What constitutes luxury? I’ve been spending more time in hotels this year, so it was such a pleasure to speak with Vaughn Davis, Managing Director of Dream Hollywood and CEO of Relevant Hospitality. We get into the psychology and philosophy of hotel development, technology vs human influence on guest experiences and partnerships and collaborations within the community. Dive in for a look behind the curtains of luxury.
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Guest: www.dreamhollywood.com
https://www.instagram.com/dreamhollywood/
https://www.instagram.com/vtothe2ndpower/
Show: http://www.instagram.com/travelnsh_t
Host: http://www.instagram.com/_dCarrie
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YouTube: https://youtu.be/ppnI973tc9E
Salutations and shit, folks. Welcome, welcome. Welcome back to another episode of your favorite travel podcast, Travel and Shit, where I, your host, D. Carrie, have an experiential conversation about the nuanced ways that travel intersects with regular life. And I love to remind you.
There is absolutely a possibility that you have not seen this face. And so I remind you, the podcast is also on the YouTubes. And if you are watching and joining us on the YouTubes, you can see that I've got another face to join this face of mine, my handsome guests with the spiffy hat. I love the hat. Thank you so much for joining me, Vaughn. Please go ahead and introduce yourself.
Vaughn Davis (:Thank you.
Vaughn Davis (:D thanks so much for having me. Vaughn Davis, Managing Director of Dream Hollywood, also the CEO of Relevant Hospitality. It's an honor to be on the show. It's exciting. Let's have some fun. Let's show everyone, let's show... Yeah, let's show everyone why hotels are super fun, man. Best job ever.
dCarrie (:It is a pleasure. It's a pleasure to have you. Now let me go. Oh, please. That's.
dCarrie (:Okay, so let me ask you this. When you give your title, what exactly does that encompass? So as someone that just goes to a hotel and knows that, oh, this is the front desk staff, this is housekeeping, this is the bellhop, or I don't even know if they still use that terminology anymore. What exactly is your role and what does that encompass? Thank you for clarifying.
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah, no problem. Managing director oversees the entire operations of the hotel, right? So from engineering, sales and marketing, to revenue, front office, to people and culture, to food and beverage, to you name it. Everything that happens under the roof, they oversee. And we call them Bell people now.
dCarrie (:Okay.
Mm-hmm.
dCarrie (:Okay.
dCarrie (:Okay, not a hop.
Vaughn Davis (:or a bell person. When I started, it was all bell men. But there were some women in that role, at certain hotels, right? It's time to update the title and job classification, please. Let's make it a little bit more inclusive.
dCarrie (:Right, okay, reasonable.
dCarrie (:Yes.
dCarrie (:So how did you start when you started in hospitality? What was your start like?
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah, yeah. So I started as a Bellman manager of training, um, at the Gans of work park Avenue 20, it was 20 park Avenue. And it was one of the, still has a pretty cool hotel. It's no longer, um, flying the Gans of work flag, but it was one of the most iconic properties launched in park Avenue. So I was trained by some of the best in the, in the industry and I got to experience firsthand.
dCarrie (:Okay.
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
Vaughn Davis (:interacting with Tiro and clientele and A-list trees that stay at that property. I think our average daily rate at the time is anywhere between 600 and 5,000 per night. So, on $600 to $5,000 per night, depending on the room category you're staying in.
dCarrie (:That's interesting. But when you said that, I immediately thought of two of my favorite, I won't say categorically, what, where they would fall, but I remember, I don't know if you've ever watched it. I wanna say it was on CBS. It had Vanessa Williams in it, like 666 Park, or it was like 666 something. That show where they lived in a hotel, it was like a mixed property. I wanna say that there were long.
term guests as well as short term guests. Absolutely love that show. And I think that it got, it should have gotten a lot more than it did. And I, so I am a huge JLo as an actress fan. I always have to caveat it as such for my own personal tastes. Yes. Love her as an actress, love her as a dancer. She makes bops, she makes hits, hits. I like,
Vaughn Davis (:Really? Just an actress? Oh man.
Vaughn Davis (:JLo's an icon, man.
dCarrie (:I mean, yes, lots of famous people are. I love her as an actress, and I will watch anything she is in, and Made a Man Happen happens to be, I'd say, one of the J-Lo movies I've absolutely seen the most times in my life, and I think that it does a beautiful job. I don't remember what the character's name is, but the gentleman that is head, I don't know if he's, I think he's head of housekeeping, or he's head of something, but he does a really good job.
great job of really expressing what it is to be of service and how because you are of service does not necessarily make you a servant. And there is no, and I also think that there are so many negative connotations to being a servant because it's one of those loaded terms, right? Where it is often used in a very negative or derogatory fashion, but it also has a lot of positive to it.
As someone who has started as a bell person and made their way to a CEO, what is your experience of service and how do you see that across the different, what's the word I'm looking for, job roles and job titles throughout hospitality?
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah, so we can start with the macro and then move on into the micro. We are big fans of human psychology and neuroscience, so we always do a deep dive into understanding the human brain and how we can best build experiences based on that understanding. And there's one theory, it's called peak-end theory. It's also called a peak-end rule. It became a rule at some point. I still refer to it as a theory. I still need a little bit more peer review.
and studies in journals to accept it into my catalog of laws, but it is one that speaks to remembering the best and worst of the experience. So we utilize that with an understanding that people only recognize two things, the best or the worst of the experience.
which everyone outranks or outweighs the other in the impact on the guest experience. So we always focus on ways to remove too many redundancies in the guest journey, which the guest journey is, you know, the pre-arrival process, arrival, check-in, mid-stay, check-out, post-stay. We've actually broadened that journey's horizon quite a bit that I won't speak to here because that's a bit.
proprietary and internal. And it also sets us apart from a lot of our competitors. But yeah, we deploy that rule. We deploy some of Nietzsche's and Freud's understanding of human psychology and how to actually deliver on the expectations of the guests and the experience of the guests. So that's where we start. We start with that understanding and we build the standard operating procedures to help us reach those goals. We also partnered with companies like Forbes,
The chief technology officer is a good friend and he's phenomenal at putting together this incredible Rolodex of information on the guest experience. Of course, it's always going to be information that doesn't directly correlate to the person, but more so the group. And it was great to partner with them.
Vaughn Davis (:to get an understanding of what their expectations are. In the industry, obviously, they're the ones that give the four or the five star ratings or the Forbes preferred ratings, which would then allow you to be a little bit more attractive to a different tier of clientele.
And yeah, so we took all that and put it all together and then we started ideating on standard operating procedures and the way the guest journey should look and the way the guest experience should feel. That also ties into the five senses of the guest experience as well. So even down to the music is curated here on property with a beats per minute focus. We're working on getting closer to
fully understanding how we can implement sound science into our sound engineering here on property as well. So soon we'll start getting into different frequencies that we will be able to project based on the music to allow you to feel a certain way that you want to feel. When you're checking into a hotel, you want to feel excited. You want to feel like you're about to go on an adventure, have some fun, get a peaceful night's rest. Music can help curate that, obviously, scent and smell, that's a big part.
of the five senses of the guest experience when you smell the dream scent when you walk into the property.
