How Mollie's is Running Hospitality Like a High Street Retailer - With Matt Bell, Mollie's Motels

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Molly's differentiates itself by having a very food and beverage-led proposition in terms of what we do. And we want to bring that sort of nostalgia, that slight sense of possibility and the open road and the adventure and the excitement of what it brings. And we think that sort of that diner concept represents that.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

My name is Jessica Gillingham, and I'm the host of the Pillow Talk Sessions podcast. And on this podcast, I have conversations with leaders, and we typically cover three things. We look at hotelization. We also look at how technology is enabling hospitality and changing hospitality. And then we also look at how hospitality and living is converging, how we're seeing a sort of a convergent of the living lodging asset classes. In today's episode, I'm speaking with Matt Bell, who is the managing director of Molly's Motels. How Matt sees a brand that is, you know, could typically be quite a transactional budget brand, how they've really positioned it to be Lux Value and a very much an experiential, even destination brand. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Matt as much as I do. Thanks for listening. Before we sort of crack on, can you first please give our audience a little introduction to you and what your current role is and maybe a little bit also about your past?

SPEAKER_01 1:32

Yeah, of course. Well, Jessica, thank you very much for uh for having me on the uh on the podcast. Very excited to uh to participate in it. So, yeah, my name is Matt Bell. I'm the managing director for Molly's. Molly's is a relatively new hospitality platform. We have three uh properties, hotels um and diners um uh across the UK. So what we want to do is create a uh a hotel, a diner experience where um uh affordable doesn't have to be boring. So great design, great food, great guest satisfaction, and that lives across both the uh the bedrooms and the diner in terms of what we do. Prior to Molly's, I uh worked with a group called Citizen Air. I was part of them for the best part of 11 years, helped them grow from three up until over 30 hotels. And prior to that, spent some time always in the independent sector, groups like or hotels like Citizen Air. Sorry. Start again. So with uh properties like Sim Hall was part of the opening team of the Great Eastern Hotel. So always tried to stay within uh premium, custom-centric uh products.

SPEAKER_00 2:37

So that's a that's a rich and detailed background in independent hospitality that you've got there, and I'm sure that that's brought a lot, a lot of your thinking and experience for the part from the past will have come into what you're doing at Molly's from seeing, you know, how you're approaching Molly's and also the core idea of it. And and you did kind of give us an overview of Molly's, but can you tell us a little bit more about the core idea behind it? Because what you're doing is something that is maybe potentially a fairly transactional stay and turning it into something quite different or or looking at it differently when you see when you say, you know, you're at that budget end, but it's more an aspirational budget end.

SPEAKER_01 3:20

Yeah, I think that's right. I think we look at what happens within regional hospitality, regional hotels, we look at the premierins and the travel lodges of this world that play within the budget sector. And they've done a brilliant job in terms of creating a very clear, understandable product for their customer. And I think they deliver very well to their promise. But we feel that there's an element of uh the transactional part within that. And whilst it meets that need, I don't think it really elicits um a really positive emotion that in a world where people have increasingly a deeper understanding of quality, they they want quality, they have a certain taste level. But we think there's a place that for layering those elements of quality, that great design, and that deeply human relationship with the customers through that experience. So it yes, we move beyond the transactional into a into a richer, more um emotional state through uh through our experiences at Molly's.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

So one of the topics that we talk about quite frequently on this podcast is hotelization and the kind of the hotelization of real estate. And what you've talked about there is a sort of an element of that. Like it's not enough, maybe today, to just provide a hotel room or provide an overnight stay. Guests are wanting and expecting a more of an experience about it. So whether that experience might be because of the design that that that they have there, or the amenities that might be within the property or within the room, or whether it is just feeling that you're you're staying somewhere a little bit special, whatever, wherever that sort of lands on the the price point continuum, feels like you're very much in that space with Molly's.

