October 13, 2025 • 31 mins
Sarah shares why she trusts her instincts when it comes to evaluating risks and the impact her preparation and practice have on her public speaking. She discusses the importance of the outdoors and physical activity on her overall performance and why curiosity is important. She talks about how developing human connections can help you feel more at ease in any environment, how she tackles moments of self-doubt, and what she'd tell her younger self.
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Episode Transcript
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Rachel Humphrey (00:01):
I am Rachel Humphrey with its Personal
Stories, a hospitality podcast,and I am very excited to be
joined today by Sarah Dan Dehifrom Many Hats.
But today ask a concierge.
Sarah, welcome to the program.
Sarah Dandashy (00:14):
Thanks so much for having me.
Rachel Humphrey (00:16):
This has been a long time coming and we're gonna
talk about some leadershiptopics today.
I'll tell everybody how I firstmet you or got introduced to you
and also your leadershipjourney.
So let's start there.
Everyone knows, the thing I lovemost about hospitality is you
can really chart any path thatyou want.
No.
Two have to be the same.
So tell me a little bit aboutyou, your background, and how
(00:39):
did you end up doing what you'redoing today?
Sarah Dandashy (00:42):
Yeah.
Okay.
I'll try and give like the shortversion of it'cause there's so
many fun stories with it.
But I, as I think a lot ofpeople in hospitality can say or
relate to, fell into it.
I was going to school atGeorgetown getting a nice, fancy
international relations degreeactually.
A Bachelor of Science in ForeignService, to be exact.
But as I was going to school, Iwas like I want a taste of the
(01:03):
real world.
I don't wanna be just like oncampus and living this insulated
life.
And so I started working at arestaurant and then fast forward
my cousin who had gone toLauzen.
Obviously highly respectedhospitality school.
Moved to town and he was workingat the Four Seasons, so a little
bit of time goes by and he islike, why are you working at
this restaurant?
You should come work at the FourSeasons.
That's where I got my wholeintroduction to hospitality.
(01:26):
And so luxury hospitality at avery high level as far as like
delivering that service.
And four Seasons did a fantasticjob as far as.
I also went in as a completesponge.
It was a blank slate.
So anything four Seasons had tosay was certainly really
interesting and a wonderful sortof guiding.
A pla a wonderful place tostart.
Fast forward.
I moved to Los Angeles.
(01:47):
I end up falling into theposition of being a hotel
concierge even though I'd onlylived in the city for three
weeks.
But I started at a five star,five diamond hotel and worked my
way through that.
Ended up at another property thePeninsula, Beverly Hills, I'm
sure many people know of it.
And then the last property thatI was at as a concierge was the
(02:09):
London West Hollywood.
I earned my keys, which forthose that are familiar with the
luxury hospitality space, theLake Leor, the Gold Keys of
Concierge, a highly prestigiousorganization got that was
actually won the title of BestYoung Concierge in the World in.
2015 now.
And so simultaneously as thatwas growing back in 2012, I
(02:31):
started doing travel videos ofWhat To Eat Seed Do in Los
Angeles, which was a naturalextension of me being a
concierge.
So I was at, the concierge deskgiving people advice.
Now I just started creatingvideos of it naively, I.
Who will want to watch this fastforward.
You could almost even sayconcierge were the original
influencers.
(02:51):
So the transition really madesense.
So now I, I don't work at aspecific property anymore but I
do the brand has grown andevolved tremendously and I work
with hospitality and travelbrands from a marketing side.
But I also ended up writing abook in the pandemic.
That really brought together allthe lessons I learned in
(03:13):
hospitality as far as deliveringthat exceptional service.
So that's also created a wholenew avenue that I can, that I've
been able to grow the business.
And then the one thing that I dothat a lot of people don't
realize, because I don't talkabout it online, is I actually
have my own private conciergebusiness.
So I work with ultra high networth individuals and their
families.
(03:33):
And I, you name it I doeverything for them, whether it
is travel, whether it is helpingthem move into a new home.
You name it, just as a conciergeis a wearer of many hats.
I, too am aware of many hatsjust for my clients.
So that's a little bit of thebackstory.
That's
Rachel Humphrey (03:50):
incredible.
I, too was an internationalrelations major in college and
Oh, did not know that about you,but what an incredible.
Journey really from that to whatyou're doing today.
And one of the hats that youwear is actually how you first
came into my orbit.
Which is through a lot of thework that you do with the media,
which I didn't know started inthe videos about la so Oh yes.
(04:12):
And in some instances peoplewill say, we're behind the
pandemic, pandemic's in the rearview mirror, but you took on a
really important role duringthat time and you used a lot of
your.
Media knowledge, a lot of yourrelationships to do a lot of
conversation publicly aboutSure.
The pandemic and the hospitalityindustry and the impacts and
(04:33):
everything else.
Talk a little bit about, firstI'm interested in how you knew
you were the right person forthat, but also how did that
change your leadership?
How did that change?
What you understood about thehospitality industry.
Sarah Dandashy (04:47):
So I don't know how I'd say like I knew I was
the right person for that.
I don't know that there's, thatwasn't really.
A concern.
I'll so breaking down thepandemic.
And in full transparency, upuntil then, I was actually still
working at a hotel.
And I, I absolutely could haveleft years before, but I was
nervous.
And I think anybody who startstheir own business on the side,
it can be very nerve wracking toleave.
(05:09):
What is a, constant paycheck andsomething that you know, is
consistent for something thatyou're like, uhoh, can I do
this?
So in full transparency, that'swhat was where I was and going
into the pandemic I knew that Iwas, before we knew the pandemic
was happening, I had alreadyslated for myself.
I was like, this is the yearthat you're gonna transition
into working completely foryourself.
(05:29):
Fast forward the pandemic.
It was happening and then Ibasically was viewing the entire
social media landscape and whatwas I seeing?
A lot of fear mongering, a lotof like heightened emotions.
Everybody didn't know what todo.
It was just it wasn't helpful.
And so when I view situationswhere everybody's, first of all
(05:49):
no good decision comes from aplace of panic, let's say.
But when you see everybodypanicking and you see all of
this, that's just, this doomsdaysort of attitude, I'm like
that's, how is that going tohelp us in the long term?
We want people to feel good andfeel safe when it comes to
travel.
And so when I was scanning whatthe conversations were in the
(06:09):
social media space, I was like,okay, there's a gap.
Nobody's talking about how totravel responsibly, how
businesses are really makingsure that guests and travelers.
Do feel comfortable regardlessof their quote unquote comfort
levels.
And so it wasn't about shaminganybody for traveling or doing
(06:30):
any of that, but it was reallyabout okay, depending on your
comfort levels, this is what youcan do and this is what you can
expect, and this is whatbusinesses are doing, and how
great.
So I really doubled down on thatas far as the consumer side of
things.
At the same time, I also doubleddown on.
On LinkedIn because prior tothat, all of my content was very
(06:50):
much B2C for lack of a betterway of describing it to
travelers.
But then it was, tapping into mywhole background and
understanding how to navigate,that it also only made sense for
LinkedIn, and helping to be, mywhole thing is let's be a
champion of our industry.
We're always gonna facechallenges.
Obviously that was an extremesituation.
(07:10):
We're facing challenges still tothis day.
So instead of maybe that comesdown to the concierge mindset is
that, you're always gonna bethrown, again, different
challenges, all of that.
