154 keys on Nebraska Innovation Campus. Tribute Portfolio with Husker DNA. Well & Good, The Barred Owl, Good Life Coffee, the lobby bar. The only hotel partnered with the University of Nebraska—Lincoln, home to the Hospitality Leadership and Innovation Academy. Pivot is hiring a lifestyle GM with the F&B chops, the people-development backbone, and the community instinct to make this hotel the city's gathering place. Here's what that looks like.
See Role Alignment →The Operator
U.S. News #1 Hotel in Iowa. Business of the Year in nine months. 25% RevPAR growth. 40+ associates mentored into management. $1M+ in activation-driven incremental revenue.
I've built the culture and operational identity at lifestyle properties twice over. At The Warrior Hotel (Autograph Collection), I relaunched three F&B outlets, co-led a 2,000-person community relaunch, and earned #1 Hotel in Iowa within a year. At Hotel Julien Dubuque, Business of the Year in nine months. Both times the job was the same: set the tone, build the team, make the building mean something to the city around it.
The Scarlet sits at a rare intersection: a Tribute Portfolio lifestyle property, an academic teaching hotel for UNL's Hospitality, Restaurant and Tourism Management program, and the unofficial home base for Husker fans, alumni, and Innovation Campus visitors. Pivot's playbook — servant leadership, locally-inspired F&B, a sense of place, the “Pivot vibe” — matches the operating philosophy I've been refining for over a decade. Below is a taste of how I'd approach it.
Role Alignment
Pivot is hiring a culture-driven General Manager who can lead operations and financials, drive sales and revenue management, develop the team, serve as brand ambassador, and provide property-level oversight of four F&B outlets — Well & Good, The Barred Owl, Good Life Coffee, and the lobby bar — while sustaining the UNL HRTM teaching partnership. Here's how the record lines up.
F&B Leadership
The Scarlet has four F&B outlets to lead — Well & Good, The Barred Owl, Good Life Coffee, and the lobby bar. Here's the proof of work that translates directly.
Relaunched three underperforming outlets — steakhouse, rooftop bar (a direct Barred Owl analog), and bowling lounge. Rebuilt the teams, refreshed the menus, and established new operational systems for each. Three distinct service cultures under one roof. The rooftop became the city's social anchor. F&B became the hotel's strongest community asset. $200K in auxiliary F&B spend from the community relaunch alone.
Rebuilt the three-meal casual dining restaurant and cocktail lounge. Launched a sold-out murder mystery dinner at 40% profit margins — 100 guests in costume, scripted theatrical experience. Orchestrated the hotel's first Culinary Olympics — teams competing across prep stations with chef judges. Grew banquet revenue $300K.
The Opportunity
The Scarlet has the location, the brand, the academic partnership, and the only Tribute Portfolio designation in the market. These are four engines mapped to the property — each proven at comparable Marriott lifestyle and independent properties I've operated.
Husker home weekends are the property's compression cycle. Build the Scarlet as the unofficial pre-game and post-game home base — Barred Owl rooftop pre-game watch parties, Good Life Coffee tailgate breakfasts, Well & Good post-game dinner reservations protected for repeat alumni. Pair it with Innovation Campus midweek programming (research conferences, startup demo nights, founder receptions). Every event compounds. At properties I've operated, this kind of system generated $1M+ in activation-driven revenue.
Lincoln residents are the foundation of any boutique hotel that wants to matter. Programs that turn locals into Well & Good regulars, Barred Owl Friday-night fixtures, and Good Life Coffee morning loyalists. First-look invitations to seasonal menus, focus groups that shape what the hotel becomes. Locals fill the lobby bar on Tuesdays. They bring out-of-town guests to The Scarlet. They defend the property because they feel like it's theirs — the Pivot vibe in practice.