SPEAKER_01 4:58

That's definitely it. I I think that um yeah, that that there's definitely a place for for the for the transactional. And but really it comes into this notion of value and people's perception of price and and and quality. And we want to, and actually it's a similar position at Citizen M, we wanted to live above that um price-value line and that relationship. So we over-deliver on that notion of of value to the price piece. Um and we and we do that through through through a number of ways. Um, we layer on different components to that. Um, and we've touched on some, whether that be, you know, Molly's differentiates itself by having a um a very food and beverage-led proposition in terms of what we do. We see ourselves having a strong diner product, it works very well for the for the local audience as well as residents that differentiates us suitably from what you see traditionally in the budget sector, where they are quite defensive in terms of what happens from food and beverage. We're a very tech-led business in terms of what we do as well. And we believe that technology should be removing the friction from the customer experience. It really needs to add value to the customer journey uh within that space as well. And through that notion of great design and the investment in quality of what we have. So um actually Soho House um design have been fundamental in our journey so far in terms of the three properties and their involvement within it. So you get this very premium proposition, but all delivered at at a at a great value price.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

Can we talk a little bit about the food and beverage element that you have at Molly's? Because it you said there that you have locals coming, it's not just guests that might be coming and staying. And in a way, you've got sort of like you're building a destination F and B place. Is it is that what it is that like the the plan and or is that how it's kind of working out?

SPEAKER_01 6:39

Yeah, so I think I think the genesis really with Molly's was identifying and looking at roadside and looking at, I think maybe harks back to an era for those that remember sort of stopping at a little chef or a happy eater. And certainly when I was a kid, breaking up that journey uh with that kind of experience was always a bit of fun. But I think that if we look back on it now and ask, was it a a quality product? I I think probably we would say not. And so I think that that there is a certain nostalgia to that roadside element, and and actually also when you look at it within the sort of the US and the motel scene and the diner scene, there's quite an emotive part to what that diner represents as a moment and experience. And we want to bring that sort of nostalgia, that slight sense of possibility and the open road and the adventure and the excitement of what it brings. And we think that sort of that that diner concept represents that part, large shape, yeah. So great, really indulgent burgers. And we want that food to be really sort of yeah, welcoming and homely and comforting. And that plays well to a local audience as well. So destination, for sure, it is a place that people will will go just to dine. How far they will travel just for that part. Well, hopefully more and more. You know, we our burgers are are really well recognized and well awarded um and prized in terms of what we've done. So we we think that will that will sell and and drive it. But there is an element of it just being a convenience component in the location, but the quality is great. So um, yeah, I don't know whether I destination is quite strong in terms of what what what it is, but um, but definitely there is a strong local pull to that audience, and I think that it helps position that the hotel as well. That's certainly on the roadside. Manchester, which we've opened in the last couple of months, I think has probably a bit more of that destination pull in terms of what it looks like. We really believe that people will come and stay at Molly's in Manchester for everything that that product represents, as opposed to it being sort of a pit stop or a uh pause on a journey.

SPEAKER_00 8:36

I just want to when I was growing up, I never actually got to go to a little chef for um a happy eater. I always wanted to. For in my case, it was always homemade sandwiches in the back of the car and a packet of minstrels from the service station if we were lucky. But I totally get that it was, you know, it was very much a sort of um iconic, actually, in a way, those brands. And and that is something we don't actually necessarily have, and certainly not in the way of the roadside side. But I just I want to go back to something that you've talked about, you've got your three properties at the moment. So you've got two roadside ones. I think it's Bristol or near Bristol and Oxford, and now your new in the centre of Manchester property, they're all a bit different, aren't they? Or certainly Manchester is different from the two roadside ones, not just in the fact one's a city centre, the other two will, you know, we're on motorways or or you know, nearby motorways. How how is it how are you finding that? Like the complexity and the nuances of having properties that are are they're going to be catering to different customers, I'm gonna presume, you know, but also different kinds of properties that you might be operating. How are you sort of navigating that complexity, not just from a positioning perspective, but also perhaps from an operating perspective and a and even a marketing perspective?