Maybe it just comes down to thefact that you're like, okay,
this is what's in front of us,but this is how we can.
Focus on getting past it beingvery solutions oriented.
(07:33):
And I feel when it comes tobeing solutions oriented, it
just comes down to educatingyourself and those around you.
So that's like the mindset shiftand what was my why in the
middle of the pandemic wheneverybody was like, oh my gosh,
what's next?
It's let's take a beat and let'ssee what it is, and then we can
strategically navigate out ofthis together.
Rachel Humphrey (07:56):
I love the idea of seeing something that was not
sitting right with you.
Yeah.
But really having that strategicapproach to saying.
Okay.
With what I know and with theskills that I have or the
audience that I have, what can Ido to change that narrative?
That's actually a perfect seguebecause you have taken some big
risks.
You said you were alreadynavigating this idea of your own
(08:19):
business.
At that point, you then alsonavigate to change how you are
seen in the media, what rolesyou're taking on there.
Sure.
How do you.
Analyze risk, how do you decidewhich are the ones that you're
gonna jump into and which maybeyou're gonna pass on?
Sarah Dandashy (08:34):
Great question.
When it comes to ri, so first ofall, it's it comes down to like
really trusting your gut andbeing really in tune with
yourself and being like, okay.
Is this really the right thingto do?
And we'll know, our gut willtell us.
Now, of course, then our braingets in the way and it's oh, but
(08:55):
what if, or, oh goodness.
You're not what if you say thewrong thing?
Or what if you do the wrong, orwhat if you don't succeed?
And it's, it's all about beingsmart when you take the risks,
obviously, I'm not saying to, tojust, throw caution into the
wind, but.
If you can really kind of planout big risks or big changes in
your life and you make sure thatyou have a sort of cushion for
(09:19):
yourself.
And this can be in so manydifferent ways, whether it is
financial, whether it is even.
Diplomatically, understandingthe parameters in which you can
play.
If you're doing something likeon the media circuit, how you
would talk about talk aboutthings like what, for example,
going on media and talking abouttravel in the middle of the
pandemic, where some people werealmost villainizing travel.
(09:41):
And so how to carefully choosethe words to be like no.
We don't have to villainize itand to be like welcoming of that
people can do it in differentways and so it's when you, when
it comes to taking risks, I justalways take a step back and it's
you can live a life of what ifsor you can actually try and also
not being scared of failurebecause and again, this is not
(10:04):
my phrase, we've heard itprobably many times before.
It's not rejection, it'sredirection.
And sometimes you have to take arisk and maybe something fails,
but then it puts you on theright path to what it, what
you're supposed to be on.
And it can be a stepping stone.
And to give yourself that graceto be like, okay, I tried this
and maybe my initial thoughtwasn't the tr the right, the
(10:27):
exact, I didn't hit the nail onthe head, but then it pushed me
in the direction that I wassupposed to be in.
So if you understand that it'sall lessons along the way and.
And like, why not do it now?
So much better to give it a trynow than to be, 85, 90 and
looking back and be like, I dowish I would've played it a
little bit higher stakes.
(10:47):
It's funny
Rachel Humphrey (10:48):
because with all of the resources you have
available, all of the knowledgeyou have.
Sure sticking with your gut isreally a north star for you, and
I think that's incredible.
I also hate the word failure'cause I think it puts a lot of
pressure on us to try to beperfect all the time.
Totally.
So the idea that anything thatis maybe not as successful as
you hope it will be, redirectsyou to something even better
(11:10):
along the way.
So
Sarah Dandashy (11:11):
Totally.
People get really caught up withthe notion of failure, and I've
never.
I really understood that becauseit, to me, it's just, it's a
lesson.
It's a lesson.
You might, the lesson might be,oh, I need to get better.
It's not a failure, and we all
Rachel Humphrey (11:26):
have challenges or obstacles along the way.
Nothing works out hundredpercent of the time.
Anybody in the industry.
What
Sarah Dandashy (11:33):
keeps life interesting?
I like to say
Rachel Humphrey (11:36):
I.
Sarah, when you talk about,going on the media circuit like
you did a minute ago, making thevideos that you were making when
you were at the LA hotels, youdo a lot of public speaking in
front of internationalaudiences.
Talk a little bit about yourpreparation.
Do you remember maybe your firstpublic speaking?
Is it something that comesnaturally?
Are you still nervous?
(11:57):
How would you, what would youtell people that are like, ah, I
don't know if it's for me.
Sarah Dandashy (12:02):
So it, I will say this, it all comes down to
practice and preparation and notwinging it.
And I even myself to this day, Ihad a TV appearance yesterday
and I was like nervous goingthere.
I'm like, Sarah, why are younervous?
You go all the time.
They know you, they love you.
It's, and I didn't prepareenough.
And so even case in point, eventhough it ended up being fine,
(12:27):
there are certain things I'mlike that could have been
smoother.
And that's just me knowingmyself as my quote unquote
instrument.
Very well.
Now when it comes to, publicspeaking, and I always say
obviously, rehearse, practice,all of that, but if you lead
with.
You know that you're sharingsomething valuable, it takes the
(12:47):
pressure off of you.
I think where a lot of timeswhen people get in their head,
when it comes to public speakingor just doing anything in the
media, be it even as these, assimple as social media.
If they're like, oh, people aregonna judge me, and that's where
you have to take the.
The ego out of it and understandthat it's not about me, but it's
about what I'm sharing.
(13:09):
It's about the knowledge thatI'm sharing.
I'm the vessel in which to sharethat knowledge.
Yes.
Okay.
We wanna make sure that we soundarticulate and we look nice, but
people are less likely to, to bejudging that when there's
substance.
So again, when it comes togetting over the nerves of
public speaking, understand thatyou are sharing valuable
(13:31):
information that the audience isthere and they want to hear.
And I feel like that also just,that helps put it, it frame it
in a different perspective.
That just takes the personalside out of it.
And you can hopefully, again,just with practice and doing
that, just let it go and then itjust gets easier with time.
Rachel Humphrey (13:49):
I like the practice and preparation even at
or in spite of the level ofpublic speaking experience you
have today.
I think that's one of the thingsthat people don't understand is
no matter how many times you doit, the practice and preparation
should never be brushed by thewayside.
It's never just going to be, andif it is, you've probably.
(14:09):
Checked it in at that point and
Sarah Dandashy (14:10):
it's time to so different.
And I never give the samepresentation twice.
Yeah.
So that's one of the thingspeople are like, oh, you speak
all the time.
And I'm like, yeah, but thisone's different than the one I
did last week.
And there might be some overlap.
So it is tricky when every sortof.
Performance, so to speak, iscompletely different.
(14:32):
To give yourself grace andfigure it out and if you have a
strong message to share, itbecomes a lot easier.
Rachel Humphrey (14:39):
I love the idea also of the value of the content
because one of the things I doto settle my nerves is say
somebody asked me because theythink I have something to add to
the conversation, and so I putit back on them.
They know what they're doing.
They're great at their job.
They wouldn't have asked me ifthey didn't think that I had
something to add, and then I go,okay.
(15:00):
They think I have something toadd, so let's add what they're
expecting.
And that, that has workedwonders for me.
Sarah Dandashy (15:05):
And I love that you say that because that is
something that I always preachwhen people are like, oh my
gosh, but what am I gonna talkabout?
