Hospitality is Human-Led and Tech-Enabled | with Jeanelle Johnson

The Modern Hotelier #44: Hospitality is Human-Led and Tech-Enabled | with Jeanelle Johnson === Jeanelle Johnson: [00:00:00] How can you engender loyalty by once again, helping yourself at the same time and, solving that issue. There. There could be ways articulating the value proposition to the guest in a way that also helps you offset an issue that you're struggling with ​ David Millili: Welcome to the Modern Hotelier. I'm your host, David Mully. Steve Carran: I am your co-host, Steve Karen. [00:01:00] David Millili: Steve, who do we have on the program today? Steve Carran: Yeah, David. Today we have on Janelle Johnson. Janelle is a principal lead client, partner of the travel, transportation, and Hospitality Sector. At P W C, Janelle has nearly 25 years of experience at leading investment baking and consulting [00:02:00] firms. Her passion is to help clients with strategic planning around their growth And investment agendas. Welcome to the show, Janelle. Jeanelle Johnson: Thank you very much. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it. Steve Carran: Absolutely. David Millili: You are welcome. So we're gonna go through a couple sections. We're gonna get to ask you some lightning round questions, get to know about your background. We're then gonna dive into your career, and then we're gonna go into industry topics. Sound good? Jeanelle Johnson: Sounds perfect. David Millili: Okay. So what was the worst job you ever had? Jeanelle Johnson: Worst job I ever had babysitting when I was a teenager. I wasn't very good at it, frankly. David Millili: Yeah. Then we become parents. Well, are you a morning or a night person? Jeanelle Johnson: I am a morning person. I am up at 5:00 AM every morning. That's when it's quiet in. David Millili: Great. So if you had the, to delete all of the apps on your phone except for three, what three apps would you leave on your phone? Jeanelle Johnson: I would leave messages [00:03:00] because that's my primary way of communicating is text messaging. I would leave my calendar 'cause otherwise I would not know where I'm supposed to be when, and I probably keep Instagram. I hate saying that, but I probably would keep Instagram because I'm one of those people that gets stuck scrolling sometimes. So yeah, that's me. David Millili: Got it. What's the most used emoji for you? Jeanelle Johnson: It's the blowing kisses emoji. David Millili: cool. What's your favorite song? Jeanelle Johnson: My favorite song, I have a 14 year old daughter, and so Taylor Swift happens to be on repeat in my house, so I'm going to say a Taylor Swift song of some sort. David Millili: Okay, got it. Do you have a favorite restaurant? Jeanelle Johnson: I'm a big sushi person, so I love, there's a sushi restaurant in DC in DuPont Circle where I used to live. It's called Sushi Nora. It's amazing. David Millili: So if you had your own talk show, who would your first guest be? Jeanelle Johnson: My first guest, I'm assuming it doesn't have to be someone who's [00:04:00] with us today or living. If not living, it would be my mom. So my mom passed away 15 years ago, and would be great to see her again. David Millili: Understood. Alright, so, I got a feeling here. So if you had a time machine and you could go into the past or the future, which way would you go and what year would it be? Jeanelle Johnson: I would go into the past and I would go back to probably April, 2008. So you're feeling spot on is where I would go back to. Steve Carran: Fair enough. Well, that was great. Great. Now we're gonna get a get to know you a little bit better, kind of what makes you tick. So, you live in DC now, but where did you grow up? Jeanelle Johnson: So I was born and raised in Miami, Florida, and most people are like, why would you ever leave Miami? But I left Miami. I left, To go to university in Washington DC and ended up staying in DC I met my now husband in college, [00:05:00] so we were college sweethearts. He snagged me while I was still a teenager. and we've been together now for 24 years and then we've kind of followed each other around, whether it was dc we lived in California, we lived in Baltimore. We lived in London for five and a half years. We were in New York, and we've been back in DC now for about six years. So I always say I've been around the world and back again, but my roots are in Miami. Steve Carran: I love that. How did growing up in Miami shape to who you are today, and also I'm gonna ask, since you traveled around the world so much, how did those experiences inco incorporate who you are today as well? Jeanelle Johnson: So Miami's like the world's biggest melting pot, right? If culture in. Growing up in Miami gave me such a huge perspective on the world and how to navigate, even travel, tourism, hospitality. I think it actually started kind of at home and where I grew up. those experiences around the world. I used to be a big planner. I was very much like rigid, organized, and moving to London was