Housekeeping Didn't Come
Lessons from the road, the classroom, and the minibar.
Welcome to Housekeeping Didn’t Come — where hospitality, adventure, and a little chaos all check in for the night.
Hosted by Rob W. Powell, former casino exec, improv comic, mountaineer, and hospitality professor (aka the Indiana Jones of hospitality education), this podcast dives into the wild, weird, and wonderfully human side of the hospitality world. From luxury lodges to national park cabins, cruise ships to classroom chaos, we explore what it really takes to deliver unforgettable guest experiences—and what happens when things go hilariously off script.
Whether you're a student, a hospitality pro, a curious traveler, or just here for the stories, you'll find something to love. Expect candid interviews, bite-sized insights, unforgettable blunders, and the kind of wisdom that only comes from years in the trenches (and a few nights without housekeeping).
So grab a coffee (or a cocktail), and join Rob as he unpacks the business of making people feel welcome, even when the bed isn’t made.
Housekeeping Didn't Come
Latest Episodes
S1E39: “Middle Management: Where Strategy Meets Reality… and Reality Wins.”
Big strategies only work when someone can translate them into real shifts, real guests, and real constraints. We make the case that middle management is the leadership engine where culture, judgment, and execution actually live. • ...
The Students Ran the Show… and No One Panicked (Which Was Suspicious)
There is a moment in hospitality when you realize you are not in charge anymore and it is the best possible outcome. I just watched it happen at Smash, a full-scale student-run event at the University of Arkansas where everything from marketing...
Just Fix It - the most terrifying phrase and the most liberating.
“Just fix it” is one of those leadership lines that lands with a thud because it’s so plain and so loaded. When a guest problem hits, that sentence can either spark fast, confident service recovery or expose a culture where talented people are ...
You Don’t Have a Staffing Problem. You Have a Design Problem.
We challenge the comforting myth that more people and more training fix operational pain, and show why process design and culture set the real limits. Rob shares how to map friction, push authority down, audit language, and lead under stress so...
Teaching to a Camera and Hoping Someone's There
Ever poured your best lecture into a lens while strangers pretend not to stare? We open the curtain on the odd, revealing world of online and hybrid teaching—where you generate energy alone, perform in public spaces, and still deliver clarity t...