Making an Impact with Greg Früchtenicht from Saira Hospitality

We sit down with Greg Früchtenicht, Chief Operating Officer at Saira Hospitality, to explore how technology and human connection can work hand-in-hand to create meaningful change in the hospitality industry. Saira Hospitality, a pioneering nonprofit, builds pop-up hospitality schools worldwide to train and empower local communities, equipping individuals from underserved areas with the skills to thrive in luxury hospitality environments.

Greg shares his journey with Saira and dives into the organization's mission to uplift local talent, reducing reliance on overseas hires and fostering a stronger sense of community impact. We discuss how automation and technology help alleviate repetitive tasks, freeing up hospitality teams to focus on exceptional guest experiences. Greg also highlights Saira’s unique partnerships with luxury hotels and tech companies like Mews, showing how Saira is preparing its graduates with essential tech skills for the evolving hospitality landscape.

Whether you’re passionate about hospitality, technology, or social impact, this episode offers inspiring insights into how Saira Hospitality is transforming lives and the industry as a whole. Tune in to discover how technology can complement a human-centered approach, making hospitality more accessible and impactful for everyone involved.

Thank you for listening! Be sure to like, subscribe, and share to support our channel and help spread the word about how technology and community can come together in powerful ways.

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
00:30 Greg's journey to Saira Hospitality
03:00 Overview of Saira Hospitality's mission
10:00 The impact of technology in hospitality
20:00 Partnerships with tech companies
30:00 Curriculum development and community engagement
38:00 How to get involved with Saira Hospitality

Quotes
00:00:45 - "If you are able to automate and simplify some of the more mundane or less human tasks in a hotel, that frees up so much headspace and so much actual time for the teams to celebrate and deliver great hospitality."
00:04:58 - "Opportunities should be given to local community members and considering local community members is not having the right skills to work in a luxury lifestyle hotel is simply wrong."
00:06:45 - "We shouldn't just be poaching people anymore or flying people in from overseas. We should be giving people opportunities."
00:09:12 - "Hospitality is a transformative experience for so many people."
00:11:41 - "Sometimes you got to shoot your shot when you hear about something that excites you."
00:13:28 - "It's really easy to see is the impact that a hotel at any level, especially luxury hotels, has a huge impact on the community."
00:15:45 - "Automation... frees up so much headspace and so much actual time for the teams to celebrate and deliver great hospitality."
00:19:49 - "AI and automation is not meant to replace, it's meant to help."
00:22:03 - "If as a technology company, you're able to say we're supporting a nonprofit, and we're also able to say to our customers, we're bringing in newly trained teams who are impassioned by our tech, but also your brand, you start to solve two problems."
00:25:32 - "It's easy to talk about these things, hard to put into practice."
00:26:59 - "Most people or many people do want to do the right thing. It's just how do you take your focus off profitability?"
00:30:36 - "No two destinations are the same."
00:32:01 - "You're much more interested in who they are as a person and their personality than what they studied at school 10 years ago."
00:35:30 - "It's how can we start to partner with... brands that we feel are aligned with the vision that we have and the impact that we're having."
00:36:17 - "I often find that you guys are great problems solvers."
00:39:01 - "the impact that you're creating in communities."

Connect
Saira Hospitality: https://www.sairahospitality.com/
Greg Früchtenicht: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-fr%C3%BCchtenicht-8070569a/?originalSubdomain=uk
Omniboost: https://omniboost.io/
Rob Napoli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robnap/
Rob Napoli: https://www.robnapoli.com/

Show Produced by: Niranjan Deshpande (Nick), Broken Frames Studio, www.brokenframesstudio.com

Creators & Guests

Host

Rob Napoli

Rob is the Global Head of Brand at Omniboost and US Commercial Lead. He is passionate about sports, travel, and where to find the best whiskey bar in Manhattan.

Guest

Greg Früchtenicht

Chief Operating Officer at Saira Hospitality

What is Hospitable?

Hospitable is a podcast that discusses how to make hospitality MORE human through technology.

Hospitable focuses on discussing the leading challenges facing the hospitality industry and to explore the latest trends, technologies, and best practices that are shaping the industry. Each episode features interviews with hoteliers, restaurateurs, chefs, industry analysts, and other experts who share their insights and experiences on topics such as customer experience, sustainability, innovation, staffing, and more.

Hosted by Rob Napoli

00:00:00:02 - 00:00:08:09
Greg Früchtenicht
Technology is fantastic, but where do we need to strategically put in a human touch to make sure that we're getting the right results, and that the experience for the candidates and the future employees is really strong

00:00:08:10 - 00:00:14:02
Rob Napoli
What was it that really made you want to say yes, this is what I want to be able to do and to continue to create that.

00:00:14:02 - 00:00:30:16
Greg Früchtenicht
I was introduced to the concept of Saira after way too many drinks with a friend of mine, instantly in love with the vision, and it just so happened that she was looking at the time for someone to now bring the brand and the values and the impact of the UK. So Rob, I don't know. But it was, it was one of those moments.

00:00:30:18 - 00:00:34:05
Rob Napoli
Sometimes you got to shoot your shot. What is 2025 look like?

00:00:34:11 - 00:00:58:17
Greg Früchtenicht
Technology is becoming such a vital part of the industry, of so many industries, right? If you are able to automate and simplify some of the more mundane or, you know, less human tasks in a hotel, that frees up so much head space and so much actual time for the teams to celebrate and deliver great hospitality and, you know, practice active listening on the front desk rather than having their heads down the whole time, you know, tapping away.

