, it's great. And that's kind of how moving forward, I, we never stayed at a hotel ever. And my first job of a hotel, I was like, what is this? And, but you really have to have that spirit to serve. And I think that's where it really was formed. And doing crazy shit too.
Yeah. 
David: I won't go too much into the Doylestown stuff. We can talk about Wawa, we can talk about the Eagles. So we're just going to, we're going to stick on track. So you graduated from University of Delaware.
Education. What made you decide to go to the university of Delaware and, and to study education?
Janet Ferrer: Yeah, good question. Um, so actually I played volleyball for the University of Delaware, uh, back when they let short people do it. I was 5'4 in my brochure it was 5'6 I was a walk on D1 volleyball player, so that was, uh, my, uh, really what spurred me to go there. I had no idea back then, uh, I don't know how old you are, David, but Steve, you probably don't remember a time without computers.
I 
didn't know what major I was. I was And I just chose psychology education, so I thought I was going to be a school counselor. Well, it turns out I was being a teacher. I was being educated as a teacher. So in my senior year, they gave me this in the mail says, where are you gonna student teach? And I was like, what?
So I was like, all right, I guess I gotta do this. So I student taught actually in my York, Spain. And then when I came back, here's another. Fun fact, I worked in the school that Jill Biden worked in, in Delaware. And so she was best friends with my, host teacher. And one day she came in and she was like, Hey, there was a bomb in our mailbox.
And I'm like, who the heck is this lady? Remember? No TV. No, no. And so that was interesting. I also drove the Zamboni. That was my college job at the University of Delaware. So, um, yeah, you got all my party tricks right out, right out the gate.
so that's how my education and like I said, when I had my first child, uh, who's 28 now, I needed another job.
I was, I had been teaching but I didn't want to go back to teaching because I wanted to raise my kids and someone said, hey, they just opened up this courtyard by Marriott. They need desk clerks. You want to come? I'm like, all right, let's, let's see what And then, you know, going through 27 years, I always say, you can't fake hotel.
You either have it or you don't. You can't fake it.
Steve Carran: I agree. I agree. That's great. So, another one of your, I don't know if it's a passion, but You have hiked a couple 14ers, which that's something you and I have in common. I know you, know you've done a couple. Do you have one that's on your bucket list that you're looking to check off soon?
Janet Ferrer: I don't know that 14 er hiking anymore is in my car. The last one I did, I went with our family, my boys, my two boys, Matthew and Michael. They were going to do, um, Tories and greats. You know, you could do the same one at the same time. So I was like, well, I'm going to go up with my daughter. We're going to go on the left.
You guys go to the right. They went to the wrong right. They almost died on that mountain. And just the day before, we were like, who would be stupid enough to go the wrong way up the mountain? My children. So we make it up that mountain. And then by the time we got down, I was like, ah, I think I'm good. I think I've done three ish maybe.
Yeah,
Steve Carran: Yeah. 
had a similar experience. It was, we did one and there was another peak you could cross to go to the other one. And I'm like, nah, I got my one for the day. I'm, I'm good. I don't need to add another three hours onto my AIG. So, uh, well that is great. It was great to get to know you a little bit.
Now we're going to dive into your career and how you got to where you are today. So like you mentioned before, you were a long time GM and property manager for Marriott, TMI, and Ambridge. What made you really. fall in love with the hospitality industry?
Janet Ferrer: I think from the very beginning, as a desk clerk, and I was at home with my kids, and I eventually had three children, and when I would get to the hotel, it was like my reprieve. Like there's human beings who weren't, you know. spitting up on me, or, clinging to me, and there you just had this, this rapport with people.
And as I moved through, the world of hotel, and I got to be in more management levels, I actually missed that connection. And that was like the highlight of my day when I became a GM, I would always go to breakfast, I would work the bistro, we had a bistro, just really connecting with people. And that Some days, like some days, I'm just stuck in my office and I never get out and I forget how much I loved that interaction.
And when I did quit my career for this business, I went into a little bit of a depression because you don't realize how much social you get with just being at a property and, um, well, all the people and you didn't realize how much fulfillment that gave you, in doing that.
