Name: Ben Lloyd
What I do: I’m here to build a world-class customer success department for Odysys.
Past lives: The last dozen years I’ve been focused on building, growing, and eventually selling my online marketing agency. Before that, I spent several years in the music industry (and/or trying to be in the music industry) – mostly on the business side of things. I’m not a musician.
Hospitality background: I did actually work in a hotel while I was in college. I was a bell-boy but mostly I drove guests back and forth to the airport. That particular hotel used to sponsor a golf tournament put on by Peter Jacobson (pro golfer) that also had a pro-am day and everyone stayed at the hotel. So over the course of 3 days I met all these celebrities and pro golfers playing in the tournament including Clint Eastwood, Arnold Palmer and John Daly—who actually got nailed with the biggest fine ever dished out by the PGA at the tourney that year.
Ideal room: My ideal hotel room has USB chargers built-in somewhere. Whether on the desk or just in the wall outlet or whatever. If they don’t have that then at least have an outlet I can actually get to so I can charge my stuff. I hate getting down under the desk or moving a piece of furniture.
Best hotel memory: I went to Greece for about 3 weeks several years ago. In Santorini I stayed at a small little place called Hotel Ira that overlooked the caldera and it was beautiful. However, the thing that made it great was that for the 4 or 5 days that we were there, there was maybe one or two other guests the entire time (off-season). So every morning Manos (the proprieter) would just kind of serve breakfast and hang out with us and give us tips for places to eat and things to do and just to talk about whatever. It was, quite simply, one of the best travel experiences I’ve ever had.
Hotel I’m dying to stay at: Well – I don’t really have a list of hotels I’m dying to stay at, but I do have a big list of places I’d really like to go and THEN I’ll pick a great hotel! I just checked Cuba off of my list of places I’m dying to go, which was a big one. I think the next big place/thing I’d like to do is a motorcycle trip through Vietnam and finish at a really bitchin’ beach resort.