Or this, the tricky thing isoftentimes what we know all too
well, we take it for granted.
It's so close to us, it'sliterally under our nose.
And so even, for example, when Istarted my brand online, I was
(15:26):
like, why would anybody wanna.
Hear about what to eat, sea doin Los Angeles like this.
Is it like what?
And then I found out that somany people did.
And so if you're ever worried orif you wanna even just do a
check with yourself as far as,okay, what am I contributing?
Think about.
The people closest to you, whatdo they come to you and ask you
(15:47):
for advice on?
And if you do that audit, and itcan be family members, close
friends, your inner circle evencolleagues, if you notice,
you'll start to notice a trendand what people are coming to
you for your opinion on or youradvice on is generally what
you're an expert in.
Rachel Humphrey (16:05):
Oh, that's incredible.
I love that.
I just shared one of the waysthat I overcome some of my own
self doubt, and yes, in thatparticular case, relating to
public speaking.
People who have seen you, whoare familiar with you, I hear
all the time, so polished, soconfident, all of these other
things behind the scenes.
Are there moments that you haveself-doubt?
You mentioned.
(16:26):
Going even to the Four Seasonswhere you're like, I have no
experience in luxury hotelconcierge.
And if so, what are some of theways that you help navigate
that?
Or what would you advise peoplethat are struggling with their
own, overcoming their ownself-doubt?
Sarah Dandashy (16:40):
Look, everybody has, we all get in our own way.
It's like to say we all haveelements of self doubt,
self-doubt.
I, when I think back to likeearly on in my career.
It's interesting because at thatpoint I was like, I am young.
Like I'm not going to knowthings.
And I, that attitude is, I thinkthe attitude that we all need to
(17:01):
remind ourselves of.
And I think it can also even bemore challenging the older we
get, because sometimes we'reeven harder on ourselves.
I should know this by now, orI'm maybe, I don't know as much
as I, I should know.
Take the ego out of knowledgeand just be curious and you are,
if you're ever questioning like,how am I in this room?
Like how am I talking to theseindividuals?
(17:24):
Take a step back and be fullyconfident in the fact that you
are in that room, you're sittingat that table, you're having
those conversations with thosepeople because you're supposed
to be there and maybe.
Maybe why you're supposed to bethere is you're supposed to have
a conversation and learnsomething from others.
So when it comes to self-doubt,a lot of times that self-doubt
(17:47):
just comes in because you justdon't feel like you know enough
in that topic.
But it's okay.
We're constantly learning.
And if you speak to some of themost intelligent individuals, or
the most accomplishedindividuals, what will they all
say?
They always say have a curiousmind, because they too are
constantly.
Learning and educatingthemselves.
So what I feel like is that ifyou can lean into your
(18:10):
curiosity.
Nobody will ever judge you forasking questions and for being
genuinely curious and for justsaying, I actually don't know
anything about that.
Can you like, tell me more?
No one will ever judge you forthat.
In fact, what comes from thatexchange is they immediately
think, oh wow, this person isinterested in me or interested
(18:31):
in finding out more.
If you shift the dynamic and theunderstanding of the situation
of self-doubt and just go atthings like it's all a lesson
and you can constantly belearning it, it makes it so much
easier.
And then you learn so much more.
Yeah.
I actually
Rachel Humphrey (18:47):
am so glad you brought up career.
Oh my God, it's perfect.
No, because I wanna, one of mybiggest takeaways from this
podcast is how many leadersdescribe themselves as driven by
curiosity.
Yes.
Their careers.
Their roles they've taken, Iwould not have used that word
until I started this process.
And I realized that part of thatcuriosity is continuous growth,
(19:10):
is meeting people, isunderstanding businesses and
doing these other things.
So if I were to ask you today,Sarah, what's one thing that
you're curious about today?
Sarah Dandashy (19:18):
Oh, I, so I'm always curious about people and
what makes them tick.
Because if you can reallyunderstand different things
about a person, you canunderstand why they make the
decisions that they make, maybewhat motivates them.
And maybe with that, you, it,you can also mirror a bit of
(19:39):
yourself and it helps youunderstand yourself a little bit
better.
But for me.
You can learn so much by otherpeople, their stories, and it
doesn't have to be nobody has alinear path.
And in that learning of fromother people's stories, there's
also inspiration.
So for me, I feel like that'salso part of curiosity is that
(20:01):
you're, you'll constantly beinspired and you never know
where that thought might lead tosomething else.
And the next thing you know, youbuild a whole you change the
world because you've builtsomething completely new.
So curiosity is always such afun place to, to play in,
because again, as I said before,there's no ego in it.
You're just, Ooh, tell me more.
(20:23):
And that's a fun place to beplaying in.
Rachel Humphrey (20:26):
Outside of hospitality, I say right now my
curiosity is about people.
I am the between documentaries,biographies, autobiographies.
Sure.
I cannot get enough.
And I'm so fascinated every timeI read about I didn't know that
about that person, or, oh,that's so interesting.
Or, I remember that event, but Idon't remember.
It's just such an interesting.
Way to see people, especiallypeople who are public figures
(20:48):
Sure.
That we really don't know thatmuch about other than what the
media or their own PR has done.
And so I love the idea of beingcurious about people and
definitely am right now as youwent.
We were talking about takingrisks before and going from.
An established career as aconcierge to then your own
business, to now consulting andyour media and all of your other
(21:10):
initiatives along the way,different roles require
different skills, andoftentimes, especially those of
us who went to school forinternational relations, are not
learning a lot of these skillsin school.
What is something along the waythat you're like, Ooh, I think
that this is something I'm gonnareally need to dig into more or
to master to be successful atwhat you had chosen in your
(21:33):
path.
Sarah Dandashy (21:34):
And it's not a new skill, but I feel like a lot
of entrepreneurs will definitelyunderstand this is le leaning
more into delegating.
So that's a big thing that I'mworking on now.
And it's and truthfully, it'snot necessarily, like a control
thing.
A lot of people don't like todelegate'cause they just like to
be in control.
It's not that at, at all.
(21:55):
As a concierge, you'reconstantly delegating, right?
You're not doing everything.
You're constantly delegatingAKA, giving referrals to things.
But sometimes when it comes toyour own business, it's figuring
out.
The right pieces of the puzzleand that can be a little
challenging.
So delegating is definitely askill.
It is a skill'cause it'ssomething that you need to
delegate to the rightindividuals.
(22:16):
But just shifting on this, Iwill say.
Something that I did maybe I, Iwent back into, like about a
year and a half ago, that issomething that most people
probably never do that canbenefit everyone in many ways,
is I actually got back intodoing improv classes.
(22:37):
So what maybe a lot of peoplemight not know about me is I
actually have a whole backgroundin film and tv.
I've.
I've done movies, I've done tv,I've got a whole, I have
operated cameras, edited films,you name it.
So I already had that backgroundon top of doing hospitality.
Which obviously blended togethervery nicely with social media.
But so I actually used to do alot of comedy and about a year
(23:00):
and a half ago I was havingsome, I was going through a
change in some things in mypersonal life, and then I put
myself back into.
Improv classes.
Classes.
And it was so fantastic'cause Iwas doing it with a company,
it's based in Los Angeles herecalled Improv for the People.