David: And so in our research, your dream job is corporate director of finance at Ambridge. What made that your dream job maybe at the time?
Janet Ferrer: Well, you know, I have a background in teaching and I really do love teaching. I really was very, um, you wanted to learn about hospitality, I wanted to tell you. I had learned everything from the bottom up and I had done it. I was done being a GM. I had worked through what I call the I am legend days in Dallas when coronavirus.
I was at a Spring Hill suite that was 12 years past renovation. I mean, the stories I could tell you, remember I had to be a better listener, but I was sort of done. I actually made money. I ran the hotel as an Airbnb. I was, I, I went through things you would never believe and I was just sort of done. And I was like, want to do something different and I have all this knowledge.
I'm not a super duper heavy accounting person, but I was a very finance focused general manager and that started from my Roots of Marriott International when they actually created a job for me. And I ran five hotels accounting and I was in charge of all their financial control audits. And Marriott back in the day, I mean, I'm sure they still are, and you took your financial control audits seriously.
You would lose your job if you failed one of those. So I learned everything, how to do it the right way. And through the inception of all these franchises, things kind of got diluted. And a lot of people weren't trained the right way to do things. And when I say a lot of people, I'll say 95 percent of the people.
So that was my, I had all this knowledge. I wanted to give it to the next, generation. And I, I, my kids were grown. I love to travel. And it was like an adventure to me. I, they would get, okay, you're going to, um, Knoxville, I'm like, oh great, you know, you stay your 10 days there and I would travel around.
I would do so many things when I was there, like I'd do my job and I would just find things to do after. So it really was. I loved it. I loved every minute of it. I got to meet new people, and generally people in the hospitality business are pretty nice, and they're, well, I mean, you're transitioning a hotel, so there's some, but I really met some, great connections, and I was very sad to leave that job.
Steve Carran: I believe it. I believe it. So, this is one thing I'm really excited to hear more about. How did you, I guess, come up with the inception of H2OTA Revenue Recovery?
Janet Ferrer: Well, the name is kind of weird. The name was Hospitality Holdings at first. And it still is. That's our official name. And then, no, everyone thought we were like an ownership group. So I had to kind of change it. So, we would call it H2. And then I was like, what about H2O? So that's how they came up with H2O 
Revenue Recovery. 
Yeah. So I, um, I have always been very attuned to finances and through the years, the OTAs changed dramatically. Uh, there was a time when you would be on property and they'd be like, Oh, here's all the money you forgot to collect. And you'd get this bonus check every month. And then slowly the virtual credit cards came into play.
And coronavirus time. Where everybody's looking for money and I was like, you know, what about that check that Expedia used to give us? Where is that? And they're like, oh you didn't need, you don't, you don't get that check anymore. We do virtual credit cards and in my head I was like Nah, we're still the same staff.
We're still the same kind of people. We're, I'm sure we're missing money. And I know I shouldn't say this out loud, but my hobby was doing Expedia audits. Like that's what I would do at night. I would just scour Expedia and I'm like, I know there's money here. I know there is. And so I started finding little stuff and then I just really, really dug deep.
And I found. The way I found how to do it and I, told my management property, um, Alright give me access. I'm going to find you money. And it was just a passion of mine. I did it for free. And then Ambridge came along and put, uh, they, they took over my property. And it was like in October, maybe September, our boss, our regional was like, Hey, we're short money.
Everyone conserve money, blah, blah, blah. I said, you know, if you give me people's Expedia access, I'll find money. And he's skeptical. And I'm like, no, I will. I promise. And in that first, I found a million dollars, a million dollars. And I, I would stay after work. I would. I would call the desk, I would be, and so then, I was doing all of this in a portfolio, in a portfolio, large portfolio, found a lot of money, and they hired a company and paid them 20 percent to do what I just did.
And the very next day, I had an LLC. And it, it was, I, and at that point, you know, when I was going to actually charge people to use my services, that's when I really, I really was fine tuned into what I was doing.
David: It's amazing. Yeah. I mean, we, you, you covered kind of our, I think our next two questions, but one thing I'll just, one thing I'll just add in there before we
Janet Ferrer: Listening more, 
remember? you know, it's funny you said, cause when I was GM of a small property, I don't want to name the company, but anyway, it was not Expedia, it was another big, uh, OTA, very similar, you know, I ended up becoming very, very friendly with a woman who was based out of a central location, so she would give me.