00:00:58:17 - 00:01:06:13
Rob Napoli
No one likes to wait in a hotel lobby for 20, 30, 45 minutes just to get checked into the room that you're expecting to be in

00:01:06:15 - 00:01:30:07
Greg Früchtenicht
I think if as a technology company, you're able to say we're supporting a non profit status for our customers, we're bringing in newly trained teams who are passionate by our tech, but also your brand. You start to solve two problems. You're still solving the technology problem. You're also supporting the staffing problem as well.

00:01:30:09 - 00:01:52:14
Rob Napoli
Welcome back. We are having another episode of hospitable. Really excited. Have, Greg Früchtenicht who is the chief operating officer at Saira Hospitality, which is a really cool nonprofit, partnering with luxury and lifestyle hotels to create bespoke schools to educate our local communities and implement hospitality. And that's how we actually now got connected.

00:01:52:14 - 00:02:11:11
Rob Napoli
And we've been trying to record this podcast for about six months now. But, between your schedule and mine locking things down, we had to move it around a couple times. There might have been, a little baby girl on the way through marriage and, so excited. Great to have you on hospitable. Get a chat with you today.

00:02:11:11 - 00:02:12:15
Rob Napoli
So welcome to the show.

00:02:12:17 - 00:02:25:02
Greg Früchtenicht
Thanks very much. I'm glad we could finally get a time in the diary. And if you do hear a yeah, some small screams or whimpers in the background, It is unusual. So Florence is eight weeks old today, so, Yeah. Thanks for taking the time.

00:02:25:08 - 00:02:45:00
Rob Napoli
Well, of course Well, I'm glad that you're able to make it happen. And, you know, we were kind of chatting pre-show and as we kind of led into this, about the impact that hospitality has, and so maybe talk a lot about, what is Saira and how did you come to join the company and get involved?

00:02:45:00 - 00:03:00:13
Rob Napoli
And what was it that attracted you to this opportunity? And I know you're so passionate about what you're doing, so I would love to maybe hear a little bit of, the origin story of the company. And then what drew you into, stepping in as the CEO the last couple of years?

00:03:00:15 - 00:03:26:20
Greg Früchtenicht
Yeah. Amazing. So, Saira hospitality is a global nonprofit. We're creating pop up hospitality schools around the world. We've been in existence now for nine years. And I came on board three years ago to take, fantastic concept, which was created by our founder, Harsha Lacqua and try and scale it a little bit and see if we can build, bring it to different destinations around the world.

00:03:26:22 - 00:03:48:10
Greg Früchtenicht
But the really going back to the start, the real impetus of it all was, as I say, founder at a very interesting upbringing, to really wind it back, when she was young, her father was a huge philanthropist in India and worked in Africa, and he was actually worked really closely with Mother Teresa.

00:03:48:12 - 00:04:12:19
Greg Früchtenicht
So our founder was brought up in this family where, you know, altruism, philanthropy was really, really strong and very ever present. But like a lot of us, she, she fell in love with luxury hospitality and didn't follow that route of philanthropy immediately. Instead, she kind of traveled around the world working for some of the world's best hotels, names like Six senses and things like this.

00:04:12:21 - 00:04:49:15
Greg Früchtenicht
And it was here that the idea really came about, for Saira hospitality because and she was traveling the world and visiting these hotels. She realized that all too often when a new hotel was being developed, and there was the, you know, there clear the pre-opening budget, and it was starting to look at, you know, the hiring, the entry level resourcing of the teams all too often, the natural thing for those hotels, what they would do is they would fly in individuals from overseas who already had skills training experience, rather than literally looking outside the front doors of that hotel and seeking out local community members who would be

00:04:49:15 - 00:05:17:03
Greg Früchtenicht
a great fit. And this was a real problem for her. She truly believed again, she's a philanthropy background opportunities should be given to local community members, and considering local community members is not having the right skills to work in a luxury lifestyle hotel is simply wrong. They may not have the experience because there's nothing out there at the moment or whatever it might be, but those experiences can be built if you're giving them the opportunity.

00:05:17:03 - 00:05:48:17
Greg Früchtenicht
So, Harsha came up with the concept of pretty revolutionary, but also very simple at the same time, just kind of creating these pop up hospitality schools that would sit alongside the opening hotel that we partnered with. This hotel in about six months before they opened. And we would be the kind of, the one stop shop to actually source local community members, scream those local community members to make sure that the right fit for to the brand about to open and then, crucially, train those individuals in a kind of hybrid curriculum which focuses on experiential pieces.

00:05:48:17 - 00:06:09:06
Greg Früchtenicht
But a lot of the curriculum is really focused on life skills, and the things we know are super important in hospitality, from communication to emotional intelligence and leadership. Yeah. So she came up with this idea while she was working with some of the biggest brands in the world, and decided to head over to Cornell University to really refine the idea.