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
Vaughn Davis (:or hopeful that they're like your memory recall, some other notes of ascent elsewhere across the world will bring you back to the nostalgia of the experience of staying at a dream property. Of course, sight, touch, those are all very important as well. So as you enter into the property, there is a level of intelligent design that was deployed by Rockwell Interior Designers in their group and they did a phenomenal job. You can feel the front desk,
and the experience we want you to feel when you get to the guest room and you walk on the carpets like stepping into the Pacific Ocean and then the headboard in the rooms would be reminiscent of the sand on the beach and then we have these really cool tapestry on the wall. So everything was intelligently designed and having the guest experience as the main focal point of why we're doing it ties back into what I just said about the macro, right?
human psychology and neuroscience. So that's the basis in which we start. So that's the first principles foundation in which we start and then we go out and it's about talent acquisition to make sure that you are hiring the right people that align with your vision, your goals, your culture.
in your hotel and the experience you wish to provide to your hotel guests. And, you know, for us, we took a deep dive into the hiring processes, historically in hotels. And one of the things that I found was that we never hired from the heart. So it was a matter of having a conversation with the person that you're. Their heart, not my heart, their heart. And that's also proprietary psyche. Yeah.
dCarrie (:Well, who's heart?
dCarrie (:Okay, would that be the heart of the property? But I mean, like, would that be the heart of the property and of the environment that you're trying to cultivate or based on the particular candidate's heart and whether or not they are a good fit you would feel for? Because I feel like that's one of the things that you would assume that a hiring manager would do. It's just like, oh, are you a good fit for this? But is it that you mean like a good fit for the culture or just a good fit for the role?
Vaughn Davis (:Mm-hmm.
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah.
Vaughn Davis (:It fit for the culture, definitely the culture. Culture is everything. Culture is the start of where everything will emanate from. So I can't get too deep into the proprietary practices that we have in place for people in culture, but we do hire from the heart. And obviously, your experience is very important. We do review the resumes, we do go through that.
dCarrie (:Of course.
Vaughn Davis (:traditional process of vetting candidates before we have the discussion. But the big thing for us is IQ, EQ, aptitude, culture, heart, and in no particular order, but we look at all of that when we make a decision as to who we're going to hire to allow them to come into our hotel to provide an experience to our guests. So it's very important. I think it's one of the
Vaughn Davis (:property and the service culture for your property, getting the right people in the building that can deliver on that.
promise that we make to our guests, which we take very seriously, which is a peaceful night's rest and exciting experience and phenomenal food and beverage and well-appointed rooms, etc. But the best service has to trump it all because we are in the service industry. That is how this industry was built, the hospitality industry. And for us, we take it very seriously as to who we allow to deliver that experience that we've created, built and cultivated over time.
dCarrie (:I like that. I don't know that the average traveler necessarily thinks about all of the nuance and the details that go into a larger establishment. And I can say that is one distinguishing factor, you would assume, can't always be the case, but a distinguishing factor between, say, an Airbnb and a hotel property is that.
there is that level of vetting, there's that level, you would assume not all properties are going to do this obviously. But now in terms of that, what type of property, what property are you at again and what category would you say you're in so that everyone has an idea of what we're talking about here?
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah, we are.
ight on Selma and Coimbra. So:We love to ensure our guests have fun. And the reason being is, I think, well, yeah, like, well, fun, I mean, I can, I can, I can be able to bridge the two, right? So fun is a dynamic thought, right? And a dynamic idea. It's never going to be about, you know,
dCarrie (:Okay.
What does fun look like there? Oh, go ahead, finish your answer.
dCarrie (:Okay.
Vaughn Davis (:what's fun for one group of people. Everyone's definition of fun will be different. So we try to cater to different demographics and our different tiers of guests and what their expectations are and why they're here. For example, if you're here for a honeymoon, that's gonna be a different example of fun. We might say, hey, let's set up your dinner at Mother Wolf. This is going to be a tier one experience from a dining standpoint. And you're gonna have the best wine,
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
Vaughn Davis (:and then we would be able to decide if the guests would much rather go to a show at the Pantages or the Hollywood Bowl or if they're more into the Griffith Observatory or if they want to go to the beach. We can set all of these experiences up and it's like an excursion, right? You know if you go to a cruise ship or you go to one of those remote islands they always have excursion set up. So we decided to take that concept of excursions and then
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
Vaughn Davis (:for the hotel guest experience to then be able to provide an experience not only just in the building, but for the entire community as a whole. And then what we do is we build relationships with our guests to be able to then extend the quality of experiences that we provided in the past elsewhere. So they may be in Florence, Italy for all we know, we might get an email.
or it might be a text message, what's the best place to go to Florence, Italy that feels like beauty and essence? Right? And we will respond. So it's the life cycle of a guest. We don't want to look at it as just the length of stay. We want to look at it as, you know, you are our family for the rest of your life or however long you want to be considered our family.
And that's why we have such an aggressive digital strategy, where we extend the hotel guest experience to the digital realm. So if you go on Instagram, you go to Stories, we're gonna be launching a few other social media outlets soon, don't wanna get that away either. But the whole plan and the whole vision is that after you check out, your experience doesn't end. Your experience should continue. Every single day you look at your Instagram feed or your Facebook feed.
dCarrie (:Thank you.
Vaughn Davis (:um, where you look at your ex. How do you call that? Do you say tweets? No, I don't even know. I can't with you. It's like, it's like, what do you say? No, I just, I just, I just exed. What? No, you can't say that. You mean you just tweeted?
dCarrie (:Twitter, it's Twitter, it's Twitter, it's Twitter. I don't recognize anything else, it's Twitter, whatever. That man could call it what he wants, Twitter.
dCarrie (:Right, it's stupid, it is stupid. It's Twitter. You tweeted, I don't know if you twote. You tweeted or you tweet, you Twitter, it's Twitter. It's always gonna be Twitter. Yeah, I said, I don't know if it's a twote, but, or you tweeted, or you, I don't like, you tweeted, or you will tweet. Like, what are all the tenses? You were on Twitter, but it ain't gonna be X.
Vaughn Davis (:Did you just say 12?
Vaughn Davis (:Yes, but you know what? Let's just look. Webster's makes updates quite often to the dictionary. Let's get twoked in there. Twoked.
dCarrie (:I don't think I'll live to see that update. I can't see it happening. I appreciate that because I in this household am known for fucking up some words. One of my personal favorites and let's make this fetch. Let's absolutely make fetch happen. Shit, it just flew out. I am in charge. You're in control and in charge in charge.
Vaughn Davis (:It's all good, stuff happens.
Talk to me.
Vaughn Davis (:I like it.
dCarrie (:It's a thing in the home here. I say it all the freaking time, I'm in charge. And people following, use it in your worlds. Use it in the places that you are there. And it's gonna be a thing. I'd like to think so.
Vaughn Davis (:I like it.
Vaughn Davis (:I'm in there. Look.