And what I loved about it is itwasn't just actors, but you had
(23:21):
lawyers and doctors and allsorts of teachers, all sorts of
people from differentbackgrounds that were taking
this class and to see how justgoing and having this two and a
half hours of playtime.
Open them up and help them intheir respective careers, and I
(23:41):
am sure I.
I'm sure some people are like,wait, what does that have to do
with hospitality?
When you're in a room like thatand you're in essence, forced to
play and be nimble and quick onyour feet, it influences so much
more of your it, it reallyrewires your brain.
You're constantly looking forways.
You're, you become more nimblein all the ways that you
(24:02):
approach life.
And so I think that's a reallyfun skill that more people
should probably.
Try out because the impact andthe influence it'll have over
your professional career is.
Is incredible and it just isplaying in the elasticity of
your life.
So yeah.
That's interesting.
Rachel Humphrey (24:23):
No, I actually know a few people who have done
that in the last couple yearswho are not in hospitality at
all.
Yeah.
But to learn, to think on theirtoes, to put themselves in
uncomfortable situations and seethat they're going to be okay.
Yes.
Yeah, to do all of these thingsto meet people that are just not
in the universe, that they're infor work every day.
And it's interesting to me howfar and wide that net seems to
(24:46):
be casting of late, butAbsolutely.
I actually as I said it earlier,I knew we would run out of time,
but I do have a couple things Iwanna ask you as we're wrapping
up.
There is a.
Really a newfound discussion oflate about self-care and
wellness.
Sure.
You are on the road a lot.
You also advise businesses andtravelers and other things.
(25:08):
Talk a little bit about your ownself-care and wellness journey.
Do you have non-negotiables thatyou make sure you're taking care
of yourself?
How do you prioritize or do youmaking sure that you are your
best self for all the otherthings that you're trying to do?
Sarah Dandashy (25:22):
Yeah I guess it all depends on.
Who follows me where, but if youfollow me on Instagram, you
probably know.
I'm a, I work out a lot, so I'mfitness is a very big part of my
life.
And it's not just, it'sdifferent workouts, but then I
also hike and I'm o I'm, I tryto be out in nature as much as I
can.
In fact, just outside my ooffice window is the hike that I
(25:42):
go on when I'm home, as muchthat as I can.
And for me one of my bignon-negotiables is always like
doing something.
Always find a way to incorporatephysical activity into what I
do.
I also for me personally, I'venever been a big drinker.
I'm not a big drinker.
I just naturally gravitatetowards healthy food.
So for me.
(26:04):
Knowing that my body is what isgoing to propel me to do
everything I need to do, and Ikeep long hours, busy schedules,
I need to make sure that I'mperforming in top, top shape.
And so it's like I almost,sometimes I like to say this, I
almost like train like anathlete, so to speak.
And no, I'm not saying that I aman athlete by any means, but but
(26:26):
having that sort of mentalitybecause it's when you.
When you are good and you arefeeling good and you put
yourself first physically, andmaybe that might mean, okay,
every morning I'm gonna take anhour and go work out for myself.
My schedule's so crazy.
Sometimes it doesn't happen inthe morning, sometimes it half
happen later in the day.
But that's part very much a bigpart of my routine, whether it's
(26:50):
on the road or at home.
And sometimes it might be like,okay.
We're gonna get up and do anearly workout.
I have a flight tomorrow at 9:30AM and I'm already today doing
the math okay, can I go to a6:00 AM workout class or is that
gonna cut it too short?
Do I have, so once it becomespart of your routine and you
know how good it can feel tooptimize your health it just
(27:13):
becomes part of who you are.
For me absolutely getting outand it's not just working out,
but really it's getting out intoand being outdoors.
And that's my big thing is likeI go for hikes all the time,
just so it helps everything.
I feel like once you get out ofyour head by doing something
physical, it just makes yourthoughts that much clearer and
(27:34):
it helps in so many ways.
Rachel Humphrey (27:36):
I started hiking a lot during the pandemic
just to get out of the house andit's one of the things that I
have kept up with since we allhave many more options now, but
the same thing.
I like to be outside.
I like it to not feel like I'mexercising.
When I'm exercising.
It puts me in a much better headspace.
Sarah Dandashy (27:52):
It's perspective.
Yeah.
It just helps with that.
Rachel Humphrey (27:55):
Everyone who listens regularly knows that.
My very favorite questionbecause I think we are all works
in progress, and part of that isreflection and evolving is what
would Sarah today tell Sarah atGeorgetown here is either how
things will play out for you,something you wish you knew then
that might've made it easier ordifferent, better for you along
(28:16):
the way.
Sarah Dandashy (28:17):
I would even take it a step further back
because I actually grew upinternationally and so I'm half
Lebanese and I grew up living inthe Middle East and London,
Atlanta, all of that.
So I've always been inenvironments where I was the
other, the odd one in the groupthat didn't fit in, and I know I
struggled a lot.
With I just don't ever fit in.
(28:38):
I'm either too American, tooblonde, too tall, too whatever.
And my advice would be is like,first of all would be, don't
worry, everything works out.
But secondly.
Connect on a human level andeverything will fall into place.
And I think that we get toocaught up with, whether it's
(28:59):
reaching certain goals or howother people perceive us and all
of that.
And if you just really stripdown all of society and the
world, just connecting withothers on a human level, we're
far more alike than we aredifferent.
And.
That ability to be able to justconnect despite speaking
(29:21):
different languages, havingdifferent religious backgrounds,
political backgrounds, all ofthat.
Despite all of that, justconnecting on that basic level
is what will get you very far inlife.
So that would be my advice to myyounger self.
Rachel Humphrey (29:32):
No, I love that the connecting on the human
level takes you maybe out of thespace of feeling like the other,
or Yeah.
The one that doesn't fit in,like you said.
The mission of its personalstories is to empower personal
success.
So you've shared a lot of yourleadership insights today, a lot
of your own personal journey.
Tell me one final piece ofadvice you'd like to leave our
(29:54):
audience with.
Sarah Dandashy (29:55):
Ooh.
I would just say.
I'd start with saying be kind toyourself and that it's all a
journey.
Especially right now where we'reliving in such an interconnected
world with social media, withnews and this.
We are constantly beingbombarded with things that are
(30:16):
almost designed to dis, notalmost, we are constantly being
distracted.
Bombarded with distractions, andit can be very hard to get ahead
and to feel like you're evenperforming at the level that you
might know that you can.
So my advice would be is to giveyourself a little bit of grace
(30:36):
and to just really tap in andtune into what makes sense to
you and don't let.
Other individuals make decisionsfor your life.
Like really just trust your gut,because if you lean into what
makes sense for you and whereyour gut what your gut is
telling you, it will lay out theperfect path for you.
Maybe not the perfect, but it'lllay out a path for you of the
(30:58):
journey that you're supposed togo on.
And what's great is that nobodyelse is gonna go on the same
journey as you.
And that makes you truly unique.
Rachel Humphrey (31:06):
That is excellent wrap up advice.
Sarah, I, I've been trying toconnect with you in different
ways for a long time.
I'm finally happy to say that wecan check that one off.
I'm so happy to share yourstories, share some of your
leadership insights, but thankyou so much for joining us on
the show today.
Sarah Dandashy (31:23):
Thanks so much for having me.
Appreciate it.
