Behind the Stays

This week on Behind The Stays, Zach shares a more personal story—and then connects it to three major shifts reshaping hospitality.

After uncovering the story of his grandfather, an early travel entrepreneur who helped open tourism from North America to Tahiti, Zach reflects on why meaningful travel experiences matter more than ever—and what that legacy means for the future of stays.

From there, he breaks down three trends every hospitality leader should be thinking about:

Why hotels may be becoming the new “third place” in a hybrid-work world

How AI is transforming hotel discovery—and why independent brands have a real opportunity right now

The overlooked data advantage hotels have (and how it could shape the next era of personalization)

If you’re building, investing in, or operating unique stays, this episode is a call to think more intentionally about the spaces you create—and the signals you’re sending.

Because in an increasingly automated world, thoughtfully designed places may matter more than ever.

Behind the Stays is brought to you by Journey — a first-of-its-kind loyalty program that brings together an alliance of the world’s top independently owned and operated stays and allows travelers to earn points and perks on boutique hotels, vacation rentals, treehouses, ski chalets, glamping experiences and so much more.

Your host is Zach Busekrus, Head of the Journey Alliance. If you are a hospitality entrepreneur who has a stay, or a collection of stays with soul, we’d love for you to apply to join our Alliance at journey.com/alliance.

Subscribe to This Week in Hospitality wherever you get you podcasts:

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5oPExA0txHMjEI5Ye13IUy
Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-hospitality/id1849637233
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeekinHospitality

 

This week, the guys zero in on where real leadership in hospitality is showing up — and where it isn’t. Accor’s ChatGPT partnership leads the conversation, not as a booking play, but as a signal that intent is shifting away from websites and toward questions. The takeaway is clear: brands willing to test behavior, learn how guests search, and show up early in the decision journey are already ahead. Scott brings ground truth from Thailand and Jamaica, exposing a widening mindset gap. In Asia, hospitality is still treated as craft — GMs obsess over service, personalization, and staying relevant in hyper-competitive markets. In much of the Caribbean, demand is more destination-driven, and innovation often feels defensive. Edwin adds

Europe’s perspective, framing it as split between tradition, efficiency, and emotion — with each region defining “success” differently. The episode closes with Ian Schrager partnering with Highgate to scale Public Hotels — a smart handoff of execution without sacrificing creative control — and Disney’s CEO succession as a reminder that physical experiences still beat disposable content. Spice of the Week lands the point: attention is expensive, but emotion is what actually builds loyalty.

 

This Week in Hospitality is presented to you by Journey.

Journey is a loyalty platform built specifically for independent boutique hotels and high-touch hospitality brands. Our mission is to give operators the same powerful rewards engine, data intelligence, and guest insights that major chains rely on — without asking them to give up the individuality, soul, or story that makes their property extraordinary.

If you’re an owner or operator of an extraordinary, independently owned and operated hotel or residence — and you want to see whether your property is a fit for the Journey Alliance — you can learn more and apply at alliance.journey.com.

 

Your Hosts:

Zach Busekrus — Journey

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachbusekrus/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthestays/ 

 

Scott Eddy — Global Travel & Hospitality Expert @MrScottEddy

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrscotteddy/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrscotteddy/

 

Ben Wolff — Founder of Onera & Oasi

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-wolff/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uniquestaysguy/

 

Edwin Kramer — Luxury Hotelier Consultant & Former GM

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwinckramer/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edwinkramer/

In this episode of Behind the Stays, Zach Busekrus sits down with Rohit Bezewada, CEO of AirDNA, to unpack what may be the most important shift yet in short-term rentals.