Vaughn Davis (:My tribe of humans are probably gonna watch this at some point. Make sure you guys know where that word came from, because it's happening. It's happening in the home. Putting it up on the whiteboard in the kitchen. I love it. I love it. That's hilarious.
dCarrie (:charge.
dCarrie (:Thank you. Making Fetch happen. I'm gonna put it up here now. So it sounds like you guys are very, very big on creating relationships. It's not just a check in, check out, peace out. You've got your receipt. We don't need to hear from you anymore. And I think that kind of ties into one of the things that I wanted to ask you. This seems as if it would make it very easy to develop a sense of brand loyalty.
Vaughn Davis (:Wait.
dCarrie (:That's one of the things that I personally, and I preface this with saying, everyone's experience is gonna be different. Everyone's personality is different, and that's part of why I asked you about, well, what's y'all idea of fun for a hotel? Because I know that if I go to a hotel with my parents, between my mom and dad and myself, completely different ideas of fun. My mom and I can have a great time together.
Vaughn Davis (:Right. It's very different. Yeah.
dCarrie (:My dad and I, as much of a daddy's girl as I am, his idea of fun and my idea of fun, it only works when he just does what I wanna do. Let's just leave it at that. So in terms of my personal decision-making,
Vaughn Davis (:Right.
dCarrie (:I tend to be what is most convenient or what is going to benefit me the most in this particular experience or in this particular interaction. I'm staying in this area and this hotel happens to be the most easily accessible to my transportation means for that current stay. That being the case, I feel as though I am in a shift in this...
maturing age, if you will, I will absolutely pay for the convenience of certain things. And some of the convenience is knowing that you are building and establishing relationships. And so I've found that while I have generally been a just, all right, well, where's it at? Let's go there. We're going to be in this area. I've made those decisions without as much care to establish.
those types of longstanding kind of relationships. And so now that I'm there where I see that it has value, how would you suggest, and I'd say from the two different realms, right? Like from your, we didn't get into like what your personal travel experiences are or anything like that, but we know that you're a professional, right? So there's a professional kind of mindset that one, as a non-professional, I would expect that there may be a difference, right? So like me,
I'm not a professional, it's not what I do for work, so I'ma just go with what works for me in that moment. But I could see how if I had professional experience in a certain thing, I could see where, while it may logically make sense to do one thing, it's actually a better long-term choice to go a different way. So that's a long way to ask you, what would you say key points, key factors, or deciding factors in choosing a...
brand or a chain or a service provider to stick with? Why would someone, other than like points, but like what are points when the company can change what the points means? Like if I'm accumulating a hundred thousand miles with Delta and then all of a sudden Delta says, hey, actually, you know, sorry girl, you've done so well, but we're changing it and we're starting fresh. We're not even using points anymore. When things like that can happen,
dCarrie (:for me and the way I, again, my personal preferences, the way I see things, I don't necessarily always want to go that direction. So for someone that wants to make that shift, what things would you suggest someone keep in mind to decide what the best chain or brand to kind of want to develop a relationship with B would be?
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah, well, I think the first thing they need to identify is what type of experience they're looking to have. Right. So what are you looking for? Are you looking for 24 hour in a dining? Are you looking for ballet, a doorman, or a door person, excuse me, a bell person, a front desk agent? And then suddenly a concierge. Are you looking to dine at a fine dining restaurant? Are you looking for 24 7?
in room dining. It just depends on what you're looking for. When you identify what you're looking for, then you can identify a brand that aligns with your interests, what your expectations will be. Like for example, myself, I generally stay at luxury hotels.
The best of the best is usually where I will decide to stay. And the reason being is that I feel very comfortable in this luxury, antique sector. And I feel like I understand all the hotels that live in this little ecosystem. But what I want to feel and experience is what they're offering in that ecosystem. Because sometimes I can learn, and actually the majority of times I learn from staying at those properties and say, oh, that's pretty cool. How can I make that?
so that it fits within what we offer as a luxury boutique hotel and be able to amplify the guest experience. So that's me. I like personally, right, it's all about what you want. I like that
dCarrie (:Right. You establish your non-negotiables, basically.
Vaughn Davis (:Correct, correct. I want 24 hour in room dining. I want to make sure that when I arrive there's a certain level of service because I'm so busy as it is always and I'm pretty sure you can resonate with this. We don't really have as much time to spend on menial thoughts and tasks.
A lot of the things need to be set up in advance for us because of how busy we are moving from meeting to meeting pretty much every day, it's like seven days a week. You're on calls and you're constantly busy. So my expectations for us, they will be completely different than anyone's because it's based on their psychographic. It's based on what they like. And if you're more so into just, I need a bed and I want to go to sleep.
dCarrie (:Uh huh.
Vaughn Davis (:and it's quiet, I don't care what restaurant you have. I actually don't even care what your mini bar offers. I don't drink anyway, right? Those, so then there's a different hotel for that, and that's what I always tell everyone, you know, understand what the brands offer, what they're selling. They usually generally put that on their websites and their Instagrams, and if, when you're reviewing that, before you're staying, also if you're going on TripAdvisor, you're reviewing.
dCarrie (:Heheheheheheh
Vaughn Davis (:what other customers have said in the past about the establishment, that's going to help you for your decision. So that's usually the way I look at it and I'm hopeful that the majority of travelers look at it that way, but then there's other travelers like, I don't care, I'll tell them. It doesn't matter. It's available, I'll book it and they'll just go stay there.
dCarrie (:So now my next question for you is what exactly classifies a hotel or property as a luxury property? I'd had a former guest before that worked in the hotel industry. Hi baby, that's my cousin. He was saying that it basically depends on like amenities like what is offered, what do you have that other places don't have. What are some of the more luxury
Vaughn Davis (:Right.
dCarrie (:amenities if you will because For those of us who can't necessarily afford the what is that? Oh, it was right here in my brain I remember I was so impressed when my cousin stayed there one time and she came into the city I think they stayed at like I Think it was like the wall. I think they stayed at the Waldorf and I'm like, okay This cute little stay this is incredible. We had a nice little time walking through but
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah, completely different experience, right? The world...
Vaughn Davis (:Oh, I think we're breaking up a tad there. I heard the Waldorf last.
dCarrie (:Okay, okay, there we go. Okay, so I was saying, I remember a cousin of mine was, she came into the city and she and her partner stayed at the Waldorf and I was just like, bitch I know y'all have money, okay, this is so cute, loving visiting here. But I don't have those coins, so what are the differences? What does, what exactly,
Vaughn Davis (:I love it.
dCarrie (:constitutes luxury because I've had great experiences at some hotels and I will give it to the boutiques. The boutique girls have it. I've had my top two experiences were at the Goodwin Hotel in Philly. I mean, from walk-in, the young ladies at the front desk, passed the vibe check, everyone was so sweet, made it simple for me.
Vaughn Davis (:Hmm?
Vaughn Davis (:Hehehehe
dCarrie (:in Nashville, it, I think it was like the Joseph, not far from like that state, the Nissan Stadium. Those were the best hotel experiences that I've personally ever had on a, I don't have money budget. So for those of us that are gonna get there one day, let me live in my dream world. What can we anticipate for when we arrive?
Vaughn Davis (:Cut it.
