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The Great Commoditization. Or: Why Humans Just Got More Valuable.
Episode 1672nd June 2026 • 15 Minutes Customer Obsession • Peggy Amelung
00:00:00 00:15:41

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30% of guest messages never get a response.

Not because of bad tech. Because nobody is listening.

Three days at Mews Unfold. Everyone talking AI, automation, agentic systems.

And underneath all of it — the opposite story.

"Change happens with people. Not to people."

— Julie Linn Teigland, Global Vice Chair Alliance & Ecosystems, EY.

If you are not in hospitality — stay with me.

What 2,500 hotel leaders just learned about their industry

is exactly what is about to happen in yours.

What We Cover in This Episode- my three takeaways

  • Why 30% of guest messages go unanswered — and what that reveals
  • Gilad Berenstein (Virtuoso Board): "The Golden Era of Small and Medium Business" — why the old moats are breaking
  • Bashar Wali: "What the fuck is a lifestyle hotel?" — and why the future is small, simple, and shazamable
  • Matt Welle (CEO Mews): From administrators to memory-makers. Magical Hospitality = exceptional teams + tech that amplifies talent
  • Amber Asher — former CEO Standard International, 400% growth, $355M sale to Hyatt, now on the Mews board. Her take: be closer to people again
  • The bar scene with Amber, Anna Di Giuseppe (CEO Cuorifoglio), and Peggy — the moment that was worth the flight

"What machines can do no longer defines your value. What humans feel does."

Human or Hype? — This Week

Robot concierges and AI showrooms at hospitality conferences.

✅ Exceptional hotel teams + tech that amplifies talent. New technology and new human development — simultaneously. That is the formula.

The Question I Can't Stop Thinking About

This podcast has no advertising budget.

It grows because people like you forward it to people like you.

If something landed today — share it with one person navigating the same questions.

That forward is worth more to me than any campaign.

Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.

Leave a review if you can. It makes a real difference.

Connect with Peggy on LinkedIn: @amelungandpartners

Free GHX Pressure Test — 12 questions, 5 minutes:

amelung-partners.com → Free Tools

AI is great. But humanity is the driving force.

See you next Tuesday.

Peggy, your genuine human experience nerd 🎙️

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