David: all the bookings so that I would know because they would short me, they would change stays, they would, you know, and that company, when they first started, they would do within cutoffs, they would do name changes, so they would still hold on to the, so they would just book fake reservations so they could change it during the cutoff period from, and it went from, I'd be like, I'd work the front desk.
It was very small hotel. And I go, what are they doing? They're sending in, you know, John Smith is now Mary Jones. Like, how is that possible? So anyway, so that's, that's a pretty cool story. Like it.
Steve Carran: That's great. So can you get just, for those that might not be familiar with hospitality holdings, like, what is it that, you know, kind of the array of things that you all do? 
Janet Ferrer: Yeah, so once we, once I took that leap and, you know, started to, um, start at the company, we then, uh, ventured into Booking. com was our next, there's three OTAs, really. It's Expedia, Booking, and Priceline. That's it. Anyone else is a shell company for one of those three. so then we, we're doing Expedia and Booking and then, um, I was in my head.
I was like, we needed to get a price line. We need to get a go to, we need to get a price line. I knew that was a goal, but we had a few customers. Some of my, um, for my colleagues and former bosses, they took a chance on me and that was great. And so we were concentrating on that. what the other company that did that was my former, um, franchise company employed was they gave the properties a booking number.
That was it. That's all they gave them. And I said, You're still not getting money posted. I 100 percent know that. I mean, we're, it's coronarized time. I'm working desk, you know, people are, GMs are cleaning rooms. There's no way they have eight hours in the day. So it's like, we're going to do one better.
We're going to give them a booking number. We're going to give a credit card number and the amount to charge. Well, our first smaller portfolio, get that all done. And even leading them directly to the water, it's still didn't get posted. And the way virtual credit cards work is they'll expire after a time.
So I was like, you know what? We need to do two better. We need to charge a credit card. So that's when I started diving into the world of being a credit card merchant. And that's a whole world that you don't know about. That it's, it's an entirely different world. Different thing that I've never learned about, learned real quickly about it, because the more you charge, the more they add.
It's like getting a credit application and as we got bigger and bigger. Our first year, uh, we charged over, about 1. 2 million dollars, and we were growing really quickly, and I was like, I need a million dollars of buying power every month. And I sat down with a credit card merchant, and we went over and over for hours.
Because what they do is they grill you, and nobody did what we did before, no one. We were the first people. Now people have followed suit, so no one heard of us. They thought we were debt collectors. We're like, we're not debt collectors, the debt's been collected. We're just identifying it and then we're processing it.
So now I, I'm very proud of ourselves. We do have a million dollars a month that we can 
purchase in our company. 
Steve Carran: that's incredible. That's awesome.
Well, that was really good to learn about, you know, how you got to where you are with hospitality holdings. Now we're going to move into a few more industry thoughts. So one thing I was so curious, especially with your background as a long term GM, David and I both come from the tech side.
Are there any either new technologies you're excited about or even a new trend that you're seeing in hospitality that, you know, you're excited about for that, for the industry?
Janet Ferrer: Yeah, you know, I just got out of HITEC and everybody's talking about AI, right? that's just, and I don't know how much I'm excited about it. I use some of it in my work, not my actual job, but some of the applications we use on our AP and stuff. And it is great. It's, there's a lot of really, really great stuff about it.
But, and I know I've commented multiple times in LinkedIn that, You will always have to have that personal touch in any kind of service industry that there is, like you will never be able to replace that. And I think one of my, uh, was about this trip when I came to Paris and they lost our luggage and we couldn't, we didn't speak the language and, and we didn't know what size clothes we wore.
I was traveling with my son and these people who helped us. It just really goes to show you that, that special human touch. you're going to have to have both. The whole world's going to have to have both. But really, you can't lose focus of that. But AI, it's exciting. It is exciting. They're, like, I use ChatGBT all the time.
And I love it. And and it's great. But you really do have, can't lose the human touch in there.