The Scarlet sits inside the only hotel-academic partnership of its kind in Nebraska. That's a B2B group-pipeline machine waiting to be fully activated — UNL departmental retreats, College of Education and Human Sciences events, Nebraska Innovation Studio member programming, recruiting weekends for graduate programs, alumni reunions, parent-and-family events, conference housing for visiting researchers. Curated packages bundling rooms, F&B, and meeting space turn each touchpoint into a multi-night booking. The HRTM partnership is a marketing channel, not just a curriculum.
Every activation feeds a direct booking machine. Targeted campaigns tied to monthly themes — Husker schedule, Innovation Campus events, Lincoln seasonal arc. Social content built around Barred Owl sunsets, Well & Good chef partnerships, Good Life Coffee morning rituals, and the rooms inspired by Nebraska towns. At properties I've operated, this system generated hundreds of thousands in direct booking revenue. For a Tribute Portfolio property in the Marriott Bonvoy ecosystem, owning the direct channel and the social narrative is the fastest path to margin improvement.
The Programming
This is how I'd program The Scarlet. Twelve months, each built around Well & Good, The Barred Owl, Good Life Coffee, the lobby bar, the Husker calendar, the UNL academic year, and the Lincoln seasonal rhythm. Every theme ties a tentpole event, outlet activations, a rooms package, a local partner, and a team recognition moment. Nothing exists in isolation. Each month feeds the next.
Vibe: The post-bowl-game quiet. "Dry January at the Owl" zero-proof program at Barred Owl. "Good Life Reset" Good Life Coffee partner with local wellness studios for run club + breakfast. CEO/Innovation Campus founder breakfast series. Lincoln locals get first crack on midweek staycation packages.
Vibe: Valentine's lifts into wedding season pipeline. "Well & Good Tasting Menu" Valentine's prix fixe. "Engagement at the Owl" rooftop proposal packages. UNL Engineering Week sponsorships with Innovation Campus. Wedding leads multiply for the whole spring/summer pipeline.
Vibe: March Madness lifts F&B. Big Ten Network programming on every screen, watch party formats at Barred Owl. UNL admitted-student weekend rooms blocks. Spring Break midweek packages. "Good Life Spring" coffee-and-pastry tasting flights. HRTM cohort visit days launch.
Vibe: Red-White Spring Game weekend is a compression cycle. Rooftop reopens. "Spring Game at the Owl" pre-game programming. "Well & Good Spring Menu" launch with Nebraska farm partnerships. UNL graduation weekend rooms blocks for parent travel. HRTM end-of-semester showcase events on-property.
Vibe: Peak gifting and group occasion month. UNL commencement weekend — the year's largest family-travel compression. Mother's Day brunch at Well & Good. Memorial Day rooftop programming. Graduation suites for multi-night family stays with curated Lincoln dining experiences. Wedding tastings every Saturday.
Vibe: Lincoln warms up. Innovation Campus summer conference cycle peaks. "Owl at Sunset" rooftop sunset cocktail programming. Father's Day steak-and-bourbon at Well & Good. Pride Lincoln partnership. Summer wedding season anchored at the property.
Vibe: Independence Day rooftop programming — the Owl is the best view in town. State Fair lead-up partnerships. "Cooler at the Owl" frozen-cocktail series. UNL faculty and staff midweek staycation push. Husker fall sports practice opens, season-ticket holder previews launch.
Vibe: UNL move-in weekend — thousands of out-of-town parents. Curated multi-night family packages, dining reservations protected. HRTM cohort welcome week on-property. Husker season opener prep. Back-to-school parent receptions for new freshmen families.
Vibe: Husker home schedule opens. "Game Day at the Scarlet" formalized as a citywide brand — pregame at Barred Owl, post-game at Well & Good, breakfast at Good Life Coffee. Alumni reunion weekends. Innovation Campus Q4 investor events begin. Wedding season peaks.
Vibe: Big Ten home rivalry weeks. "The Scarlet Murder Mystery" — full theatrical dinner experience (proven 40% margin format from Hotel Julien). "Owl After Dark" Halloween rooftop programming. UNL homecoming weekend — alumni travel compression peaks.
