DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
065 | Going Against the Grain with Hotel Impossible Designer Blanche Garcia
DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
Blanche is a certified Interior Designer with over 18 years of experience in residential and commercial design and is the owner of B. Garcia Designs based in Montclair, New Jersey. She is also a principal designer featured in the popular Travel Channel reality series, Hotel Impossible.
Blanche is a member of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) as well as a “Green Design” LEED Accredited Professional through the United States Green Building Commission.
In This Episode, Blanche Talks About …
- How she found her love of construction while volunteering at the age of 12 for nonprofit building projects around the country with her mother.
- Setting goals, then taking deliberate action to achieve them. And she shares one of her early career goals – to be on TV – and how that ultimately manifested in her life.
- Her first television appearance back in 2011 as a contestant in season 6 of the interior design reality competition series Design Star on HGTV.
- Being approached to do an episode of a new hotel design show … now known as Travel Channel’s Hotel Impossible … and how that single show morphed into a role as principal designer where she helps tackle the job of revamping hotels along with host, Anthony Melchiorri.
- The differences between a decorator and a designer, and she shares several simple things hotels can do to improve the design of the properties, that don’t cost a lot of money.
- Some of the mistakes that hoteliers make, and what you can do to avoid them.
If you’ve seen Blanche on Hotel Impossible or visited her website, then you know she’s extremely talented. However, what I didn’t realize until we connected is how authentic she is. Whether you read her blog or social media posts, or watch her “how to” videos or on TV, you get the same, real person, and she’s a riot.
Resources & Links
Blanche Garcia
B. Garcia Designs
B. Garcia Designs
551 Valley Rd. #170
Upper Montclair, NJ 07043
DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
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330 | Youthful Perspective: Industry leader Bijal Patel mourns the loss of ‘an entire generation’ of hospitality workers
Bijal Patel, 31, is CEO of Coast Redwood Hospitality and the youngest chair of the California Hotel & Lodging Association. He’s made even more history at CHLA by agreeing to serve an unprecedented second term as the lodging industry emerges from the coronavirus pandemic. Patel is a third-generation hotelier. Being so steeped in hospitality at such a young age is not new for members of the Indian American hotelier community, but Patel fears the pandemic has drained the industry of emerging talent. Lodging Leaders spotlights Patel, who represents a leadership demographic that is fighting for the life of the hospitality industry as they watch their peers veer toward other career paths.
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329 | Ruff and Ready: ADA gives hotels a short leash when accommodating guests with service animals
Many hotels these days have made room for guests with disabilities. Hotel managers and staff should also know what the Americans with Disabilities Act says about accommodating guests with pets. During the pandemic lockdowns, a lot of people added a pet to their household and now they’re bringing Fido along on vacation. Hotel employees need to know how to cater to both consumers who are pet owners as well as guests who travel with a trained service animal. Episode 329 of Lodging Leaders podcast reports on how the ADA defines a service animal and how a hotel is legally obligated to serve a guest who comes with a dog or any other animal.