Episode
This Week in Hospitality: Google Buys Spirit’s Data, Timeshares Are Cool Now, and Alice Sherman on the Future of Hiring in Hospitality
- Podcast
- Behind the Stays
- Published
- Aug 21, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 5020
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Summary
Subscribe to This Week in Hospitality wherever you get you podcasts: Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5oPExA0txHMjEI5Ye13IUyApple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-hospitality/id1849637233Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeekinHospitality On this week's episode the guys are joined by Alice Sherman, CEO of HVS Executive Search! Alice Sherman has placed some of the most powerful executives in hospitality. As CEO of HVS Executive Search, she's seen thousands of resumes, sat across from hundreds of owners, and walked the halls of Congress to lobby for the industry. Her message to the business? You're still hiring wrong. Years of experience is the most overrated qualifier in the industry. Cover letters are dead. And the best talent isn't chasing the big brands anymore — they're running toward independent, luxury, and boutique properties where they can actually build something. Alice breaks down what a modern resume should look like, why the Chief Commercial Officer is the new CEO succession play, and what happened when she went to Capitol Hill and realized most lawmakers had no idea hospitality employs more hourly workers than any other industry in America. Then the crew gets into the stories. Google just scooped up Spirit Airlines' entire operational data set — pricing models, booking curves, 100 million emails — for $10 million. That's less than Spirit spent building its headquarters. Why didn't anyone in travel bid $11 million? Timeshares are back, and Gen Z is driving the bus. 92% satisfaction. 80% occupancy. And the generation that hates commitment is apparently fine with shared vacation ownership. And Disney just invented a new metric to make sure Wall Street sees what's really happening: the cruise business is surging, and $12…