The Modern Hotelier #147: Innovating Meeting & Event Furniture in Hospitality | with Andrew Moffett
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Steve Carran: we are excited to release this episode with Andrew Moffet from Southern Aluminum. David, what were some of your favorite takeaways from this episode?
David Millili: Yeah, I mean, it was a, we had a great conversation with Andrew. Really cool journey going from hospitality, his culinary background into the. And events space and actual, the actual products and tables and, uh, I never thought we'd be talking about linen tables on the podcast, but we did. So I thought it was a really cool episode.
Steve Carran: I agree. It was, it was fun, to kinda get insight into the event space. We don't talk to too many people from that space. It was kind of fun to, fun to hear his per. Perspective. Also, you could tell he has a passion for people, not only for people, but for the hospitality industry. And his goal is really to make the event space more personable and really help enhance that guest experience on there.
So I thought it was a phenomenal episode, and it was a lot of fun too. So, enjoy the episode and let us know what you think.
David Millili: All right. Enjoy it.

David Millili: Welcome to the Modern Hotelier Hospitality's Most Engaged podcast. I'm David Millili.
Steve Carran: I'm Steve Carran
Jon Bumhoffer: and I'm Jon Bumhoffer
David Millili: Steve, who do we have on the program today?
Steve Carran: Yeah, David. Today we have on Andrew Moffett, chief Brand Officer at Southern Aluminum. Andrew has a passion for people. His mission is to include the people around him in all facets of business, no matter what level they are at Southern Aluminum, he's responsible for defining, and elevating the brand strength of Southern Aluminum's growth.
Plan to include culture innovation. Branding and messaging. Southern Aluminum is the leading producer of forward thinking, stylish, lightweight furniture solutions. Welcome to the show, Andrew.
Andrew Moffett: Good morning with you.
David Millili: All right. So Andrew, we're gonna go through a couple different sections. We're gonna do a quick lightning round. We're gonna get to know you a little bit better, and then we're gonna dive into some industry topics. Sound good?
Andrew Moffett: Yes. Awesome.
David Millili: All right, great. So what's something that you wish you were better at?
Andrew Moffett: Something I wish I were better at. Wow, that's, that's a good, strong lead off. you know, I am always honing my skills on how to better serve people. I. In general, and I think I've done, you know, throughout my career, I think I've done a, a great job learning and understanding, but there's always room for improvement.
But really just, you know, observing humility, listening to others, I practice it each and every day because I know I'm not the smartest guy in the room. There's a lot of smart people around me, so I really work on, on elevating that skill.
David Millili: That's great. What's the most. Used app on your phone.
Andrew Moffett: Oh, mostly used app. That's embarrassing. Um, I, you know what, I, I'm certainly not a millennial or Gen Z, but I, TikTok, I just, I'm following a lot of Ramsey financial advice right now. You're never too old to, to get some financial advice. Uh, it's gonna be TikTok.
David Millili: all right, cool. What's a luxury you can't live without?
Andrew Moffett: Oh, a luxury man, you, these are great luxury. I can't live without a good high end eight inch French knife when I cook. Can't live without that.
David Millili: All right, good. If you could trade places with somebody for a day, who would you trade places with?
Andrew Moffett: You know what? I would trade places with my wife. She works very hard. She's in a very difficult part of the industry, and she tells me, you know, stories about, you know, what she does and how she does it. And I'm always so impressed. I would love to walk a mile in her shoes one day and just be on the front line of what she does.
So famously, I think that's gonna be it.
David Millili: All right. What's the best piece of advice you've received?
Andrew Moffett: best piece of advice I have received never talk politics at work. Full stop. That was from a chef that I worked with back in the nineties, and he, he taught me a, a few great foundational things that I've carried through my entire career is like never talk politics. It will.
David Millili: That is a good answer. Uh, what is your favorite city and why?
Andrew Moffett: Favorite city. You know, I, I, I would love to lead with something in the United States because there are so many great cities. I think New York, I think Vegas, but my ultimate, and I've been several times, and I've always had an amazing experience, is Dubai. I mean the, the engineering alone of what they've done and are doing in Dubai, the, the luxury aspect, the food and beverage experiences, just the overall vibe of Dubai.
That is my go-to any day of the week.
David Millili: Yeah, it's cool.
Steve Carran: That is incredible. Great answers. You know, coming from somebody who, uh, whose their first job was selling cutone knives back in the day, that eight inch French knife answer, uh, really, really tickled my ears. So,
Andrew Moffett: That's awesome.
Steve Carran: absolutely. So now we're gonna dive into your personal details a little bit more. So you have lived all over US, Canada.
Where did you grow up?
Andrew Moffett: born in Philadelphia, in the suburbs of Philly,
uh, and lived there until I was about nine years old when we moved to Canada. we had family in Canada. We had a, a lake home in Canada. And, my dad passed away when I was young and my mom said, Hey, I wanna be closer to, to family. So that, that took us to Southern Ontario, for a good part of my, uh, well all my teen years through high school and college, until I came back to the states.
Steve Carran: Awesome. How did living in Philly and then moving to Canada really shape you into who you are today?