Steve Carran: Agree. And you do, I see posts sometimes like on LinkedIn or wherever it is, and you can tell it's totally written by AI. I'm like, that's just, I know how you write, and that's not it right
there. It's, 
so 
like, I agree. It's, AI is there to, I think, you know, help me, for me, I use it to get the thought process, but then I like to add the human touch to it and 
make sure 
it's not coming from a computer.
So 
David: So hospitality holdings, one of the things that you do, you help hotels increase rev par, what are some easy things, or maybe not so easy that hotels can do to help increase the rev par? Right.
Janet Ferrer: There is an option, and I have an article about it on my website, it's four clicks into Expedia where you put somebody in charge of cancellations. So I don't know, you said you guys have not really been a ton on the desk, but if you know everyone, anyone who's listening right now who's been in hospitality they know when Expedia calls.
First of all, their salutation is literally like three minutes, and you have 20 people in front of you. And this is whoever calling for Expedia. We have mutual guests. Will you return? Will you cancel their reservation? And you're at the desk. You're just like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Click the only reason they are calling the hotel to cancel that reservation is because it is a non refundable reservation.
Now, even if you put Mickey Mouse. down as the only person that can cancel that reservation, then only Mickey Mouse can cancel that reservation. They can't call your desk. So that is like a, the simplest thing people can do right this second is make a person in charge.
I was the one in charge of mine and I just I'd never answer the phone. And if I don't answer the phone, they can't cancel it. And I see it all the time when we do our audits. It will, because it will say cancelled and it will have zero dollars. And the only reason that is, is because they, and I, everybody will understand what I'm saying, is they didn't have that one person and, and it's just four clicks in.
But that's how they kind of, they kind of get you because it's a lot of work to figure out how to be really precise on all these things.
Steve Carran: that's great advice. Now, say you do pick up the phone, right? Say you think it's somebody else. Can you just say no? I'm not going to cancel that
Janet Ferrer: Oh, yeah, you can. You can. But by the time they get done who they are and what they're calling, you're just like, whatever. Like, yeah, I got Miss Jane Doe who is really mad at me right now because she wants the Eiffel Tower view and I can't give it to her. I, I, it's, unless I, I, Met owners who are very good and very proactive at training, but the turnover at the desk, you know, all the turnover is so high to reach all the touch points that you really need.
You know, you're, the main thing you're doing is taking care of the guests. You're, that's like a, a side note three times. Like, Oh yeah, if Expedia calls, say no, because they give you the subs. I mean, and obviously there are occasions where you would Be generous and gracious. you know, I, I did have a little conversation with a client recently, and I was like, if you're going to refund non refundable reservations, why even have them?
Steve Carran: Right. It's fair. That's fair. Well, this is something I'm excited to hear about. You know, as you went on your entrepreneurial journey from hotels to now owning your own company, what have been some of, I guess, the high moments and what have been some of the biggest obstacles that you faced?
Janet Ferrer: Well, before I quit my career, um, we did have a lot of obstacles and most of them were about the credit card merchant, stuff. And it was because anytime you would go over, I think the, the limit was 39, 000, you'd get another set of questions and then you'd have to answer them. And then, you know, and I would be like, ah, okay.
We're not going to have a company anymore. And I would just give up in my head. Like I was still in my, my full time job and it was like, Oh, this is just a side thing. And then I was like, all right, we're going to work through it. Then it would come up again. I'll be like, Oh, I'm done. I'm not. And so working through issues and not giving up, that was, you know, that was the biggest thing.
When you go out on your own, you gotta get over rejection. Like, immediately. 
And I'm very competitive. And when I'm
like,
but why don't you want my company? There's no printer, it costs, there's no money, no upfront money. But you got to get over that. That was something that you had to, I had to in my brain.
I remember the first time I went to a hotel, And I was like, Hi, I'm Janet. And this is my company. And I couldn't even get the words out of my mouth because I was like, what am I doing? And now I'm not kidding you. I went to the main, uh, the Ritz Carlton down the street in Paris. I'm like, Hi, I'm Janet. This is my company.
I got my marketing in French. And, um, I got over that. And that was, that's, that was the biggest thing that I had to get over is getting out there, like posting on LinkedIn. I was not, I never really did that. People didn't like my LinkedIn. I was like, I would cry and I'm like, you gotta keep going, you gotta keep going.
