This week, Dan Ryan sits down with Larah Moravek, founding partner at Dutch East Design, to make the case that the most powerful thing a designer can bring to a project isn't a mood board, it's a story. Larah pulls back the curtain on how Dutch East blends interior design and branding under one roof, turning narrative driven frameworks into spaces that feel inevitable. With real stories from the ground including the adaptive reuse of a Marcel Breuer brutalist landmark into Hotel Marcel, the first passive house certified hotel in North America, and the Tapestry Chattanooga, a former bank building brought back to life, this episode proves that when magic and precision are working together, the constraint becomes the design. 🏠

About the Guest:

Larah Moravek is a founding partner at Dutch East Design, a hospitality focused studio offering both interior design and branding under one roof. With a career shaped by two of the most iconic firms in the industry, Clodagh Design and Yabu Pushelberg, Larah brings a rare combination of instinct and rigor to every project she touches. Rooted in the belief that built environments have the power to create lasting emotional experiences, she and her partner Dieter lead a small but mighty studio known for their dense documentation, narrative driven approach, and a body of work spanning adaptive reuse, independent hotels, and licensed product collections.

Chapters:

00:45 Meet Larah Moravek

01:15 Friendship and Dutch East Origins

03:58 What Hospitality Means

07:08 Clodagh to Yabu Mentorship

08:49 Branding as Decision Tool

13:37 Stewardship and Adaptive Reuse

24:04 Functional Brief and Hard Questions

27:54 Science as Magic

28:03 From Med School to Interiors

30:03 New York Design Path

30:47 Yabu Pushelberg Rigor

32:19 Burnout and Solo Asia Reset

34:41 Building a Team Culture

37:43 Sustainability in Hospitality

44:33 Licensing and Product Lines

47:59 Future Plans and Wrap Up

Quote of the Show:

"Sometimes you need more structure to be more creative. And I think some of the most beautiful and inspiring solutions come out of restriction." - Larah Moravek

Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.

Links:

• Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@defininghospitality?sub_confirmation=1
• Substack: https://www.defininghospitality.live/
• Larah’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larah-v-moravek-0b714044/
• Dutch East Design Website: https://www.dutcheastdesign.com/
• Dan Ryan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thedailydanryan/

🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/

Ways to Tune In:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPX
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386
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• Transistor: https://www.defininghospitality.live/

This Earth Day, Dan Ryan welcomes back JoAnna Abrams, founder and CEO of MindClick, to make the case that sustainability isn't just good for the planet, it's good for business. JoAnna reveals how MindClick's product intelligence platform transforms the sustainability data already hiding in hotel FF&E purchases into a competitive weapon, winning corporate travel contracts, boosting sustainability ratings, and growing real revenue. With stories from the ground, including Hyatt Centric Fisherman's Wharf, and eye-opening stats on what ditching polystyrene packaging actually means for waste, this episode proves that going green and going profitable are finally pointing in the same direction. 🌍

About the Guest:

JoAnna Abrams is the founder and CEO of MindClick, a product intelligence platform helping hospitality companies unlock sustainability data across their supply chains. A multi-award winning trailblazer at the intersection of sustainability, supply chain, and finance, she has been recognized by Lodging Magazine as a female industry innovator, named a 2026 Inc. 500 Female Founders honoree, and selected for both the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and the Imagine Program funded by former Unilever CEO Paul Polman.

Chapters:

00:46 Welcome JoAnna Abrams

02:00 Defining Hospitality Revisited

05:00 The ROI of Sustainability

07:30 EU Regulation Driving Corporate Demand

11:00 How Hotels Win Corporate Business with Sustainability

14:00 MindClick and Green Key Global

16:00 The Alo Index Platform Explained

19:00 Revenue Impact: 7–17% Market Share Increase

22:00 Training Sales Teams to Tell the Story

25:00 A Riskless Path for Hotel Owners

28:00 Connecting Guests and Frontline Staff

31:00 The Huntington Hotel Case Study

36:00 Polystyrene Elimination: The Numbers

40:00 Embodied Carbon and FF&E's Outsized Impact

44:00 What Hotels Can Control

47:00 Asset Value, Appraisals, and Resilience

50:00 Inc. 500, Cambridge, and the Road Ahead

52:00 How to Connect with MindClick

Quote of the Show:

"Today's suppliers need to understand that they're no longer just selling a product. They're selling a product with a story." - JoAnna Abrams

Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.