SPEAKER_01 10:00

So I think that you know Molly's certainly with the industry and and I think with those that sort of new would have put Molly's, the first two properties, the Oxford and and then Bristol, into that roadside category. And of course, and we talk it, you know, it's Molly's motels. So I think that roadside part for a lot of people framed what represented Molly's. I think that all along what we what Molly's represented as a brand was more than just a location per se. It's about eliciting that emotion, it's about how we connect with our customer, it's about what it meets for their individual need. And and you say different customers, I think that it stretches our customer base for sure, but I think that there's absolute crossover between the two. The family that are traveling on the way down to the West Country and stop in Bristol might easily be the same that are going to a concert or a sporting event in Manchester. And therefore the brand carries. And I think that it's the resonance that it has, which is this notion of quality, that reassurance of the quality and the fit out, the design that is appealing and that resonates with you, coupled with the great great value product. So I think I think that that audience can be can be the same. Um, I think the reason for going to the hotel to a certain extent might change a little bit. I referenced it before. I think the roadside has a certain element of a pit stop, it's a pause on a journey as opposed to the hotel being a destination. What we've tried to do is we've gone into Manchester and and and actually elevated the product within that. And that's a slightly opportunistic play that came became with the um with the with the site, um, but is to retain the fundamental DNA of what of what makes Molly's. So the classic room that we have is still um visible and present, and we have out of the 106 keys, um half of those are still the classic room that we have that you'd find in the roadside space. The diner is front and centre of what we do, and the menu is principally the same across all of those components. That social space that's within the lobby is also identifiable. So I think there's that there's both the tangible, the product components that are consistent, and I think the the warmth, the welcome, the the great design, um, and um uh you know the the the yeah the the the emotion that it elicits I think is consistent across uh across the product. So I think trying to shift a bit the narrative away away from roadside and because that's what sat in people's head, that's probably been the main challenge. But I think anybody that goes in and experience it will understand that they're in a they're in a Molly's and in a way that few hotels have that real strength of brand uh identity across the portfolio.

SPEAKER_00 12:28

Absolutely. There's definitely a need for that or a space for that to have that strong personality brand that that you you've developed and are continuing to develop at Molly's. I want to go back again now to something that you talked about, about sort of the essence, if you like, which is part of the core and what you learned from your past experiences at Citizen M and then and then previous to that is around technology being in a sort of a fundamental integral part of the brand, of the operations, of the experience as well. Can you tell me how you approach technology? Because also you have the benefit of being a startup, if you like, within the space, you know, like a new brand coming out. And you will have had elements of that when you were at Citizen M as well. But how are you approaching your use of technology, the decisions that you're making when you're choosing technology, what's the priority for you as well? Where do you see technology being the most kind of fundamental in terms of moving a needle for you? How do you sort of look at this? I've just asked you a bunch of questions in one, which I it's a really big, it's a really big question.

SPEAKER_01 13:39

And I think the essence of it is technology should be seen as an enabler in terms of what we do. And and and it can be a differentiator as well and within it, and but it is an enabler of what you're trying to do. So within Molly's technology is not our purpose, that guest experience is much more around and delivering that value proposition is is much more our purpose-oriented objective. But as a when we play within that budget sector, when we have to look at how we can bring those efficiencies to within our business, and technology is an enabler of that. It enables us to operate this retail-oriented retail-oriented model, much like Citizen M did, where we can really centralize certain technical expertise and have the teams focus on delivering guest experience centrally. So using technology to roll everything up into one common place is a really important part of our ability to scale and scale efficiently, which brings through the returns that might not otherwise be there on a um when you're playing in in the secondary and tertiary markets. So that's a really important component of what we're doing. It also, we believe, can remove friction, I reference this, to the guest experience. And you know, the customer nowadays is only getting more and more tech savvy, they have access to that technology and they live within, increasingly within their phone as well. So the idea that you are going to introduce hurdles to them through that journey, I think is becoming less and less accepted by but by them. And so again, we have to look at where technology in itself uh enhances the guest experience and doesn't detract from it. So there's a constant line that we're walking between how we use technology to optimize the platform from an efficient perspective, but also um it's the and thinking, so the paradox, it's digital and human. So it's it's blending that component so we never take away from those deeply human emotional connections we're able to establish with our customer and enable that customer to use the technology to remove certain points of friction. And I think it's that constant um relationship between guest satisfaction, the financial viability, and the third component to that we talk about is employee well-being. So, how is technology supportive of the uh of the employee within that journey? How do we use it to raise them up as individuals, both from what happens within their employee journey per se, but also making sure those tools work so that when they're when they are working and they are engaging with customer, that those tools really meet their specific needs as well. So it's a really big question. But there is no doubt, and and no surprise to anybody that that you know that that will be listening, that technology is so fundamental today, today more than ever, but is extremely relevant for for Molly's in terms of where we seek to play because it it is such an enabler of foot for for our and it is you talk so about you know those three areas of efficiencies, guest experience, and then team happiness, let's say, or team productivity, maybe we could say that word as well.