Andrew Moffett: Yeah, so I moved from suburbs of Philadelphia to a town of 800 people, two hours north of Toronto. I mean, you know, very, very, endearing community. Very close knit as you can imagine. 800 people. I mean, it boomed in the summertime 'cause it was cottage country. but I think what, you know, and I was nine years old, 10, 11 years.
So, I think just the. The type of lifestyle we led. ice skating on the lake and the winter snowmobiling skiing, and then in the summer boating all day long and everything. I mean, I think it just, it gave me going from the suburbs of the city to the country. and now ironically enough, I'm living back in a town of 11,000 people in Southern a Arkansas.
I kind of feel like I'm at home, but I think it really shaped kind of my connectivity with, with my friends in a different way because we were in the country countryside.
Steve Carran: Sure.
David Millili: That's great. And so you got your diploma in culinary arts and you got two bachelor's degrees in both hotel and food administration and then hospitality business management. What first kind of pulled you into the hospitality business? I.
Andrew Moffett: Yeah. So I think if I think back to my childhood, you know, we, I mentioned we had this lake home in Southern Ontario, living in Philadelphia. We did a lot of road trips. I mean, we'd spend the, you know, a couple months in the summers there. and so we were on the road quite a bit, stayed at, at hotels, uh, you know, roadside, you know, bigger hotels, what have you.
And I always remember being drawn to just. Hotel activity. I mean, again, I'm super young. but just the electricity of people moving through the hotel space and, and in and out and, and just on the road and travel. I think travel was something, if I think back now, travel was, you know, an impact on me because we weren't just rooted in our home in Philadelphia.
You know, we were, we were moving. so I think if I, if I think about the connectivity I. I think I was always built to be, you know, in a people driven environment and it, it led me to hospitality and I, I feel very fortunate for that.
Steve Carran: That's great. So now we're gonna dive into your career a little bit, how you got to where you are at Southern Aluminum. So you became an apprentice chef at Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto, which kind of changed your direction from there. You were a chef, uh, a. A culinary professor for pretty much the next 13 years, mostly in Canada.
From there, you jumped to the hotel side where you became a senior event service manager for Marriott and ended up working your way up all the way to the global discipline leader of meetings and events and of global operations. Were there any pivotal moments that really shaped your approach to the guest experience or, the execution side on, on hotel events?
Andrew Moffett: Love, love this question for sure. And, and truth be told, my first career choice, I really wanna be an actor. I mean, that, that was it. I was, I was 18 years old. Living, living in, in Toronto. cause my, my family had moved to, to Toronto from the small town. And so I went to modeling and acting school and went, you know, went through that training, tried to get some gigs after, realize that industry is hard.
I mean super hard. Um, I had some, family that in business, uh, in culinary.
Steve Carran: Hmm.
Andrew Moffett: So I was kind of pushed or influenced to go into culinary, into culinary school. which, you know, the first time I picked up that French knife, in lab, 'cause I really hadn't cooked much before. loved it, loved everything about it. Composing dishes, learning about food. I was, I was trained classic French style cooking.
That was, you know, this was early nine, late eighties, early nineties. So that was very much, you know, a trend then. certainly in the, in the Toronto area. and I, I think that experience exposed me to really working with other, you know, as I transitioned through that career in kitchens is, you know, how was I best leading other chef apprentices as I stepped up and it just, it was electric for me.
I, I have no other way to explain it than that. I just love being around the people and composing things.
Steve Carran: That's awesome. And what was that change like moving from the culinary side to kind of the hotel side?
Andrew Moffett: Yeah, so I, I was working in Bermuda at a resort as, as a journeyman chef, basically Apping still, and. it was a very nice resort and, uh, I was asked to go into the front of the house and work, um, chef stations think, you know, omelet stations, carving stations, pasta stations, and it was the first time I was in front of customers.
I'd always been in the back, you know, cooking dishes again, early nineties. chefs weren't super rock stars then. Um, you know.
When I started engaging with customers, that was a whole nother level of energy that I felt seeing how happy people were and just conversing and everything was like really super cool. So eventually I felt like I wanted to be more in the front of the house and not so much in the, in the kitchen.
I mean, I still walked out to the, the restaurant space and talked to customers, but I wasn't in the, the limelight with the customer. So I left my career as a chef and went back to school to get my degree in hospitality, and that led me to an internship at the New Orleans Marriots, a large convention hotel on the convention floor front of the house, banquets, event services, catering, kind of executing all those events, which again, was a whole nother level of electricity for me with with connecting with customer.
David Millili: And so you're now the Chief Brand Officer at Southern Aluminum. What lessons or what could you kind of pick up from your time in hotels that have really influenced you from maybe your leadership principles or just the kind of your approach to company culture? I.
Andrew Moffett: Yeah, great. You know, great topic, this topic of culture 'cause there's so much to peel back for and I, I really try and simplify it in my day-to-day life. So, transitioning from the culinary world into hotel world now into manufacturing, you know, it's all about the business of people. we make a very great product at Southern Aluminum.
It's, it's, it's been in place for a lot of decades. but, you know, I, I feel like I'm in the business of people. If, if we don't have great people crafting our product teaching every day, if we don't have great training and mentoring to help develop them to craft. New product and, and sustain existing.
