Defining Hospitality

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:

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