SPEAKER_00 16:37

There's real kind of tensions there and friction between those three areas. How do you navigate those tensions? Like you know, how do you how do you think about navigate what might be a great efficiency driver but might impact the experience of your customers? Or something that might be a really great for a customer experience, but be difficult for the team to do, or or sort of not create the efficiencies. How do you sort of make those decisions and navigate the priorities there?

SPEAKER_01 17:10

So I think that life is increasingly complex, and I think that we want to seek to simplify it to make it more easily understandable, and we can often therefore make it binary, we can make it either or. And the reality is it's not that. It is inherently complex. Um and and that's you know, the one of the fundamental paradoxes of MOLIS is this value luxe proposition. So all the time we are looking at various initiatives that enable and thinking. It cannot be a zero-sum game where we sort of add to the to the viability, the financial performance, the efficiency component, and detract from customer experience. Or if you do, then you have to then look at what that looks like within the short term versus the long term in terms of what you're doing. So you are constantly trading off and balancing what that looks like. And I think that so so that yeah, the deployment of the technology has to never again comes back to being an enabler of some of the broader components of what we're looking for, and that it is and thinking. If we simply detract from customer experience at the, you know, but deliver it you know, efficiency, that that doesn't work. It's not good enough. And so, yeah, we we we challenge the teams to really look at the deployment of technology and these solutions in a way that raise everything up, add value into the ecosystem as opposed to just creating a zero-sum game in terms of what we're dealing with.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

So it requires a lot of strategic thinking, doesn't it? As well as a lot of, I guess, testing, a lot of um what's the word I want to look for? But but I guess it's making sure that everyone's on board with it as well, whatever decisions that you make, or when you're looking at problems, what solution? Consensus, that's the word as well. I guess you're also looking for consensus, aren't you?

SPEAKER_01 18:51

Yeah, it's an interesting part because you know we we want to create a uh we have a culture, a very progressive culture within mollage. It's a really important part that we're pushing the boundaries of what we're doing. And we don't simply accept accept the status quo. Um everything is moving faster and faster. If you do, then you're already you're you're sort of lagging behind. So this race is just happening faster and faster. So we need a culture that is progressive in terms of what you know of what we're looking for. Um and we want people that are excited by the deployment of technology, and at the same time, balancing that technology deployment for the sake of deployment doesn't necessarily create those outcomes. And the other component around it is with the complexity, is these things can become extremely big. And therefore, your ability to deliver it effectively and well and see the returns can become quite difficult. So I think trying to make everything a little bit smaller, trying to look at how we can run smaller experiments constantly to see what wins, because very often you don't necessarily really know what the outcome is going to be. You might have a hunch, but sometimes you stumble across these things by running the experiments of where the win is and looking at the data, and then taking something out from that that is sort of this nugget that you maybe was never your original intent, but is a key learning. So there is a process of yes, it's it's quite an agile sort of approach to what you're doing, which is understanding what's going to deliver the maximum value, trying to make sure that you can deliver continuously, and that feedback loop ensures that there is a process of continuous learning and improvement in terms of what comes back into it within a culture of people that are progressive and understanding and working within that. So yeah, it's it's not an easy exercise. Getting the the right people on board that want to play and can operate like that is a fundamental component, and then making sure that that that experimentation that you undertake doesn't have too big a consequence if it goes wrong, because then it removes the fear of failure. In fact, we can celebrate the failure because now we know what doesn't work. So it's a it's a it's an interesting component and it's it's a fundamental um piece to Molly's. And as we grow um and and and as we as we look to build on sort of competitive advantage, we have to get better and better at this.

