#229 - Hospitality Meets Jakob Gowin - Leading at the Whitehouse (No, not that one)

This week, I sat down in person (yes, we went old school) with the brilliant Jakob Gowin, General Manager of the Meliá White House in London - and what a conversation this turned out to be.

From washing dishes at 13 to running a 581 bedroom hotel and 112 long-stay apartments (with residents who’ve lived there for 30+ years!), Jakob’s journey is packed with graft, heart, humility, and more than a few cracking stories - including the fact we recorded this episode in “The White House”. Sadly, neither of us bumped into the President… but we did fix some of the worlds problems

Jakob brings a refreshing, human first take on hospitality and leadership, rooted in care, curiosity, resilience and a healthy dose of humour. This episode is full of golden nuggets for anyone in the industry, regardless of where you sit on the org chart.

In this episode, Jakob and I get into…

• His spur of the moment entry into hospitality at age 13 (thanks to his brother bunking a shift)
• How a single 30 second conversation changed the entire course of his career
• The incredible history of the Meliá White House - from art deco elegance to WWII navigation point to Soviet spy HQ
• Balancing hospitality at scale with genuine personalisation (including when “positive stalking” is actually a great thing)
• Why unsung hero actions matter just as much as the big “hero moments”
• The responsibility leaders have around their first response
• Why communication isn’t a “soft skill” - it’s the skill
• The power of empathy, integrity and a well timed bit of humour in leadership
• AI in hotels: not a gimmick, not a cost-cutting exercise - a chance to give humans more time to be… well… human

Some cracking quote-ables from Jakob

“A bad manager is sometimes easier to learn from than a good one.”

“If that doesn’t bring a smile to your face as someone in hospitality… you’re in the wrong trade.”

“People will forgive an awful lot if they’re communicated to properly.”

“You can’t deliver hospitality if you’re not feeling right. It’s hard to paint on a smile forever.”

“Treat people how they want to be treated - not how you want to be treated.”

Why this episode is worth your ears

If you work in hospitality, lead people, want to lead people, or just need a little reminder of what true hospitality looks like, this one’s for you.

Jakob is the kind of leader who proves that kindness and high performance are not only compatible - they fuel each other. You’ll walk away with ideas you can implement today, whether you run a team of 2 or a hotel of 500+.

Show Partners

A big shout out to Today’s show partner, RotaCloud, the people management platform for shift-based teams.

RotaCloud lets managers create and share rotas, record attendance, and manage annual leave in minutes — all from a single, web-based app.

It makes work simple for your team, too, allowing them to check their rotas, request holiday, and even pick up extra shifts straight from their phones.

Try RotaCloud’s time-saving tools today by heading to https://rotacloud.com/phil