never in my master [00:06:00] plan. I went as the trailing spouse. They called me, to my husband and we went with a one-year-old at the time. And I always say I went with a baby in a backpack and it was really hard, but it. Taught me so much about myself from a resilience standpoint. And my daughter has been to 18 countries before she was six years old. So we were true rolling stones, traveling the world with, a baby and then an infant after that. And my kids have been all of the world, and we continue that today. Steve Carran: Impressive. David Millili: Great. So you went to George Washington University then you got your master's at the University of Maryland. you've specialized in finance and entrepreneurship. What kind of drove you or led you to those type of roles in those situations? I. Jeanelle Johnson: Sure. So I I did my undergrad in marketing actually, and at the time that I graduated, jobs were not plentiful. It was, a market downturn. So you kind of took what you could get. so I took a job in finance and I was like, oh, I'm good at this finance thing. and I ended up going [00:07:00] back to grad school to, to get my M B A in finance, and I threw in entrepreneurship because my mom was an entrepreneur. My mom worked in the service industry. she immigrated from Jamaica, as a young adult. and she ended up getting, certified as to be a hairdresser. So she was a cosmetologist and she always worked in the service industry. She had her own businesses, and I always learned about entrepreneurship from her. And so I thought I added to my personal repertoire from a, an educational standpoint. Steve Carran: Very cool. And in 2021, you founded a private membership network focused on connecting and supporting women executive leaders called Chief. Can you tell us how you got that idea and kind of what it's like, Ben, since you've started? I. Jeanelle Johnson: So Chief actually started in New York and what we did in DC was open up a chapter in DC and what chief is really about connecting women, at sort of that VP plus level and 'cause it's often very lonely. [00:08:00] Especially as one. Ambitious driven, want to continue to grow in their careers and to extend that network across the country. So the DC chapter has been amazing for me. I've met women across different sectors and we are able to provide each other with perspectives that, there are topics I don't necessarily wanna talk to my colleagues about, but I can talk to this group of women in a safe space without any filters. Steve Carran: Sure. That's awesome. Very cool. So that's great to get to know you a little bit. Now we're gonna move on to your career. so you had a different career path as you kinda said earlier than most of your other colleagues. you began at a financial owned business, or a financial service, family owned business, and ended up at Deloitte after that. Can you tell us how you ended up at Deloitte? Jeanelle Johnson: I am going back to my Rolling Stone reference Steve Carran: Yeah. Jeanelle Johnson: honestly. I mentioned, my mom was a cosmetologist and [00:09:00] you grew up in a single parent household, first American and so I. Professional, frankly, from anyone else. I'm the first person in my family to graduate from college. so I worked in financial services. I've always worked in the service industry. I would say that's sort of the common theme of the path that I've taken. and it's always been somewhat opportunistic of. This sounds really interesting. I think I can grow here and let's give it a, let's give it a roll. so always really thinking about how can I develop, how can I grow, how can I mature? How can I have an impact? And that's really Been my guiding light and my guiding principle, my North Star as I've made moves throughout my career. Did I ever think I was gonna be at Deloitte for nine and a half years? I had no idea. and I think part of what has kept me in professional services is that ability to be agile. No two days are the same. Every day is an adventure. And then there's a huge element of being able to choose your own adventure.[00:10:00] And that's what's really kept me in sort of professional services what moved me from Deloitte to pwc was mostly moving back to the states to be frank. Steve Carran: sure. And did you work in Deloitte in the States, or is that overseas? Jeanelle Johnson: I did, I was at Deloitte in DC for four and a half years, and then I was in London for five and a half years. Steve Carran: Was that the office in Arlington, Virginia, overlooking, was that office or another one. Jeanelle Johnson: It was on 12th and F Street, actually not too far from where I'm sitting right now at the PWC office downtown. Steve Carran: got it. Got it. I shared an office with Deloitte on, in Arlington overlooking Georgetown. So that's what I was asking, but what did you learn while working at Deloitte that helped you for your current role at P W C? Jeanelle Johnson: I would say I've learned, Navigating relationships. I started at Deloitte as a senior associate. I had moved up from