In this episode of Meet in the Lobby, hosts Dorien Murphy and Melissa McCormack continue their conversation on cost savings by looking beyond contracts and traditional expense cutting. This time, the focus shifts to two of hospitality’s biggest opportunities: retaining great people and finding new ways to generate revenue from spaces that properties already have. From hands-on leadership to reimagining an overlooked patio, pool deck, or outdoor area, Dorien and Melissa explore how operators can respond to continued cost pressure without sacrificing the guest experience.

Retention Starts With Leadership

With labor continuing to be one of hospitality’s largest pressure points, Dorien shares a leadership philosophy that has stayed with him throughout his career: “encouraging the heart.” For him, employee engagement begins with leaders being present, making their rounds, talking with associates, and understanding what their teams experience every day.

That also means being willing to jump into the operation when needed. Whether working expo, helping on the grill, wiping plates, or serving guests, Dorien explains how being in the trenches alongside his team helped him build stronger relationships and contributed to higher associate and guest satisfaction.

Melissa reinforces the importance of that top-down culture. Retention isn’t only about compensation or benefits; employees’ everyday experiences with their leaders can have a significant impact on whether they remain engaged with the organization.

Turning Underutilized Spaces Into Revenue

Cost savings don’t always have to come from spending less. Sometimes, the opportunity is finding ways to make existing assets work harder.

Melissa and Dorien explore how hotels can rethink common and underutilized areas to create additional revenue opportunities. Comfortable lobby spaces, grab-and-go concepts, coffee bars, autonomous markets, outdoor programming, and seasonal activations can encourage guests to spend more time—and potentially more money—on property.

The key is understanding the property’s market, guests, and available spaces rather than applying the same solution everywhere.

From Empty Corners to Guest Experiences

Dorien shares several examples from his own time in hotel operations, including partnering with a local studio to host sunrise spin classes with 20 bikes on the pool deck. The activation created an experience for guests while also opening an opportunity for pre-breakfast food and beverage revenue.

He also recalls transforming space near the hotel’s entrance into a check-in patio where guests could order drinks while waiting for their rooms and reimagining another area as a cigar lounge through a partnership with a local cigar company.

The takeaway: sometimes the next revenue opportunity is already sitting inside—or just outside—the property. Operators simply need to look at the space differently.

Leveraging Supplier Relationships

The conversation also highlights the value of looking beyond the four walls of the hotel for ideas. Supplier partners are constantly in the market, seeing new products, concepts, and hospitality trends across different properties.

Instead of viewing supplier relationships solely through the lens of purchasing, operators can tap into those relationships to identify new experiences, activations, and revenue opportunities that may already be working elsewhere.

The Bigger Cost-Savings Lesson

Part two of the conversation reinforces a broader idea: successful cost management is about intentionality.

Operators facing continued cost pressure don’t necessarily have to choose between financial performance, employee experience, and guest satisfaction. By staying proactive, remaining flexible, investing in their people, and finding creative ways to maximize existing assets, properties can uncover savings and revenue opportunities while keeping the guest experience at the center of their decisions.