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INTERVIEW

Inside Luxury Hospitality & Travel Trends

42 minutes

Season 4

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Episode 1

In This Conversation

Kicking off Season 4, Bryan sits down with Sarah Dandashy — global concierge, travel expert, and founder of Ask a Concierge — to talk about where hospitality is really heading as 2025 winds down, from the return of the human touch to AI's growing role in the guest experience.

They dig into how tools like ChatGPT are already changing the way travelers plan trips (and why you still have to double-check the itinerary), why service and hospitality are fundamentally different disciplines, and why even an economy-hotel guest expects a clean room and a friendly face. Sarah also shares her "two world wonders in one weekend" story — a whirlwind layover-fueled dash through Rome and Cairo that finally completed her seventh continent.

The conversation turns to the state of U.S. travel demand, why cities like Las Vegas, New York, and Los Angeles are feeling a politically and economically driven slowdown, and why Sarah is convinced the dip is temporary — a reminder that hospitality is always tied directly to the strength of everyone's pocketbook. She closes by declaring 2026 the year of the safari.

Key Topics

AI & the Human Touch in Hospitality

U.S. Travel Demand & Market Trends

Luxury vs. Economy Guest Expectations

In This Episode:

  • The state of hospitality in 2025 and where guest expectations are shifting

  • How AI is changing travel planning, concierge work, and the guest experience

  • Why the human touch still matters even as self-service technology grows

  • The real difference between the "service" industry and the "hospitality" industry

  • U.S. travel trends, the politically driven slowdown, and where Americans are heading instead

  • Sarah's "two world wonders in one weekend" trip to Rome and Cairo

  • Hidden-gem U.S. destinations and why she's calling 2026 the year of the safari

Sarah Dandashy

Global Concierge & Travel Expert, Founder

Ask a Concierge

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About Our Guest

Sarah Dandashy is an award-winning global concierge, travel expert, and founder of the Ask a Concierge brand. She began her hospitality career at properties including The London West Hollywood, the Four Seasons Washington D.C., The Peninsula Beverly Hills, and L'Ermitage Beverly Hills, and in 2015 was named Best Young Concierge by Les Clefs d'Or. A graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, she is a TEDx speaker, best-selling author of Hospitality From Within, and a go-to voice on travel trends, guest experience, and brand-level hospitality insights — logging more than 200 nights on the road most years.