senior associate to assistant director, senior manager level, and I had a lot of [00:11:00] life personal challenges that occurred during that process. I grew a lot as a person, as a professional, as just a human honestly. and I think that moving around, right? I spent a year in California. did the London stint, learn about different cultures. It really did prepare me for being at PWC and being able to hit the ground running when I joined pwc and understanding how to navigate, different situations. Frankly I think the Deloitte experience prepared me to navigate complex situations in an empathetic manner. David Millili: So now you're the director to principal at P W C. So tell us about that role and tell us your areas of focus and what you do in that role. Jeanelle Johnson: So I joined PWC as a director and most people, and I know Steve, you mentioned having some experience with folks pwc and in the professional services space. Most people who make partner at these firms start their career at. So it's very [00:12:00] atypical for someone to come in from the outside and successfully make partner. That's not typically been the path. It's, you come in as, first year outta college and you stay, hopefully and work your way up the pyramid, to partner. So coming in as a director, It was very difficult. I will, acknowledge that it wasn't easy because people had relationships that were longstanding in the firm and I was in the mode of having to build that level and depth of relationships for people who'd been around for 13 plus years and do it quickly. So I came in, even when I met with the folks who ultimately hired me, I said, I'm coming here to make partner that's my goal. That's what we're doing. And if at any point you, it doesn't make sense and I'm not the right person, let me know. I'll figure something else out to do. so really came in transparently as to what my goals and motivation were where I wanted ultimately land and I, the types of responsibility that I wanted to have. And I think that level of transparency, was what really set me apart as [00:13:00] someone who, okay Knows what she wants and she's willing to do what it takes to get there. so that's sort of that transition from direct to partner. It did require me to move, so I moved from New York back to DC which wasn't that much of a hardship frankly, from a personal standpoint. I mean, a bunch of friends here went to school here. I was actually, I. A good move for me personally, but professionally, it was tough. I had to once again, reestablish myself in a new corporate professional environment, build relationships, get people to trust me, to wanna work with me and to, know that I had the right skillset to be successful alongside them and team with them. So that agility piece also came into play again, going from director to partner. David Millili: That's great. And actually we will ask you probably about some advice later on in the podcast, but that going in and saying what you want, I think is something that a lot of people. Forget to do and then they end up disappointed. Five, six or whatever. If they make it that long down the road. 'cause they were, [00:14:00] they had these self expectations that they didn't share. So that's great advice. So you're also involved in PWCs Charitable Foundation. Give us some more insight to that. How are you involved in it? What is it about? Jeanelle Johnson: I love being a part of PWCs Charitable Foundation, and I'll tell you the primary reason why, and then I'll take a deeper dive into your actual question. I get to give away the firm's money, like I get to give away the firm's money we make grants, We have three different elements to the charitable foundation that we support. We support education, which I'm extremely passionate about. We also support humanitarian missions and humanitarian issues. So for example, wildfires in California, we would support organizations that are focused in that area. And we also have the people who care fund. And that is to support our PWC professionals as they are experiencing challenges, whether it's a spouse who can't work because an. Hardships that [00:15:00] our PWC people are going through. but I love the fact that I get to give away the firm's money on areas that are important from a how are we helping others' perspective. Steve Carran: That's great. Well, now we're gonna move on to the part, the last part where we get your industry thoughts on what's happening in the hospitality industry. So, PWC recently came out with its 2023 cloud business survey. what were some takeaways in that might relate to the hospitality industry? Jeanelle Johnson: So everyone's moving to the cloud, right? I think that's a well-known fact pattern. And I think with the, his, the hospitality industry in particular, there's a lot of technical debt, right? There's a period of time where people weren't necessarily investing in, upgrading their tech stack. To meet what the needs are of the current population. And I think Covid, enhanced that, exacerbated it frankly, as, it