Episode
Pioneering Global Design - Christine McGinnis - Defining Hospitality
- Podcast
- Defining Hospitality
- Published
- May 20, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2913
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://share.transistor.fm/s/c13c0825
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Summary
This week, Dan Ryan sits down with Christine McGinnis, Director of Design at Wave Design Consultants, to make the case that the most powerful tool a designer can carry isn't a software subscription or a portfolio, it's a passport and a willingness to ask why. A Canadian kid who got locked in a Tiffany's display window in Hong Kong and never really looked back, Christine has spent over two decades designing across Asia, North America, and now the Canary Islands, chasing a single throughline openness. From restoring a termite-eaten 19th century Bangkok landmark to drawing her first full set of plans in Spanish, she isn't just designing spaces, she's designing a life. About the Guest: On this episode, Dan Ryan sits down with Christine McGinnis, Director of Design at Wave Design Consultants, a Canadian born, world traveling hospitality designer who logged her first miles in the Starwood design lab before most people knew that lab existed. Christine has spent 20 plus years designing hotels and restaurants across Asia, Europe, and Africa not by following the work, but by following the question. And the question, in her case, is always the same one… why? Chapters: 00:38 Meet Christine McGinnis 01:15 Journey Westward 03:15 Early Career Plans 04:09 Generations And Nomads 05:46 Starwood Innovation Lab 14:31 Openness Defines Hospitality 20:38 Spain Projects And Asking Why 26:03 Design Fatigue and Surprise 27:26 Waldorf Respite After 9/11 29:13 Hospitality Alchemy From the Heart 30:30 Design vs Service That Brings Guests Back 31:32 Aloft Seminyak Bali Success 33:48 Being Present Wherever You Land 35:31 Just Go Travel Advice 39:48 Resurgence of Analog Connection Quote of the Show: "People come to your joint once for the design, but they come back for the service and how you made th…