It’s Not You—It’s Your Hospitality

It’s Not You, It’s Your Hospitality is for independent restaurant owners, operators, and leaders who want to build thriving businesses without burning out their teams or losing sight of what hospitality really means. Hosted by Preston Lee, founder of The 30% Rule , this podcast dives into the systems, leadership strategies, and culture shifts that separate the struggling 90% of restaurants from the top 10% that thrive. With over 20 years in the industry and a decade spent helping major brands grow sales, Preston shares raw stories, proven tools, and hard lessons learned from the front lines. If you’re tired of high turnover, inconsistent guest experiences, and the endless cycle of training without transformation—this podcast will dive deep into the world of Hospitality and show you how to fix it once and for all. Because at the end of the day, it’s not you—it’s your hospitality.

It’s Not You—It’s Your Hospitality is a business podcast hosted by Preston Lee, with 58 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Preston Lee hosts It’s Not You—It’s Your Hospitality, a business show with 58 episodes published.

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  It’s Not You—It’s Your Hospitality

  How To make Your Brand Actually Impossible to Ignore

  Sep 29, 202640 min

  Learn how effective brand strategy turns provocative ideas into a loyal community. See why disruption wins customers. Most brands play it safe, but the most memorable ones are not afraid to polarize. This discussion breaks down the reality of using provocative branding to cut through the noise. It is not just about being loud for the sake of it; it is about building a foundation that resonates with your core audience. We analyze how a simple, edgy approach like putting a controversial phrase on a cup can drive significant customer engagement. When you commit to disruptive marketing, you create a tribe rather than just a customer base. This is the difference between a business that blends in and one that creates a lasting brand strategy that people actually talk about. Stop Running the Shift. Start Building the Leader. Download Our FREE Leadership Workbook: https://get.30percentrule.com/leadership-dl?el=yt92526 Follow @the30rule on Instagram: https://instagram.com/the30rule

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  It’s Not You—It’s Your Hospitality

  Author of Unreasonable Hospitality: Hospitality Training He Didn't Put In The Book (Will Guidara)

  Sep 22, 202642 min

  Why do great teams fall apart — even when they have talented people, strong systems, and a great product? It usually comes back to leadership. In this video, Preston breaks down the leadership principles behind building teams that actually last, why culture and accountability matter, and the difference between simply managing employees and creating an environment where people can succeed. Whether you’re running a restaurant, leading a hospitality team, managing employees, or trying to scale a growing business, these leadership strategies can help you build a stronger culture, retain great people, and create a team that performs without everything depending on you. In this video: leadership training, team building, company culture, employee retention, hospitality vs. service, management systems, and how to build a business that can scale. Subscribe for more restaurant leadership, hospitality training, business systems, team management, and strategies for building a business that runs without you.

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  It’s Not You—It’s Your Hospitality

  10 years of No Bs Hospitality Training in 15 mins

  Sep 3, 202612 min

  Here's 10 years of hospitality training, leadership lessons, and guest experience strategy in less than 15 minutes! If you work in a restaurant, bar, hotel, hospitality business, or lead a customer-facing team, this video breaks down what actually separates average service from unforgettable hospitality. Service is a transaction. Hospitality is a feeling. The restaurants and bars that win aren't just serving great food and drinks—they're creating experiences that make people feel valued, welcomed, and excited to come back. In this hospitality training, you'll learn: • The real difference between service and hospitality • Why one bad employee can destroy years of customer loyalty • How exceptional guest experiences increase customer retention • Why every employee (not just servers and bartenders) owns the guest experience • The importance of focus, clarity, training, and innovation • How restaurant managers can create stronger hospitality teams • Why leadership is a responsibility, not just a title • How better employee development creates better customer experiences • Why consistency matters more than a single great interaction • What makes guests choose your restaurant or bar again and again Your dishwasher, host, bartender, server, food runner, barback, line cook, and manager may have completely different jobs—but they should all share the same mission: Give the guest the best experience possible. Because customers have endless choices for where to eat and drink. Your food matters. Your cocktails matter. Your atmosphere matters. But what keeps people coming back is how your team makes them feel. If you're a restaurant owner, hospitality leader, general manager, bar manager, server, bartender, or anyone responsible for customer experience, use this video as a crash course in building a stronger hospitality culture.