00:06:09:08 - 00:06:43:09
Greg Früchtenicht
And then, yeah, we've she's been doing she was doing that ever since. Is she traveled all around the world from Mexico, working with four seasons in standard hotels to the British Virgin Islands, working with Richard Branson, Virgin hotels and the impact that she's managed to have, clearly focusing on the impact we can have on the community members and, you know, the skills they develop and the roles that they get at the end of the program, but also, I think had her impact and the impact of Saira as a brand is also really meaningful on the hotel side as well, because it's a bit of a beacon for the brands to say, okay,

00:06:43:09 - 00:07:05:23
Greg Früchtenicht
well, there is another way to think about hiring and sourcing those entry level team members. We shouldn't just be poaching people anymore or flying people in from overseas. We should be giving people opportunities because we're giving, you know, we're creating really brand loyal ambassadors for the hotel who we know will be incredible once they have, you know, gotten up to the brand standards of the businesses we work with.

00:07:06:00 - 00:07:25:07
Greg Früchtenicht
And then I came on board around three years ago. You can tell by the accent, I'm in London. And really, the impetus of that was Covis as we all know, had a big impact on the hospitality industry and Brexit in the UK as well as so many European workers would, you know, no longer able to remain in the country.

00:07:25:09 - 00:07:46:03
Greg Früchtenicht
We suddenly had this huge, oh, people would call it a drought of talent where they couldn't find anyone. There was no one interested in working in the industry. And Harsha very smartly, she from London originally she realized that actually the same concept of Saira hospitality would be super relevant for the problems that were when they were forced upon us by those two black swan events.

00:07:46:03 - 00:08:06:15
Greg Früchtenicht
So rather than everybody fishing in the same pool, right, we creating talent rather than just endlessly searching and not being so successful. So yeah, it's been a joy for me over the past three years to take that global model and try and localize it somewhere and bring it to London on a more sustainable basis, I guess.

00:08:06:17 - 00:08:26:12
Rob Napoli
That I love that. And so, you know, when you were looking at the concept of, the business and the mission, you know, what was it that, really made you want to say yes, this is what I want to be able to do and to continue to create that. Like, was it the vision that really stuck out to you or what was it that really like, was like, yeah, I wanna be a part of this.

00:08:26:14 - 00:08:51:09
Greg Früchtenicht
It's a great question. It was, so I first met Harsha, in 2021. And it was, is a bit of a unique way to meet her I was I just come off the back of founding my own nonprofit during Covid, which was I won't go into it too much, but it was a lot of the values aligned with, harsh personal values and the values of Saira as a brand.

00:08:51:09 - 00:09:17:01
Greg Früchtenicht
So very briefly on that. We were a nonprofit called Nights on Us. And essentially we were a nonprofit organization that were offering luxury hotel stays to NHS workers. And so health care workers in the UK, who were clearly going through a lot during the pandemic, we realized that hospitality is a transformative experience for so many people.

00:09:17:01 - 00:09:39:21
Greg Früchtenicht
And that was something that we needed in society, especially in the healthcare, kind of industry at that time, is we needed something that was transformative and invigorate change and a light at the end of the tunnel, if you like. So we started partnering with hotels in London and all across the UK to offer two night stays to NHS workers.

00:09:39:23 - 00:09:57:13
Greg Früchtenicht
Usually trying to throw in a couple of treats and kind of, you know, spa treatments or anything like that along the way to make sure that when they did reopen, when the hotels finally could welcome guests again, they were able to give back in a meaningful way. And that was I'd worked in hospitality when I was younger.

00:09:57:13 - 00:10:21:12
Greg Früchtenicht
I remember studies, that is, you know, the industry I'd never been to college for or anything like that, but I'd worked in hotels, bars and restaurants and things like that, and I'd always really value the industry myself. But I think when founding Night on Us and then starting to have conversations with hotels about this more philanthropic side of things that we can really read clear to me that the industry is it's almost set up.

00:10:21:18 - 00:10:39:21
Greg Früchtenicht
You know, the word hospitality in the act of hospitality is all about helping people. And that line between, you know, supporting people and giving them an opportunity or giving them a light at the end of the tunnel or whatever it might be, is it was something I was really passionate about exploring. And then not too long after, starting Nights on Us.

00:10:40:11 - 00:11:04:04
Greg Früchtenicht
I was then introduced to Harsha by a friend because I was kind of looking for a more, yeah, more full time role. And that's when I was it was just kind of something on the side of time. So yeah, I was introduced to the concept of Saira after way too many drinks with a friend of mine, on a night out in London, and I was instantly in love with the vision and the values of the business.

00:11:04:06 - 00:11:28:16
Greg Früchtenicht
And we made probably the wrong, decision to try and call Harsha, one in the morning to, pitch me as the new director of partnerships. At the time, thankfully, she didn't pick up, and, but she was interested in having a conversation, which is great. So, we caught up the next day and. Yeah, as I say, the values of Harsha and I personally were super aligned and I really loved what they were doing, so.

00:11:28:18 - 00:11:40:11
Greg Früchtenicht
And, and it just so happened that she was looking at the time for someone to help bring the brand and the values and the impact to the UK. So call it fate Rob, I don't know. But it was one of those moments that is perfectly aligned.

00:11:40:11 - 00:11:59:22
Rob Napoli
Yeah. I mean sometimes you got to shoot your shot when you hear about something that, excites you, you know, 1:00 in the morning. I mean, not the best way to do that. You know, obviously it worked out. And open the doors. I think that’s super cool. And it's, you know, it's always kind of fun when those things kind of, like, naturally happen.

00:11:59:22 - 00:12:17:01
Rob Napoli
I always joke, you know how I ended up at Omniboost is, I met the founder Kees Zorge because I was doing a sales talk, during a program he was going through. And as I'm about selling in the US, and I remember joking with him and he, he told me he's like, I'm going to hire you.