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah.
dCarrie (:at the status that we can be in luxury hotels all the time. What do those amenities look like?
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah, so the way it works, I guess, because this is a pretty long answer, so I'm going to try to condense it as much as possible. But the way it works is each brand within their portfolio, they decide, you know, the name of this hotel is going to be luxury. The name of this hotel is going to be limited service, luxury boutique, a budget hotel. They have all these different tiers and then they build them out based on.
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
Vaughn Davis (:the understanding of what the FFNE, which is the furniture, fixture, and equipment, and the OSNE will look like, which is the operating supplies when they're building out a hotel, so each tier has different budgets for the build. Yeah. So when you get to the luxury hotels, yes, exactly. Just like a house. So, you know, if you, if you want to stay in a 20,000 square foot mansion, that's going to cost you. But if you're just looking for a 700 square foot.
dCarrie (:Okay.
dCarrie (:Okay.
Reasonable. Like a house. Copy. Okay.
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
Vaughn Davis (:apartment in, let's say, Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, that's a different story, right? So with those different types of hotels, there's certain expectations for the service levels, the pay of the staff.
quality of everything that's gonna be inside of the hotel, the restaurant partnerships, the nightlife partnerships, and everything changes based on what they identify that hotel brand as within their portfolio. So that's generally how we decide which hotels will be luxury, or which ones will be budget, or limited service, et cetera. That's it in a nutshell.
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
dCarrie (:So you mentioned the partnerships. What types of partnerships does your hotel have? It's Dream Hollywood, yeah?
Vaughn Davis (:Yes, Dream Hollywood. We have a pretty impressive partnership, RollinX, and that ties into all the relationships that we've built and cultivated over time in the industry. Of course, Tau Group, as everyone would know, is the number one food and beverage operators in the world. Here at Dream Hollywood, they're our partner. So they operate our food and beverage outlets and put on some of the most amazing.
dCarrie (:What kind of partnerships?
Vaughn Davis (:nightlife experiences, like I'll tell you, and it's on the news and it's public knowledge, but he did he was Batman, right? For Halloween. Where did Batman decide to unveil that he's Batman? On our rooftop. Right? So that's, that's the kind of major plug. Look, if Diddy blesses your party, it's a go, right? And the made by Sadiq guys throw that party on Wednesdays.
dCarrie (:Oh right, yeah.
dCarrie (:Oh cool. Go Frig here. Plug! Ha ha ha!
dCarrie (:Hahaha!
Vaughn Davis (:in partnership with Targ Group and ourselves. And it's just been a phenomenal, it's the hottest party in all of LA since we launched it in 2020. And I'm beyond, beyond grateful for the team for coming up with that idea on a Wednesday. It's an old school R&B party on a Wednesday, middle of the week.
dCarrie (:That was my next thing I'm gonna ask you. Do people dance at parties anymore? I was having this conversation last week with my coworkers and we were talking about like the New York clubs that we went to back in our club days. And we were like, where do we go? That's what I'm like, some of us just wanna dance. Like that I would sign up for. Like I just wanna go freaking dance.
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah, no one dances. Yeah, yeah.
dCarrie (:I don't want to watch you sitting and holding your hookah. I don't want to watch you watching me. Like we both got drinks. So where are we going from here? Did you not have a budget? You're not trying to get on the floor? No, there's no one. Every song has a little piece of choreography they're doing on TikTok and all that jazz. So you're not about to dance. So they don't dance.
Vaughn Davis (:I just want to dance.
Vaughn Davis (:Right.
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah.
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah. I just want to dance. That's from a movie. What movie is that from? I just want to dance. Is that old school? I don't know. Feels very Will. What was it? I just want to dance. Is it Talladega Nights? I don't know. I'm pretty sure Will. Yeah. I'm pretty sure Will has something to do with that one. I, that's, that sounds like Will Ferrell, 100%.
dCarrie (:I feel like that was, oh, I think it might've been that, shit, now I gotta write it down. I'ma have to email you back on this one because now it's not gonna leave me alone.
dCarrie (:Okay. He's been enough that it could be for many of them.
Vaughn Davis (:It's definitely him. I know for sure, but I don't know which movie. I don't think it's Anchorman. Can't be Anchorman Whatever. We'll figure it out. We'll get it I'm Ron Burgundy So Oh my yeah, it's been on the top of my list for a long time We actually used to in college all the football players will be in either my dorm room or my one night transition door My football house all the guys would be in there and we would shut off all the
dCarrie (:think so. It's not giving Ron Burgundy. That's not a Ron Burgundy line.
dCarrie (:That's my brother's favorite freaking movie.
Vaughn Davis (:the sound, we would all recite it word for word from the beginning to the end of the movie. And if you were able to do it, I'm not even bad. Milk was a bad choice.
dCarrie (:I'm not even mad.
dCarrie (:And I'ma tell my brother business, him and his friends used to just have a random suit day where they would all just dress up in suits on campus and they did the whole jump pose. It was adorable. Adorable. So.
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah, let's go suit shopping.
Vaughn Davis (:Oh my gosh, one of my favorite lines from that movie is when Brick goes to the other guy and he's like, where'd you get your suit from? The toilet? And he goes, he goes to the toilet store. I love, I love Lamp. It's such a good movie. Anyway.
dCarrie (:Heheheheheheh!
dCarrie (:They were the... I think we're gonna have to run that back again this weekend. We're gonna have to put that on.
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah, it's a good one. It's a classic.
dCarrie (:So of the amenities, I know one thing that the dream property does is use a lot of technology. What would a guest anticipate in terms of technology, right? Cause there's an app for everything. And I know that for the things that I use often, I'm all on board, but I hate having to download an app for something I don't foresee long-term usage.
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah.
dCarrie (:like going to events, meetups, like I was very disappointed that Essence Fest needed an app to be downloaded. Just run me my tickets. Ticketmasters got this on lock at this point. What type of AI or technology or electronic devices or what is your policy? What is the way that you guys are kind of bridging the gap between the property and the guest?
Vaughn Davis (:right there with you.
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah.
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah, I think I should definitely add some more color to our partnerships as well, because we have some great partners that will be upset if I don't mention them. And then I can jump back into, I'll jump back into tech with that as well too, because it goes hand in hand. So we actually just launched Athletic Games, which is a gym that's, that's operated by Trevelle Games, who is considered one of the preeminent forces within.
dCarrie (:No, okay, please do.
Vaughn Davis (:luxury fitness. He works directly with a lot of your favorite NBA, NFL, MLB, actors, actresses, you name it.
dCarrie (:Okay.
Vaughn Davis (:That's who he works with. So what we did, we partnered with him to spin up the gym within our hotel. So we have a fully functioning gym with parameters in place so it doesn't impact the guest experience. Like for example, there's a limited amount of personal training sessions that they can have in the gym to make sure that our hotel guests still have access to the amenities without any interruption. But you can pay $1,000 a month for unlimited personal training.
dCarrie (:Okay.