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  It’s Not You—It’s Your Hospitality

  This Mindset Hack Separates Great Restaurant Owners From the Rest

  Aug 27, 202611 min

  Great restaurant owners don’t ask, “Why can’t we do this?” They ask, “How can we make it work?” In this podcast, Preston Lee breaks down one of the biggest mindset differences between restaurant owners who stay stuck and those who continuously improve, innovate, and grow. After working with restaurant owners and hospitality leaders across the industry, one pattern shows up again and again: the difference between an “I can’t” mindset and a “How can I?” mindset. “I can’t” sounds like: • We don’t have enough staff • We don’t have the budget • We’re too busy right now • We need another manager first • That won’t work in our restaurant • The margins are too thin Great restaurant operators approach those same problems differently. Instead of immediately looking for a reason something can’t happen, they ask: How can we make it happen? That shift affects everything from restaurant leadership and hospitality to employee training, guest experience, revenue, retention, and profitability. Preston covers: • The mindset that separates high-performing restaurant owners from struggling operators • Why “I can’t” can destroy innovation inside a restaurant business • How leaders create a culture of problem-solving instead of excuses • Why great hospitality means finding ways to accommodate the guest • How owner mentality influences managers and frontline employees • Why restaurant training should be viewed as an investment—not just an expense • How better training can improve employee retention, upselling, reviews, and sales • Why cutting costs isn’t always the answer to thin restaurant margins • How focusing on increasing revenue can create a snowball effect across the business • The importance of restaurant systems, leadership development, and trained trainers • How to get your management team thinking “How can we?” instead of “We can’t” One of the biggest mistakes restaurant owners make is trying to solve every problem by spending less. Sometimes the better question is: How can we generate enough additional revenue to make the investment worthwhile? More training can create better hospitality. Better hospitality can create better reviews. Better reviews can bring in more guests. Stronger sales can fund stronger managers, better systems, and continued restaurant growth. That’s the difference between simply cutting your way through problems and building a restaurant business designed to grow. If you’re a restaurant owner, operator, general manager, hospitality leader, or multi-unit restaurant executive** looking to improve restaurant management, leadership, culture, profitability, employee training, and guest experience, this video is for you.

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  It’s Not You—It’s Your Hospitality

  The Secret to Building a Michelin-Star Restaurant Team | Josiah Citrin & Preston Lee

  Aug 25, 202646 min

  What does it really take to build a restaurant team capable of delivering Michelin-level hospitality? In this conversation, Michelin-star chef and restaurateur Josiah Citrin shares the lessons he’s learned from decades of building restaurants, developing teams, navigating major industry challenges, and balancing culinary passion with the realities of running a profitable business. Josiah explains the evolution of Citrin and Mélisse in Santa Monica, including how one restaurant became two distinct concepts under the same roof, how his team adapted through COVID, and why great restaurants depend on far more than great food. We also dive into the leadership and management philosophies behind his restaurant group, including: • Why Josiah hires for personality and passion over experience • How to build a strong restaurant culture • Why training and developing internal leaders matters • How “train the trainer” programs can improve employee retention • Creating career paths that motivate restaurant employees • Why promoting from within can strengthen restaurant leadership • How employee rewards can reinforce high performance • The importance of maintaining hospitality standards as a business grows • How restaurant owners can build systems that allow them to step back • Why passion alone isn’t enough to run a successful restaurant • Balancing food quality, staffing, labor, profitability, and guest experience • What Michelin-level hospitality looks like behind the scenes Josiah also shares his philosophy that hospitality means taking responsibility for a guest’s happiness while they are under your roof—with the goal of making every guest leave feeling like a king or queen. Whether you’re a restaurant owner, chef, general manager, hospitality leader, or aspiring restaurateur, this conversation offers practical lessons on restaurant management, leadership development, staff training, culture, profitability, and building a business that can succeed without the owner controlling every detail. If you’re working to build a stronger restaurant team, develop better leaders, improve hospitality, or create systems that allow your restaurant to grow, this episode is for you.

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