You gotta keep getting yourself out there. So many other great things, is there's people that have helped me that I don't know from anyone. Like I would just, and they would just be so kind and mentoring and, You know, Nick, who got me on this program, he was been really, I, he spent, I think, like an hour with me giving me suggestions and, and it's just great to see those people to help.
But you know, there's always the flip side of that. There are people who, who, you know, I think in the hospitality world, we're all very trusting people, but there's people out there who might not. Who might take advantage of things and and you know, I think the other thing that was really hard for me is I think the buck stops with me with everything like I'm responsible for my staff.
I'm responsible for my P& L There's nobody over me saying do this do that do this and so that was I, I mean, I'm a, I like to lead. I like to be in charge. So that's not such a big stretch for me, but the fact that it will all come back to me, there's no one else to go to, but it's been exciting hiring my first person.
That was crazy to me. I was like, you're working for my company. That's, that's kind of crazy. And then, you know, we have, now we have an auditing team and we have, I have other ad manager people and a tech team, and it's just been great.
Steve Carran: So how many employees is Hospitality Holdings up to these 
Janet Ferrer: We have 16 right now.
Steve Carran: Awesome. Congratulations. 
David: one of the things I usually connect to a little bit more is founders who have the hotel background, who've made that leap into starting, you know, Their own business. So what advice would you give to somebody? And maybe we'll make it a little more specific than we normally do. Somebody who's in hotels working, who has an idea and wants to become an entrepreneur, what type of advice would you give that person?
Janet Ferrer: Well, first, don't quit your day job. Until, do, I mean, I was killing myself. I really thought I was going to stroke one of the, I mean, I had to do both before I really established, like, I can do this. But when I left that world of operations, I realized what I never realized before, is there is an entire different world out there.
Thank you. When I was a GM, I thought I made it. I made nothing. There is, I mean, when you go to these trade shows, and this is where people in the hotel don't know. I never knew. I never knew these trade shows of all these people that you meet were out there. So you go and you see all these different industries and, you know, I had a boss once who said there was every industry within the hotel business.
So you have an idea. You get out there, be bold. You have to be bold. If you believe in that idea, you know, you're gonna go and you're gonna be like, it's gonna be hard at first. Hi, I'm Janet. Then you're like, Hi, I'm Janet. So, you know, don't, it is really nice. It is, you know, the dream. To have your own business stop working for the man, but it's hard, but if you work hard, the harder you work, the luckier you get, I really believe that.
Although I do have a funny story, and you can edit this out if you want, the week after I, I quit my job and I'm working at home, I tripped over my dishwasher.
I'm literally laying on the ground thinking, I finally made it and I'm going to die here on the floor. 
I 
David: all that work.
Janet Ferrer: was like, help, I'm falling, I can't get up. And I mean, it was like, the door was open. I love how, like, dish marks on my legs 
after it. 
David: That's hilarious.
Steve Carran: That's great. That's great. Well, this has been great. It's been fun to get to know you and more about hospitality holdings. We're down to the last section. We've been asking you the questions this whole time, so we're going to turn the tables and let you ask David and I a question.
Janet Ferrer: Ah, that's really good. Back when we were having microphone problems, I was probably like, when someone's here. Well, I'm sorry, Steve, because I have some really specific questions for David. so tell me, where do you live?
Steve Carran: I live in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Janet Ferrer: Oh, you do. Okay, so 
that's your 14 year story. 
What is your favorite thing to do in Colorado? 
Steve Carran: Ooh, my favorite thing to do I'm big into pickleball right now. So that's been one of my one of my big weekend activities and during the week, but I'm a big hiker. I I lived in Washington DC for eight years. So I wanted to explore nature more. So we get out camping, you know, a couple times a year.
I just like to get away and Disconnect for a little bit. So big camper. Love that.
Janet Ferrer: Are you going to do the pickleball contest in the, um, like, was it the lodging conference or? What's in, what's in Arizona?
Steve Carran: That's a lodging. I'm 
unfortunately not going to be at that one, but any trade associations that do have pickleball tournaments, I am all in, baby. 