We're not doing our job. And, and I think culture is a big part of what powers any, any brand, any company. But I think my foundational, understanding and, you know, development around a culture and leadership is really my time at Marriott. I spent 25 years, with Marriott 10 on, property and. then 15 at at the corporate headquarters And where I went from, you know, one hotel to the corporate team, which was global.
I was, exposed to different cultures, various service styles, things like that. So I think that foundational training for me has really, you know, ingrained a good, sense of culture and, how to facilitate that in my, my day to day today.
Steve Carran: That's great. So those that might not be familiar with Southern Aluminum, can you give us a little bit of a background about what you do and I, I came across your design philosophy. I'd love for you to elaborate a little bit on that as well.
Andrew Moffett: Sure, of course. We've been around since 1978. started as you know, a gentleman who had been in the aluminum industry and he retired from it and started making picnic tables, which became a company, and that that picnic table, the southern, southern picnic, is still in, in place today. It's, it's our great heritage product that that sells well.
but along the way, kind of into the early two thousands, um, the owner's son eventually took over. the business, Mark Taylor, and he found a way to get into the hotel space, and this is where it, it's a great story and I love telling it. I never get tired about it. I was a customer of southern aluminums that that started in 2005 when we at Marriott were looking to better green meeting space and ditch the linens on meeting tables.
I mean, you think about the amount of linens that would go through any events. The energy, the, the water, the labor, we wanted to ditch the linens. And it was, it was pretty, pretty game changing thinking at that time. And we came across Southern Aluminum at a trade show and basically said, Hey, would you de, you know, design a line of linen, less linen lists, you know, meeting tables for, for us?
And the great thing about sub aluminum is the substrate and the foundation of every product is. Lightweight, durable, you know, all, all weatherproof, things like that. So it's, there's so much you can do with aluminum, but that was really the trajectory that, that established us in hospitality. And then we've just been expanding our, product lines to serve that.
We serve other markets. 85% of our business is hospitality. So we, we feel we're experts in. Drives better experiences in the meeting space and, and offers. Offers the end user a way to use product because it's lightweight, it's mobile, it's it's easy to use, so drive efficiencies.
Steve Carran: Aside from the linen list tables, are there any products that our listeners, might know you as far as producing that you've created for your partners throughout the years?
Andrew Moffett: Yeah, so the fun story I love to tell, which you know, isn't so much a story today, but this was in the eighties, at Southern Aluminum found, um. A person down in Louisiana who needed a crawfish table, they were, they were using these wood tables and if you've ever gotta do a crawfish boil, you know, you dump it out and, you know, so those wood tables break down over time and they kind of met and the gentleman said, could you make me a crawfish table out of aluminum?
And that was the birth of our aite, tables that are still alive and well today and, and sells it to many diversified markets. but it was that whole notion of, you know, I've got this need. Can you guys do this? Company did it and it was successful. And that's really, that's the mindset at Southern Aluminum is that we've never been afraid.
We've, we've been fearless to step in with a customer and, and ask, you know, what is it you need? And, you know, kind of collaborate and then bring forward those, those ideas into, you know, something that we can scale. Globally, the T two table, which is in its name, you know, two tables in one. It's our, our core meeting table.
It's our line core meeting table that's in many, many hotel meeting spaces today. But it's the, the innovation in it is that it's got a modesty panel that flips up, so it can be an 18 inch table. Or a 30 inch table. And if, if you're in the hotel world, having diversity and product where a table or a station can become multiple things is a game changer.
this took out very, very well in hotels that had limited storage space, and needed to, you know, maximize their space so you could convert the table, you know, depending on what the, needs of the customer. So that T two, and then as we into the beverage space, beverage. So huge still. I mean, who doesn't love, you know, crafted cocktails and the story and, and mocktails and things like that.
So we've got a, a nice robust line of beverage, product that can activate experiential, events for those customers that, that need it and want it.
David Millili: So maybe keep. keep going on that trend. So how does Southern Aluminum collaborate with hospitality brands to brands to create tailored solutions? Maybe just dive a little deeper into that.
Andrew Moffett: Sure, yeah. A, a core principle for us and like, like I said, that's how I, you know, it's interesting, you know, working with aluminum from oh five, I joined them in 2020. I never thought I'd be on the vendor side of the business. I always thought I'd be on, you know, side of business when I worked with. The teams like Southern Aluminum.
So, you know, even from, you know, before oh five, I mean, think about the crawfish table. Their core value has been to engage with customers, to design product, and then build on that product through insights as we showed around. So, I mean, our, our greatest strength, we've got an amazing sales team, and we've aspecific national accounts team that goes out, relationships with.
Hotel teams above property, corporate teams, to really, uh, you know, win their trust. and then bring them to the table. Or sometimes they bring us to the table to say, Hey, I've got a need. Can you guys do this? And my role one, one of my large roles at Southern Aluminum, and I think I've landed here because in oh five and moving forward, I worked with.
The team to design other products for Marriott hotels. So it's kind of natural that I'd fit into this space. But whether we're brought to the table or we're bring customers to the table, it's that collaboration of let's build something great together. Let's do it. If we're doing it for one hotel, that's awesome.