Rachel Humphrey (31:25):
And to our audience, we hope you enjoyed
our time with Sarah today, andwe hope you'll head over to its
personal stories.com to hearfrom any number of hospitality
industry leaders who havelikewise shared their journeys
and their leadership insights aswell.
Thanks, Sarah.
Thank you.
I am Rachel Humphrey with its Personal
Stories, a hospitality podcast,and I am very excited to be
joined today by Sarah Dan Dehifrom Many Hats.
But today ask a concierge.
Sarah, welcome to the program.
Sarah Dandashy (00:14):
Thanks so much for having me.
Rachel Humphrey (00:16):
This has been a long time coming and we're gonna
talk about some leadershiptopics today.
I'll tell everybody how I firstmet you or got introduced to you
and also your leadershipjourney.
So let's start there.
Everyone knows, the thing I lovemost about hospitality is you
can really chart any path thatyou want.
No.
Two have to be the same.
So tell me a little bit aboutyou, your background, and how
(00:39):
did you end up doing what you'redoing today?
Sarah Dandashy (00:42):
Yeah.
Okay.
I'll try and give like the shortversion of it'cause there's so
many fun stories with it.
But I, as I think a lot ofpeople in hospitality can say or
relate to, fell into it.
I was going to school atGeorgetown getting a nice, fancy
international relations degreeactually.
A Bachelor of Science in ForeignService, to be exact.
But as I was going to school, Iwas like I want a taste of the
(01:03):
real world.
I don't wanna be just like oncampus and living this insulated
life.
And so I started working at arestaurant and then fast forward
my cousin who had gone toLauzen.
Obviously highly respectedhospitality school.
Moved to town and he was workingat the Four Seasons, so a little
bit of time goes by and he islike, why are you working at
this restaurant?
You should come work at the FourSeasons.
That's where I got my wholeintroduction to hospitality.
(01:26):
And so luxury hospitality at avery high level as far as like
delivering that service.
And four Seasons did a fantasticjob as far as.
I also went in as a completesponge.
It was a blank slate.
So anything four Seasons had tosay was certainly really
interesting and a wonderful sortof guiding.
A pla a wonderful place tostart.
Fast forward.
I moved to Los Angeles.
(01:47):
I end up falling into theposition of being a hotel
concierge even though I'd onlylived in the city for three
weeks.
But I started at a five star,five diamond hotel and worked my
way through that.
Ended up at another property thePeninsula, Beverly Hills, I'm
sure many people know of it.
And then the last property thatI was at as a concierge was the
(02:09):
London West Hollywood.
I earned my keys, which forthose that are familiar with the
luxury hospitality space, theLake Leor, the Gold Keys of
Concierge, a highly prestigiousorganization got that was
actually won the title of BestYoung Concierge in the World in.
2015 now.
And so simultaneously as thatwas growing back in 2012, I
(02:31):
started doing travel videos ofWhat To Eat Seed Do in Los
Angeles, which was a naturalextension of me being a
concierge.
So I was at, the concierge deskgiving people advice.
Now I just started creatingvideos of it naively, I.
Who will want to watch this fastforward.
You could almost even sayconcierge were the original
influencers.
(02:51):
So the transition really madesense.
So now I, I don't work at aspecific property anymore but I
do the brand has grown andevolved tremendously and I work
with hospitality and travelbrands from a marketing side.
But I also ended up writing abook in the pandemic.
That really brought together allthe lessons I learned in
(03:13):
hospitality as far as deliveringthat exceptional service.
So that's also created a wholenew avenue that I can, that I've
been able to grow the business.
And then the one thing that I dothat a lot of people don't
realize, because I don't talkabout it online, is I actually
have my own private conciergebusiness.
So I work with ultra high networth individuals and their
families.
(03:33):
And I, you name it I doeverything for them, whether it
is travel, whether it is helpingthem move into a new home.
You name it, just as a conciergeis a wearer of many hats.
I, too am aware of many hatsjust for my clients.
So that's a little bit of thebackstory.
That's
Rachel Humphrey (03:50):
incredible.
I, too was an internationalrelations major in college and
Oh, did not know that about you,but what an incredible.
Journey really from that to whatyou're doing today.
And one of the hats that youwear is actually how you first
came into my orbit.
Which is through a lot of thework that you do with the media,
which I didn't know started inthe videos about la so Oh yes.
(04:12):
And in some instances peoplewill say, we're behind the
pandemic, pandemic's in the rearview mirror, but you took on a
really important role duringthat time and you used a lot of
your.
Media knowledge, a lot of yourrelationships to do a lot of
conversation publicly aboutSure.
The pandemic and the hospitalityindustry and the impacts and
(04:33):
everything else.
Talk a little bit about, firstI'm interested in how you knew
you were the right person forthat, but also how did that
change your leadership?
How did that change?
What you understood about thehospitality industry.
Sarah Dandashy (04:47):
So I don't know how I'd say like I knew I was
the right person for that.
I don't know that there's, thatwasn't really.
A concern.
I'll so breaking down thepandemic.
And in full transparency, upuntil then, I was actually still
working at a hotel.
And I, I absolutely could haveleft years before, but I was
nervous.
And I think anybody who startstheir own business on the side,
it can be very nerve wracking toleave.
(05:09):
What is a, constant paycheck andsomething that you know, is
consistent for something thatyou're like, uhoh, can I do
this?
So in full transparency, that'swhat was where I was and going
into the pandemic I knew that Iwas, before we knew the pandemic
was happening, I had alreadyslated for myself.
I was like, this is the yearthat you're gonna transition
into working completely foryourself.
(05:29):
Fast forward the pandemic.
It was happening and then Ibasically was viewing the entire
social media landscape and whatwas I seeing?
A lot of fear mongering, a lotof like heightened emotions.
Everybody didn't know what todo.
It was just it wasn't helpful.
And so when I view situationswhere everybody's, first of all
(05:49):
no good decision comes from aplace of panic, let's say.
But when you see everybodypanicking and you see all of
this, that's just, this doomsdaysort of attitude, I'm like
that's, how is that going tohelp us in the long term?
We want people to feel good andfeel safe when it comes to
travel.
And so when I was scanning whatthe conversations were in the
(06:09):
social media space, I was like,okay, there's a gap.
Nobody's talking about how totravel responsibly, how
businesses are really makingsure that guests and travelers.
Do feel comfortable regardlessof their quote unquote comfort
levels.
And so it wasn't about shaminganybody for traveling or doing
(06:30):
any of that, but it was reallyabout okay, depending on your
comfort levels, this is what youcan do and this is what you can
expect, and this is whatbusinesses are doing, and how
great.
So I really doubled down on thatas far as the consumer side of
things.
At the same time, I also doubleddown on.
On LinkedIn because prior tothat, all of my content was very
(06:50):
much B2C for lack of a betterway of describing it to
travelers.
But then it was, tapping into mywhole background and
understanding how to navigate,that it also only made sense for
LinkedIn, and helping to be, mywhole thing is let's be a
champion of our industry.
We're always gonna facechallenges.
Obviously that was an extremesituation.
(07:10):
We're facing challenges still tothis day.
So instead of maybe that comesdown to the concierge mindset is
that, you're always gonna bethrown, again, different
challenges, all of that.
Maybe it just comes down to thefact that you're like, okay,
this is what's in front of us,but this is how we can.
Focus on getting past it beingvery solutions oriented.