SPEAKER_00 20:57

I I want to talk to you in a minute about culture and how you work on that, how you get the right people that have those characteristics, being progressive, etc. But can we talk about failure for a minute? So when you're you mentioned, you know, there's going to be lots of failure, when you're iterating all the time, when you're testing things, when you're trying things, there's always going to be failure. But are there any failures that you'd be happy to share with us along that iteration testing journey? Is there anything that sort of stands out around things that just haven't quite worked, or things that big learnings that you've had from those kind of iterations that you might have done?

SPEAKER_01 21:36

Yeah, I I'm I think I'm glad to say that none of the failures have been too big, shall sh shall we say. So I think that um that's the the important part is that that this quite is quite triggering the word failure. Um and I use it in a and yes, uh we use it in both ways. So absolute failures that are so so big that that you know sort of hugely weigh on your company are a real problem. So you have to Avoid creating those situations in terms of what you do. So when I'm using Failure Now, it's much smaller to that end of what we're looking for. So, I mean, you know, the recent deployment of our Apple wallet key within the hotels, as we look at that journey, you know, we we spend time, we want to get it live, we've we've tested it within a sandbox type environment, and then we push it and into the first, and you and you run your sort of your initial proof of concept, and then you might pilot this in an individual hotel and you think it's working, um, and then you actually do something and it's not. And so, you know, so your ability then to roll it out into your next hotel um bit pauses for a moment. So your intent was to get it rolled out quickly, but there are learnings that happen because two properties aren't identical or something actually wasn't quite lined up that you thought it was. But we have to accept that part because if you don't and don't push it forward, then you're forever waiting for it to be perfect. And by the time it is perfect and it's working, the world has moved on and you missed that opportunity. So I think it's really looking at that continuous component of failure. Apple Wallet Key Mate m might might be an example of that. What we do with certain menu items within the diner can be that same component. You put something on, you think that it's going to work, it doesn't, so you take it off and you try and take what the learning is from that. So that's for me how principally we try to look at failure, which is is is not sort of launch it and then forget about it. It's launch it, see how it works, does it deliver what you do? How can you refine it and uh and and learn from it on that basis?

SPEAKER_00 23:25

Excellent. Can we go back to culture? Because you you did talk about culture a little bit earlier and about making sure that the team have got that. And and actually the way you're talking, you you actually really remind me of a tech startup. Like we could, you know, I could be talking to a tech startup, CEO or founder in a way, just in the in the sort of the the approach, let's say. But in terms of getting the right people to join Molly's, you've obviously got the people in the back, you know, and and developers you might have, you know, all sorts of people in the back, but also your front-end staff as well. What is it that you look for? And and how are you maybe intentionally building the right people, the right team? Because I know at Citizen M that was really important at Citizen M, you know, you had hosts ambassadors you know, right at the center of the brand to any guests that arrived. So how are you sort of doing that intentionally, or how do you think about it at Molly's? Building the right culture and the right people that then have such a, you know, become such a big part of the brand essence.

SPEAKER_01 24:31

Yeah, so I think that it's about being very clear on your identity and and what your values are as a business. And your brand is a very is ultimately a very human thing, and there's an identity that comes with that part, and it's about how you make people feel. And you do that in lots of different ways. But one of the fundamental ways that you do that is human-to-human contact and what that looks like. So we don't think there's a perfect match for Molly's and every single person that works there, but we have to find a strong enough overlap of those values, and and people that share those values are going to sit well within our organization and are going to thrive within that organization. And I think it's important that neither Molly's nor the um in the recruiting process, the recruiter and the and and the candidate, kid themselves to that end. So we understand that people think differently from us and and we welcome that. Um and and sometimes it's important that we bring sort of different thoughts together within it, but but where the values are still the same in terms of what it is. So your thinking preferences are different from your values. So we want breadth of thinking preferences so we can solve complex problems, but the values have to match through the business. So it's a very um, yeah, of course, that there's an element that we're looking at the competence in the skill set that an individual needs and at different roles that there's a different importance of what we bring in that area. But what is non-negotiable is that we carry the right values.