If we see value in it, if we've got other insights that we're pulling in there, then you build on it to scale it for the industry and it, it is the recipe of our success at Southern Aluminum. Full stop.

Steve Carran: So now we're gonna move into the industry thought. A little bit kind of how you're working with hospitality professionals. So on the design side, what are some of the biggest operational trends really shaping the future of hospitality events and, and meeting spaces as well.
Andrew Moffett: I mean, there's a couple of really good buzzwords that I keep with me each and every day. When I think of product design and innovation, it's how do I bring this forward? So think, experience. How do you drive a better experience for meeting planners? Meeting attendees, and I'll, I'll talk about the, the end user in a second.
The teams that are setting and striking the, the product. But if you think about the customer going to an event. Whether it be social or corporate driven, a training, what have you, that, that you wanna give them an experience that's gonna help the core of whatever they're trying to accomplish.
we're creating a, a line of, of beverage carts right now that can be kind of a mobile ancillary beverage station. So mid-afternoon roll in a, a, you know, crafted cocktail experience with an expert. it is that he or she is, is crafting and give them a little bit of learning and training to, what that is and, and give them a little bit of experience to go away with.
I mean, sure they be there, they may be there to, to train, to learn something, to to hear a message. But I think product needs to facilitate the experience of what the objectives are of any meeting. It's, it's gotta be versatile. So I kind of lead with experience because. in what I've done. You know, I've always worked to give a better experience, whether that's for my employees, you know, I'm treating them well, working with them, or designing great events where people come in and there's no greater satisfaction than a meeting planner or attendee is just walking outta that room saying, my gosh, this is the best event ever.
I mean, that is so like done, and then you tear it down and you do it all over again. It's like, it's like the best, like one and done. You nailed it. Let's move on. You're only as good as your last event. I think the other trend I would point to is outdoor events. So, I mean, outdoor events isn't new to anybody.
However, the, the trend continues to grow and I think Covid really helped facilitate this. Meetings, started moving outside, social distancing, all that kind of good stuff. And. And so we, we design product that can move outside. It can be used indoors or, or outdoors, but you've got meeting planners wanna give their attendees, you know, exposure to natural lights.
You know, you, you've got some beautiful resorts around the world that have this great outdoor space or, or it's, it's just found outdoor space that you can, facilitate a meeting or an event in. And I think this is something that when I design. How can this product transition to the outdoors? and so you build it that way.
You design it that way, that it looks residential or anchored in an indoor space, but it can seamlessly move outdoors. And it's, you know, got all weatherproof, powder, coat paint, it's constructive aluminum. You're using stainless steel hardware so you can mitigate the, the risk of it being outdoors. So it's probably the two things I would lead with.
David Millili: That's great. And so how do you see multipurpose and flexibility designing and evolving in hotels and, you know, you've got some, some. Great products like XQ, mobile bar, ev o pitch. Like maybe take us through how you you approach that as far as the multipurpose and flexibility.
Andrew Moffett: Sure, of course. And, and again, a core value of any product, you know, design that's going into the meeting and event space, you know, multiple use, you know, functional, you know, driven for experiences, things like that. I. My 10 years I spent on property, you know, I was in a, a couple of big convention hotels, new Orleans, Chicago.
I was in Kentucky for a while. I think that gave me an opportunity when I'm working with, with tables and, and buffets and things like that, you know, some were super heavy. You're dealing with lot of linens, things didn't have casters. It was hard to move. You know, this, this idea of flexibility and modular.
Design buzzword for me, modular isn't modular, you know, can you reconfigure it to be something else? the first product we created at Marriott with, with Southern aluminum was, you know, called a GL table gathering. Leg table was basically the inspiration was kind of Pottery Barn, crate and Barrel esque.
Kind of looking buffet table. and the legs would detach and they could be nested up underneath. So it could be stored away, which we, we still sell today. We've got an outdoor version that's very successful. But that, that thinking was okay, how does it store for a hotel? Because, you know, you, you can't sometimes leave in the guest space.
But if it was to be left in the guest space, does it look like you're in someone's living room, you know, residential modern appeal, and then you, we morphed it into, it could be a communal table. It. We put casters on it, it, and it became a rolling buffet table. Then we outfitted it with a modest panel and a speed rail, and it became a bar.
So I think that that's a very good example of kind of how we approach product design at the company is thinking about, okay, that's great. Base is x. What more can it become and what are those little nuances that you change that doesn't disrupt your manufacturing facility? Make it hard to produce, you know, keeps cost, you know, in line, but it can be, you know, three or four different things in one.
So, I mean, I think flexibility will continue to, to drive a lot of product design innovation for us, that's Southern aluminum, and again, getting the customers voice to understand what it is that they really want. How are they going to use it just. Golden opportunities I just drove up to. I mean, fun fact.
Okay.