From Airbnb’s evolving relationship with hotels to the fading “thrill” of discovery, Rohit shares what happens when a marketplace grows up — and what comes next for brand building, investing, and operating at scale. Drawing on his experience at Uber and now at the helm of one of the industry’s most influential data platforms, Rohit offers a clear-eyed view of a sector moving from side hustle to institutional asset class.
The conversation explores:

Why Airbnb’s move toward hotels signals a deeper strategic shift

How short-term rentals are professionalizing — and who benefits most

What the data reveals that headlines miss

The coming consolidation of STR tech and the real role of AI

Why confidence, not just inventory, is the next competitive edge

This is a candid, future-facing conversation about where short-term rentals are headed — and how the next frontier will be built.

Behind the Stays is brought to you by Journey — a first-of-its-kind loyalty program that brings together an alliance of the world’s top independently owned and operated stays and allows travelers to earn points and perks on boutique hotels, vacation rentals, treehouses, ski chalets, glamping experiences and so much more.

Your host is Zach Busekrus, Head of the Journey Alliance. If you are a hospitality entrepreneur who has a stay, or a collection of stays with soul, we’d love for you to apply to join our Alliance at journey.com/alliance.

Subscribe to This Week in Hospitality wherever you get you podcasts:

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5oPExA0txHMjEI5Ye13IUy
Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-hospitality/id1849637233
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeekinHospitality

 

2025 was a year where the hospitality world stopped playing offense and started getting sorted — by who could scale, who could actually operate, and who was still living in the low-rate, high-growth fantasy of the last cycle.

In this special year-end episode of This Week in Hospitality, Zach is joined by Ben Wolff, Edwin Kramer, and Scott Eddy to break down the biggest winners, biggest losses, and biggest storylines that defined the year — and then go all-in on the predictions that will matter most in 2026.

 

This Week in Hospitality is presented to you by Journey.

Journey is a loyalty platform built specifically for independent boutique hotels and high-touch hospitality brands. Our mission is to give operators the same powerful rewards engine, data intelligence, and guest insights that major chains rely on — without asking them to give up the individuality, soul, or story that makes their property extraordinary.

If you’re an owner or operator of an extraordinary, independently owned and operated hotel or residence — and you want to see whether your property is a fit for the Journey Alliance — you can learn more and apply at alliance.journey.com.

Key Topics & Timestamps

00:00 — Intro
4:07 — 2025 in Review: Winners That Defined the Year
17:01 — The Biggest Losers of 2025: What Broke and Why
24:52 — Innovation in 2025: What Actually Mattered
34:15 — The Biggest Plot Twists of 2025
39:14 — 2026 Predictions: Companies, Bets, and Shifts to Watch
1:06:54 — Rapid Fire: Buzzwords, Disruptions, and What’s Next

Your Hosts:

Zach Busekrus — Journey

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachbusekrus/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthestays/ 

 

Scott Eddy — Global Travel & Hospitality Expert @MrScottEddy

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrscotteddy/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrscotteddy/

 

Ben Wolff — Founder of Onera & Oasi

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-wolff/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uniquestaysguy/

 

Edwin Kramer — Luxury Hotelier Consultant & Former GM

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwinckramer/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edwinkramer/

In this special roundtable episode, Katie Cline (Suite Success) brings together some of the most influential voices in hospitality podcasting for an unfiltered reflection on the moments, movements, and hard truths that shaped 2025 — and what operators should be paying attention to as the industry looks toward 2026. The conversation features yours truly, Zach Busekrus (Behind the Stays), David Millili and Steve Carran (The Modern Hotelier), and Glenn Haussman (No Vacancy). Together, they move past headlines and hot takes to examine what’s really happening behind the scenes of hospitality today.
Drawing on hundreds of candid conversations with founders, operators, and industry leaders, the group explores luxury’s continued ascent, the evolving (and often conflicted) state of loyalty, where AI delivered meaningful impact—and where it fell short—along with trade show fatigue, shifting guest expectations, and the creative ways operators protected profitability in a challenging year.
This episode isn’t about predictions for prediction’s sake. It’s a grounded, experience-driven discussion for hospitality leaders who want to understand not just what changed in 2025, but why it mattered — and how those lessons will shape smarter, more resilient businesses in the year ahead.