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Defining Hospitality · May 13 · 53 min

Global Visions, Local Touches - Genna Panagopoulos - Defining Hospitality

This week, Dan Ryan sits down with Genna Panagopoulos, Vice President of Development at Minor Hotels, to make the case that the most exciting real estate play in hospitality right now isn't in Asia or Europe, it's right here in America. A restaurant kid from Detroit who fell in love with hotels, Genna is the one handed the keys to a 640 property global giant's entire North American future, armed with 12 brands, a freshly built franchise model, and a philosophy that deals only work when everyone at the table wins. One NH Collection in Manhattan down. Twenty four more to go. About the Guest: Genna Panagopoulos, VP of Development at Minor Hotels, a Greek American, raised in the restaurant business by an immigrant father who treated every customer like family, who somehow ended up being the person responsible for introducing one of the world's largest hotel companies to the United States. With over 15 years spanning hotel investment, brand strategy, and development at the likes of Davidson Hotels and IHG, Genna isn't just opening doors in new markets. She's the one deciding which doors are worth knocking on in the first place. Chapters: 00:35 Meet Genna Panagopoulos 02:10 Greek Roots and Philoxenia 05:43 From Restaurants to Hotels 07:03 Minor Brands and Luxury Resorts 09:50 US Growth Model and Deal Flexibility 12:02 Target Markets and Investor Mindset 15:13 Financing and Conversion Strategy 20:12 Service Culture and Scaling Luxury 27:26 Uniqueness Over Scale 28:50 Early Growth Bottlenecks 29:30 Portfolio Deals and Marketing 30:30 New Brand or Collections 32:11 Lessons From US Expansion 34:10 Where Deals Are Happening 36:09 Choosing the Right Partners 38:58 Deal Terms and Key Money 42:48 Future Vision and Wrap Up Quote of the Show: “We're not here to make money right now. We're here to plant our flags and build brand awareness." - Genna Panagopoulos 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. Minor Hotels is introducing the legendary Anantara and Wolseley brands to North America: learn more about the company's strategy and ambitions!! Links: Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@defininghospitality?sub_confirmation=1 Substack: https://www.defininghospitality.live/ Genna’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/genna-panagopoulos-726a7525/ Minor Hotels Website: https://www.minorhotels.com/en 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 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1s Amazon Music: ​​https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8c904932-90fa-41c3-813e-1cb8f3c42419 Transistor: https://www.defininghospitality.live/

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This week, Dan Ryan sits down with Genna Panagopoulos, Vice President of Development at Minor Hotels, to make the case that the most exciting real estate play in hospitality right now isn't in Asia or Europe, it's right here in America. A restaurant kid from Detroit who fell in love with hotels, Genna is the one handed the keys to a 640 property global giant's entire North American future, armed with 12 brands, a freshly built franchise model, and a philosophy that deals only work when everyone at the table wins. One NH Collection in Manhattan down. Twenty four more to go.


About the Guest: 
Genna Panagopoulos, VP of Development at Minor Hotels, a Greek American, raised in the restaurant business by an immigrant father who treated every customer like family, who somehow ended up being the person responsible for introducing one of the world's largest hotel companies to the United States. With over 15 years spanning hotel investment, brand strategy, and development at the likes of Davidson Hotels and IHG, Genna isn't just opening doors in new markets. She's the one deciding which doors are worth knocking on in the first place.


Chapters:
00:35 Meet Genna Panagopoulos

02:10 Greek Roots and Philoxenia

05:43 From Restaurants to Hotels

07:03 Minor Brands and Luxury Resorts

09:50 US Growth Model and Deal Flexibility

12:02 Target Markets and Investor Mindset

15:13 Financing and Conversion Strategy

20:12 Service Culture and Scaling Luxury

27:26 Uniqueness Over Scale

28:50 Early Growth Bottlenecks

29:30 Portfolio Deals and Marketing

30:30 New Brand or Collections

32:11 Lessons From US Expansion

34:10 Where Deals Are Happening

36:09 Choosing the Right Partners

38:58 Deal Terms and Key Money

42:48 Future Vision and Wrap Up


Quote of the Show:
“We're not here to make money right now. We're here to plant our flags and build brand awareness." - Genna Panagopoulos


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.

Minor Hotels is introducing the legendary Anantara and Wolseley brands to North America: learn more about the company's strategy and ambitions!!


Links:

🏨✨ 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: 

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