Janet Ferrer: Well, I, I signed up for the pickleball tournament and I wanted to go practice and I'm like bouncing it on the wall and I'm so competitive I'm getting mad at myself because I'm like, yeah, like get that ball and I'm like in my head I'm still 20 playing volleyball, but I gotta, I don't know.
Steve Carran: No, I still, I still get pretty competitive with it. So you're, you're not alone on that one. I, I actually just bought a brand new paddle. And I haven't been able to use it. I hurt my knee like three weeks ago, thinking I'd heal, but I'm getting older and I'm not healing as quick, so might have to wait another couple weeks to use it, but
Janet Ferrer: Yeah, I know, I actually might drop out. This walking around Paris has been like, I just went to that, have you ever been here? There's this church that you walk, I suck, I don't even know what it's called, but. I went to go get the funicular, and my maps gave me the map to the top of the funicular, so I walked over, I was like, where is this going to get me?
Steve Carran: and I'm assuming it wasn't up there. 
Janet Ferrer: I was like, well, I already got it. Alright, Mr. Millili, Millili Luli. Yep. 
So, Bucks County, and Central Bucks East, that is crazy. What do you remember about growing up there?
David: Yeah, similar to you, it was just great. I mean, we were outside. We were fortunate enough to have a pool growing up. my father had a gas station in Bluebell, Pennsylvania, and I worked there. I played baseball. I love that. You know, we used to walk into town and it was like, we'd walk everywhere.
Where now it's like, You know, everyone thinks there's a white van, like in every neighborhood, waiting to abduct kids. But back then it was just like, Oh yeah, go. Where are you going? Like, I'm going to Ray's house. Okay, go ahead. Go. And like you, it was funny because I remember, you know, the first good spanking I got when I was young was because it got dark and I was supposed to be home when it started getting dark.
And I got home after it was dark and it was, you know, I was, but I was probably like, you know, six, seven years old, but I'm riding my bike. This is when we lived in Ardsley, but I was riding my bike all over the place. That's what I remember, and what I miss is pizza, Nat's pizza, 
Janet Ferrer: that's Jesus. 
David: and Wawa.
Janet Ferrer: Yeah, uh, I, I, uh, my family all lives in the Westchester area, and the first thing I do when I go, and I will, I will take Wawa on the plane with me, just,
David: Oh yeah, it's incredible. No, I'm in Arizona. So I got, I was in, worked in New York, lived in New Jersey. And our strategy was, my wife's family was in North Jersey, New York. My family was in Doylestown. We wanted to be where they couldn't just pop in and visit us. So it was like four, it was like 40 minutes.
So we were like right in the middle. So we never had any surprises because nobody's driving 40 minutes for a surprise. So 
Janet Ferrer: funny, 
David: got tired of the cold and the taxes in New Jersey. And our kids were old enough. Yeah, but it had formed relationships and we moved out to, uh, to Phoenix about almost seven years ago.
Janet Ferrer: well, I, I can't even believe that coincidence, that's crazy. 
David: Yeah, I'm going to go on the Google maps and see, you know, where you probably know, I've, I got three younger brothers. I got, you know, John Millili, Paul, Paul Millili, Chris Millili. So
Janet Ferrer: You know, when I heard your name, I reached out to a friend and I, uh, John Owens, I said, do I know this guy? And he's like, well, I don't know. I'm like, well, his name sounds so familiar. And so I'll, uh, well, we can talk offline about how 
old We are.
David: We will. All right. All right. Well, that does it for another episode of The Modern Hotelier. This is where you get to plug away. How can people find you, find out more about hospitality holdings? Plug away.
Janet Ferrer: Alright, well, we'd love to earn every hotel in the world's business. You can visit us at hospitalityholdings. org. You can reach our sales department at sales at hospitalityholdings. org. You can reach us through my LinkedIn, uh, that will go directly there. And there's no downside to our business. We want to find you money and put it in your pockets and not in the OTAs because it belongs to you.
David: That was great. Well, that does it for another episode of The Modern Hotelier, the most engaged podcast in hospitality. If you're watching or listening, we appreciate you and we'll see you next time. Thank you, Janet.