Raul Leal on Building a Hospitality Career: From Miami Dishwasher to CEO of Starwood Hotels
Raul Leal CEO Starwood Hotels
Host Steve Turk introduces an archived 2022 Hospitality Mentor Podcast episode featuring Raul Leal, then CEO of SH Hotels & Resorts (now CEO of Starwood). Leal recounts starting at Miami’s Everglades Hotel working with his Cuban-immigrant father, setting early goals to become a GM, and progressing through front desk and food-and-beverage roles, including managing a Sheraton with a major nightclub, before becoming a GM in La Jolla and later leading larger Sheraton properties in Denver, Chicago, Cleveland, and Miami. He describes launching and scaling Teton Hospitality and its boutique arm, Desires Hotels, driven by frustration with legacy-brand sameness and belief in internet-driven distribution. Leal shares how meeting Richard Branson led him to build Virgin Hotels from scratch, and why he later joined Starwood/SH Hotels to lead brands including 1 Hotels, Baccarat Hotels, and Treehouse, emphasizing sustainability, better back-of-house spaces, mentorship, clear goals, and kindness in leadership.
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00:00 Podcast Welcome
00:33 Sponsor Lodgify
01:38 Archive Episode Setup
02:10 First Hospitality Job
04:12 Choosing Hospitality Career
05:18 Learning Without College
05:55 Climbing Into Management
08:21 First GM Move West
09:27 Mentors And GM Life
10:24 Big Hotels Career Ladder
11:59 Entrepreneurial Leap
14:10 Building Boutique Portfolio
15:47 Travel Reality Check
17:40 Why Launch Desires
20:26 First Boutique Wins
21:43 Lifestyle Hotel Edge
23:00 Richard Branson Connection
23:43 Meeting Richard Branson
25:12 Consulting Turns Into Leadership
26:41 Inside Virgin Culture
28:45 Building Virgin Hotels From Scratch
31:00 Choosing The First Property
32:24 Chicago Launch And Expansion
34:20 Leaving Virgin For SH Hotels
36:16 SH Brands And Sustainability
40:31 Growth Plans And Openings
41:28 Reimagining Back Of House
44:04 Advice For Young Leaders
45:46 Closing And Sponsor Message