00:12:17:01 - 00:12:31:05
Rob Napoli
One day and I'm like, all right. You know, I got a lot of founders that I've worked with. I've worked with over 500 founders, and everyone likes to say that. But, you know, nothing ever really comes of it. Sometimes some work out of it, whatever or whatever. And I end up, you know, working the case on some small projects and things.

00:12:31:05 - 00:12:51:17
Rob Napoli
And then, you know, three years later, he arrives back in New York and he's like, hey, let's go grab dinner and, let's puts it out offer in front of me I mean, I was like, let's go. You know, you know, kind of, you know, putting your money where your mouth is, so to speak. And those things happen like, that's when you know that you find something that really excites you in a way that you are passionate about.

00:12:51:17 - 00:13:08:21
Rob Napoli
You just got to take the leap and go after it. So I love that story and the origin of it. And it's clear that you're passionate about what you do from the multiple conversations we've had to, you know, you've been on a couple different podcast and, you know, you've talked with, different events and panels, some partners that you're doing stuff with.

00:13:08:21 - 00:13:32:18
Rob Napoli
I think this is really cool. And you made a, a cool comment that I liked, and we talking about this and, and I think we step back and think about this that much. But it's really easy to see is the impact that hotel at any level, especially luxury hotels. Right, has a huge impact on the community. It's bringing in events, is bringing in people for an experience, and that can be in a major city, but that can also be in small towns.

00:13:32:18 - 00:13:53:03
Rob Napoli
There's some amazing places in the world where you bring in these luxury type hotels, and it's one of a kind in a small town with not a lot to do, but everything to see. Right. And that has a huge impact on that community. And it's really important for hotels and for the hospitality industry, restaurants, thanks to, to understand the impact on community.

00:13:53:03 - 00:14:17:05
Rob Napoli
And it's really cool that you're working alongside that to create local jobs and local impact for that community. In a way, it should, because sometimes it doesn't always happen that way. Right? Yeah. So tell me a little about, you know, you've got some really cool partnerships and doing these things. You know, what is you know, we're sitting here recording in Q4, are on the verge of Q4 2024.

00:14:17:07 - 00:14:35:18
Rob Napoli
What is 2025 look like? What are some of the big things that you're excited about coming into 2025? Before we get into kind of trends of the industry and so some of the depth of the technology, the impact that has with your program. So what are some of the trends that you're excited about in 2025, or maybe some programs that y'all have, coming that you're really excited for next year?

00:14:35:20 - 00:15:03:05
Greg Früchtenicht
Yeah, there's a lot to look forward to. We on the technology side, I'll be the first to admit that the Saira hospitality curriculum previously hasn't been the most tech focused. But, you know, I think everywhere you look now, technology is becoming such a vital part of the industry in so many industries. Right. But hospitality, it can often be hard to know.

00:15:03:05 - 00:15:23:18
Greg Früchtenicht
Well, I'm sure when you're an operator, it can be very difficult to know where to start. But I think for us, integrating more insights to our students about the impact that hospitality tech can have on their career is really interesting one for us. And we're really excited to, you know, continue some of the partnerships that we have in that vein.

00:15:23:18 - 00:15:34:24
Greg Früchtenicht
And also launching a few new ones as well. So we've been we've been working with Mews for a while, who I think Rich has been on the podcast before. Right. And, yeah, hospitable.

00:15:35:01 - 00:15:45:23
Rob Napoli
And we, work pretty closely with using a lot of things. Yeah. You know the well and Richard is in New York here and, I have, recorded an episode and had a, few good conversations yeah

00:15:46:00 - 00:16:08:24
Greg Früchtenicht
So, you know, we really value the insight and the way that Mews approach the hospitality industry and the partnership that we have together is really focused on celebrating the fact that automation, you know, the right tech stack isn't just fantastic for the guests and fantastic for revenue and all of these things that, you know, way more than me about.

00:16:09:01 - 00:16:33:18
Greg Früchtenicht
But it's also crucial for the teams, right? Because it means that if you are able to automate and simplify some of the more mundane or, you know, less human tasks in a hotel, that frees up so much headspace and so much actual time for the teams to celebrate and deliver great hospitality and, you know, practice active listening on the front desk rather than having their heads down the whole time, you know, tapping away.

00:16:33:18 - 00:16:56:14
Greg Früchtenicht
And I think when we first met Richard, we heard about what they were up to over at Mews.. We very quickly realized that the philosophy that they had was super aligned with us. Despite being completely different businesses, clearly. So we have a really exciting partnership with Mews. We've already launched, one school in London together with them.

00:16:56:15 - 00:17:25:16
Greg Früchtenicht
And the concept that being, what if we could create a school specifically working with Mews properties? So working with Mews customers who end up being the hiring partners of the school that we create. So the function being Saira hospitality takes all of the heavy lifting in terms of finding local community members. In London, we're working a lot in London, specifically with overlooked and marginalized communities, so a lot of work with refugees, previously homeless individuals.

00:17:25:18 - 00:17:46:06
Greg Früchtenicht
So we go out and we'll find those great individuals by partnering with other charities and nonprofits. We then screen them and we train them. The exciting part is where they're able to integrate Mews and the Mews University platform into our training itself, knowing that when those candidates graduates come through the program, they're going to be hired by Mews Hotel on the other side.