Links:

• Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@defininghospitality?sub_confirmation=1
• Substack: https://www.defininghospitality.live/
• JoAnna Abrams’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannaabrams/
• MindClick: https://www.mindclick.com/
• Metropolis Magazine Article: https://metropolismag.com/viewpoints/four-new-roadblocks-on-the-path-to-sustainable-buildings/
• Dan Ryan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thedailydanryan/

#DefiningHospitality #Sustainability #HospitalityDesign #HotelBusiness #GreenHospitality #SupplyChain #MindClick #CorporateTravel #HotelRevenue

In this episode of Defining Hospitality, Dan Ryan sits down with Walter Peseski, Senior Vice President of Asset Management at Garfield Public Private, to explore the often misunderstood world of hotel asset management and public private partnerships. Sponsored by BERMANFALK, this discussion uncovers how cities, universities, and hospitals are leveraging creative financing structures to build hotels that serve as economic catalysts for entire communities.

About the Guest:

Walter Peseski is the Senior Vice President of Asset Management at Garfield Public Private, a firm specializing in public private partnerships for hotels, convention centers, and cultural infrastructure. With over 20 years of experience in hotel operations and asset management, Walter has built a career bridging the gap between public entities and private developers to bring transformative hospitality projects to life. An adjunct professor at Dallas Baptist University and contributor to Hotels Magazine, Walter is passionate about educating the next generation on the full scope of opportunity that exists within the hospitality industry that goes far beyond the front desk.

Chapters:

01:00 Introducing Walter Peseski

02:00 What Does Hospitality Mean to You?

03:00 The Valentine's Day Server Story

05:00 When Was the Last Time Service Was Memorable?

06:00 What Makes Garfield Public Private Unique?

09:00 The Role of Asset Management vs. Hotel Management Companies

13:00 How Ownership Groups Get Involved

15:00 When Does Third Party Asset Management Make Sense?

17:00 Hotels Are a Different Beast Than Multifamily

19:00 Navigating Brand Standards & CapEx

21:00 Hilton's Carrot and Stick Fee Structure

23:00 Downscaling Brands & the "Under Demolished" Theory

27:00 Blind Spots Small Operators Miss

29:00 The F&B Double Edged Sword

33:00 When Brand Standards Become a Straitjacket

34:00 What Makes a Good Deal vs. a Great Deal in Public Private

36:00 Why Cities Invest in Hotels

38:00 Where Garfield Is Seeing the Most Opportunity

39:00 How Cities Finance These Projects With Bonds

42:00 The Sweet Spot: Upscale to Upper Upscale

43:00 Why Walter Started Teaching

45:00 Career Advice for Anyone Entering Hospitality

49:00 What Walter Is Most Excited About

51:00 How to Connect With Walter & Outro

Quote of the Show:

"It's not how fast can we increase the value of this hotel and flip it. It's how can this hotel contribute to the community." - Walter Peseski

Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.

Links:

• Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@defininghospitality?sub_confirmation=1
• Substack: https://www.defininghospitality.live/
• BERMANFALK: https://www.bermanfalk.com/
• Ed Bakos LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edmond-bakos-62102014/
• Champalimaud Design: https://www.champalimaud.design/
• Help preserve a generation of American history: https://www.tunisonfoundation.org/donate
• Dan Ryan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thedailydanryan/

Tags:

#DefiningHospitality #AssetManagement #PublicPrivatePartnership #HotelDevelopment #HospitalityBusiness #HotelInvestment