really had a huge impact on the hospitality industry and even more of a delay [00:16:00] in making those investments. So what we're seeing right now is, there are reservation systems that are 50 years old. That are running on dot matrix type printers, green screens, and you have folks who are digital natives. My, my kids use their iPhone. That's like their Bible. That's life for them. And so you have folks that are coming into the industry where they're digital natives working on green screens. And so there's a gap there. And part of that movement to the cloud is how do you bring in other PMSs and res systems that are, and CRMs that are more agile and adjustable. And that's really what we're seeing in terms of a shift to the cloud, specifically for the hospitality industry, but even wider than that. Steve Carran: I love that. And do you have any idea, like what, why the shift takes longer in the hospitality industry? I know David, we've talked about this before, but the hospitality industry moves slower than most industries. Do you have any insight on why we take a little bit [00:17:00] longer? Jeanelle Johnson: I would say the primary reason is the ecosystem. The number of stakeholders that exist in that ecosystem. You have the brands, you have the owners, you have the third party investors, you have the employees, you have the communities in which you operate in. There are so many stakeholders within that cycle, and particularly if I think about the dynamic between the owners and the operators or the brands, right? In order to get the owners to invest. they need to see an ROI And so you have to be able to justify that return on investment. And I think there's the dynamic of how do we ensure profitability? If you tell to invest in this technology, how can you ensure that'll help me gain efficiencies that will ultimately hit my bottom line. So there's just. this dichotomy between the ecosystem and how the industry is structured that you don't see in things like the airlines right Where the airlines typically own the assets, they have a little [00:18:00] bit more control It's one of the distinct attributes that I think make it complex David Millili: Yeah, and that was very well said. I mean, one of the biggest challenges is I, I've got my day job, but I also do some advisory work, and when you start talking to, I. A lot of investors who don't understand hospitality, they just think that Marriott owns, operates, everything's just connected. They thought back in 2003 you made a hotels.com booking and it magically was in the hotels property management system. So anyway, so, so very well said. so you also recently part of a study in partnership with N Y U Tisch Center for Hospitality on digital transformation in the hospitality industry. So, Again, tell us some, what were some of the findings there, maybe beyond what we just discussed. Jeanelle Johnson: Yeah, some of the key themes. So we were able to speak with and do focus groups with vendors, so tech vendors, we. Management companies. we did focus groups with third party management companies,[00:19:00] and we did focus groups with owners. So we tried to capture as much of that ecosystem as we could right in into this study to get all the perspective. And I think everyone agreed that, They're behind technologically in the industry. I think that was a unanimous perspective. One of the interesting elements that I heard that really resonated with me is regulation maybe help level that playing field? and whether there's something that should be done on the regulatory side to have a bare minimum standard. You see that in other industries, right? Where there's a bare minimum standard so that everyone can rise together versus the sort of disparity that you see between different brands and ownership groups on technology. the other piece was, of course, you can't have a conversation today without talking about AI and chat gt. So we talked quite a bit about different use cases in, in hospitality and where they see. AI being useful or where they see also [00:20:00] risks in using artificial intelligence because you can't, from a PWC standpoint, we think about responsible artificial intelligence, responsible ai and making sure you're putting that lens on it. Those were a couple of the topics that really resonated for me. I think it was actually quite interesting that everyone had a similar perspective on the state of technology in the industry. no one had a silver bullet. Unfortunately, I wish they did because I'd go out and market the heck out of it. Steve Carran: Yeah. David Millili: Yeah, I mean, Steve, so again, we're gonna ruin some of the later questions, but it's funny when I get asked about how AI is gonna affect, hotels or hospitality, I'm like, it's great that this is a buzz in what we're talking about, but there's so many things that we haven't gotten to already. I mean, whether it be you just mobile key, for example, or hotels leveraging text messaging. I, I mean, we're so far behind that. I think it's great to look