SPEAKER_00 25:53

Excellent. And then in terms of scaling and growth of Molly's, how do you how are you thinking about an approaching that as well? Like replicating what you've already done potentially elsewhere? What would you what what kind of what's your view on that? And what's your sort of I mean, you don't need to give us your you know, your your plans and your roadmap or anything like that, but you know, what do you see as the opportunity, I guess, for mollies? But then also on the shadow of that, what's the challenge of scaling and replicating what what you're doing and and how you how would you approach that?

SPEAKER_01 26:29

So I think sort of answer that question in in the whole is that for for mollies to to work and for the for the play to work of of of this value luxe proposition within regional UK environments. Um and it's a different play from Citizen M who put themselves in super prime locations in the best cities of the world. Interestingly, actually, Citizen M started out with wanting to be in secondary cities, probably not dissimilar from what Motel 1 have gone on and achieved, which is critical mass in primary but also secondary and tertiary cities. And Molly's has to work within those secondary markets where the rates aren't there. What underpins all of that is having a very refined product, being very clear on what is core to what you're doing. And every time that you do something new or different or bespoke, that's time, effort, um, uh, uh, and and and um and costs in terms of what's going there. So so our rollout is is really based on having this very clear standardized product that we can then scale quickly in terms of what we're doing, and then by scaling quickly, growing quickly, but ultimately, as I said before, that that we can add them all back up so we can effectively govern that centrally and realize that efficient of the centralization part of what of what we do. We think, therefore, it's about where is does a molly's live ultimately, where's the demand for a mollys? And and that's therefore looking at where there is demand that really is six six and a half days a week. So we need strong corporate demand and strong leisure demand. Um, we think that there are opportunities, you know, with with the Bristol location as an example, we're on Cribs Causeways, we're just off the M M5, we're we have residential stuff around us, we have good corporate business and around us. There are people that use us um as a as a as a stopover, but also because they're coming to surf at the wave. There's some people that are coming that are that are in Bristol itself, but um happy to be a bit further outside. So we get that blend of that business. Edinburgh Park is a is a site that we are just about to go through the planning process um with. It's a for us, it's a brilliant location. It's um on on Edinburgh Business Park itself, which is going through quite some regeneration. There's quite some residential stuff going in there. The AEG Arena, which is a new 8,000-seater arena that's going in that drives that demand. You know, you've got some big blue chip companies in and around that area as well that drives the corporate demand. And this, yeah, it's on the Edinburgh Ring Road, but has good access into Edinburgh itself on the tram system. So 14 minutes to the airport, 14 minutes to central Edinburgh. So for us, we're trying to find these locations that really meet and tick as many of those boxes as possible. And that's the challenge. That's the hard part in finding those where we know we can get consent fairly quickly because we cannot be in this very slow, laborious development and bureaucratic phase of the planning process and risk planning to that end. So we know the sites that we where we want to be, we know what the the attributes are of those sites. But um, right now, as we want to do the next secure the next two to three, that gets us to six, seven sites, and then we want to make sure those sites are the ones that really amplify where we are. And as we build that critical mass, you can then start to look at the sites that maybe are a bit more marginal because you're finding the efficiencies in the platform at that stage. So that's a bit where our journey is at the moment. Be really clear, really refined on what our proposition is and our product is, and be disciplined in that part, be really targeted in where um where where we want we want to be. And as we get to scale, realize that will start to unlock opportunity for exponential growth.

SPEAKER_00 30:04

Firstly, I think some might argue that Edinburgh is a f a first city, not a secondary city.