Vaughn Davis (:anytime you want at our hotel. And additional $300 per month separately, if you'd like to just be a member of the community anytime you want, which gives you access to every single one of the amenities that we have available. We have the best pool in all of Los Angeles on our rooftop, overlooking the Hollywood Hills and the Hollywood sign, stunning views of Century City. I mean, the sunset I'm looking at right now, it's gorgeous. We have six cabanas on the rooftop as well. Highlight Grill is situated on that space. It's an American grill.
restaurant where we have three meal periods currently five days a week and then we enter into four meal periods which of course would include lunch on the weekends, best brunch, chicken and waffles off the chain. So you definitely want to check that out. And then of course we have Tao restaurant which is the largest restaurant in all of Los Angeles. It's 20,000 plus square feet and all your favorite parties have happened there.
We have to be very careful with confidentiality, of course, in our guests, but all of this stuff's online. You can Google it, everyone, and you can see some of the fun things that we've had transpire here. And then we're now opening up a new club. I can't say the name yet, but it should be open at the end of the month. I'm not going to give out the concept, but all we're going to say is that the framework team, they actually are going to be operating that space, and it's going to be a completely different take on.
dCarrie (:Okay.
dCarrie (:temporarily.
Vaughn Davis (:the nightlife experience that we already offer and already exists in our market because we want to be able to create something for a different demographic that may want a different experience like you just mentioned earlier. Does anyone dance anymore? And the answer is pretty much no unless you know you play
dCarrie (:Hmm. They're recording a TikTok.
Vaughn Davis (:Right, or you're playing, you know, some of this new EDM music that the Gen Z and Gen Alpha love so much and that's a different type of dancing.
dCarrie (:That's what the one next is called, Gen Alpha.
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah, it's Gen Alpha. Yeah, I have a few of them running around my house. They're on another level, man.
dCarrie (:God bless, God bless, the dog is enough. Wow!
Vaughn Davis (:There are another level. Yeah, no. But yeah, so we have that partnership and then we will soon be able to share another edition to the hotel, can't say the name yet either, but this will be one of the coolest recording studios that you're gonna find with live on the property.
dCarrie (:Okay.
dCarrie (:Oh cool. And it'll be on the property or is it just like a partnership?
Vaughn Davis (:It's on the property. Yep, and it is a partnership, another partnership with the world famous DJ known as DJ Ski. I'm just gonna leave it there. That's all I can say. Then that's all I could say. And then there will be, yeah, I did say DJ Ski. He's a legend by the way, if you know Ski, Ski's a man. And it will also come with a pre and post production podcast element because we launched a podcast incubator here in 2010.
dCarrie (:Copy. You said DJ Ski?
Okay.
Vaughn Davis (:2020, excuse me, in which we have two podcasts currently shooting here on a regular continuous basis. One of which is a Suite Life, yeah, a Suite Life with Rashid Malik in chief, both legends in their respective industries. And if you look those guys up, it's a Suite Life podcast within the top 5% of podcasts globally.
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
dCarrie (:Oh cool.
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
Vaughn Davis (:shot right here in our suites. That's the name. And then the other one is, um, B-Do-Be-Come, which is by Leah Marble. She is actually, um, the former Miss Barbados. And she does a podcast that's all about health, wellness, and like the beautification of your soul and self and how you can inspire others. So we have different genres of podcasts that we're incubating here on property.
dCarrie (:Okay.
Vaughn Davis (:And now with the new partnership coming in, we can do pre and post production. And you can even shoot those podcasts right there in the studio and, or in anywhere throughout the hotel. And they will edit and they'll make sure that the podcast quality is up to par. Yeah, that's going to be a fun one. It's going to be a fun one. And then there's another partnership. Um, I don't know if you know these names, but, uh, Damon Elliott.
dCarrie (:Fancy, I see, I see.
Vaughn Davis (:John Warwick and Diane Warren. You know, just legends. I don't even know how many Grammys they, I don't even know how many Grammys they have between them. It's gotta be like a billion Grammys. They probably have a house.
dCarrie (:What it, well...
dCarrie (:So what is the Dionne Warwick doing with you guys? Like she's doing a podcast or it's just, okay, so you're doing one of those, one of those. Okay, it's kind of like club.
Vaughn Davis (:That you're going to have to wait for that one. This was the trailer, the teaser. But no, what they're doing is in the health and wellness space is what I can say. And it is revolutionary and transformative. I went through one of the experiences while vetting the concept. We have already had a great relationship with them, great partnership. They were in Coachella with us when we did the pop-up. Last Coachella that just transpired.
dCarrie (:Oh, that's so cool.
dCarrie (:Mm. Mm-hmm.
dCarrie (:Oh sweet, that's cool. What did that look like?
Vaughn Davis (:Oh my gosh, that's a whole separate podcast. Yep.
dCarrie (:Like what would a pop-up for a hotel look like at like a music conference or like a music festival, if you will? Like...
Vaughn Davis (:D, you're asking some really good questions and you're gonna get some stuff out of me and my team's gonna kill me on the back end, but it's totally worth it. All right, let me tell you. So this was a fun one, right? I recall a lot of my friends saying, don't go to Coachella, I've been invited so many times. I'm like, I'm not doing that, man. I don't have time for that. Just a bunch of young kids ranging with concerts. No, I'm good, right? Please, let me do something else. And they go, no, mom.
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
Vaughn Davis (:You need to need to go like if you're invited to go challenge just go experience it So two years ago I went and what I ended up seeing was literally everyone that I would see it like the Super Bowl or f1 Or the World Series or the NBA All-Stars all the marquee events. They're all at Coachella in shorts and a t-shirt Just hanging out networking talking about you know what they want to do what we can do together
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
dCarrie (:Mm.
Vaughn Davis (:stop having a good time while listening to a performance by their favorite artists. And then there's a bunch of ancillary events that happen just like the Super Bowl that are high impact events. So I completely changed my entire perception of Coachella. I was like, Whoa, this is the coolest thing ever. Okay. Now it's time to audit. Now it's time to audit this experience. What's missing. Right. So I looked through all the lines of code at Coachella. And I was like, okay, that's missing. That's missing. Okay. What's great.
dCarrie (:Interesting.
Vaughn Davis (:So what we did was we took our hotel and created a decentralized hotel, meaning everything that we do here, we took it and spread it across seven acres on an old date farm that was a five minute walk away from Coachella.
Then we partnered with some pretty gnarly guys, legends, the Jupe guys, right? You got to look up J-U-P-E. The coolest dudes. Um, they actually are ex SpaceX and Tesla engineers and employees. And they built this luxury space aged dwelling. See?
That was a lot of practice because I was calling them tents for like a good three months and one of them jumped in and was like Vaughn, Vaughn. Please don't say tents. It's a luxury space-age dwelling Vaughn. This is not a tent. And I was like, I was like, I was, but I was like a valid, that's a valid point because they actually have air conditioning units in a remote where you control the heat and air conditioning and their jutes are not tents. I mean
dCarrie (:Okay.
dCarrie (:Don't disrespect me. Yeah.
dCarrie (:Okay. It's like, this isn't a boat, it's a ship. Copy.