Vibe: Holiday programming opens. "Friendsgiving at Well & Good" private buyout packages. "Drinksgiving at the Owl" the biggest Wednesday of the year. Husker Thanksgiving rivalry game weekend. HRTM cohort year-end showcase. Holiday gift card and corporate party RFPs close.
Vibe: Holiday peak in Lincoln. "Glow at the Scarlet" lobby holiday installation. "12 Nights at Well & Good" curated chef tasting series. Bowl game travel rooms blocks. Corporate holiday party season at full throttle. New Year's Eve reservation-only programming.
The System
Signature monthly event
Well & Good, Barred Owl, Good Life Coffee, lobby bar
Themed package or add-on
UNL, Innovation Campus, or Lincoln local
Content moment
Team recognition
In Production Now
This isn't theoretical. Right now I'm executing a year-long programming calendar at Hotel Julien Dubuque built on the same system outlined above.
When the nation's semiquincentennial presented a once-in-250-years opportunity, I didn't wait for a directive. I built a full-year programming calendar — twelve themed months, each anchored by a community partnership and supported by dozens of activations across F&B, events, and guest experience.
The result: a dozen new community partnerships forged in a single year, dozens of new activations, and a property that went from hosting events to being the cultural anchor of its city.
The Execution
Four consecutive months from the America 250 campaign at Hotel Julien Dubuque. Room promos, daily F&B specials, tentpole events, recurring series — every month a complete system, not a single event.
February
March
April
May
Proof of Work
In 2024, I took the helm at Hotel Julien Dubuque — Iowa's oldest hotel — while simultaneously retained as a strategic consultant for a $250M portfolio across four properties: The Warrior, Hotel St. Louis, Hotel Blackhawk, and The Current Iowa.
The Team: Transitioned from day-to-day operations to coaching General Managers across the portfolio, serving as a liaison between ownership and staff, building the culture infrastructure that would sustain without me in the building.
The Guest: 22 portfolio-wide activations designed to manufacture demand rather than capture it — experiences that gave guests a reason to come back before they'd left.
The Friction: Bridged the gap between ownership and operations across 900,000 sq ft of combined real estate — finalizing budgets, protecting partnerships, clearing the path for four leadership teams to execute.
The Asset: 6% TRevPAR increase across the consulting portfolio. Simultaneously drove Hotel Julien to “Business of the Year” status.
The Warrior Hotel was a restored icon — Marriott's Autograph Collection, stunning architecture. The opportunity was to turn it into a benchmark.
The Team: Every department aligned around one shared goal. Culture and performance moved together — not as competing priorities, but as the same thing.
The Guest: Guest satisfaction rose 20 points. Recovery programs transformed feedback into loyalty. Guests didn't just return — they advocated.
The Friction: Labor forecasting tied to occupancy. Menu engineering balancing quality with cost. Systems that let people do their best work without fighting the operation.
The Asset: RevPAR lifted 25%. RGI increased 19.6%. Named Top Hotel in Iowa by U.S. News & World Report — 2024 and 2025.
The Warrior Hotel reopened in 2020 — mid-pandemic — and spent two years without a community identity. No local following. No neighborhood connection. When I arrived as AGM in 2022, the building was beautiful. The relationship with its city was nonexistent.
The Team: Gave the team ownership of the relaunch. Every department hosted their own ribbon cutting — spa, restaurant, rooftop bar. The team became the face of the property.
The Guest: We didn't ask how do we get guests? We asked how do we become part of this place? Six weeks of community events turned opening weekend into opening season.
The Friction: Removed every barrier to community access. No gatekeeping, no VIP-only events. Open doors. Free tours. The hotel belonged to the city before it belonged to travelers.
The Asset: 2,000+ people walked through the property in six weeks. Five local press stories. City council began hosting delegations. Community buy-in became the foundation for every dollar that came after.
