Hospitable

In the first episode of the "Hospitable" podcast, host Rob Napoli introduces the podcast and its purpose of exploring the customer experience in the hospitality industry. He is joined by Kees Zorge, the founder and CEO of Omniboost, and Mike Baecke, the COO of Omniboost. 

We delve into the world of hospitality and explore what it means to be Hospitable across the globe. Join us as we discuss the needs and challenges of the hospitality industry, and how technology can both enhance and hinder the guest experience. Our goal is to uncover the secrets of the industry and provide insights that will help you focus on what's most important - your guests. We also have special guests, including architects and designers, who will share their perspectives on customer experience. Get ready for a non-commercial, thought-provoking conversation that will move the industry forward. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this exciting journey with us! 

Timestamps:
[00:02:43] From e-commerce to hospitality.
[00:05:23] Non-traditional approach to business.
[00:08:10] The non-commercial aspect.
[00:11:43] Worst travel fails.
[00:14:45] Giving time back for creativity.

Connect with Omniboost: www.omniboost.com

Connect with Kees Zorge: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keeszorge/
Connect with Rob Napoli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robnap/
Connect with Mike Baecke: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-baecke/

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

Episode Recorded at BelCham in NYC: https://www.belcham.org/ 


Creators & Guests

Host
Kees Zorge
Kees is the Founder and CEO of Omniboost where he believes in giving humans time back to be creative through automation. He is a servant-leader who loves to create and think outside of the box.
Host
Mike Baecke
Mike is the COO at Omniboost with a deep background in the hospitality space.
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.

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

OmniBoost_Episode_1_Transcript
Introduction to OmniBoost

00:00:05:24 - 00:00:40:18
Rob Napoli
Hello. Here we are with the first inaugural episode of the podcast Hospitable, Hospitable is a podcast for the hospitality space, where we seek to explore what the customer experiences like from technology to front lines of hospitality. I am your host, Rob Napoli, the head of brand and marketing at OmniBoost, and I am joined today from with, I should say, the founder and CEO of OmniBoost, Kees Zorge and our wonderful COO Mike Baecke

00:00:40:20 - 00:00:41:10
Rob Napoli
That's right.

00:00:41:13 - 00:00:42:13
Mike Maecke
That's close enough.

00:00:42:15 - 00:00:50:15
Rob Napoli
Baecke. For three years I've said this wrong and it's gonna take another three to get it right.

00:00:50:17 - 00:00:54:16
Kees Zorge
And while we're playing the game, it's Zorge. They've got Dutch.

00:00:54:21 - 00:00:55:13
Rob Napoli
Zorge

00:00:55:17 - 00:00:58:10
Kees Zorge
Zorge, nice try Rob

00:00:58:11 - 00:01:21:09
Rob Napoli
There I go. So welcome to Hospitable. And what we want to do today is introduce the voices and the faces. Whether you're listening to this on audio or watching this on YouTube. So you get a little bit of understanding of who we are and why we're here today and what we want to accomplish with this podcast. So I think it's really important, the podcast Hospitable, is powered by OmniBoost, which we all work for.

00:01:21:09 - 00:01:27:16
Rob Napoli
So I think it's important to give a quick overview of what OmniBoost is Kees, What is OmniBoost?

00:01:27:21 - 00:01:52:07
Kees Zorge
What is OmniBoost? OmniBoost is a sales middleware platform which is taking care of financial data aggregation and unification for the hospitality vertical. It's short what we bring. We save time for our customers and simply puts we're a bar, we're split for hotels and restaurants. A data bar was split. The bar were, by the way.

00:01:52:09 - 00:01:58:18
Rob Napoli
So what made you is the founder where this come from?

00:01:58:20 - 00:02:32:12
Kees Zorge
Oh, told you over and over again. And I would like to stage something that we had a grand vision about the hospitality vertical. Truth be told, we got lucky. So the original idea was actually thought out for the e-commerce industry. Didn't get that much traction. So I was like from a founder perspective go that one is going down the bin or I think that's probably phrased we got a shot for in hospitality integration, which supposedly was the last for two months.

00:02:32:12 - 00:02:43:12
Kees Zorge
We were done within two frickin days. People told us, can't be true. And we were like, Most likely it can't. Apparently it could, or it was possible to.

00:02:43:12 - 00:02:44:22
Rob Napoli
Some things are too good to be true.

00:02:44:22 - 00:03:05:13
Kees Zorge
Some things definitely are. But you need to force luck as well, Rob come on. So long story short, week later I was on a plane. Signed my first deal and here we are, 70 countries. Further 3000 active integrations and growing month over month.