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
Vaughn Davis (:They come out of a box and they set them up within probably an hour each. And it's one of the coolest experiences sleeping under the stars in the jib. It was wild. I was like, this is too cool. All the ambient noises. Yeah. Oh, it was, it was, it was a hit.
dCarrie (:You know, that at Coachella would be like, that's, that's a mature experience. Like I can't, cause what you were thinking, all these kids raging, raving and raging and the dirt and I don't do crowds, not for me. But when you remind me that there are actual adults in certain areas that don't want to be in that type of experience. So it's just like, well, I'm not gonna not.
Vaughn Davis (:That's right.
Vaughn Davis (:Take care. Right.
Vaughn Davis (:All right.
dCarrie (:go to the concert, let's make it more adults. I'm liking this.
Vaughn Davis (:Oh man, it was a massive hit, massive hit. It was so much of a success that I can't tell you what's coming next.
dCarrie (:That's a genius idea though. Like make the stuff that was fun when you were a kid still fun as an adult. I think that is a really great fricking market to be in. Like, thank you. No, thank you for that. There's hope.
Vaughn Davis (:That was a thank you.
Vaughn Davis (:Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, we added. No, it was fun, man. We'll be back. We'll be back next year. But I can't tell y'all where, when, and how, but it's pretty major. Pretty major. It's actually the reason we even put on the perfect concept. And once we were able to see that the concept was proven.
dCarrie (:Okay.
dCarrie (:Huh, copy, copy.
I like it.
Vaughn Davis (:The right phone calls happened and the right conversations are happening and we'll be in the best location possibly in Coachella that you can be in to provide this elevated luxury experience. And what we also did too is we built in the programming because we have seven days of programming here at Dream Hollywood and that was a request of mine since 2019. I said, guys, when I arrive in 2019, we only program two days out of the week.
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
Vaughn Davis (:We need everyday program. Everyday should have, yeah.
dCarrie (:And what do you mean by programming? As in there's like an itinerary for guests to kind of tap into or just services or amenities that are separate from like your room service or the gym per se.
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah.
Vaughn Davis (:The excursions, right? Internal property excursions. So Jazz Nights one, right? Made by Siddiqui on Wednesdays, another one. We did a crazy boots by Bryant pop-up party on Thursday, which is another great example. Live music in the lobby. We partnered with Kind Music Academy and the Kind Music Academy team actually put on...
dCarrie (:Okay. Mm.
dCarrie (:Okay.
Vaughn Davis (:this showcase in the lobby with some of their emerging talent. We had a stage, the whole shebang. I mean, we even had a Grammy. It's pretty cool. We had a Grammy award winning band. Actually, excuse me, perform as well, which is White Sun. Yeah, that White Sun is on another level. I sat, I was in the front row for that portion of the showcase and I was like, what are you guys doing with this music?
dCarrie (:nice.
Vaughn Davis (:What frequency are you pumping into this? Like we can't tell you that, Vaughn. It's amazing. Check out Whitesun. If you're in it, there you go. There you go. I mean, look, it's working for them. You know, they just won another Grammy this year. And then, so that's an example of another event or programming that we've done.
dCarrie (:proprietary information.
Vaughn Davis (:We also have health and wellness programming too. We just partnered, I can say this publicly, with Yada Yoga as well. So we have athletic games and Yada Yoga. We're responsible, I think there's a yoga. And yeah, there definitely is. There's a whole yoga session happening right now. Sunset yoga. Or happened already at the hotel. Yeah, and there's right key healing.
dCarrie (:Okay.
dCarrie (:Oh, nice.
Vaughn Davis (:there's no limit to what we can do. We tend to try to see how we can push the envelope and experiences even outside of our doors to then add value to our experience that we have within the doors. And an example of that was working very closely with the Hollywood Partnership Framework and Golden Voice to put on the concert that happened on Hollywood Boulevard with Chris Lake and Fisher, which had over 12,000 people in attendance, which then...
dCarrie (:Oh wow.
Vaughn Davis (:immediately impacted all hotels, restaurants, and businesses, period, in the neighborhood. We were all sold out. We were all sold out. We had LA Fashion Week as well. Right. We had LA Fashion Week as well. They reached out, wanted to partner with us to figure out ways that we can amplify their voice and messaging for LA Fashion Week, you know, because it always goes a little, you know, under-recognized, to put it that way. And they actually, oh, we're coming.
dCarrie (:Yeah.
It's a win for everybody. Yeah.
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
dCarrie (:Yeah. I mean, it's not New York. They do their best out there, you know. Sorry, guys.
Vaughn Davis (:Listen, I walked three New York City fashion week back in my modeling days. My number one goal, sorry New York, we're coming. Okay?
dCarrie (:Okay, and this is from not a fashion girl at all, but I will say I do so deeply love seeing the girls dress up. And I mean girls across all demographics, like all of the babies, I love seeing the expression that comes out in those outfits in fashion week. I'm not a fashion girl in what I would assume to be the traditional sense of fashion girls. I like the stories in an outfit.
Vaughn Davis (:Mm-hmm. Yeah.
dCarrie (:I like the expression that comes along with it and not necessarily the labels. Cause like for me, I feel as if I'm outside looking in and it can seem as if a lot of people are just stuck on labels. Same thing when it comes to like where you're staying, the type of luggage that you carry, your airline carrier. Some people like to stick to a particular label. This is my girl. I am Chanel only it is what it is. I will wear it regardless of what it looks like. Whereas
Vaughn Davis (:All right.
dCarrie (:I enjoy the story in it. I enjoy the, like you were telling me, the glasses, the gift, whom they were from, and the lapel pin, and the story that the different items actually have. Go ahead, throw more, there you go, there you go. Like, I enjoy the story in things, and I do love, love seeing the expression that comes out around that time of the year. But what was that one?
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah.
dCarrie (:What about spas? I haven't heard you mention a spa. I love a good massage. That's one of the things that I try to tap into wherever I go if time and just all the stars align. I cannot remember what the name of the place was. We did some incredible massages in Montreal. And the best massage I ever had was actually, can I say the best? I don't know. Toss up between.
there in like Bali, because some $7 Bali massages, whoo, hit like nothing else, because they $7 for one, but then when they get back, they get on the table with you, and they getting in there, and I'm like, what's she doing? But Bermuda, yes, I didn't know my tissue went that deep, but she got in there. But one of the best massages I...
Vaughn Davis (:Hey!
Vaughn Davis (:I care with you.
Vaughn Davis (:Oh my gosh, that's a deep tissue massage if I ever heard one.
Vaughn Davis (:I love it.
dCarrie (:ever got was in Bermuda. And I think it was because of like, it was in a cave. It was on the property's cave systems. And so you walk down and it's like, you're walking into a little cave and there's like this beautiful seating area. And the actual massage room is on like a floating bed in like a little floating room. And there's like a little dock that you walk out to and it's dark, it's lit in just the right places. So it's like this whole experience.
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah.
Vaughn Davis (:Oh
dCarrie (:And then you get a really good massage. And then you get a good facial, but the facial wasn't wasting money because they can't do extractions. And they knew that beforehand, but then it was kind of like, I'm gonna try it anyway. And then in hindsight, it was just like, I wasted this money, but the massage was good. The massage was fantastic. So what about your spas? Like, do you guys have a spa there?
