Building better business relationships: From contracts to culture
July 23, 2025
In this episode of Hotel Moment, Karen Stephens sits down with Mandi Graziano, VP of Global Accounts at HPN Global and creator of the trademarked concept "Business Bedside Manner." With over 20 years in hospitality, Mandi shares her expertise on transforming contract negotiations from adversarial battles into strategic partnerships. From her passion for negotiation to insights on the evolving group meetings landscape, Mandi offers practical advice on building lasting business relationships while navigating the industry's staffing challenges and changing guest expectations.
In this engaging episode of Hotel Moment, Karen Stephens welcomes Mandi Graziano, VP of Global Accounts at HPN Global and host of the Adventures in Business podcast. With over two decades in hospitality and a unique journey from hotel operations to venue sourcing, Mandi brings invaluable insights into building stronger business relationships in today's challenging environment.
Tune in as they discuss:
- Contract negotiation mastery: Why Mandi believes negotiations don't have to be adversarial and how listening deeply can create win-win outcomes for all parties involved
- The evolution of group meetings: How the distributed workforce has transformed meeting patterns, with quarterly business reviews replacing annual gatherings and content focusing more on team building and networking skills
- Hospitality's staffing revolution: Practical strategies for recruiting and retaining Gen Z workers, including flexible scheduling around academic commitments and creative recruitment tactics
- Business Bedside Manner™: Mandi's trademarked concept that challenges professionals to examine the gap between how they think they show up in business versus how others perceive them
- Industry adaptations: From dietary restrictions and mocktail programs to the changing landscape of food and beverage in group events
Mandi also shares her teaching experience at San Diego State University, her optimism about the next generation of hospitality leaders, and practical tips for leaders looking to build more empathetic yet assertive business relationships.
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Episode Highlights:
[04:52] The art of strategic negotiation - Mandi emphasizes that successful negotiation comes down to practice and communication: "The only way we get good at negotiating anything, whether it's a contract or negotiating with your partner to get better countertops when you're doing a renovation, is with practice and with talking about it." She advocates for moving beyond adversarial approaches to build long-term partnerships where both parties need to fulfill contracts successfully.
[09:51] The new landscape of group meetings - The distributed workforce has fundamentally changed meeting patterns. Instead of large annual meetings for 500-600 people, companies are organizing quarterly business reviews with 40 people across multiple regions. The content has also evolved to focus heavily on team building and teaching networking skills to workers who entered the workforce during COVID.
[15:30] Hospitality's staffing evolution - Mandi advocates for flexible leadership approaches, especially with Gen Z workers: "We've got to understand if we want to build the bench of this hospitality industry, we've got to really look at who our stars are and we've gotta work with them." This includes accommodating academic schedules and recruiting through platforms like TikTok and Instagram rather than traditional job boards.
[20:37] Introduction to Business Bedside Manner™ - Mandi explains her trademarked concept: "Business bedside manner is your approach. Who are you in business? Who do you think you are in business versus how other people see you in business, and how do you show up? There's a big disparity between who we think we are versus how other people see us."
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
02:48 - Mandi's hospitality origins
04:40 - HPN Global and venue sourcing
06:35 - The art of contract negotiation
09:24 - Evolution of group meetings post-COVID
13:22 - Changing dietary restrictions and mocktails
15:30 - Addressing hospitality's staffing challenges
20:21 - Business Bedside Manner explained
23:41 - Adventures in Business podcast
25:24 - Future of hospitality and Gen Z optimism
26:43 - Closing thoughts
00:00 - Intro
02:48 - Mandi's hospitality origins
04:40 - HPN Global and venue sourcing
06:35 - The art of contract negotiation
09:24 - Evolution of group meetings post-COVID
13:22 - Changing dietary restrictions and mocktails
15:30 - Addressing hospitality's staffing challenges
20:21 - Business Bedside Manner explained
23:41 - Adventures in Business podcast
25:24 - Future of hospitality and Gen Z optimism
26:43 - Closing thoughts
If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.
Hotel Moment Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so
Previous guests include: Shannon Knapp, CEO of Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), Patrick Norton of Brittain Resorts & Hotels, Shawn Jereb of Montage International, Carlo Del Mistro, Chief Digital Officer of Ennismore, Jason Pirock of Springboard Hospitality, and many more.
Are you a hospitality industry leader with insights to share? We're always looking for innovative voices to join our conversation about the future of hospitality technology.
If you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming episode of Hotel Moment, we'd love to hear from you! Our podcast reaches thousands of hospitality professionals worldwide, and we're particularly interested in perspectives on:
- Innovation in hospitality technology
- Guest experience transformation
- Revenue optimization strategies
- Emerging industry trends
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