00:17:46:07 - 00:18:06:06
Greg Früchtenicht
And they already know, you know, what is it, PMS so much more. They understand how to actually, you know, they've gone through the modules that they need to. So they kind of they've been benefiting from the life skills that we can deliver. But there's also that not quite tangible technology piece so that they're already a step above the rest who maybe, you know, applying for roles and they've never had that kind of training.

00:18:06:06 - 00:18:25:09
Greg Früchtenicht
And I think, yeah, integrating technology at that level because we typically, you know, if you take a cross-section of our candidates that we work with in London, the vast majority of never worked in hospitality, maybe never set foot inside a hotel. So if you're able to at that really early stage, give them an understanding of how important technology can be.

00:18:25:11 - 00:18:45:20
Greg Früchtenicht
You know, hopefully they'll stay with that Mews property for a long time. But it also means that as they grow into their career, they already have this kind of foundation of technology, which we know is only going to become more important in the future. So yeah, I think when I first came onboard three years ago, we had a we've got a little module that talks about lots of PMS, alternates and things like that was very light touch.

00:18:45:22 - 00:18:55:11
Greg Früchtenicht
Now, with the help of Mews were able to actually truly integrate, you know, full learning and understanding of how important it is to the industry.

00:18:55:13 - 00:19:20:18
Rob Napoli
Yeah. And I think that's really cool because, you know, in a hotel, on average, they're using eight, nine, ten different systems from your PMS to your point of sale to your accounting platforms to revenue management, forecasting, planning and budgeting, inventory management, staff planning. There's so many events. And then you have all of your OTAs that sit on top of it and all the different things that it can really stack up.

00:19:20:18 - 00:19:46:10
Rob Napoli
And so if you're going to be working in that space, it's really for and understand how the technologies can play and the hospitality tech spaces is huge. And there's so many companies and not everyone always plays nice. And sandbox doesn't always have the integration piece to do it, which is where our data unification platform comes in. But it's really interesting that that that has become a big piece of it because we talk about, you know, AI is a buzzword, right.

00:19:46:10 - 00:20:09:19
Rob Napoli
And there's automation and AI and automation is not meant to replace. It's meant to help automate those things that can be automated so that you can focus on the bigger critical tasks and the actual guest experience, which is what I think is really cool. And so being able to add that into to really create more hospital experiences and really drive that guest experience and that's, that's what makes a hotel a hotel, right?

00:20:09:19 - 00:20:34:05
Rob Napoli
When you step into a hotel, be it, you know, a roadside inn on your travel to a super luxury, you're looking for a specific experience. And each layer has a different experience that you're expecting when you're traveling for work or traveling for, vacation or whatnot. And being able to create that experience at all those different levels is super impactful.

00:20:34:05 - 00:21:02:10
Rob Napoli
So I think it's cool that they're working into that, and it's really cool that you're putting more focus on that next year, because it's such a big piece to the hotel landscape. You know, the old school way is, you know, all the different codes and keys and you're checking this and being able to make it super easy to find reservations, make it super easy to check people and make that process as smooth as possible is the last thing you want to do after getting off a long flight, and you have to spend 20 minutes to check in desk, have them not be able to find your reservation or your room not ready.

00:21:02:10 - 00:21:20:00
Rob Napoli
And it's just like, I just want to get to my room. I want to relax for a minute and blah, blah, blah. Right? So the faster you can get that process, that the better, right? No one likes to wait in a hotel lobby for 20, 30, 45 minutes to, just to get checked into the room that you're expecting to be in

00:21:20:05 - 00:21:46:22
Greg Früchtenicht
No. 100%, I think, you know, there I still have conversations with, maybe individuals who are less open to, technology being so ever present and in hotels. And, you know, they worry about, you know, replacing teams and, you know, people losing their jobs. But I think, again, you know, we're working with the right partners or the right types of technology.

00:21:46:22 - 00:22:21:19
Greg Früchtenicht
Being included in the tech stack isn't about that. It's about just enriching experience for everyone, from the guests to the teams, which we know is, you know, I think everyone's now more focused on making sure that teams are happy and fulfilled than ever, which is which is great. And yeah, I think, you know, on the even on the other side that from the partnerships that we're crafting with the technology businesses as well, we see it as a chance to kind of help vendors to differentiate one another as well, because, you know, and again, you know, more than more than I do about the depth and breadth of just how many vendors or,

00:22:21:20 - 00:22:51:00
Greg Früchtenicht
you know, tech brands are out there. But I think what's really smart and interesting with the Mews collaboration is they're able to really clearly identify that they're able to support their customers on a from a hiring perspective as well. Right. So we know that all the buzzwords and then all of the big conversations and hospitality, yes, technology as well and employment retention, we know that that you know, will probably always be something because it's a human element.

00:22:51:00 - 00:23:13:23
Greg Früchtenicht
But I think if as a technology company, you're able to say we're supporting a non profit and we're also able to say to our customers, we're bringing in newly trained teams who are impassioned by our tech, but also your brand. You start to solve two problems. You're still solving the technology problem. You're also supporting the staffing problem as well, which sadly is, yeah, keeps us busy.

00:23:13:23 - 00:23:39:04
Greg Früchtenicht
Sadly, we have to continue creating these schools because there are so many gaps and there are so many local communities that need skills and kind of a sense of belief. But yeah, working with those types of partners, that's what really motivates me as well, is to look outside of purely just working with operators, because for a long time we would partner directly with the hotels and say, great, you know, help sponsor a program and we'll find the right teams for.