SPEAKER_01 30:10

No, I think that's fair, but I think what what I'd also say is that the location itself is not central Edinburgh. So I completely agree agree, and it's a fantastic market for us. Um, but the location is not right in the centre of uh of it. We are on on the outskirts on on at Business Park.

SPEAKER_00 30:24

Yeah, no, brilliant. I want to talk to you a little bit more about the like because you described Molly's, I can't remember the exact words you said, but sort of having that retail offering part of it. And and I'm, you know, that is from your diners and your food and beverage. Is there anything else that fits into that? That it that it's kind of a retail first offering?

SPEAKER_01 30:45

No, and so when I say retail first, I think really what I mean is if you is the relationship between your central office and your product. Um so if if you take a brand like Zara, the team that are on within the shop in Zara um are are there to deliver the experience. Um they're not setting that what the product is that's coming in, they're not determining what the price of that item is per se. They're just making sure that you as a shopper come in and have a brilliant experience, that the team members are in there and the shop is clean and runs really well. And then we can we can centralize, or they're then centralized core components of that that can be distributed across at scale. Um, hospitality, you know, yeah, I mean, there's obviously the full spectrum of what that looks like, but you know, the the big brands don't own a huge amount of their real estate. And and therefore, within each individual site, you've got specialization to deliver that product for the for the owner of that product that's then has the HMA above it. And if we take that and bring that sort of consolidation together, you can spread that resource that currently sits on every site on a multi-site basis, and that brings some of the efficiencies that you're looking for and specialization where you need it as opposed to that that fragmentation of that specialization. So that's kind of the retail-oriented model that I reference.

SPEAKER_00 32:00

Yeah. So literally it's a little bit like a high street shop that is part of a brand. Does the model that they have for, I guess, you know, distribute not distribution, but sort of how they're how yeah, I get it. I I understand what you mean there.

SPEAKER_01 32:14

And of course, with it within hospitality, what your difference is within a retail environment, I think, and this is changing, that the product that I consume in a retail if I go into a fashion store is is the actual clothes itself, and that which I take home. And of course, why would someone come into my shop? Yeah, if I've got a great shopping experience, I'm more likely to go back and buy my product there than than than it is. But fundamentally, the product that I'm buying is the uh are the clothes that I'm gonna take away with me. In hospitality, yes, you can talk about that as the as the night's sleep or with okay, and a bit closer to the retail model is is the food and beverage product in terms of what's in there. But there is so much more of a responsibility of the experience because the length of time you're staying there. What you're buying is isn't beyond the product itself. It is the physical product. There is an emotional part that's really relevant. Um, yeah, it it is that in terms of delivery of it, and then the the teams, the freedom of the teams to really deeply connect with the customers and that builds that relationship and that advocacy. Because the other component of the model is that we want our guests to be doing a lot of the marketing for us. And in that very social forward world now, that that becomes a definite possibility of what you're looking to do. So that customer acquisition and growth is coming from a very social forward strategy of what we're uh of of um yeah, within our marketing strategy.

SPEAKER_00 33:34

Yeah, and I guess like retail, user-generated content is very much kind of a route to a broader market. And we used initially the example of Zara. And it's as a customer, you know, if if I like the product that Zara has and I feel like it it it meets me where I want it to meet me and I connect with it, I'll be at Zara in Edinburgh, I'll be at Zara and Cribs Causeway in Bristol, like it doesn't sort of matter where it is, I will always be a going to Zara as long as that product and I feel like the experience is a good one for me. So and I guess it's the same with Molly's as well.

