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The Room Key

The Room Key

By: Chase Keller CCIM
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 The Room Key is where hotel owners, investors, lenders, brokers, and hospitality professionals come to talk shop. Hosted by Chase Keller, CCIM, a national hotel broker with Franchise Clearly. Each episode dives into the real stories, challenges, and insights that drive the hotel industry. Whether you're a first-time owner, a seasoned investor, or someone who just loves the business of hospitality, The Room Key offers candid interviews, market trends, and practical takeaways you won’t find anywhere else. Unlock behind-the-scenes conversations with the people who power the places we stay.Copyright 2025 Chase Keller, CCIM Economics Politics & Government
Episodes
  • The Guest Experience Begins on Paper: Hotel Design with Anne Becker Olins

    The Guest Experience Begins on Paper: Hotel Design with Anne Becker Olins
    Sep 7 2025
    Episode Summary
    In this episode of The Room Key, Chase Keller sits down with Anne Becker Olins, a Paris-based architect and designer whose work with Accor spans the globe’s most luxurious hotels—including Raffles, Fairmont, and Orient Express.
    Anne shares what makes luxury design truly timeless, why she insists on staying involved after hotels open, and how even midscale owners can learn to blend guest experience with long-term ROI. With stories from across Europe, Asia, and the U.S., she brings a rare perspective on design that’s as strategic as it is beautiful.
    Whether you're building a boutique hotel or operating a legacy brand, this conversation will make you rethink what design really means—and how it can make or break the guest experience.
    What We Cover:
    • The journey from standard to ultra-luxury hotel design
    • Why great design doesn’t end at the ribbon-cutting
    • What owners often forget after opening day
    • Why “luxury” is more about time and space than money
    • How lifestyle hotels are misunderstood—and often overpriced
    • Trends that excite her (and the ones she thinks are overhyped)
    • The role of sustainability and wellness in the next decade of hospitality

    Guest Bio:
    Anne Becker Olins is a Paris-based architect and designer for ultra-luxury hotels, working with Accor brands like Raffles, Fairmont, and Orient Express. With a career spanning Europe, Asia, and the Americas, she is known for staying involved well beyond the design phase to ensure long-term performance and guest impact.
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    1 hr and 9 mins
  • From the Back of the House to the Courtroom: Steven Shapiro on Hospitality Law That Actually Helps

    From the Back of the House to the Courtroom: Steven Shapiro on Hospitality Law That Actually Helps
    Aug 31 2025

    Most hotel owners don’t need more legal theory—they need lawyers who understand how hotels actually work. That’s exactly what Steven Shapiro is training his students to become.

    Steven is the Director of the Hospitality and Tourism Law Program at American University Washington College of Law. In this episode, he and Chase talk about why hospitality law isn’t just about contracts, and why every law student should walk a hotel kitchen line or tour a property before they give legal advice.

    From franchise agreements and liability to emotional intelligence and real-world risk, this episode explores how legal education can support hotel owners, developers, and operators in more meaningful, strategic ways.

    Whether you’re a hotelier hiring legal help or just curious what a great hospitality lawyer should look like—this conversation lifts the curtain on a rarely discussed side of the industry.
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    52 mins
  • Doing Good Is Good for Business: Anna Blue on Workforce Strategy, DEI, and the Future of Hospitality | The Room Key

    Doing Good Is Good for Business: Anna Blue on Workforce Strategy, DEI, and the Future of Hospitality | The Room Key
    Aug 24 2025

    Can doing good actually make your business more profitable?

    In this episode of The Room Key, host Chase Keller sits down with Anna Blue, former President of the AHLA Foundation, for a candid and insightful conversation about workforce development, DEI, and what hotel owners need to know about building a stronger team and a better guest experience.

    Anna shares her journey from social justice to hospitality, unpacks the real meaning (and business impact) of DEI, and explains why hotel owners—many of whom are immigrants themselves—have more to gain than lose by investing in their people.

    Whether you’re skeptical of DEI or already on board, this episode doesn’t take sides—it seeks solutions. From practical tips on retention and recruitment to bold thoughts on anti-trafficking efforts and generational leadership shifts, this conversation cuts through the noise and focuses on what matters.

    Because at the end of the day, great hotels are built by great people.

    🔑 Topics Covered

    • How Anna Blue accidentally entered hospitality
    • What hotel owners get wrong about DEI
    • Workforce programs that actually work (and are free!)
    • Why guest experience starts with employee experience
    • How to rethink hotel jobs as long-term careers
    • The role of hotel owners in the fight against human trafficking
    • Bridging the gap between what employees want and what ownership needs
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    50 mins
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