(07:33):
And I feel when it comes tobeing solutions oriented, it
just comes down to educatingyourself and those around you.
So that's like the mindset shiftand what was my why in the
middle of the pandemic wheneverybody was like, oh my gosh,
what's next?
It's let's take a beat and let'ssee what it is, and then we can
strategically navigate out ofthis together.
Rachel Humphrey (07:56):
I love the idea of seeing something that was not
sitting right with you.
Yeah.
But really having that strategicapproach to saying.
Okay.
With what I know and with theskills that I have or the
audience that I have, what can Ido to change that narrative?
That's actually a perfect seguebecause you have taken some big
risks.
You said you were alreadynavigating this idea of your own
(08:19):
business.
At that point, you then alsonavigate to change how you are
seen in the media, what rolesyou're taking on there.
Sure.
How do you.
Analyze risk, how do you decidewhich are the ones that you're
gonna jump into and which maybeyou're gonna pass on?
Sarah Dandashy (08:34):
Great question.
When it comes to ri, so first ofall, it's it comes down to like
really trusting your gut andbeing really in tune with
yourself and being like, okay.
Is this really the right thingto do?
And we'll know, our gut willtell us.
Now, of course, then our braingets in the way and it's oh, but
(08:55):
what if, or, oh goodness.
You're not what if you say thewrong thing?
Or what if you do the wrong, orwhat if you don't succeed?
And it's, it's all about beingsmart when you take the risks,
obviously, I'm not saying to, tojust, throw caution into the
wind, but.
If you can really kind of planout big risks or big changes in
your life and you make sure thatyou have a sort of cushion for
(09:19):
yourself.
And this can be in so manydifferent ways, whether it is
financial, whether it is even.
Diplomatically, understandingthe parameters in which you can
play.
If you're doing something likeon the media circuit, how you
would talk about talk aboutthings like what, for example,
going on media and talking abouttravel in the middle of the
pandemic, where some people werealmost villainizing travel.
(09:41):
And so how to carefully choosethe words to be like no.
We don't have to villainize itand to be like welcoming of that
people can do it in differentways and so it's when you, when
it comes to taking risks, I justalways take a step back and it's
you can live a life of what ifsor you can actually try and also
not being scared of failurebecause and again, this is not
(10:04):
my phrase, we've heard itprobably many times before.
It's not rejection, it'sredirection.
And sometimes you have to take arisk and maybe something fails,
but then it puts you on theright path to what it, what
you're supposed to be on.
And it can be a stepping stone.
And to give yourself that graceto be like, okay, I tried this
and maybe my initial thoughtwasn't the tr the right, the
(10:27):
exact, I didn't hit the nail onthe head, but then it pushed me
in the direction that I wassupposed to be in.
So if you understand that it'sall lessons along the way and.
And like, why not do it now?
So much better to give it a trynow than to be, 85, 90 and
looking back and be like, I dowish I would've played it a
little bit higher stakes.
(10:47):
It's funny
Rachel Humphrey (10:48):
because with all of the resources you have
available, all of the knowledgeyou have.
Sure sticking with your gut isreally a north star for you, and
I think that's incredible.
I also hate the word failure'cause I think it puts a lot of
pressure on us to try to beperfect all the time.
Totally.
So the idea that anything thatis maybe not as successful as
you hope it will be, redirectsyou to something even better
(11:10):
along the way.
So
Sarah Dandashy (11:11):
Totally.
People get really caught up withthe notion of failure, and I've
never.
I really understood that becauseit, to me, it's just, it's a
lesson.
It's a lesson.
You might, the lesson might be,oh, I need to get better.
It's not a failure, and we all
Rachel Humphrey (11:26):
have challenges or obstacles along the way.
Nothing works out hundredpercent of the time.
Anybody in the industry.
What
Sarah Dandashy (11:33):
keeps life interesting?
I like to say
Rachel Humphrey (11:36):
I.
Sarah, when you talk about,going on the media circuit like
you did a minute ago, making thevideos that you were making when
you were at the LA hotels, youdo a lot of public speaking in
front of internationalaudiences.
Talk a little bit about yourpreparation.
Do you remember maybe your firstpublic speaking?
Is it something that comesnaturally?
Are you still nervous?
(11:57):
How would you, what would youtell people that are like, ah, I
don't know if it's for me.
Sarah Dandashy (12:02):
So it, I will say this, it all comes down to
practice and preparation and notwinging it.
And I even myself to this day, Ihad a TV appearance yesterday
and I was like nervous goingthere.
I'm like, Sarah, why are younervous?
You go all the time.
They know you, they love you.
It's, and I didn't prepareenough.
And so even case in point, eventhough it ended up being fine,
(12:27):
there are certain things I'mlike that could have been
smoother.
And that's just me knowingmyself as my quote unquote
instrument.
Very well.
Now when it comes to, publicspeaking, and I always say
obviously, rehearse, practice,all of that, but if you lead
with.
You know that you're sharingsomething valuable, it takes the
(12:47):
pressure off of you.
I think where a lot of timeswhen people get in their head,
when it comes to public speakingor just doing anything in the
media, be it even as these, assimple as social media.
If they're like, oh, people aregonna judge me, and that's where
you have to take the.
The ego out of it and understandthat it's not about me, but it's
about what I'm sharing.
(13:09):
It's about the knowledge thatI'm sharing.
I'm the vessel in which to sharethat knowledge.
Yes.
Okay.
We wanna make sure that we soundarticulate and we look nice, but
people are less likely to, to bejudging that when there's
substance.
So again, when it comes togetting over the nerves of
public speaking, understand thatyou are sharing valuable
(13:31):
information that the audience isthere and they want to hear.
And I feel like that also just,that helps put it, it frame it
in a different perspective.
That just takes the personalside out of it.
And you can hopefully, again,just with practice and doing
that, just let it go and then itjust gets easier with time.
Rachel Humphrey (13:49):
I like the practice and preparation even at
or in spite of the level ofpublic speaking experience you
have today.
I think that's one of the thingsthat people don't understand is
no matter how many times you doit, the practice and preparation
should never be brushed by thewayside.
It's never just going to be, andif it is, you've probably.
(14:09):
Checked it in at that point and
Sarah Dandashy (14:10):
it's time to so different.
And I never give the samepresentation twice.
Yeah.
So that's one of the thingspeople are like, oh, you speak
all the time.
And I'm like, yeah, but thisone's different than the one I
did last week.
And there might be some overlap.
So it is tricky when every sortof.
Performance, so to speak, iscompletely different.
(14:32):
To give yourself grace andfigure it out and if you have a
strong message to share, itbecomes a lot easier.
Rachel Humphrey (14:39):
I love the idea also of the value of the content
because one of the things I doto settle my nerves is say
somebody asked me because theythink I have something to add to
the conversation, and so I putit back on them.
They know what they're doing.
They're great at their job.
They wouldn't have asked me ifthey didn't think that I had
something to add, and then I go,okay.
(15:00):
They think I have something toadd, so let's add what they're
expecting.
And that, that has workedwonders for me.
Sarah Dandashy (15:05):
And I love that you say that because that is
something that I always preachwhen people are like, oh my
gosh, but what am I gonna talkabout?
Or this, the tricky thing isoftentimes what we know all too
well, we take it for granted.
It's so close to us, it'sliterally under our nose.
And so even, for example, when Istarted my brand online, I was
(15:26):
like, why would anybody wanna.