Omaha, Nebraska. and I visited the autograph, uh, Farnham Hotel in, uh, downtown Omaha to show them a product that we're designing. I mean, this is a, a, it's an important product for us. We, think it's gonna do really well, but we may not know it all. and I, live my life saying I'm not the smartest guy in the room Let's hear from the customer So I took two prototypes.
in my truck Drove up to Omaha, you know, 11 hour trip. I showed it to the hotel team, got some great insights, turned around, came back, gave it to my team. Okay, let's roll. So I think that's, you know, that's a lot of fun too. And that goes back to my, you know, engaging, not just with our internal team, but with customers.
Like you can't put a dollar figure on getting the customer's voice. And we know that the customer is so busy. I mean, it takes a lot. To run a hotel. So you, go in, you have a purpose, you, you get it all, tight. What is, the, script, what's the product? What do you wanna learn from them? gather the intel and Thank you.
We're, we're out. We'll keep you posted. So it's a lot of fun.
Steve Carran: That's great. That's great. So what's next for Southern Aluminum? Are there any exciting projects, partnerships, expansions? What are we gonna see from you all in, uh, in the future? 
Andrew Moffett: Yeah, you got a lot of things going on. I'm not gonna lie to you. It's, and it's a lot of fun. maybe it's my, I don't type a, maybe it's o cd. I, I dunno what to tell you. But, but it's, I, I, I keep very, very busy and we have fun doing it. We've got. Three collaborations going on with customers right now.
so I'll give you a bit of a soundbite. They're, they're concepts, they're under, you know, prototype development right now, and we're liaising with these customers. and again, the mindset is, you know, work with one customer, you know, but understand how it can scale, to the industry. think, uh, technology integrated into banquet.
Event product, so podiums with media displays, so you can put branding, messaging, you, you could even set it, heck, you could set it out inside your, your restaurant, your three meal a day restaurant and put the menu board on it. You know, things like that. And, and so that also comes along with customization.
I mean, technology, technology. Technology. How do you allow technology to help facilitate customization with your product? When you know, people say, well, it's a table or, or it's a podium. I mean, it's fine. It does what it does. Well wait a minute, it can do more. And, and this is the, the value add. If you partner with us to outfit your space with sub aluminum product.
So technology, that's a, that's a thing. and then think, uh, chef, action station. I'm, I'm always going back to my culinary roots. I mean, I cook all the time. I love it. but, uh, induction burner tables that are mobile and which, which are out there, I mean, it's nothing new. It's been around for a long time.
But think mobile power. How do you outfit a, a action station? That that can be, you know, either cold plates, you know, cooking, what have you, but outfit it. So there's, there's no cords, you know, it, it still looks seamless and, and, and modern and minimalistic, and it can tour around the, the, the hotel. Whether you're going outside to do a little demo at a afternoon coffee break, or you're in the, the wedding venue and you're executing your pasta station or what have you.
So I think it's, it's how do we allow the, I was always a big fan of getting the chef out out in front of me when I was at Chicago Marriott downtown. I put my banquet managers in chef coats for certain events, which not gonna say the culinary team loved at the time. Like, wait, they're not chefs. I'm like, yeah, but it's not about them being a chef.
It's about like seeing a chef walk through. You're like, whoa, that's, Hey. I think I'm always about bringing that the culinary team into the, the room, the experience. I mean, chefs, chefs are brilliant and, and they, they can talk food like nobody else and who doesn't love to hear a chef talk about food, something they've created or what they're creating in front of you. So I think that's, you know, that's a lot what's on my mind as well.
Steve Carran: I love that. And the chefs being in front of people you're talking to like one of the biggest hibachi fans out there. Like I, that's, that's my thing. I know that was a different direction. Than you were going,
but nonetheless, I I'm 
with 
Andrew Moffett: awesome. That's awesome. Yeah, so I think, I mean, I, I think the bookend, you know, your, your question on, on what's next and what are we doing, we're always ideating on, you know, what can we produce or what can we offer that customers don't even know they need yet? I mean, that's one of my biggest things is let's come up with a thing when you put it in front of.
Wow. Actually, yes, that can work for, I didn't even think of that. and we're only gonna be very good at that if we are connected with the industry. If we think future forward, if we connect with with customers, whether they're strategic or not, I called. Few weeks ago, I called the executive chef of the San Francisco Marriot Marquee and I said, talk, talk to me about your induction tables.
What would you want in an induction table? What, what's, what are you missing that you've seen out there? And just trying to grab those insights to facilitate that innovation just a little further. And we're doing that all the time. And that's, I mean, that's a ton of fun. I mean, that's what I have fun with.
David Millili: All right, so I got two questions. So first question is. What advice would you give to people in hospitality, hospitality leaders, when they're thinking about their meeting and event space and just elevating the whole experience for the guest?
Andrew Moffett: So I think what first comes to mind is observing and, and let me, let me. Kind of layer that for you. I think there's nothing more powerful than stepping back during an event or at the beginning of event and watching what the customer does. What do the attendees do? What, what, how are people migrating through the room?
Whe whether it's a social event, a corporate event, a food and beverage event observed, you can pick up so many great. Cues on maybe, you know, something that you're missing from your event space product wise. It could be something you're missing service wise. It could be something you're not doing proactive to take care of the customer.
I used to, when I worked at the Chicago Mary downtown, I used to, to creep up to the, AV photo booth where, you know, they shine the spotlight and I'd crack the door open. And this was night events, usually VP events. and I'd watch service happen. And then it was really about how can we elevate service?
