In this episode, Dan sits down with Adrienne Scribner, principal and managing director of hospitality at Baskerville, to unpack what three decades in hotel design has taught her about the unglamorous work that actually makes projects succeed. They dig into why there is no "coordination fairy" waiting to catch your mistakes, how typing specs into a purchasing system in the early '90s built the foundation for her entire career, and why mentoring the next generation means being approachable rather than intimidating.

About the Guest:

Adrienne Scribner is a Principal and Managing Director of Hospitality at Baskervill, bringing more than 20 years of experience across the Maryland, Virginia, and DC design corridor. Her client roster reads like a hospitality hall of fame, including Marriott, Gaylord, Ritz Carlton, and Moxy, and her research driven approach has made her a trusted voice for owners navigating renovations of every scale. Beyond the projects themselves, she has built a reputation as a generous mentor, the kind of leader who would rather answer a question than let someone learn the hard way.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome back to Defining Hospitality

00:58 Meet Adrienne Scribner

01:41 Conference Mentorship Moment

02:52 Why She Stayed in Hotels

04:17 Learning Through Specs

07:16 Hybrid Work and Phone Calls

10:54 Marriott Years and Prototypes

14:11 No Coordination Fairy

17:57 Mentorship and Coachable Talent

31:18 Baskerville Office Footprint

32:30 Hiring Without Relocation

32:47 Why DC Attracts Designers

34:40 DC Cost and Lifestyle Reality

35:01 Sponsor Sustainability Note

35:26 Market Cycle and CapEx Slowdown

38:08 Compressed Schedules and Pauses

39:36 Mentorship Through Project Conflict

40:45 Model Rooms and Risk Management

46:40 Career Lessons From Marriott

49:25 Working With Brand Standards

54:09 Owners Concepts and AI Inspiration

57:14 Research Versus Inspiration Images

59:50 Cross-Pollination Across Verticals

Quote of the Show:

"If you don't know exactly who is going to do the work, it's probably you. You need to find that person." - Adrienne Scribner

Links:

• Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@defininghospitality?sub_confirmation=1
• Substack: https://www.defininghospitality.live/
• Guest’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrienne-scribner-265b045/
• Guests Website: https://www.baskervill.com/
• Dan Ryan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thedailydanryan/

🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/

Ways to Tune In:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPX
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386
• Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1s
• Amazon Music: ​​https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8c904932-90fa-41c3-813e-1cb8f3c42419
• Transistor: https://www.defininghospitality.live/

Dan Ryan sat down with Alexa d'Argence, senior interior designer at Ken Fulk Inc., to explore what it really means to design spaces people fall in love with. Alexa pulls back the curtain on KFI's work at the Huntington Hotel in San Francisco and the Beverly Hills Hotel. sharing how a strong concept and cinematic vision guide every decision from the big picture down to the smallest detail. The conversation gets reflective too, touching on why slowing down is sometimes the only way forward, and what it means to truly love the work you do.

About the Guest:

Alexa d'Argence is a Senior Interior Designer at Ken Fulk Inc. in San Francisco. With a background rooted in hospitality and residential design, she has worked on projects ranging from The Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa to the Huntington Hotel on Nob Hill, recently featured in Architectural Digest, and is currently deep in the renovation of the Beverly Hills Hotel. A graduate of Cornell and a lifelong lover of hotels, she approaches every project as an act of care, craft, and storytelling.

Chapters:

00:42 Meet Alexa d’Argence

01:45 Sketching Under Pressure

04:02 What Hospitality Means

05:03 Hotels and Childhood Memories

05:59 From Marin to Hospitality Design

07:51 Storytelling and the Movie Mind

13:23 Designing for the Guest

17:22 History Beloved and Future Dreams

28:19 Sketching Together Works

29:08 Hidden Beauty Onsite

32:05 Details Beyond The Spread

33:15 Beloved Places And Memories

34:54 Renovations And Responsibility

36:10 Sustainability Sponsor Break

36:37 Tools Sketches And Renderings

39:40 Puzzling As Design Mindset

44:19 Mentorship Scent And Farewell

Quote of the Show:

"It's a calling, a vocation for me. So there's a lot of love that goes into it. This is a job where you are working long hours, and if you don't love it, you're gonna burn out." - Alexa d'Argence

Links:

• Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@defininghospitality?sub_confirmation=1
• Substack: https://www.defininghospitality.live/
• Guest’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexadargence/
• Guests Website: https://www.kenfulk.com/
• Dan Ryan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thedailydanryan/

🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/

Ways to Tune In:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPX
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386
• Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1s
• Amazon Music: ​​https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8c904932-90fa-41c3-813e-1cb8f3c42419
• Transistor: https://www.defininghospitality.live/

This week, Dan Ryan sits down with Alex Kuby, Associate Principal at Dyelot and a lifelong student of how built environments shape human experience. From his early days at HBA in Santa Monica to helping lead a studio through a full brand transformation, Alex has spent his career asking what it really means to make people feel seen, supported, and cared for inside a space. Together, Dan and Alex explore approachable hospitality, the power of integrated services, and what niching down actually looks like when you are doing it from the inside.

About the Guest:

On this episode, Dan Ryan sits down with Alex Kuby, Associate Principal at Dyelot, a hospitality interiors studio bolstered by branding, procurement, and architectural services. Alex has been part of the firm since its days as RDC, helping shape its evolution into a focused, values driven hospitality design practice. When he is not leading visioning workshops or authoring the Dylot blog, he is probably thinking about how a grocery store can double as a neighborhood heartbeat.

Chapters:

00:42 Show Intro and Sponsor

01:04 Meet Alex Kuby

01:31 Shared Roots and Catching Up

03:19 Defining Hospitality

03:58 Approachable Hospitality

05:25 RDC to Dyelot Story

09:34 WELL and Sustainable FF&E

20:59 Capital ROI and Visioning

32:23 Sustainable Sponsor Shoutout

32:41 Design Meets Procurement

35:38 Why Branding Comes First

39:04 Blogging and Brand Transition

41:49 Niching Down the Studio

43:22 Grocery as Community Hub

46:09 Public Spaces and Connection

50:12 Career Advice and Mentorship

53:28 Memory Lane and Farewell

Quote of the Show:

"Hospitality is the humanity in the built environment, that is the way in which we express care and facilitate all of those great high touch point, high emotional engagements that the best hospitality spaces are known for." - Alex Kuby

Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.

Links:

• Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@defininghospitality?sub_confirmation=1
• Substack: https://www.defininghospitality.live/
• Guest’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akuby/
• Guests Website: https://dyelot.com/
• Dan Ryan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thedailydanryan/

🏨✨ Defining Hospitality is Sponsored by Berman Falk https://www.bermanfalk.com/ - Check out their impact page! 🌍🌱 https://www.bermanfalk.com/impact/

Ways to Tune In:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPX
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386
• Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1s
• Amazon Music: ​​https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8c904932-90fa-41c3-813e-1cb8f3c42419
• Transistor: https://www.defininghospitality.live/