at the shiny object, which is ai, but it's Let's clean up our house and get everything else in [00:21:00] order before we move on to the big one. So anyway, so, so with that, so maybe coming out of the study or just you personally, what do you think from a tech improvement in hospitality, what do you think about upgrades that are gonna help either the employees or the guests? Where do you think areas that, hotels should focus? Jeanelle Johnson: I think that, look, technology is one thing, but hospitality is about people. It is always going to. be Human led tech enabled. And that's how we actually, that's our philosophy at pwc, we're human led, tech enabled. And I don't think that will change in the hospitality industry. So when I think about technology, how do I use that technology to enable my people to provide a higher grade quality of service and enhance the customer or guest experience? So I think technology is an enabler. It's not a replacement for the human element, and it's. What types of technology can we provide, especially [00:22:00] in a workforce that covers four generations to enable the enhancement of the guest experience. While maintaining that people and human led touch, the human touch to it, how can I free up time for my front desk associate to say, hi Janelle. I see it's your anniversary coming up on no. Next week. Pretend we're in November. I see it's your anniversary coming up next week. Would you like a bottle of champagne delivered to your room? You're business. Custom personalized service that I think technology front. Steve Carran: A hundred percent free up those mundane tasks so they can focus on the guests more than what they're working on. I love it. I love it. So, we're gonna switch gears a little bit here. what do you see that stakeholders or forward [00:23:00] thinking hotel companies expectations are as far as sustainability or sustainability efforts go? Jeanelle Johnson: when you were asking the question, I. Are you gonna say sustainability? Because I was going to answer sustainability. So when I think about like forward hotels, when I think about sustainability, it's how do you, take products out of the system that maybe are less sustainable? So one thing David and Stevie mentioned was mobile key. If you think about the plastic keys and how many of those are used in the hotel industry, right? I have, I probably have a collection in my bag. I'm guilty of not returning them in because I've been told that the bar the code on the back has information on you and you don't wanna return it, right? Like it's an old wife's tale, but, It's something that I've been told. So I have a collection of them in my bag. I'm one person traveling for business. I get two keys. I don't need two keys. I'm one person. I could get away with one key. And as you said, mobile key does not always work [00:24:00] consistently, unfortunately yet. but there's elements of like, how can we use I can turn on my phone with my face, right? Biometrics, how can we leverage biometrics to reduce certain types of waste, when I think about plastic. So that's just one element. And then I think about reusable bottles in rooms. So I've stayed at some hotels that have, sustainable practices and I've been impressed with having my own tap in my room to fill my water bottle or to fill a reusable bottle. And it actually encourages me to drink more water, which I think we can all agree. We probably are guilty of not drinking enough water every day. so. How often do we all change our sheets at home? And I don't want anyone to actually answer that question out loud, but I'm pretty sure we do not change our sheets at home every day. Nor do we likely change our towels at home every day. So why should we have this expectation? Or is it reasonable? [00:25:00] And how did the brands and hotels, articulate the story and the purpose of not having daily. Changing of sheets or daily changing of towels and really encourage those behaviors from the practice of it's kind of common sense you don't do it at, so you shouldn't expect do at. David Millili: Yeah, I can't remember who Steve, but one of our guests was talking also about kind of the newer, not my generation, more Steve's generation, where they don't want, they don't even want people in the room when they travel. So it's a combination of just, not the cleanliest, but they're like, we'd want anybody in there. And I think what I'd love to see, and maybe you guys will do it, but the correlation between those changes and the labor issues, In other words, there's a labor issue. And when you talk to a lot of hotels and owners that I talk to, it goes down to the housekeeping department is really the big heavy hitter. But yet a lot of hotels that I'm going to now are moving away from the everyday house keeping efforts, and I just [00:26:00] wonder how that balances out with some of the labor issues. Jeanelle Johnson: Yeah I think there's an element of. We all, it's like how long does it take you to break a habit, right? If a habit has always been, you go