Hear about what to eat, sea doin Los Angeles like this.
Is it like what?
And then I found out that somany people did.
And so if you're ever worried orif you wanna even just do a
check with yourself as far as,okay, what am I contributing?
Think about.
The people closest to you, whatdo they come to you and ask you
(15:47):
for advice on?
And if you do that audit, and itcan be family members, close
friends, your inner circle evencolleagues, if you notice,
you'll start to notice a trendand what people are coming to
you for your opinion on or youradvice on is generally what
you're an expert in.
Rachel Humphrey (16:05):
Oh, that's incredible.
I love that.
I just shared one of the waysthat I overcome some of my own
self doubt, and yes, in thatparticular case, relating to
public speaking.
People who have seen you, whoare familiar with you, I hear
all the time, so polished, soconfident, all of these other
things behind the scenes.
Are there moments that you haveself-doubt?
You mentioned.
(16:26):
Going even to the Four Seasonswhere you're like, I have no
experience in luxury hotelconcierge.
And if so, what are some of theways that you help navigate
that?
Or what would you advise peoplethat are struggling with their
own, overcoming their ownself-doubt?
Sarah Dandashy (16:40):
Look, everybody has, we all get in our own way.
It's like to say we all haveelements of self doubt,
self-doubt.
I, when I think back to likeearly on in my career.
It's interesting because at thatpoint I was like, I am young.
Like I'm not going to knowthings.
And I, that attitude is, I thinkthe attitude that we all need to
(17:01):
remind ourselves of.
And I think it can also even bemore challenging the older we
get, because sometimes we'reeven harder on ourselves.
I should know this by now, orI'm maybe, I don't know as much
as I, I should know.
Take the ego out of knowledgeand just be curious and you are,
if you're ever questioning like,how am I in this room?
Like how am I talking to theseindividuals?
(17:24):
Take a step back and be fullyconfident in the fact that you
are in that room, you're sittingat that table, you're having
those conversations with thosepeople because you're supposed
to be there and maybe.
Maybe why you're supposed to bethere is you're supposed to have
a conversation and learnsomething from others.
So when it comes to self-doubt,a lot of times that self-doubt
(17:47):
just comes in because you justdon't feel like you know enough
in that topic.
But it's okay.
We're constantly learning.
And if you speak to some of themost intelligent individuals, or
the most accomplishedindividuals, what will they all
say?
They always say have a curiousmind, because they too are
constantly.
Learning and educatingthemselves.
So what I feel like is that ifyou can lean into your
(18:10):
curiosity.
Nobody will ever judge you forasking questions and for being
genuinely curious and for justsaying, I actually don't know
anything about that.
Can you like, tell me more?
No one will ever judge you forthat.
In fact, what comes from thatexchange is they immediately
think, oh wow, this person isinterested in me or interested
(18:31):
in finding out more.
If you shift the dynamic and theunderstanding of the situation
of self-doubt and just go atthings like it's all a lesson
and you can constantly belearning it, it makes it so much
easier.
And then you learn so much more.
Yeah.
I actually
Rachel Humphrey (18:47):
am so glad you brought up career.
Oh my God, it's perfect.
No, because I wanna, one of mybiggest takeaways from this
podcast is how many leadersdescribe themselves as driven by
curiosity.
Yes.
Their careers.
Their roles they've taken, Iwould not have used that word
until I started this process.
And I realized that part of thatcuriosity is continuous growth,
(19:10):
is meeting people, isunderstanding businesses and
doing these other things.
So if I were to ask you today,Sarah, what's one thing that
you're curious about today?
Sarah Dandashy (19:18):
Oh, I, so I'm always curious about people and
what makes them tick.
Because if you can reallyunderstand different things
about a person, you canunderstand why they make the
decisions that they make, maybewhat motivates them.
And maybe with that, you, it,you can also mirror a bit of
(19:39):
yourself and it helps youunderstand yourself a little bit
better.
But for me.
You can learn so much by otherpeople, their stories, and it
doesn't have to be nobody has alinear path.
And in that learning of fromother people's stories, there's
also inspiration.
So for me, I feel like that'salso part of curiosity is that
(20:01):
you're, you'll constantly beinspired and you never know
where that thought might lead tosomething else.
And the next thing you know, youbuild a whole you change the
world because you've builtsomething completely new.
So curiosity is always such afun place to, to play in,
because again, as I said before,there's no ego in it.
You're just, Ooh, tell me more.
(20:23):
And that's a fun place to beplaying in.
Rachel Humphrey (20:26):
Outside of hospitality, I say right now my
curiosity is about people.
I am the between documentaries,biographies, autobiographies.
Sure.
I cannot get enough.
And I'm so fascinated every timeI read about I didn't know that
about that person, or, oh,that's so interesting.
Or, I remember that event, but Idon't remember.
It's just such an interesting.
Way to see people, especiallypeople who are public figures
(20:48):
Sure.
That we really don't know thatmuch about other than what the
media or their own PR has done.
And so I love the idea of beingcurious about people and
definitely am right now as youwent.
We were talking about takingrisks before and going from.
An established career as aconcierge to then your own
business, to now consulting andyour media and all of your other
(21:10):
initiatives along the way,different roles require
different skills, andoftentimes, especially those of
us who went to school forinternational relations, are not
learning a lot of these skillsin school.
What is something along the waythat you're like, Ooh, I think
that this is something I'm gonnareally need to dig into more or
to master to be successful atwhat you had chosen in your
(21:33):
path.
Sarah Dandashy (21:34):
And it's not a new skill, but I feel like a lot
of entrepreneurs will definitelyunderstand this is le leaning
more into delegating.
So that's a big thing that I'mworking on now.
And it's and truthfully, it'snot necessarily, like a control
thing.
A lot of people don't like todelegate'cause they just like to
be in control.
It's not that at, at all.
(21:55):
As a concierge, you'reconstantly delegating, right?
You're not doing everything.
You're constantly delegatingAKA, giving referrals to things.
But sometimes when it comes toyour own business, it's figuring
out.
The right pieces of the puzzleand that can be a little
challenging.
So delegating is definitely askill.
It is a skill'cause it'ssomething that you need to
delegate to the rightindividuals.
(22:16):
But just shifting on this, Iwill say.
Something that I did maybe I, Iwent back into, like about a
year and a half ago, that issomething that most people
probably never do that canbenefit everyone in many ways,
is I actually got back intodoing improv classes.
(22:37):
So what maybe a lot of peoplemight not know about me is I
actually have a whole backgroundin film and tv.
I've.
I've done movies, I've done tv,I've got a whole, I have
operated cameras, edited films,you name it.
So I already had that backgroundon top of doing hospitality.
Which obviously blended togethervery nicely with social media.
But so I actually used to do alot of comedy and about a year
(23:00):
and a half ago I was havingsome, I was going through a
change in some things in mypersonal life, and then I put
myself back into.
Improv classes.
Classes.
And it was so fantastic'cause Iwas doing it with a company,
it's based in Los Angeles herecalled Improv for the People.
And what I loved about it is itwasn't just actors, but you had
(23:21):
lawyers and doctors and allsorts of teachers, all sorts of
people from differentbackgrounds that were taking
this class and to see how justgoing and having this two and a
half hours of playtime.
Open them up and help them intheir respective careers, and I
(23:41):
am sure I.