SPEAKER_01 34:14

I think it it's that. And again, you know, very much the same thing that we found within Citizen M. It depends what your your driver is for the need of a hotel. If your hotel is supporting another element of what you're doing, I happen to be there on business, it sort of changes the dynamic. But I think certainly for you know, if I'm going to have a weekend away, knowing that there's a Mollies um within that city and that location I can go to, that might start to drive a little bit where I want to where I want to be and what I do. So it we recognise that it comes back to this original notion of sort of destination, in terms of what we talk about. There is there is an element of what Mollies will do in terms of the pool of what that looks like, but I think there what we also want that sort of reassurance that if I can stay at a Mollies, then I will do. So there's a relief when I can get if I'm going to Bristol to know that there's a Mollies there or an Oxford, there's a Mollies there, as opposed to something that is new and unknown in terms of what I might get. And even within the brand in the big chains, you still don't quite really understand whether the product that you've had in one city is going to be consistent really somewhere else. So that brand reassurance I think is a really important piece.

SPEAKER_00 35:15

Thank you, Matt. I've got one final question for you, and it's changing literally day by day how everyone's thinking about talking about, and I'm gonna say AI and AI agents and agentic AI. Where are you sitting? Like, how are you approaching AI? And I'm sure like many, you've probably been using AI in elements of the business and automation for a long time. But what are you thinking about changing things going forwards, perhaps using more agentic AI alongside that workforce that you have as well? Where where are you currently at on this?

SPEAKER_01 35:54

Yeah, so I I think we wholly embrace it. If you don't, I think our position would be that you're going to be left behind because the momentum that that is building here and the speed of competency of these platforms is is is changing exponentially. And so where that there and rightly might be some skepticism at the moment of it, you see how fast it's developing and its execution deployment is uh is only getting better and better. Um and and I think that as I said previously, that if we see technology and we do see technology as an enabler, then as these new technologies emerge and as agentic AI emerges, we have to see it as an enabler for something within the business that is supportive of the broader strategy of what we have and what we're doing. And if I can meet that customer need better, faster, more efficiently using agentic AI, why would I not embrace it in its adoption? Um and and all the time being clear, I think, that that it there's agentic AI at play. I don't think, you know, when you when we are principally a human brand, you want to make sure that you know that when when it's the human at play. So I don't think we're looking to dupe anybody in that area. But if it meets the need perhaps on a more transactional basis, then why not embrace it? So that the use cases for it are are huge. I think all the time it goes back saying, okay, if I deploy it in a certain way, is it A, delivering me better guest satisfaction? Is it B delivering me better profitability? And C, is it adding value into the employee journey in some way, shape, or form? And depending which journey you're exploring at that time, customer, finance, employee, whatever the different journeys are that you look at it, it's saying how is technology and and and in this instance, agentic AI, an enabler of that. And one of the most the the clearest things that comes out of it is simply speed. It just faster. It's not always right, and that needs to be refined, and that's the experimentation. But I think that if you are humble in its adoption, if you are aware of the and critical in your thought around how it is done, not just uh accept it blanket blanketly, then I I think that you can really leverage it to uh and have to leverage actually, so it's not optional anymore, but um, but I think there's some real there's some real wins to be had um through its adoption.

SPEAKER_00 38:08

And it's you know, you talked about your three, I guess, founding principles of profitability, efficiency, guest experience, and then also team experience, making decisions based on the framework of those three things. And you know, you just gave a really good example of that when you when you're looking at AI or looking to change things or do things differently or sort of map things against what you're currently doing, using those framework that framework to make decisions.

SPEAKER_01 38:38

Yeah, and and I don't think it has to be um all three all the time, so um which you play on at different times. But I think that and and and it and and if there is a trade-off and it is a it's just a repositioning of where you sit, but ultimately I think that AI is you know is transformational, it is a mechanism that will enable you to add that value into your ecosystem. And and then um but the hard part is recognizing that is not the difficult piece. I don't think it takes a genius to understand that that that's what's going on. The hardest part is is its deployment, how to weave it into your business, sort of where we started that this conversation, which is um around ensuring that it is well adopted. Yeah, that that's right now is a difficult piece. And and at the same time, there is so much opportunity for deploy it that you could get yourself lost in doing everything but and nothing at the same time. So, again, this notion of discipline, understanding where to deploy it, where is it going to offer the maximum value, have you got the right people that can embrace it? Are your processes supportive of what's happening to that end? Those sorts of notions are really important itself. Simply the deployment of it will not affect the transformation.