Is Your Destination Chasing Luxury at the Expense of Its Locals? (Shannon Lowery)

Luxury hotels keep going up. Affordable housing doesn't. As destinations chase the top of the K-shaped economy, the residents who staff the front desks and pour the pints are getting priced out - and without them, the luxury experience falls apart too.

Longtime listener Shannon Lowery, formerly of Visit Savannah and now living in Dublin, brings the thesis: the K-shaped economy isn't new, it's the same problem in a different costume on both sides of the Atlantic. Stuart opens with Stu's News on Hook & Barrel being named TripAdvisor's No. 1 casual dining restaurant in the U.S., and what its surprise-and-delight welcome and signature bourbon bacon teach every business about standing out. The group debates whether great experiences can be built for the bottom of the K, and whether businesses should market based on where their customers sit on it.

Then it gets practical. What can a DMO actually do about workforce, housing, transportation and childcare when it shouldn't lead any of them? Stuart makes the case for a seat at every table, Shannon pushes for real hospitality training partnerships with local schools, and Adam floats a hospitality worker perks program that scares Stuart.

Bottom Line: Your visitors' experience is only as good as the locals who deliver it. DMOs don't have to own every problem, but they have to be at the table, and be willing to trade credit for impact.