In this episode of Captive Conversations, Adam sits down with Claire Reid, a marketing consultant with a career that spans hospitality, charity communications, brand building, feedback, data, internal culture and coffee.

Claire shares how her early experiences in cafés, retail, charity communications and Wood Street Coffee shaped the way she thinks about hospitality. The conversation explores why marketing and operations need to work together, why feedback should be treated as the voice of the guest, and why the best hospitality often comes down to something much harder to measure: how a place makes people feel.

From Dishoom and Wood Street Coffee to freelance life, local marketing, data storytelling and the importance of not diluting a brand as it grows, this is a warm, honest conversation about building hospitality brands that feel human.

#hospitality #marketing #guestexperience #operations #restaurantmarketing #data #captiveconversations

In this episode of Captive Conversations, Adam sits down with Kevin to explore what it really takes to turn data into meaningful hospitality experiences.

From his early career in consulting to leading digital transformation at one of the largest restaurant groups in the US, Kevin shares a rare behind-the-scenes look at how systems, data, and people come together in real operations. From fragmented tech stacks to enterprise-wide transformation, this is a story of complexity, challenge, and learning.

At the heart of the conversation is a simple but powerful truth. Recognition matters. As Kevin puts it, “When someone says, welcome back in… it’s great to see you… that just sets the tone.” The episode explores how businesses can move beyond collecting data to actually using it, and why adoption, trust, and usability are what ultimately drive results.

#hospitality #restaurants #data #guestexperience #crm #loyalty #technology

The journey into content does not always start with a strategy.

Sometimes it starts with curiosity.

In this episode of Captive Conversations, Adam Forman sits down with Thomas, founder of Fearless Media, to explore how starting young and learning through doing can shape a career in content and business. From making videos at 12 to building a creative agency, this is a conversation about consistency, experimentation and long-term thinking.

The episode dives into how content creates goodwill, builds relationships and opens doors over time. It also explores how different platforms play different roles, and why brands that show up consistently have an advantage.

For hospitality businesses, this is a powerful reminder that connection starts before the visit. Content is not just marketing. It is relationship building at scale.

#hospitality #marketing #content #socialmedia #growth #captiveconversations