What are the servers doing today? Because when you're in the room and they know you're in the room, they're typically following every standard that needs to be when you walk out the room. Are they still following those standards? And you know, I was very transparent that I would do that. It wasn't that I was sneaking around going Got, it wasn't a gotcha moment.
It was, I would make a list, I'd go to the Mat D and I'd say, here's your next five minute training kind of modules. You know, serving ladies first, you know, you know, style, service, all that kind of good stuff. But I, I. Kind of build on that and say, watching customer's cues and actions and, and their rituals, I think can really help facilitate ideas for how to do things better.
And like I said, that could be in product design, something you're missing, service values, how your employees are treating your customers, things like that. So that's probably the first thing I would lead, think follow that. I mean, I, I did a lot of reading when I was a younger manager with Marriott because I was being challenged to lead, you know, big.
I went from Lexington, Kentucky, from a resort hotel to the Chicago Marriott downtown. Very two different hotels, you know, smaller team in, in Lexington, a lot of outdoor events, a lot of social to a downtown property that was big. Convention, hotel, lot of corporate events. And it was like, how do I do this now?
So I actually picked up John Maxwell. I started reading a lot of John Maxwell books, which I still have on my bookshelf because I mean those core principles that I learned from him. Again, this is early two thousands. the core principles I learned from him, I've carried throughout, but now I find myself on.
You asked me at the beginning, what's my favorite app or what's my most used app? Okay. TikTok. You know, in my feed comes these little snippets of leadership principles, you know, how to manage people, culture, you know, things like that. And it's, it, you know, you can never stop learning how to do it better.
I never sit here and say. I got it. Because if, if you're, if you're that person saying you got it, you, you're nowhere close to getting it. So I really observed that humility. So my advice would be, you know, find something that can grab you. I know, you know, YouTube's, you know, great, uh, TikTok books, what have you, go old school, read a book, get, you know, buy from Amazon.
I still buy Amazon books. Um, and, you know, find that thing that grabs you, that you know, kind of helps influence you or makes you. Think about or, or that kind, that kind of stuff. I, and I think if I can, I'm, I'm pontificating a bit, but the last thing I would say is I learned early in my career to observe leaders.
And I probably didn't know I was doing it at the time, but when I look back now, I mean, there were leaders I loved working for, and there were leaders that I. was like Whoa, what's happening here? And I mean, to this day, like it was yesterday, I'm like okay I'll never do that and I.
want to do more of that So what I did to Kind of build my management leadership style. Was I cherry picked? What did I like from certain leaders? And what did I like not like from, other leaders? So the, you know, the can't do that. All right. Fatal flaws. but then the non-negotiables, and what I did as well, I created a, like a one pager that is my, you know, the brand of Andrew Moffet.
What do I wanna be known? for what do I want people to say about me when I walk out of the room? So I've got, I did this when I was going from, you know, my Marriot hospitality job into manufacturing, which was a whole nother, you know, you know, different thing was what do I want my people to, to know about me?
What's the first impression? What, what's the lasting impression that I want? And that's something I've carried with me. I think the first time I. And now I ask my, my team I say, create, create your brand story. Just write down the things that you, you want to be known for, things maybe you want to get better at. Let that be your true north. So that's, that's kind of my advice.
David Millili: Okay. All right, so this is my off script question. Having listened to you, so Steve, John and I, we've been fortunate enough to do the podcast at several events. Is there one event that you think was the most incredible or the best event you've been to or attended? I.
Andrew Moffett: Wow. Love that. so many, the one that's bubbling up, uh, I mean, it's an event that I, I oversaw. It was the bank of Mare v at, at the, uh, Lexington, uh, Griffin Gate, Marriott, you know, resort. And it was a, a huge wedding. And weddings, you got one shot to get it right. Okay. Uh, and, and so this was, it was a multi, you know, the venue, you know, we were using the whole property.
and the amount of planning. It had to go into it. and then executing it, you know, flawlessly, I still think back to that. And, and it went very, very well. And anything that went wrong, customers never saw, I mean, that, that's the success of meetings and events. I mean, things are gonna happen. Go into that event knowing that something's gonna go wrong.
but how do you mitigate it? How do you fight that fire? How do you problem solve in the moment to turn it around so nobody knows about it? And then you, those moments to. To get better. But this, this event was, I mean, it was a full on, um, it was an Indian wedding. I mean, we had an elephant, you know, come through the BD space.
I mean, this was stuff like, you know, this was late nineties, like I'd never seen before. And so when I think about all the attributes of what had to go right, based on, you know, the, the timeline, I, I still think back to how, how did, I mean, I. So I had a little bit more energy. Um, but, but it, the whole team was enga.
I mean, it was a whole, like the whole front desk staff was involved. The, I mean, everybody was involved in it. And that was just, you get out of that with success, you're like, you can accomplish the world. So that probably what, that's what bubbles up for me. 
David Millili: All right. Cool.
Steve Carran: That's great. I got a follow up question too, and I know you, you came from like the meeting at events side. Now you're kind of on the, the manufacturing side. Are you seeing a new trend in events? Are, is there kind of I. You know, something happening where we're having a new style of events or, you know, you kind of talked about during Covid when we moved a little bit more outdoors.
