Top Floor
Top Floor is a weekly podcast with tangible tips and excellent stories from the experts and characters who elevate hospitality. Host and elevator operator Susan Barry explores the idea that everything is marketing in the hotel business. Our interviews with creators, thought leaders and hospitality groundbreakers are designed to provide practical tactics that hoteliers, restaurateurs and travel mavens can use to promote their businesses. Along the way, we answer burning marketing questions submitted on the Emergency Call Button and share the funniest, craziest, just-plain-weirdest stories down at the Loading Dock. Need to press the Emergency Call Button? Or have a story to share at the Loading Dock? Reach us at 850.404.9630 to be featured in a future episode.
Show episodes
Agnelo Fernandes is the CEO of Cote Hospitality, a company blending resorts and heritage summer camps into unforgettable indoor-outdoor experiences. His career spans the Caribbean, Canyon Ranch, CoralTree, and beyond, where he’s built brands, launched properties, and reshaped cultures. Susan and Agnelo talk about cultu
Steven Moore is the CEO of Actabl, a hospitality operations platform uniting four hotel operations tools into one streamlined solution. From his early days as a catering busboy to leading Transcendent through the pandemic, Steven’s career has exposed him to more than one challenging situation. Susan and Steven talk abo
Wil Slickers is a hospitality pro turned podcasting powerhouse. He launched Slick Talk in 2018 to scratch an industry itch, then turned it into a multi-show media empire with Hospitality FM, recently acquired by Skift. Susan and Wil talk about podcast pivots, media mergers, and the messy magic of microphone mastery. Wh
Sundip Patel is the founder and CEO of AVANA Companies, a financial services firm managing over $1 billion in assets. Born in Zambia and raised in the U.S., Sundip’s journey from CPA to impact-focused entrepreneur is rooted in resilience and purpose. Susan and Sundip talk about lessons in financing, failure, and forgin
Shanté Micah is a seasoned storyteller and strategic PR pro who launched her career covering the Olympics before earning her master's from Syracuse and pivoting into brand strategy. With global experience and clients like Disney and ESPN under her belt, she’s now the founder of Good News, a consultancy redefining media
Liz Dahlager is the Chief Operating Officer and a partner at Mereté Hotel Management, a hotel management company based in Oregon. With roots in boutique hospitality at Kimpton Hotels, Liz has climbed the career ladder from area director of sales to Chief Operating Officer. Susan and Liz talk about culture, career pivot