In episode 85 of Captive Conversations, Adam speaks with Yaro Tsyhanenko about the hidden blind spot in modern hospitality: the pickup counter.

From building marketplaces in Ukraine to shutting down businesses when the war started, and rebuilding in the US, Yaro shares his journey and the operational problem that caught his attention. The gap between digital ordering systems and real-world pickup.

This episode explores timing, order accuracy, promise time performance, and why “completed” is not the same as “collected.” A must-listen for operators serious about growth and efficiency.

#hospitality #restaurantoperations #delivery #guestexperience #hospitalitytech #pickup #digitalordering

In this episode of Captive Conversations, Adam sits down with Gabrielle Goode, hospitality marketing consultant and founder of thehospitalitymarketer.co.ukGabrielle shares her journey from cocktail bartender in Nottingham to leading marketing roles across The Ivy Collection, Langan’s, Rhubarb and global hospitality brands. But this conversation goes deeper than career milestones. It explores what guests actually remember.“I don’t go there for the food. I go because I’m making a memory.”Together, they discuss emotional personalisation, loyalty done properly, leadership perspective, brand identity, and why hospitality must never lose its human core in a world of automation and AI.If you care about guest experience, loyalty, brand impact and long-term legacy in hospitality, this episode is for you.⸻Subscribe for more hospitality insights and visit www.captivewifi.io#HospitalityIndustry #RestaurantMarketing #GuestExperience #Leadership #HospitalityPodcast #BrandBuilding

In this episode of Captive Conversations, we're sharing a powerful panel discussion from PUB Spotlight 2026: "The Pub Customer Perspective."

Featuring Laurence Brown (Head of Insights, Stonegate), Louise Fleming (Head of Guest & Retail Insights, Punch Pubs), and Kiran Quinn (Group Marketing Director, Red Cat Hospitality), moderated by Jo Lynch from KAM Insights.

This insightful session explores how consumer behaviour is shifting in the hospitality industry, what customers really want from their pub experience, and how venues can adapt to meet changing expectations in an increasingly challenging economic climate.

Recorded live at PUB Spotlight 2026, this discussion brings together industry leaders sharing real-world insights on customer engagement, loyalty, and the future of the pub sector.

Huge thanks to KAM Insights for organizing this incredible event and to Inntegra for their exceptional work behind the scenes making PUB Spotlight 2026 possible.

#PubSpotlight #pubspot26 #HospitalityIndustry #PubLife #CaptiveConversations #Podcast #HospitalityPodcast #CustomerExperience

In this episode of Captive Conversations, Adam Forman sits down with Rosie Lewis-Marsh, the London Hospitality Girl, to talk about sales, booking journeys, and why hospitality overcomplicates the things that should be simple.

Rosie breaks down decision-making inside teams, the fear of automation, and the cost of slow response times. From shorter booking windows to conversion and automation, she shares a grounded view of what operators can fix quickly without losing the human side of hospitality.

#hospitality #hospitalitysales #guestexperience #restaurantindustry #captiveconversations #hospitalityleaders

In this episode of Captive Conversations, Adam Forman sits down with Massimo from Restaurant Keys to explore what it really takes to build, grow, and scale hospitality brands without losing their soul.

Massimo shares his experience working with operators across the UK and internationally, from opening restaurants from scratch to helping brands expand nationally and abroad. The conversation covers relevance in marketing, the importance of listening to teams on the floor, and why hospitality remains a deeply human business.

They also discuss how technology, design, and operational flow should support people rather than replace them, and why comfort, familiarity, and emotional engagement are becoming more important for guests.

#hospitality #restaurantindustry #guestexperience #peopleandculture #hospitalityleaders #captiveconversations

The final episode of 2025. What a year it's been.

In this one, Adam sits down with Oliver Pugh, founder of Yeti Pay, and Chris Jolliffe, their Sales Director, to explore how a simple observation about tipping behaviour sparked a payments revolution.

It started with a question most people never ask. When a guest leaves a tip on a card, why doesn't the waiter feel it? Oliver noticed this disconnect years ago. And instead of accepting it, he built something to fix it. The result? Tips went up 300%.

From the early days of Table Yeti to winning BrewDog and building embedded payments infrastructure, Oliver and Chris share the realities of competing in a crowded market by doing things differently.

This is a conversation about listening before building, enabling partners instead of competing with them, and why hospitality deserves payments that actually feel different.

Thank you to everyone who listened this year. Here's to 2026. 🎧

#CaptiveConversations #YetiPay #HospitalityPayments #EmbeddedFinance #FinTech #Hospitality

As the year comes to a close, Episode 80 of Captive Conversations takes a step back to reflect on how hospitality makes decisions.

Adam speaks with Mark from Tenzo about why instinct alone is no longer enough, how operators are overwhelmed by dashboards, and why better data frameworks matter more than more reports.

They explore how context, experience, and curiosity still play a critical role, and how AI can support teams without losing the human side of hospitality.

A grounded conversation for anyone thinking about how to approach the year ahead. ✨

#hospitality #hospitalitytech #restaurantdata #leadership #captiveconversations

In this episode of Captive Conversations, Adam sits down with Jonatan from All Gravy to explore how frontline technology can feel more human, more supportive and far more connected to the reality of hospitality work.

Jonatan shares the story of his early career, the leaders who shaped him, and the moment he realised frontline teams were being asked to juggle seven or eight different apps just to get through a shift. He explains how that insight led All Gravy to pivot, rebuild and create a single platform focused on communication, learning and engagement.

They also explore the future of AI for frontline teams, the importance of real service, why user research came before sales, and what hospitality truly needs to support retention and development.

A warm, thoughtful and practical conversation for anyone shaping the future of workforce tech.
#hospitality #allgravy #peopletech #frontlineteams