Right. are you seeing any new trends or any new styles of events right now that you're kind of manufacturing the products for? I.
Andrew Moffett: Yeah. I, you know, I, it's, it's not so much new, but it's, it's what's building, it's this, this, I talked about it already, the experiential, you know, factor of any meeting or events and how to better design product. Allow that to happen turnkey and that, that's a key word, turnkey. You wanna, you wanna design a product that you put in a hotel's hands that they don't have to think a lot about, but it can just facilitate what they're looking for and that.
I feel like when I was on the customer side, that felt very easy. 'cause I'm like, oh, just make it do this and make it do that. Well, it come, come, comes to, fruition for me when I joined Southern Aluminum that engineering a product like that, is no joke. And we've, we've leveled up our engineering skillset at Southern Aluminum to make sure we're engineering the.
To facilitate those actions that the customer needs. So I think, I think that's probably my driving factor right now. You know, and I asked that question to my network, what do you need that's new. What do you, and it's, it's, they, they want certainly linen list, you know, ditching the linens, you know, we've got more hotels that are moving to taking lenses off their, their breakfast, lunch, and dinner sets.
I. Meeting planners when we started launching green meetings with Marriott, meeting planners were like, I, I have to have linens. I have to like, it. Just a bare table won't work. But we designed a table that was attractive, that could sustain the abuse of a busy event space. So eventually meetings were like, oh, that's a better look.
'cause it's contemporary, it's cleaner. And then the hotels loved it. Because they were ditching the linens, which, you know, I've talked about that already. so I think the, you know, that notion of how can you do more of that? How can bring more of that, you know, thinking of again, what does the customer need that they don't even know they need yet?
And that, that was the linen list movement that, you know, everybody's on board with now. so facilitating those experiences, I, I think that's it because there's no product other than an enhancing an action station. A meeting table, table, you know, make it lighter, more easy to use, things like that. It's really, you know, help me drive a better experience for the customer.
Steve Carran: I love that. I love that. All right, Andrew, we have been asking you the questions this whole time. Now we're gonna turn the linen list tables. And we're gonna let you ask us, us,
us, us, me and David, a question. Thank you.
Andrew Moffett: Oh, that. Well, this is a great opportunity. Okay. Um, locked and loaded. Um, all right, you, you gentlemen. Tell me, uh, you all have joined events, meetings, and hotels, social events, weddings, you know, beverage experiences, things like that. What do you see as trending in the industry? What would you wanna see in an event that maybe a product is helping to facilitate?
Gimme your insights on the industry.
Steve Carran: Ooh. I'll go first. David. I love the outdoor experiences. Uh, no, I love being outdoors. We were at an event, in Orlando and it was outdoors, which when you're in a conference all day, I. Then it's like, oh, well let's go downstairs where there might not be as many windows or something like that and have a happy hour.
It's like, okay, this is great. Love the networking. But when you get outside and you're just, oh my goodness, it's, it's been great. We were in a conference all day getting outside and enjoying that fresh air that I absolutely love and kind of. That aspect is the people that are doing the events. I think people can make or break the events.
Like you get some people who are, not as engaging. It's just like, oh, do you want this? Do you want this? But then you get other employees or hoteliers that I. they're trying to make it a better experience, you know, maybe cracking jokes or, you know, just, just being personable. So I think I'm a fan of the outdoors, so I feel like David knew that was coming anyways.
But, you know, getting outdoors, having an outdoor event and, you know, being personable and having the hoteliers really, really make the event too is always makes it feel a little bit more special.
David Millili: for me, the, the biggest thing that I find in, in least in events that I think maybe, you know, Steve and John and I go to. How do you make an event conducive to networking where there's not loud music and there's a way for people to kind of gather in areas and kind of be able to, to interact.
don't know exactly how you do that, but it seems like sometimes you go to events where it's either just these big huge tables and you don't know if you're, who you're sitting with. I guess any, anything that can be done to kind of make it easier for people to kind of, you know, interact with each other.
'cause most of these events, you know, if it's not a wedding. You don't know all the people, you know some of the people, but it's really how do you get people to kind of just engage and interact? So again, I, I don't know the answer, but for me, that's what I would like to see more of. Easier ways to just kind of connect with people.
Andrew Moffett: Very cool.
Steve Carran: Awesome. Well, this has been great. So our producer John, he's been sitting in listening the whole time. We're gonna kick it over to him for one last question and then we're gonna get you outta here, Andrew.
Andrew Moffett: Awesome. Thanks gentlemen. 
Jon Bumhoffer: I do have a question for you, but first you didn't ask for it, but I'm gonna give you my commentary on this whole episode because. It has been speaking to me because a lot of people maybe don't know this, but I was a banquet manager for a many number of years. So the amount of linen orders, stocking, going through, uh, maintenance on tables that you have, like all this is just resonating.
And to your point, these are things you're talking about. I went to the website, I'm looking through, these are things I didn't know about, but if these are the things I, I, if I saw them, I didn't know I needed them. I now wish I could go back and use these products. but I think from the linen thing is so interesting because think a lot of times from my perspective, you're covering up poorly made tables, you know, things that get broken.