00:23:39:04 - 00:23:56:19
Greg Früchtenicht
But I think the, you know, the this revolution that we're going to do with technology at the moment opened so many more doors for brands to think creatively and think, okay, well, yeah, my integration partnerships. But how can I also support nonprofits and also people and teams and all of those great things. So I think it's a really exciting time.

00:23:56:21 - 00:24:07:05
Greg Früchtenicht
Hard to know where to start with, with technology. I've listened to so many audiobooks about it, and I still get mixed up with all the acronyms, but I'm not a tech guy.

00:24:07:07 - 00:24:29:01
Rob Napoli
Yeah. You know, it's a crazy world out there and it continues to evolve. And I think the, the impactful piece is that, you know, can you really solve the core problem of one, upskilling members of the community so that they can be impacted and impactful in their community at that level working for hotels and hospitality?

00:24:29:01 - 00:24:50:00
Rob Napoli
But the sheer fact of it is that retention is always going to be a thing. And when we look at, hospitality industry as a whole, frontline workers, you know, it's very transient at times. And that's an okay thing that's kind of by nature, by design. And in the past, you would have somebody leave the front desk and you would lose all that product knowledge of the product codes and the hotkeys and everything.

00:24:50:02 - 00:25:12:18
Rob Napoli
This actually creates that seamless transition so that you always know that that guest experience is going to be, you know, the same. Right? There's the fluidity of it that whether Greg or Rob or Sam or Jenny's work in the front desk, the guests are going to get the same level of experience and the same level of guest experience and hospitality and, report that you're looking for.

00:25:12:18 - 00:25:28:00
Rob Napoli
And that's, I think, really cool and such an impactful piece of, of the curriculum, that y'all are building. And it's really interesting to see because it's easy to work with the operators. How do you work with tech partners, and then how do you turn more tech partners into this impactful space, which is I think everybody's looking to that.

00:25:28:00 - 00:25:52:23
Rob Napoli
Everyone wants to make an impact and they want to give back. I think every company wants to be you know, we went through the whole corporate sustainability and corporate responsibility and all those things. It's really hard to put that into practice. It's easy to talk about these things, hard to put into practice. And what y'all are building and have built is a way to really bring in partners to, to show those things in a very impactful way.

00:25:53:00 - 00:26:14:03
Rob Napoli
That also solves a key problem in staffing, training, upskilling, skill sets, etc. I think that's really cool and something that can get lost in all of this, and something that brands really need to think about, is how do you continue to make an impact not only in the local community, but the community at large, that you're servicing? I think businesses at every level, this is a struggle, right?

00:26:14:03 - 00:26:33:04
Rob Napoli
You run a business to make money and do different things. But and you want to get back and you want to impact. And it's hard to think about where can we do that and how can we do that. And so having programs available to us to do that really I think is overlooked. And there's so many things out there that you can do to get involved, to reduce the need to do everything yourselves.

00:26:33:04 - 00:26:38:05
Rob Napoli
And that's a really cool problem and solutions that are being built. Right.

00:26:38:05 - 00:27:04:15
Greg Früchtenicht
Yeah and you know, we I found out very, you know, very quickly when I was, you know, exploring not just those operational or hotel operator partnerships, but anything external is as you mentioned, you know, most people or many people do want to do the right thing. It's just how do you take your focus off profitability and all of these other things which there's so there's so much pressure on that.

00:27:04:15 - 00:27:25:13
Greg Früchtenicht
I'm not saying that, you know, that's good or bad, but I understand that it's super hard for people to say, okay, well let's spend, you know, X amount of hours a year or a week or month with a, with a nonprofit like zero. And so really we had to do is find ways to craft these partnerships to make sure that they made sense and impacted the rest of the businesses that we work with.

00:27:25:13 - 00:27:45:02
Greg Früchtenicht
So, again, you know, whether it's helping brands find the right talent whilst also giving back, that's a huge win. So that's how we're kind of that's how we're layering these partnerships, certainly more next year as well to find more technology businesses that we can support. It can also, you know, help support us change some lives at the same time.

00:27:45:04 - 00:28:02:15
Rob Napoli
I love that it's such a cool piece of the puzzle. You know, when you look at technology trends in the hospitality space, you know, you talked about the, you know, partnering with Mews and Mews University. You know, when you think about this from a skill perspective, our curriculum perspective, how do you go about setting up curriculum?

00:28:02:15 - 00:28:18:23
Rob Napoli
Is that something that you all have done? Is it a Co curriculum with maybe the partner that you're building, or is the curriculum all the same, like talking about your curriculum and how it's built or how it's maybe also flexible, depending on the type of partner that you, are working with?

00:28:19:00 - 00:28:41:16
Greg Früchtenicht
Yeah. So the curriculum is, we could spend a whole two hours on it because it's just so there's so many incredible elements there, but it's we have a we have a base of eight modules that we include in pretty much every school that we run. But then we're also always tweaking and changing depending on which hotel partners we're working with.

00:28:41:16 - 00:29:01:16
Greg Früchtenicht
So when we running projects in the in the British Virgin Islands, we were working with a hotel that needed, they needed stable hands. That was one of the key. So, you know, individuals who work with horses and clean stables and all of those things, and we just did not have that curriculum yet. It was the first thing I think, founder sort of when she started piecing it all together.