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah.
Vaughn Davis (:Yes, so here's how I can say this. Here's how I can say this. We partnered with some gig economy brands to be able to deliver that luxury spa experience directly in Europe. That's what we did. We're gonna continue to do that. But there's a new take on the spa that's coming.
dCarrie (:Okay, I was hoping so. Oh.
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
dCarrie (:You don't say, okay. And that's all you can say, huh?
Vaughn Davis (:New take on a spa. Do me a favor, send me an email, and I want you to be one of the first to experience it on us when we launch. I'm not kidding, it's gonna change your life. That was one of the most transformative experiences I've ever had without anyone having to physically give me a massage, let's just put it that way.
dCarrie (:Okay.
Say, email.
dCarrie (:I'll take your word for it.
dCarrie (:Oh wow. Okay.
Vaughn Davis (:That's our take on a spa. Coming soon, coming soon. That's our take on a spa. And then to jump back into your question about AI and technology, we actually were one of the first to refine and deploy a true robotics program.
dCarrie (:Now I'm curious. I'm curious.
Hmm.
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
Vaughn Davis (:So we actually, yeah, in 2020, it was like impossible to find people in our industry at that time. It was a very challenging season for a lot of hotels. And we were, you know, we had to make a decision. How do we still deliver amazing service?
without people. It was wild. So what we did was we launched two robots that delivered to the guest room. And what we wanted to do there too is ensure that, because I started as a belt manager and trainer. So.
For me, it's still important that we respect those traits and respect and understand that team members still have tipped opportunities. And we would love to, maybe we'd love to still deliver that toothbrush if they want to, but that's up to our team. They make that decision. And the reason being is because of my experience as a Bell man slash Bell person.
where I would be talking to a guest in the lobby and then my hot sauce device which is on an iPod would go off on my hip saying that you have to go and deliver a washcloth or a toothbrush or a mouthwash or whatever the case might be to a guest but I'm speaking to Dee right now about
dCarrie (:Okay.
Vaughn Davis (:the best restaurants to go to tonight, in which I'm going to set up your reservations and get you a car and really over deliver on that experience. But now I can't really finish this process because my hip just vibrated and I have a timer on it that says you have to get to that guest room and deliver it within a certain time period to align certain standards in the industry that would identify you as a luxury boutique hotel. So I'd have to find a creative way to cut that conversation short. And I always felt as though that was rude. I never liked it. It was very rude because and then I also realized that if I did have the time
dCarrie (:Right, right.
dCarrie (:Got it.
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
Vaughn Davis (:to deliver them on the expectations of the guests, then here comes a hundred dollar tip, or 20, 40, 50. It's a high value tip. If I go and I deliver that toothbrush, I'm not getting tipped. I mean, we did it in houses. People don't tip with toothbrushes, right? Because they're or washcloth or shampoo condition. They're literally in their robe trying to get into the shower or go brush their teeth and run to a meeting. So what we did was we were able to classify the
dCarrie (:Right.
Vaughn Davis (:phenomenal mundane tasks that would usually pull our team away from those high tip, high guest engagement opportunities, and then give them the ability to make the decision if they're okay with the robots delivering that, or if they would like to deliver it themselves. Yeah, yeah. So what it actually did was it freed the team up to be great and connect with guests and really have an organic connection and over deliver on their expectations. And then the robots actually
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
dCarrie (:Oh, I like that.
Vaughn Davis (:You know, they come right to the front desk, front desk loads them, they then get into the elevator, they call on their own. And then they call their floor on their own. They get off on the floor. They roll their little R2D2 cells. R2D2, yeah. They roll their little R2D2 cells right on over to the door. Um, they ring the doorbell and then they text the guest. The guest opens the door, they pop their lid open, the guest takes the item out. And they ask the guest, are you having a good time?
dCarrie (:2T2 I think.
Vaughn Davis (:One to five stars. They say whatever they're feeling. That's communicated to the front office. If it's a one, two, or three star, we're gonna get in contact with you because it's time for some human intervention to have a conversation, to see it. That's called mid-state communication in our business, which is something that is generally very rare to come across unless you have team members that are aggressively actively trying to find out how the guest stay is going when they're right walking through the property.
dCarrie (:Okay.
Mm-hmm.
Vaughn Davis (:So then if you get a one, two, or three star, we will reach out to you. But if it's a four or five star, you're having a great time, unless you added some notes in there that were a little concerning. We would note that you're having a great time and hope that we can continue to deliver on exceptional service. Then the robot comes back downstairs, calls the elevator for itself, as it always does, and then goes and loads itself back into its charging port. And it works 24-7. So it really allows our team to be...
ability to be free and connect with guests and actually deliver the levels of service that they were hoping to deliver.
dCarrie (:Yeah.
dCarrie (:It's like the flexibility of maintaining humanity. You know what I mean? Like you're able to, to your point, it's like not everything deserves like, not deserves, cause everything you can assume. Like there's an argument to be made that everything deserves some type of a personal touch, but I would much rather someone looking for extra ketchup get the robot as opposed to, you know, I'm trying to figure out, hey, I'm checking out, but I-
Vaughn Davis (:That's right. Yeah.
dCarrie (:I just want to leave my bags here. I'll be back at whatever time. Are you going to be the person that I'm going to see or is there going to be someone else? Cause that's okay. Let me ask you, you're probably a great person to ask this.
Vaughn Davis (:Go for it.
dCarrie (:Tipping in terms of like valet, for example, do you tip before or do you tip after, or do you just bowler status and just tip both ends?
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah, so, you know, me personally, I tip all the way through. I tip all the way through. Yeah. I mean, I started as a bell person, right? And at the time when I was at the Gans of work, we, if you were at the door, you'd be classified as a door person. So you're going to be the one that's opening and closing the door for everyone coming in. But then we had a dual duty of ballet. So we used to ballet the parts. So I would serve as ballet and door person.
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
dCarrie (:Okay.
Okay.
Vaughn Davis (:And for me personally, that is a separate job that someone's doing. That's a valid attempt. They deserve a tip for exceptional service. I'm one of those that believe that a tip means to ensure promise, the origin of a tip, that's the etymology of a tip. It's not something that should just be given arbitrarily.
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
Vaughn Davis (:That's never the way it was created. So in my mind, I was always looking to deliver an exceptional experience, not with a tip being the final outcome, because guests can feel that. They can feel when it's not an organic connection and you actually really care about the fact that they're staying here and you want to make sure they have a good time in your house. Right. They can feel that versus when you're like, I'm just going to do a great job because I need a hundred dollar tip right now. You going to give me this hundred dollar tip or what?
dCarrie (:Bye.
dCarrie (:You can, you can read the room. If you're someone that reads the room, you absolutely pick up on those things.
Vaughn Davis (:You can, yeah, oh yeah, you feel that, you feel that in the heartbeat, but um, yeah, so yeah, I generally tip everyone.
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah. No, it's not like that.
dCarrie (:I really do feel so bad like when it like, also confession, I'm generally late for certain events. So it's like the, okay, you got the keys? Okay, do you have anything left in the car? We gotta keep it moving. This is probably something that's gonna start. So it's like, I always get like 15 steps away and it's like, ooh, do we even have cash? Do we have?