I'm sure some people are like,wait, what does that have to do
with hospitality?
When you're in a room like thatand you're in essence, forced to
play and be nimble and quick onyour feet, it influences so much
more of your it, it reallyrewires your brain.
You're constantly looking forways.
You're, you become more nimblein all the ways that you
(24:02):
approach life.
And so I think that's a reallyfun skill that more people
should probably.
Try out because the impact andthe influence it'll have over
your professional career is.
Is incredible and it just isplaying in the elasticity of
your life.
So yeah.
That's interesting.
Rachel Humphrey (24:23):
No, I actually know a few people who have done
that in the last couple yearswho are not in hospitality at
all.
Yeah.
But to learn, to think on theirtoes, to put themselves in
uncomfortable situations and seethat they're going to be okay.
Yes.
Yeah, to do all of these thingsto meet people that are just not
in the universe, that they're infor work every day.
And it's interesting to me howfar and wide that net seems to
(24:46):
be casting of late, butAbsolutely.
I actually as I said it earlier,I knew we would run out of time,
but I do have a couple things Iwanna ask you as we're wrapping
up.
There is a.
Really a newfound discussion oflate about self-care and
wellness.
Sure.
You are on the road a lot.
You also advise businesses andtravelers and other things.
(25:08):
Talk a little bit about your ownself-care and wellness journey.
Do you have non-negotiables thatyou make sure you're taking care
of yourself?
How do you prioritize or do youmaking sure that you are your
best self for all the otherthings that you're trying to do?
Sarah Dandashy (25:22):
Yeah I guess it all depends on.
Who follows me where, but if youfollow me on Instagram, you
probably know.
I'm a, I work out a lot, so I'mfitness is a very big part of my
life.
And it's not just, it'sdifferent workouts, but then I
also hike and I'm o I'm, I tryto be out in nature as much as I
can.
In fact, just outside my ooffice window is the hike that I
(25:42):
go on when I'm home, as muchthat as I can.
And for me one of my bignon-negotiables is always like
doing something.
Always find a way to incorporatephysical activity into what I
do.
I also for me personally, I'venever been a big drinker.
I'm not a big drinker.
I just naturally gravitatetowards healthy food.
So for me.
(26:04):
Knowing that my body is what isgoing to propel me to do
everything I need to do, and Ikeep long hours, busy schedules,
I need to make sure that I'mperforming in top, top shape.
And so it's like I almost,sometimes I like to say this, I
almost like train like anathlete, so to speak.
And no, I'm not saying that I aman athlete by any means, but but
(26:26):
having that sort of mentalitybecause it's when you.
When you are good and you arefeeling good and you put
yourself first physically, andmaybe that might mean, okay,
every morning I'm gonna take anhour and go work out for myself.
My schedule's so crazy.
Sometimes it doesn't happen inthe morning, sometimes it half
happen later in the day.
But that's part very much a bigpart of my routine, whether it's
(26:50):
on the road or at home.
And sometimes it might be like,okay.
We're gonna get up and do anearly workout.
I have a flight tomorrow at 9:30AM and I'm already today doing
the math okay, can I go to a6:00 AM workout class or is that
gonna cut it too short?
Do I have, so once it becomespart of your routine and you
know how good it can feel tooptimize your health it just
(27:13):
becomes part of who you are.
For me absolutely getting outand it's not just working out,
but really it's getting out intoand being outdoors.
And that's my big thing is likeI go for hikes all the time,
just so it helps everything.
I feel like once you get out ofyour head by doing something
physical, it just makes yourthoughts that much clearer and
(27:34):
it helps in so many ways.
Rachel Humphrey (27:36):
I started hiking a lot during the pandemic
just to get out of the house andit's one of the things that I
have kept up with since we allhave many more options now, but
the same thing.
I like to be outside.
I like it to not feel like I'mexercising.
When I'm exercising.
It puts me in a much better headspace.
Sarah Dandashy (27:52):
It's perspective.
Yeah.
It just helps with that.
Rachel Humphrey (27:55):
Everyone who listens regularly knows that.
My very favorite questionbecause I think we are all works
in progress, and part of that isreflection and evolving is what
would Sarah today tell Sarah atGeorgetown here is either how
things will play out for you,something you wish you knew then
that might've made it easier ordifferent, better for you along
(28:16):
the way.
Sarah Dandashy (28:17):
I would even take it a step further back
because I actually grew upinternationally and so I'm half
Lebanese and I grew up living inthe Middle East and London,
Atlanta, all of that.
So I've always been inenvironments where I was the
other, the odd one in the groupthat didn't fit in, and I know I
struggled a lot.
With I just don't ever fit in.
(28:38):
I'm either too American, tooblonde, too tall, too whatever.
And my advice would be is like,first of all would be, don't
worry, everything works out.
But secondly.
Connect on a human level andeverything will fall into place.
And I think that we get toocaught up with, whether it's
(28:59):
reaching certain goals or howother people perceive us and all
of that.
And if you just really stripdown all of society and the
world, just connecting withothers on a human level, we're
far more alike than we aredifferent.
And.
That ability to be able to justconnect despite speaking
(29:21):
different languages, havingdifferent religious backgrounds,
political backgrounds, all ofthat.
Despite all of that, justconnecting on that basic level
is what will get you very far inlife.
So that would be my advice to myyounger self.
Rachel Humphrey (29:32):
No, I love that the connecting on the human
level takes you maybe out of thespace of feeling like the other,
or Yeah.
The one that doesn't fit in,like you said.
The mission of its personalstories is to empower personal
success.
So you've shared a lot of yourleadership insights today, a lot
of your own personal journey.
Tell me one final piece ofadvice you'd like to leave our
(29:54):
audience with.
Sarah Dandashy (29:55):
Ooh.
I would just say.
I'd start with saying be kind toyourself and that it's all a
journey.
Especially right now where we'reliving in such an interconnected
world with social media, withnews and this.
We are constantly beingbombarded with things that are
(30:16):
almost designed to dis, notalmost, we are constantly being
distracted.
Bombarded with distractions, andit can be very hard to get ahead
and to feel like you're evenperforming at the level that you
might know that you can.
So my advice would be is to giveyourself a little bit of grace
(30:36):
and to just really tap in andtune into what makes sense to
you and don't let.
Other individuals make decisionsfor your life.
Like really just trust your gut,because if you lean into what
makes sense for you and whereyour gut what your gut is
telling you, it will lay out theperfect path for you.
Maybe not the perfect, but it'lllay out a path for you of the
(30:58):
journey that you're supposed togo on.
And what's great is that nobodyelse is gonna go on the same
journey as you.
And that makes you truly unique.
Rachel Humphrey (31:06):
That is excellent wrap up advice.
Sarah, I, I've been trying toconnect with you in different
ways for a long time.
I'm finally happy to say that wecan check that one off.
I'm so happy to share yourstories, share some of your
leadership insights, but thankyou so much for joining us on
the show today.
Sarah Dandashy (31:23):
Thanks so much for having me.
Appreciate it.
Rachel Humphrey (31:25):
And to our audience, we hope you enjoyed
our time with Sarah today, andwe hope you'll head over to its
personal stories.com to hearfrom any number of hospitality
industry leaders who havelikewise shared their journeys
and their leadership insights aswell.
Thanks, Sarah.
Thank you.
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