00:29:01:18 - 00:29:34:06
Greg Früchtenicht
So, yeah, we, you know, have the, the benefit really these days of having a really strong network again, as people who have worked in the industry for decades and really want to help impart their own knowledge to the new generation. So when we do come across something like that, when we need some specialist curriculum to be integrated, we'll kind of, you know, cast that out and have some conversations with people we know might be able to help employers in the right direction of someone who's a stable hand expert, you know, kind of a question expert and then piece that together.

00:29:34:08 - 00:29:55:00
Greg Früchtenicht
So, yeah, we tweak it depending on the project. Here in London, we have a really stable four week curriculum, which we've now worked with and have trainers, and we have curriculum directors around the world. So we'll have check ins with them to make sure that what we're teaching is still relevant. You know, is they still,

00:29:55:02 - 00:30:23:04
Greg Früchtenicht
Hasn't gone out of date or has been kind of, you know, is still the most impactful piece that we can. And the really exciting thing about doing these global projects is that every time we create a new project in a new city or a new rural destination, we always work with local trainers on the ground. So we then sit down with the trainers before we get to the point of delivering the curriculum, and we'll talk them through what we do in the different modules and each of the playbooks that we have, because it's quite a quite a large structure of a curriculum.

00:30:23:06 - 00:30:48:09
Greg Früchtenicht
And then we start to get local insights from those trainers as to, well, okay, how might that land with residents in the babies versus Namibia versus London versus Akron, Ohio versus, you know, wherever we're doing these programs? Yeah. And that really helps us. No two destinations are the same. The benefit I have a little girl we have a here in London is that we were able to because we're kind of as a present now in London.

00:30:48:15 - 00:31:06:20
Greg Früchtenicht
But doing a lot of these programs, we can start to really distill and create this really core piece, which then we can work with partners like, like Mews to then, you know, enrich it here and we've got a really exciting technology partnership, which we've been we've been running a little bit this year, but we're going to do much more in the next year.

00:31:06:22 - 00:31:33:01
Greg Früchtenicht
And it's super simple. It's with a, it's with a business called Vizzy they're essentially kind of like the I don't know how they would want me to describe them, but the anti CV or anti resume company because they know that especially is so relevant for us because you know, a lot of the candidates we're working with, they don't have the traditional experiences.

00:31:33:01 - 00:31:57:04
Greg Früchtenicht
They don't have a curriculum, have a traditional resume that they can just hand over at the point of interview or anything like that. So they really start to be left behind because they don't have skills that, well, they don't have experience. They do have skills, just maybe. How do you get them on paper. So Vizzy is essentially an online platform, which is it takes candidates through a different way to express themselves outside of a traditional resume.

00:31:57:05 - 00:32:13:08
Greg Früchtenicht
So there's psychometric testing and there's ways to upload media and experiences and all of these things that actually, truly, when you're looking to hire someone, on a, you know, on a front of house, or you know, front facing basis, you're much more interested in who they are as a person and their personality than what they've studied in school.

00:32:13:08 - 00:32:34:07
Greg Früchtenicht
Ten years ago, I think. Yeah. So it's how can we work with those, again, technology partners to say we've been teaching people how to write resumes for nine years. We actually don't think it's relevant. We don't think. And there's a little bit of catching up to do, of course, because hotels still want to see resumes. So we can, you know, turn into a PDF and still send it over.

00:32:34:08 - 00:32:55:24
Greg Früchtenicht
But for the more forward thinking hotel now, we can say, actually you do want to CV your resume. Here's a link to Rob's personal profile. It's still got his experience, it's still got his background and education, but actually it's a bit more interactive and you can actually get a feel for areas as a person. Maybe he's uploaded a video of him, you know, doing karaoke at.

00:32:56:01 - 00:32:58:07
Greg Früchtenicht
Yeah. So you can get a chance to actually

00:32:58:09 - 00:33:00:08
Rob Napoli
Definitely not a karaoke guy

00:33:00:10 - 00:33:14:11
Greg Früchtenicht
But yeah, like that's an opportunity again to leverage technology just to make a candidate journey much more seamless into employment, which is really the aim of the game for us.

00:33:14:13 - 00:33:37:03
Rob Napoli
Yeah, I love that. I think that's really cool. You know, you bring up this need. I mean, I worked as a recruiter, an agency recruiter for ten years. And, there's so much really cool stuff, application tracking systems and whatnot. But it's also hard at times. And the hiring process is hard. There's so many things to look at, from raw skills to soft skills to, you know, experiences and nontraditional versus traditional paths.

00:33:37:03 - 00:33:56:11
Rob Napoli
And the experience you get from traveling abroad or doing multiple jobs or different things. It's really hard to always quantify or qualify that. And so, you know, having these opportunities to really show the personality and, and give more to who you are than just on paper and like a full picture of what you can bring to the table is, is really cool.

00:33:56:11 - 00:34:17:00
Rob Napoli
So I think it's really cool how you do that with those, you know, the local communities and marginalized communities and different things. To really upskill that and bring that to the light is something that, you know, staffing and recruiting and that whole industry. It's you know, similar problems every decade and steps to be made. But the hiring process is it's hard.