Activations compound when they're systematic. Not a wine dinner here, a holiday party there — a tiered calendar where each event feeds the next.
The Team: Gave the team creative ownership over their signature events. When housekeeping designs the holiday party and the bar team creates the cocktail series, they're invested in the outcome — not executing someone else's idea.
The Guest: Three tiers: signature series (weekly recurring), tentpole moments (monthly), and anchor events (seasonal). Guests returned not because we asked them to — but because they knew what was coming next.
The Friction: Built repeatable systems — templates, vendor relationships, marketing cadences — so every activation didn't have to be reinvented. The system ran itself.
The Asset: $1M+ in activation-driven revenue from 2022–present. Shifted perception from we're here if you need us to you need to be here for this.
Hospitality's retention crisis isn't about pay. It's about meaning. People leave because they don't feel seen, don't see a future, and don't believe their work matters.
The Team: Built the crucible. Multi-layered recognition — monthly, weekly, daily. Career pathing infrastructure. High-potential identification. Mentorship tracks. An environment where people fall in love with the challenge of becoming who they're capable of being. The exact muscle a teaching hotel like The Scarlet relies on.
The Guest: Stable teams mean consistent service. Consistency is what guests notice first — and it's the thing that can't be faked.
The Friction: Removed the obstacles that make people leave — unclear expectations, invisible growth paths, leaders who don't listen.
The Asset: 40+ associates mentored to management. 24% leadership retention increase. Engagement scores jumped 27 points.
How I Lead
I operationalize a culture of belonging through a process I call the 3Ts — Trajectory, Tools, Tangibles. They're how every associate, guest, and community partner experiences The Scarlet as something distinct.
Every associate knows where the property is headed as a whole, what their specific role is in that direction, and our commitment to their personal elevation. The Well & Good server, the Good Life Coffee barista, the Barred Owl bartender, the HRTM cohort student — each one understands how their work connects to The Scarlet becoming the city's gathering place. 40+ associates mentored into management. 24% leadership retention increase.
Tribute Portfolio standards. Marriott Bonvoy systems. Real authority. Every associate gets what they need to deliver consistently — and the trust to make the call when a guest needs it. That's the difference between hospitality that performs and hospitality that holds. Hilton Tapestry properties opened 10 points above brand average from day one. NPS up 9 points at Hotel Julien in six months.
To associates: real benefits, real recognition, real growth (engagement up 27 points at Hotel Julien). To guests: the Pivot vibe across Well & Good, The Barred Owl, Good Life Coffee, and the lobby bar. To community: The Scarlet as the gathering place of Lincoln. 2025 Chamber Business of the Year. AAA Four Diamond. #1 Hotel in Iowa, U.S. News & World Report.
Trajectory sets the destination. Tools make excellence achievable. Tangibles are what people actually receive — to each other, to our guests, to the communities we serve. That's how Tribute Portfolio standards become muscle memory.
Lead with Heart
Award-winning teams don't happen by accident. They happen when leaders invest in the employee experience with the same intention they bring to the guest experience. People who feel genuinely developed, challenged, and valued don't just deliver service — they embody it. For a teaching hotel like The Scarlet, this is the entire point.
Every team member keeps a structured gratitude journal — a daily practice that shifts mindset from task completion to ownership and purpose. It sounds simple. It's transformative. Teams that practice gratitude operate with more patience, more empathy, and more resilience under pressure. The guest feels the difference even if they can't name it.
A structured mentorship program built on curriculum that mirrors high-end MBA programs — leadership development, financial literacy, strategic thinking, and communication. Every associate has a development pathway that extends beyond their current role. Aligns directly with the HRTM partnership: the property becomes a learning environment for staff and students alike.
No two team members get the same development plan because no two people have the same ambitions. Individualized growth tracks designed around each person's goals, strengths, and areas of opportunity.