00:03:05:17 - 00:03:30:16
Rob Napoli
It's amazing. It's been a really cool journey. we the three of us met in the height of COVID. Right. You guys were scheduled to come to New York City for a program called Benelux Catalyst, which actually where we are today. We're on location in New York City. Also, this podcast has been trying to get scheduled for a while now, but our schedules should align. We're in the same country at the same time.

00:03:30:18 - 00:03:51:23
Rob Napoli
It's been kind of crazy. So here we are in New York City. We're at the Belgium office. Belgium American Chamber of Commerce and 2020, you're supposed to come to this program. And we met as I was a sales coach for the program. Mikey, what was your initial reaction when you met me virtually three years ago?

00:03:52:00 - 00:04:00:04
Mike Maecke
At first I thought, Whoa, who is this character? you were wearing

00:04:00:05 - 00:04:01:23
Kees Zorge
Tank top

00:04:02:00 - 00:04:08:12
Mike Maecke
Looked like you just got out of the gym with the man bun up. I thought, Whoa. Yeah. Yeah.

00:04:08:14 - 00:04:36:22
Rob Napoli
It's pretty common attire for me, especially during the pandemic. three years ago Kees you mentioned in that that you wanted to meet afterwards and you scheduled a meeting right after me. After what? When you look at three years ago, what were or the goals, what were you trying to accomplish? Why did you choose that program at that time to really help scale?

00:04:36:23 - 00:05:07:01
Kees Zorge
Yeah. And we knew for a fact that what the things that we were doing in Europe would actually be a 10x in the States. We also work on wider wear that we did not understand how to approach the US. So hence this program, the Benelux catalyst, also the RISE program, which Mike and I attended. What we love dealing with Americans is actually getting some tough love, which is actually valuable feedback, and that's the way we like to do business as well.

00:05:07:03 - 00:05:26:20
Kees Zorge
And sorry for the language, but actually take the non bullshit approach and just do the frickin work. So that was something that I highly valued. And so my gut feeling was like, since OmniBoost is a nontraditional company, we like to stir things up a bit. I was like, I dig the tank top guy.

00:05:26:22 - 00:05:50:15
Rob Napoli
I mean, looking back on it, showing up to do a workshop, in a tank top, worked obviously three years later, because here we are is as the head of brand. But I still wonder what I was thinking on that day. But I love it. And here we are. And, it's really interesting, as this podcast is called Hospitable Mikey, what is Hospitable mean to you?

00:05:50:17 - 00:05:58:14
Mike Maecke
Well, many things. It's catering towards other people's needs and not thinking about your own needs first.

00:05:58:16 - 00:06:00:19
Rob Napoli
What about you.

00:06:00:21 - 00:06:22:21
Kees Zorge
Then? Definitely agree with that. And also the way how we approach our business ourselves as having a willingness to serve. So being willing to take the extra step to understand what the needs actually are, not just doing the things that you're being asked to do. In my opinion, that's definitely part of being really hospitable.

00:06:22:23 - 00:06:42:24
Rob Napoli
Yeah, I love that. And I think the big thing and we thought of a workshop with this podcast, I remember, we've had a lot of conversations about what we want to name the podcast, what we want it to be. And I remember I was talking, I was at brunch with my wife and one of our friends and I was like, the hospitality tech podcast.

00:06:42:24 - 00:07:04:06
Rob Napoli
Hospitality today was like, Oh, these are my words. I was using hospitality because the podcast is for the hospitality space, the space that we serve right as OmniBoost . And I remember my wife looking well. Her friend had said something about something, the hospitable something, and my wife just goes hospitable, period. And I was like, Oh, I like that.

00:07:04:08 - 00:07:28:17
Rob Napoli
The idea behind Hospitable is we want to explore the themes of what hospitality means today. And hospitality is. Yes, infused like everything else with tech, but it's still about people. It's people serving people. True. And I think that the name ‘hospitable’ and what we want to accomplish is highlighting really cool tech that's in the market today, how that tech affects the customer experience.

00:07:28:19 - 00:08:03:16
Rob Napoli
I know we already have, interview schedule with CEOs of tech companies. We've got investors in the tech space. We have restaurant tours coming on and we have architects and designers on deck to come on the show and talk about the customer experience from all these different angles. Yeah, and that's really cool. So as we as we go into this podcast, Kees I'll ask you first what what excites you most about this new journey we're venturing into with the podcast and what we may accomplish with it?

00:08:03:18 - 00:08:22:13
Kees Zorge
Sharing new ideas from captains of industry, leading companies from multiple angles. So it's actually the noncommercial part I actually like. So it's once again having the willingness to serve, share the ideas and move the industry forward at a very fast pace.