00:34:17:02 - 00:34:39:04
Rob Napoli
You know, the you just never know. It's one of those things that's the hardest thing to do. And it's super cool. And there's innovation out there that's helping make that a better process, assimilate process and more impactful process. So I love it. And, you know, the curriculum thing is super cool as well. We talk about we talk about our you start thinking about the world today and resorts and experiences we could have traveling the world.

00:34:39:04 - 00:34:56:21
Rob Napoli
Like so many things I even think about like, oh yeah, they could have a stable on site. So there's horseback riding or, you know, there's, you know, a Marina for all the water sports and all those things. You have to kind of add it to all these resorts and resorts continue to get bigger and more creative of what experience do you get with who shot the show up at this hotel?

00:34:56:23 - 00:35:16:04
Rob Napoli
Sometimes it's one thing, sometimes it's everything, right? And so, super fun. And I can only imagine as a challenge day in and day out, to, continue learning, but also one that is, is fun for that continuous learning process. So I think that's really exciting. And, you know, I think there's so much we could I would love to chat with you for hours.

00:35:16:04 - 00:35:30:21
Rob Napoli
I mean, we have chatted for hours and had multiple conversations. But as we kind of wrap this up, you know, as you're looking at next year, what are you looking for and how can this community help you and where can I find you all to learn more about what you're building?

00:35:30:23 - 00:35:58:23
Greg Früchtenicht
Yeah. Thanks so much. So we're I mean, people can find us. You can find me, on LinkedIn. It's probably a good way to start. I'm usually on that. You can visit our website, Saira hospitality.com, and we're just at saira hospitality or on Instagram as well. But really next year as a lot of the conversations being focused on today, it's how can we start to partner with yes technology businesses.

00:35:58:23 - 00:36:26:16
Greg Früchtenicht
Yes, hotels. But you know, brands that we feel are aligned with the vision that we have and the impact that we're having and really want to help support by giving back to those communities that we're getting into these roles. And I think for me, technology is really, important part of that because as we've been talking about there’s so much crossover and so many ways that we can benefit personally, selfishly.

00:36:26:16 - 00:36:49:15
Greg Früchtenicht
Saira hospitality for our students by learning what else, candidates need to know from a technology perspective before they move into the industry. So we have this great partnership with Mew. But there are so many other facets as we've talked about, how can we partner more with technology businesses to help upskill, you know, the talent of tomorrow, which is really what we're all about.

00:36:49:17 - 00:37:15:20
Greg Früchtenicht
And if there are any technology businesses out there thinking, okay, I'm starting to plan for 2025, you know, hopefully there's an ESG question mark. Some. Well, hopefully it's not a question mark. Hopefully it's, you know, a true statement or an objective if in any way it's partnering with, you know, with a nonprofit and hospitality space, we'd love to speak to you because I think there are so many ways that we can intersect.

00:37:15:22 - 00:37:39:05
Greg Früchtenicht
And personally, for me, again, it's never been a big focus on my role in the past, but I'm really enjoying getting to know people in the technology space because, again, I often find that you guys are great problem solvers. And I think if we if we look at problems together from a nonprofit perspective and a technological perspective, you can start to find really interesting answers to some of the big questions that we all have.

00:37:39:05 - 00:37:58:14
Greg Früchtenicht
So, yeah, always there for, for a conversation about that. And if anybody's, you know, in London, we're always running programs as well. We're always looking for people to just come and volunteer some time, help meet with our candidates, help interview our candidates. And I think we find that that's a really nice launching off point as well.

00:37:58:14 - 00:38:32:00
Greg Früchtenicht
For brands. They'll say, okay, cool, we like what you do. We like you on paper. Let's go and see what's actually happening so we can invite them to this and they can come and, you know, help with a few of the operational pieces that we have here. And we typically find there's a lot of, yeah, a lot of happy tears and laughter when we get people along to volunteer, because some of the, some of the candidates who know most of the candidates, we happen to be helping, just fantastically inspirational individuals and to see them go from the initial screening process to them graduating and getting their first career in hospitality is,

00:38:32:02 - 00:38:40:02
Greg Früchtenicht
yeah, something that certainly will never get pulled off. So, yeah, if you're interested in seeing that, then that person then be up for that as well.

00:38:40:04 - 00:39:05:22
Rob Napoli
Love that. Well, I'll make sure to link your LinkedIn profile, website and the Instagram page all in the show notes. All you got to do is tap the show notes and you'll have the links right there. So it takes you right there to talk to Greg. Greg, man, this is a lot of fun and excited to see what we can do together and be involved in your community and, see, your continued growth aside and your role and the impact that y'all are making and something that I think is, just amazing.

00:39:05:22 - 00:39:17:19
Rob Napoli
So I appreciate having you on the podcast. Looking forward to, further amazing things that y'all do and the impact that you're, you're creating in community. So keep up the good work. And thank you again for joining the podcast. My friend.

00:39:17:21 - 00:39:20:23
Greg Früchtenicht
My pleasure. Really enjoyed that. Thanks, Rob.

00:39:21:00 - 00:39:41:11
Rob Napoli
You bet. Awesome. It's been another episode of hospitable as always. If you liked it and you want to be a tier one, please like subscribe, rate review, do all those things you want to get in touch with Greg. Go talk to him. You want to get in touch with us. You know where to find us. If you want to be on the podcast or someone to be on the podcast or, have topics, I should be on the podcast, let us know.

00:39:41:11 - 00:39:44:19
Rob Napoli
We're always here for y'all. Until next episode. Stay. Well. Thank you