#256 - Hospitality Meets Adam Hamadache - Data, Dogs & Direct Bookings

#256 - Hospitality Meets Adam Hamadache - Data, Dogs & Direct Bookings

From Hospitality Meets... with Phil Street by Phil Street

May 20, 2026 · 56 min · Season 9 · Episode 256

About this episode

Phil Street interviews Adam Hamadache about the evolving hospitality industry, data utilization, and the importance of direct bookings.

This week I sat down with Adam Hamadache , founder of Formula and host of the Hotel Growth Podcast, a man who has spent the last 15 years helping hotels figure out how to grow in an industry that never seems to sit still for more than five minutes. What followed was part hospitality strategy masterclass, part therapy session for modern business owners, and part beautifully chaotic conversation about AI, audience-less keynote speeches, and why hiring experts only to tell them exactly what to do might be “the definition of madness.” From working in a shoe shop during school work experience while dreaming of hotels, to shouting orders on the grill in a Sydney restaurant kitchen overlooking the Opera House, Adam’s journey is full of sharp pivots, curiosity, and a relentless obsession with solving problems properly. Along the way we get into the terrifying speed of AI, why hospitality still massively underuses its own data, what business owners can learn from bad football defending, and the deeply humbling experience of delivering a keynote presentation to an audience of… one. And honestly? The audience of one story alone is worth the price of admission (Which is free by the way) In…

People in this episode

Host: Phil Street

Guest: Adam Hamadache

Topics covered

  • hospitality strategy
  • AI in hospitality
  • direct bookings
  • data utilization
  • career evolution
  • marketing in hospitality

Keywords

  • hospitality
  • AI
  • direct bookings
  • data
  • marketing
  • career
  • business strategy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Formula, Hotel Growth Podcast

Places: Sydney, Opera House

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