to a hotel, you have daily housekeeping, and that's just sort of the expectation. How do you sort of reverse engineer that for the guest? And really have them appreciate the fact and not make it about the fact that you don't have enough housekeepers, but make it about the fact that this is what you're saving. Maybe it's a reduction on your room rate or extra bonus points if you don't use house. How can you engender loyalty by once again, helping yourself at the same time and, solving that issue. There. There could be ways spin is not the right word, but of articulating the value proposition to the guest in a way that also helps you offset an issue that you're struggling with in terms of. David Millili: Yeah, so basically something better than just a tent card that says Save the world, the [00:27:00] oceans and everything that you see in these hotel rooms that you're not really, I mean you want to save. Anyway. Alright, so I'm changing this question 'cause I think we covered a lot of the sustainability. So, My question to you is, we've asked many of this, what is your advice to somebody who wants to get into hospitality? Jeanelle Johnson: Learn about the industry. It's, we already talked about the number of stakeholders. It is so complex. And then you think about, it depends on where in the hospitality industry you wanna get involved. Do you wanna be an investor? Owner, do you wanna be an operator or a gm or do you wanna be a brand manager? Do work on the digital side. Do. The options are endless for how to participate in the hospitality industry. I was actually just at the NAB Hood Conference, the National Association of Black Hotels Owners, operators, and developers, and I, moderated their c e o panel with. A cross section of folks, from f [00:28:00] and b operations to an owner of, multiple properties to, general counsel of one of the brands, to someone who does kind of consulting. So similar space that I'm in. And it was. The premise of the conference is really about bringing more black folks into the industry as owners, operations fellows, because it's a place where you can actually start from the ground and move your way up. It's a place that can be a career and a full destination, and you can start at the bottom and work your way up the ladder in so many different ways. And I think that's what's really at about the industry. And so that would be my advice. Go learn about the different elements where. There's no ceiling right there. The ceiling doesn't exist. There's so many places to play. Steve Carran: I love that. I love that. Well, our producer, John, has been listening the whole time. So for the last question, we're gonna kick it over to him and let him ask one [00:29:00] more question here before we're done for the episode. Jon Bumhoffer: so you mentioned that you have lived in DC multiple times. I live just outside of dc I live in Fredericksburg, Virginia. So this is kind of a selfish question. I know there's tons to do in dc so much, it's like impossible to do everything. But if you had one thing that you wouldn't want to tell anybody else about because. You like doing that thing or it's a good place to go or whatever, would you share it with us here? Jeanelle Johnson: Well, if I Jon Bumhoffer: Well, I know that's the Jeanelle Johnson: might do it. Jon Bumhoffer: the hidden gem. Jeanelle Johnson: I would say the one thing that I would do that I wouldn't want anyone to know about is my secret path to get down to the c o Canal trail to go for runs along the Potomac River. I have a secret path. I avoid traffic, I avoid people, and it's just like this cathartic mile that I can run without being [00:30:00] disturbed before I encounter anyone on the trail. And. Honking at me to get out the way because. Jon Bumhoffer: That's a good answer. David Millili: Funny. That's great. Steve Carran: that. I love that. David Millili: So that does it for another episode of The Modern Hotelier. So this is where we give you the chance to plug away, whether it be p wc yourself, where people can find you, connect you, any organizations that you really wanna, give a shout out to, or let people ma be made aware of at the floor is yours. Jeanelle Johnson: I'll start with pwc. the firm is vast, so anything you could probably think of we do. whether that's tax. M and a transaction support, risk and regulatory, cyber internal audit. e s G consulting, sort of, we can touch all elements of the hospitality industry. And then if I think about my personal passion, education, support, support, education, support educators, the children are our future and hopefully, they won't be replaced [00:31:00] by robots. That's David Millili: So that does it for another episode of the Modern Hotelier, you. Thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate you. Having as having you as our guest. It was great. Jeanelle Johnson: Thanks for having me. I appreciate it and look forward to joining again another time. David Millili: That'd be great. Steve Carran: Thanks so much. Jeanelle Johnson: Thank.