{"podcast":{"title":"Top Floor","slug":"top-floor-6321208","podcast_index_feed_id":6321208,"rss_url":"https://feeds.libsyn.com/366290/rss?_ga=2.116498438.164353567.1671557087-1121528866.1656706241","website_url":"https://topfloorpodcast.com","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/c/7/e/2/c7e2393712bae1a816c3140a3186d450/TF_2026_Logo_-_Blue_BG-20260116-r48xuyo5to.png","author":"Susan Barry","episode_count":100,"summary":"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.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/top-floor-6321208"},"episode":{"title":"244 | Pigeon Shoot Out","slug":"244-pigeon-shoot-out","published_at":"2026-05-19T07:01:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/top-floor-6321208/244-pigeon-shoot-out","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/top-floor-6321208","url":"https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/episode/244","audio_url":"https://pdcn.co/e/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/topfloor/244_Pigeon_Shoot_Out.mp3?dest-id=3007631","summary":"Zack Gharib is the President of Red Roof, bringing decades of leadership experience across Marriott, Wyndham, Vacasa, and beyond. From a chance encounter with a hotel GM in Athens to leading one of hospitality's biggest tech transformations, Zack shares what it really takes to succeed in today's lodging landscape. Susan and Zack talk about AI automation, franchisee profitability, and vacation-rental versatility. What You'll Learn: • What vacation rentals taught him about operational chaos • How AI is reshaping economy and mid-scale hotels • Why hotel websites suddenly matter way more • How ChatGPT is changing hotel booking behavior • What hotels can learn from Airbnb-style personalization • Why internal communication systems still fail teams • Learning when to say \"no\" to shiny new tech • Why smiles and room inspections still win • Predictions for the future of non-luxury hotels • The franchisee-brand relationship problem nobody solves • What real alignment between brands and owners should look like *** The Takeaway: Hospitality fundamentals still matter most, but the operators who win will use technology and AI to make those fundamentals faster, cheaper, and more personalized. Zack Gharib on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/zack-gharib/ Red Roof https://www.redroof.com/","meta_description":"Zack Gharib is the President of Red Roof, bringing decades of leadership experience across Marriott, Wyndham, Vacasa, and beyond. From a chance encounter…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2155,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/top-floor-6321208/episodes/244-pigeon-shoot-out/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/top-floor-6321208/244-pigeon-shoot-out.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}