00:08:22:15 - 00:08:29:11
Rob Napoli
Yeah, I think that's a really exciting to be on the cutting edge of the types of conversations that we're going to be involved in. We're going to learn about.

00:08:29:13 - 00:08:36:00
Mike Maecke
And hearing from other areas within the industry and hearing about their perspective on the issues.

00:08:36:02 - 00:09:01:03
Rob Napoli
Yeah, and I think that's interesting you bring that because for those that don't know, Mikey comes from hospitality. Your whole career is kind of in the hospitality space. But you up for working for more in the airline space? What kind of having lived and breathed the hospitality space and you've lived in some really cool places from South Africa to Abu Dhabi to get traveling all over the world.

00:09:01:05 - 00:09:07:05
Rob Napoli
What drew you to the hospitality tech? What drew you into this world of the tech side of the business versus the people side?

00:09:07:07 - 00:09:40:05
Mike Maecke
Tech side was actually just by chance. Actually, I met Kees during the COVID period. Yeah. So as you mentioned, I have a background in hospitality and different assets working in hotels, resorts, airlines and med case and was first time of actually being on this side of the fence of technology and realizing what solution we have that actually fixes a lot of problems that the hospitality tech or hospitality industry faces.

00:09:40:05 - 00:09:56:22
Mike Maecke
And what we solve is giving people time back so they can face or focus on actually being focused on their guests and their primary objective is being hospitable. So yeah, that was by chance was never really a choice.

00:09:56:22 - 00:10:18:03
Kees Zorge
I definitely remember that first interview that we had together. I was like, Come on, guy from A & T airways, so let's spend like 30 minutes of a conversation. We'll see how then we really, it really took off the conversation as in immediately. So it was, it was a no brainer to go for hire. Yeah. Basically on the spot.

00:10:18:09 - 00:10:20:10
Mike Maecke
Instantly saw the enormous potential.

00:10:20:13 - 00:10:41:10
Rob Napoli
Yeah. I mean, it's been amazing because, I started consulting and advising the company the same time you started right around. So I've seen the two of you develop this really cool relationship. I've seen where the company is grown and it's obviously what excited the hell out of me to join the company, right? I mean, for those out there, I don't know.

00:10:41:10 - 00:11:06:15
Rob Napoli
I don't I, I joke when I say this, but it's true. After our first conversation, Kees looks at me and goes, Rob I want to hire you one day. And I was like, Yeah, yeah. I worked in a lot of accelerators. I work with a lot of founders, and I was like, Yeah, they all say that hell here we are three years, like three years later, and we're at New York City recording our first podcast episode for something that to me is really exciting.

00:11:06:15 - 00:11:08:12
Rob Napoli
Like, this is my baby for the company, right?

00:11:08:14 - 00:11:13:08
Kees Zorge
If I say something, I mean, business can take some time.

00:11:13:10 - 00:11:42:24
Rob Napoli
But I know it's true. And we're really excited of this podcast. And for those out there listening, we're really hoping to bring a really diverse perspective of what it means to be in this space, as Mikey said, and why, we're going to have different episodes where it's just me hosting or a Kees and I, it's Mikey and I, it might be Mikey and Kees, but I'm not going to get the three of us chopping up because these two fellows have some stories from hotels, from Airways, traveling.

00:11:42:24 - 00:11:49:07
Rob Napoli
These guys have been all over the world traveling. I tell you what, we'll do an episode just focused on some of our worst travel fails.

00:11:49:09 - 00:11:52:00
Mike Maecke
I look forward to that one.

00:11:52:02 - 00:11:55:17
Kees Zorge
Well, Mike, I think all you really that story.

00:11:55:19 - 00:11:55:22
Mike Maecke
I.

00:11:55:24 - 00:12:25:03
Rob Napoli
Was saying, I think Mr. Mikey he's got a quite a few stories and I think it's really fun to share those. And I think a lot of people out there have gone through some of those same experiences. And when it comes to hospitality space, we think of first and foremost customer service. What does it mean to be taken care of, whether you're traveling for work, for pleasure, if you're, it's just a quick stop on the way to something else.

00:12:25:05 - 00:12:44:00
Rob Napoli
There's an expectation of of a service level that you're going to get. And in technology plays a big piece of that in today's world. And we want to explore what the customer experience means from all of us. And so you're going to hear from amazing people in this space and these different levels. So if there things that you want to hear, there's certain topics are, areas you want us to explore.