With linens, you're like, we need to put a linen on that so it looks presentable. And to see these beautiful products that are gonna last and sustain over time and, and then to get rid of the linens, I think it's just awesome. So that's my little plug. So I think it's awesome stuff. Now you came from a good position working at Mar Marriott to Southern Aluminum, so you had had a hospitality background, which really helped.
But what were some of the challenges that you faced, like moving into this new role at Southern Aluminum and then, yeah, moving forward with that.
Andrew Moffett: Yeah, you know, I was very fortunate that, that I knew some of the team when I joined. so I, I felt fairly comfortable, but the, the game changer was, you know, I was no longer the customer. I'm part of the team and it's, it's very funny because I, I, you know, we've all got a great relationship, uh, together at Southern Aluminum.
It's a great culture. You know, the, the culture has been the same since the very beginning and that's what had always drawn me to work with Southern Aluminum and it, besides that, they're always willing to create new product for me, which made me a rock star. At my job at Marriott. so I mean, I was always very, proud to work with them. when I joined it was, um, few people shared some. Emails that they'd gotten after, the owner would have a meeting with me saying, is what you, you put us through, after you just asked for the simple thing. And I'm like, I'm so sorry. I, uh, I didn't mean for it to be that much work. And it's a lot of work and.
To do it right, you've gotta be vested. and so I think I learned that very quickly coming in, that not being the customer, I can just walk around and tell people what, what to do be. Because as a customer I'd be like, Hey, I need a table that rolls and has this, this and this. And then three weeks later I'd, you know, have a prototype in my office.
I needed to really double down on, you know, my connectivity with everybody as a team member. And there's been. I, you know, I feel very fortunate that I've fallen into this role, because I work with great people. We make a great product and we're innovating, and I, I've got a CEO that is so supportive, doesn't micromanage, but says, Hey, I trust you.
Let's go out and let's get it done there. There's nothing more motivating then having a leader do that. And I'm forever grateful for that. So I, I look to emulate that, like I said before. I'm always learning. So it's, it was really, it's the people side of it, the, the manufacturing side. Sure. You know that, that's a thing, you know, and, and I spent my first two weeks, well, two weeks in, I spent two weeks in the manufacturing facility working side by side with the employees because I knew I needed to gain their trust as a teammate.
Not a customer. And so I learned how to make tables and make buffets. and that was probably the smartest thing I did. I did that when I hit the New Orleans Marriot right outta school. I just, I took off my, my red coat and I started studying schoolroom tables and, and I learned through them. So I kind of took that philosophy. so I mean, learning the manufacturing side of it and, and the engineering team reports to me. If you told me I had an engineering team reporting to me in my career, I'd say, well, I know nothing about engineering, but again, it's managing the people, the process, the goals, having, you know, having a goal set.
So it was really around the people of it, and, but it was that transition from customer. To team member that was like, whoa, this is different. I never saw that coming. And they're just, they're such good people. And they welcomed me in and they said, okay, we're gonna do this together and figure it out. And we battle it out.
And they challenged me. I challenged them, and I asked for them to challenge. I don't be a yes person. tell me what I'm doing wrong. Tell me how we do it better. You, you've been here longer than me. Let's figure this out. This is my goal. You know, help us get there. so I think that was the biggest one.
And, you know, I, this is it, this is my end, end goal here. I'm living in South Arkansas. You know, luckily my wife was like, yeah, let's, let's move it like we're living in, Maryland at the time. And she said, you've got an opportunity to join this great team. Let's move there. I could not be the chief brand officer remote.
So we doubled down, we went all in, and it's the best move I've ever made in my career. And I've, I've made some great moves in my career, 
David Millili: Well, that does it for another episode of the Modern Hotelier. This has been great. Andrew, please let people know how they can connect with you, find out more about Southern Aluminum, any trade shows you're going to coming up, anything.
Andrew Moffett: yes. Thank you for that. So southern aluminum.com on our, on our website, but we're also, you know, heavy on, on LinkedIn. all of our, our team members are, are engaged with, with LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest as well. and then for shows coming up, certainly we're getting to the middle of trade show season and we are active with trade shows.
The two notable ones coming up is HD Expo. Vegas. this will be our first time being there. Uh, well, since I've been there, I think we attended about 10 years ago and then stopped attending. We're gonna double down in hd and we're three new, product designs that no one's seen yet. So looking to get feedback on that, which is.
Super exciting. and then the National Restaurant Association Show, which that's where I met the South aluminum team in oh five. so we, we go there every year. It's highly successful for us. You know, you get to walk around and see what else is going on and, and trends and connect with others. So those are the two notable strategic shows we'll be at.
So if you're there, find us there.
David Millili: All right, great. Well, that does it for another episode of the Modern Hotelier Hospitality's Most Engaged Podcast. So whether you're watching or listening, we appreciate you and we will see you again soon. And thank you, Andrew.
Andrew Moffett: Thank you, so this was truly awesome. I really appreciate it.
David Millili: That's great. Thank you.
Andrew Moffett: Have a great day.