Vaughn Davis (:Mm-hmm.
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah.
dCarrie (:Do we have cash to tip the bartenders? Did we stop? Is there an ATM here? And so all this is happening while I'm trying to find the elevator. And then I ended up feeling so bad for going to places that I didn't even know if we were going to a valet. I'm not gonna look for parking. You don't have a parking lot. So then that decision got made for us there. But where can the people find you? Where can the people find how to book your establishment? Are you also...
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah.
dCarrie (:since we're on the how to find them, like quick question in terms of like hotels.com price line and all those kind of jazz's do all properties kind of make themselves available to those types of platforms or is that one of those things that certain places just don't do that?
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah, so that's actually a major discussion point right now in the industry. Those are online travel agencies and we do utilize OTAs as we call them. We do utilize them, but I would encourage all of your listeners to go directly to our website, www.dreamhollywood.com. We have incredible deals there. And also our Instagram at dreamhollywood where you get directly right to our website so that you can book your reservation there too.
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
Okay.
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
Vaughn Davis (:But yeah, that conversation is a big conversation in the industry and not all properties utilize OTAs. There's some that do not use them at all and there's others that have a hybrid strategy when using them, a certain percentage of their business makes, and there's others that are like, we're fully OTAs, let's go. And there's a lot to the economics of OTAs that could be encouraging or, you know...
dissuade you from wanting to be a partner. But we're partners. We love those guys. Keep them coming.
dCarrie (:Yeah, I tend to make my decision based on how important this trip is or how I feel I'll be in the space for things to go wrong. I love a good deal. I love that Expedia is gonna give me those points and when I will say them points actually turn into dollars. So I do appreciate that about Expedia. However, there are certain situations where I kind of feel like I need to know that this actually exists.
I need to make sure that there are no mistakes. There's no room for interpretation because again, one of the things that I love to remind people is that travel is so much more than vacation. Sometimes people are traveling for things that are just way more important than just rolling that back because needing a break is important also. But sometimes it's not just, you know, a week off from work and a vacation. Sometimes it's like, no, I'm here because this is the closest hotel to ex hospital.
that my partner or family member unfortunately needs to have a procedure or something done, or I'm here because I'm here for a funeral. And you know what? I don't have the patience for anything to have any other hurdles, or I need to know that the room I'm booking is the room I'm getting because I've got my grandma with me who has accessibility needs. There are certain things that I keep in mind when I am booking. And if I know...
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah.
dCarrie (:I don't have the capacity for things to go wrong and I'm just, this needs to get done. I am more inclined to go directly to the hotel and I always look to see what the price differential is. Like if I'm gonna, I've oddly enough gotten a better price calling a hotel directly once, as opposed to actually looking it up on like price line or something like that. So y'all be surprised if you call them.
and ask them, hey, do you have a AAA discount? Or do you have a law enforcement discount, veteran discount, whatever your discount category classification you could think of, ask them. A lot of times Expedia isn't gonna give you that.
Vaughn Davis (:That's it. That's a travel cheat sheet. That's a code left, right, up, down triangle L2. That's a code, right? And yep. Pick.
dCarrie (:I always ask. Yeah, this is my code. I don't know how to play. I'm just getting into video games and I got to the point of Zelda where it's like kind of scary, so I had to take a break. I just got to Hyrule. Hyrule, whatever it is called, and the monsters are monstering. They're beating my ass, so I needed a break. So, one. Oh my God, it was fun until it wasn't. It was fun until it wasn't. Spon.
Vaughn Davis (:I can't.
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah. Zelda's a wild time. It's a wild time, I'm telling you right now. One of the coolest soundtracks too, by the way.
dCarrie (:It's so weird because everywhere I hear like people's computers queuing up or at work, it's just like, that's a Zelda sound. I don't know if that was intentional. And then it's like, haven't played in a while. Should I get back into it? Nope. We're not there yet. You still, I still need to, I got a, my heart is not there yet because I am learning to be more of a risk taker through playing video games and it can sound as crazy as anybody wants.
Vaughn Davis (:Mm-hmm.
Vaughn Davis (:Let's go.
dCarrie (:to feel about it, but it's my own personal little hurdle to accomplish. I was playing the game and I realized, I was terrified to do something stupid. I'm like, it's a fucking video game. He's not real. If he dies, he fucking dies. You've died a million times before, he's gonna come back. You can take risks here. So it doesn't have to be as scary. So that's my little world where I take risks and I try not to be scared, but I'm scared now. So back to you. You said at Dream Hollywood.
Vaughn Davis (:Yeah.
Vaughn Davis (:I know.
Vaughn Davis (:Yep. That was a very...
Vaughn Davis (:at dream Hollywood is our Instagram handle and then www.dreamhollywood.com. I just dated myself by putting the www in front of it, but whatever. That's right.
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
dCarrie (:Toad's cool, we want adults in charge. We want the adults in charge. That's absolutely the reminder that I like to tell people. Vaughn, thank you so much. Go ahead.
Vaughn Davis (:I love it. And then you know, I was going to say, you can also find, uh, my Instagram handle was at V T O T H E two ND power, which is V to the second power. Um, and I often, I often post about, you know, what we're doing at the hotel and all the fun experiences that we have.
dCarrie (:Mm-hmm.
dCarrie (:Oh cool!
dCarrie (:Thank you so much for joining me, Vaughn. I look forward to you guys getting back to me and letting me know how your luxury experiences have been. And hopefully we can connect good folks in the luxury world and all be luxurious. And now, who was that? Was it, it wasn't for, it's all that something, something expensive. Was that the song, Luxurious? What is that song?
Vaughn Davis (:My pleasure. This is fun.
Vaughn Davis (:Oh yeah.
Vaughn Davis (:You wanna know my-
So there's a famous, I don't know the name of that song, but I'll give you our motto. There's a famous designer, African-American gentleman, won't say his name, we don't do that here, we don't need a drop. But he has a saying and he says, it's luxury or nothing.
dCarrie (:Go for it.
dCarrie (:Okay.
dCarrie (:It's Luxury Nothing More. We'll Google who that is. It's Slugshy.
Vaughn Davis (:ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Go to your, if you go to your iPhone, go to that feature where you can add a GIF and just type in luxury or nothing. I'm gonna ask my team, ask my team how many times I've sent that GIF. They send it back to me now.
dCarrie (:Okay.
dCarrie (:It might as well just be in your email signature to them, like I guess an in-house signature. Well, thank you so much for joining me. I hope you have a fruitful, fulfilling, and peaceful, and exciting career in hospitality. And thank you for joining me so much and giving us this little peek into.
Vaughn Davis (:there. It's luxury or nothing.
Vaughn Davis (:Thank you. This was a lot of fun.
Vaughn Davis (:Thank you.
dCarrie (:what's behind the curtain. And I hope you guys enjoyed this episode and so that y'all have a better idea of what's actually happening and the thought that goes into your hotel stay. And I'll see y'alls next week. Bye.
Vaughn Davis (:Bye everyone.