00:12:44:02 - 00:13:02:10
Rob Napoli
Let us now reach out to us at Omni Boost. We would love to get that feedback and take things to the next level because this podcast is going to be a lot of fun. We've we have trips planned to Norway. We've got things happening across the world. We're going to be recording episodes, some are going to be virtual.

00:13:02:12 - 00:13:22:23
Rob Napoli
Many of them will be live on location in really cool places across the world. So we're excited to take this on the road, excited to take this global and really show and share the differences of hospitality at different levels, while also bringing in a little bit of our own personality, a little bit of fun, a lot of laughs probably, maybe even a few beers from time to time.

00:13:23:00 - 00:13:23:14
Kees Zorge
Good idea.

00:13:23:16 - 00:13:26:10
Mike Maecke
Yeah, I'm on my way. Yes. I won't say no to that.

00:13:26:13 - 00:13:31:00
Kees Zorge
We've got a reputation anyway, so.

00:13:31:02 - 00:13:31:22
Rob Napoli
Rob I actually

00:13:31:22 - 00:13:38:10
Kees Zorge
Like the idea for the audience to come up with new ideas and topics. So that would be kind of cool.

00:13:38:12 - 00:13:59:13
Rob Napoli
Yeah, well, let us know in the comments section. My email rob@OmniBoost.ieo Oh, let us know. Hit me up where we're going for it. We've got an amazing roster of people and we're on the hunt for new cool guests on the show as well. So topics and guests are definitely welcome and we want to make this interactive.

00:13:59:13 - 00:14:20:00
Rob Napoli
This is a show for the space. It's not a show for us, right? It's a show for what does it mean to be hospitable across the world? What is the hospitality industry need? Where is it exceeding? Where is it failing and what is the role tech plays like? Tech can be scary and how it can help or potentially hurt that experience.

00:14:20:00 - 00:14:26:20
Rob Napoli
So we're going to discover and uncover all of that in this podcast and it's very fun and.

00:14:26:21 - 00:14:38:01
Kees Zorge
Actually is like what we do. Yeah, we'll take care of the tech part of things, the integration part of things and unification so that you can actually focus on what's most important. Your guests.

00:14:38:03 - 00:14:52:24
Rob Napoli
Mikey, You brought this up and I love when you share this because it's so crucial that we are that we give time back to people. Right? And it's not just giving time back for time's sake. I think that's a really big thing that a lot of people are like, Oh, we help you save time. We don't save time.

00:14:53:00 - 00:14:57:00
Rob Napoli
We give you time back so that humans can be more creative solving real fucking problems.

00:14:57:00 - 00:14:58:00
Mike Maecke
Exactly.

00:14:58:02 - 00:15:18:03
Rob Napoli
And that is one of the coolest things about this company. And what we aim to do is what we aim to do with this podcast, right. And highlight those things. So I hope you're excited. I know we're excited and you're going to be seeing a lot of all of us. We're going have some great stories. I cannot wait to hear.

00:15:18:03 - 00:15:24:00
Rob Napoli
So these travel stories from Mike, I should say, I can't wait for y'all to hear some of these amazing travel stories.

00:15:24:02 - 00:15:28:13
Kees Zorge
We've got so many stories to share from you as well Rob. So well, stay tuned.

00:15:28:17 - 00:15:52:18
Rob Napoli
Yeah, stay tuned. I'm slowly growing our reputation, this company, for making small but seemingly big mistakes and our travel plans. what’s funny as my wife's going to be, like I told you so because she's experienced that as well. All right. For for this opportunity, I'm excited to be on this journey with you both professionally, but personally with this podcast.

00:15:52:20 - 00:16:08:13
Rob Napoli
I hope you are listening, are going to enjoy it, and you're gonna get to know Kees, Mikey and myself really well over the coming months and years as we run this podcast and learn. So Kees and Mikey, I want to say thank you to you both and we're really excited to be doing this journey together.

00:16:08:15 - 00:16:10:16
Kees Zorge
Yeah, it's amazing. Really forward to it. Yeah.

00:16:10:22 - 00:16:13:01
Mike Maecke
And like comment and subscribe, right?

00:16:13:02 - 00:16:30:10
Rob Napoli
Absolutely. As I say, follow us if you want to know more about what OmniBoost does, I mean most that I know, I will have the podcast page and all that coming live. It'll be on the show notes. Make sure you follow us. Make sure you like, subscribe on YouTube, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, Be a tier one.

00:16:30:12 - 00:16:38:18
Rob Napoli
This isn't going to be nothing without you being a tier one. Get involved early and often. We appreciate you and stay tuned. Hospitable coming at you.

00:16:38:22 - 00:16:39:24
Kees Zorge
Cool. Nice.