LOBBY TALK
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NEW EPISODES EVERY FRIDAY

LOBBY
TALK

A weekly cartoon about the hotel industry with Cartoon Marcy & Cartoon Michael. Under two minutes. Over your lunch break.

See you in the lobby.
CARTOON HOSTS·REAL HOTEL TALK
TEAM CARRY-ON VS TEAM CHECKED BAG★THE DOG GETS A TURNDOWN BISCUIT★THE KIOSK IS ASKING FOR A 25% TIP★WE'VE DONE OUR TIME WITH QR MENUS★JUST SHOW ME THE ROOM, HOTEL WEBSITE★TWO TOWELS, INFINITE GUILT★THE GOOD COFFEE IS DOWN IN THE LOBBY★THAT BUFFET IS NOT A FREE BREAKFAST★STILL LOOKING FOR AN OUTLET★COMPENDIUM. PORTE COCHÈRE. DISCUSS.★MEET YOU AT THE HOTEL BAR★THE MINIBAR IS NOT A SNACK★HEATED WASHLET, CHANGED MAN★CHECKOUT IS 11, WE LEFT AT 11:04★POSTCARDS ALL SUMMER★BACK AFTER LABOR DAY★TEAM CARRY-ON VS TEAM CHECKED BAG★THE DOG GETS A TURNDOWN BISCUIT★THE KIOSK IS ASKING FOR A 25% TIP★WE'VE DONE OUR TIME WITH QR MENUS★JUST SHOW ME THE ROOM, HOTEL WEBSITE★TWO TOWELS, INFINITE GUILT★THE GOOD COFFEE IS DOWN IN THE LOBBY★THAT BUFFET IS NOT A FREE BREAKFAST★STILL LOOKING FOR AN OUTLET★COMPENDIUM. PORTE COCHÈRE. DISCUSS.★MEET YOU AT THE HOTEL BAR★THE MINIBAR IS NOT A SNACK★HEATED WASHLET, CHANGED MAN★CHECKOUT IS 11, WE LEFT AT 11:04★POSTCARDS ALL SUMMER★BACK AFTER LABOR DAY★
FOLIO 01 · THE SHOW

Hotels, travel, and the stuff in between.

Cartoon Marcy and Cartoon Michael on hotel tech, front-desk war stories, pre-arrival emails, airport snacks — anything worth 90 seconds. New one every Friday.

Summer Travel
NEW THIS WEEK
EP 38·2:11·JUN 26

Summer Travel

Sunscreen, road trips, airport delays, and an entire suitcase for a three-day trip — better to have it and not need it. Summer turns everyone into an explorer with a color-coded itinerary they'll follow for exactly one day. We're packing our own bags too: postcards from the road all summer, with brand-new episodes back after Labor Day. Where are you headed?

SUMMER BREAK
Carry-On vs. Checked Bag
EP 37·1:49·JUN 19

Carry-On vs. Checked Bag

Walking off the plane and straight into your life, versus never treating packing like a competitive sport. Good wheels glide; bad wheels wrestle an alligator through Terminal C. So — Team Carry-On or Team Checked Bag?

DEBATE
HITEC 2026
EP 36·2:27·JUN 12

HITEC 2026

Comfortable shoes, twelve miles a day, and a margarita that is not hydration. Our field guide to surviving the Super Bowl of hotel tech — starting with the 8 AM booth meeting that literally cannot happen.

HOTEL TECH
Pets in Hotels
EP 35·2:29·JUN 05

Pets in Hotels

Dog beds, turndown biscuits, a welcome gift waiting in the room — somehow the dog gets a better arrival than we do. The best pet-friendly hotels know you're traveling with family.

TRAVEL
Tipping Culture
EP 34·1:47·MAY 29

Tipping Culture

A self-checkout kiosk asking for 25%. A payment screen spun toward you over cold fries. But a QR code that tips the housekeeper who reset your room? That one we'll scan every time.

SERVICE
Coffee, Please
EP 33·2:04·MAY 22

Coffee, Please

In-room coffee makers that look complimentary with a fax machine. Lobby bars that open at nine. Before coffee, nobody's making great decisions.

DINING
Restaurant Realities
EP 32·1:38·MAY 15

Restaurant Realities

Coffee-table seating. QR menus we've already done our time with. Prices hidden until the check arrives. Get the chair right and the meal gets to be the story.

DINING
Watch the whole archive on YouTube
NEW EPISODE EVERY FRIDAY
NEW SERIES

Lobby Talk Explains.

We explain hotel technology companies like we're talking to a 10-year-old. No buzzwords. No next-generation anything. Just what the company actually does.

Azira & Alliants
EP 02Azira & AlliantsAUG 06 · 2:13
LOCATION INTELLIGENCE

Azira

Imagine your teacher wants to plan the best class field trip. Before deciding where to go, she wants to know: where do kids like to go after school? The park? The ice cream shop? The arcade? She doesn't need to know who the kids are. She just wants to see where lots of kids like to go.

Azira helps hotels and tourism groups see where people travel, where they came from, how long they stayed, and what places they visited along the way.

Maybe they discover guests who visit the beach usually stay an extra night, or that a new advertising campaign brought more visitors than last summer. Smarter decisions — and the ability to market to those exact same people.

GUEST EXPERIENCE

Alliants

Imagine you're staying at a hotel. Before you even arrive, you check in on your phone. When you get there, you use your phone as your room key. Need extra towels? Just send the hotel a message. Want to book dinner or a spa appointment? You can do that too. And when it's time to leave, you check out right from your phone. Instead of needing five different things to manage your stay, everything happens in one app.

Alliants helps hotels give guests one simple place to check in, unlock their room, message the hotel, book experiences, and manage their entire stay.

It puts the entire hotel journey into one app, making every stay easier from check-in to check-out.

All episodes & how to get explained →
YOUR TURN · PITCH AN EPISODE

Got an episode for us?

A hotel story, a gripe, a guilty pleasure you want us to roast — send it over. The good ones become episodes.

EP 38 · SUMMER TRAVEL—EP 37 · CARRY-ON VS. CHECKED BAG—EP 36 · HITEC 2026—EP 35 · PETS IN HOTELS—EP 34 · TIPPING CULTURE—EP 33 · COFFEE, PLEASE—EP 32 · RESTAURANT REALITIES—EP 31 · HOTEL WEBSITES—EP 30 · HOTEL BATHROOMS—EP 29 · NAME THAT BRAND—EP 28 · AIRPLANE SNACKS—EP 27 · IN-ROOM ENTERTAINMENT—EP 26 · HOTELIER VS VENDOR—EP 25 · HOTEL BREAKFAST BUFFETS—EP 24 · THE BEST HOTEL WORDS—EP 22 · PRE-ARRIVAL MESSAGES—EP 23 · 13 FRONT DESK QUESTIONS—EP 21 · FAMOUS HOTEL BARS—EP 20 · WORKING FROM A HOTEL ROOM—EP 19 · VALENTINE'S DAY & HOTELS—EP 38 · SUMMER TRAVEL—EP 37 · CARRY-ON VS. CHECKED BAG—EP 36 · HITEC 2026—EP 35 · PETS IN HOTELS—EP 34 · TIPPING CULTURE—EP 33 · COFFEE, PLEASE—EP 32 · RESTAURANT REALITIES—EP 31 · HOTEL WEBSITES—EP 30 · HOTEL BATHROOMS—EP 29 · NAME THAT BRAND—EP 28 · AIRPLANE SNACKS—EP 27 · IN-ROOM ENTERTAINMENT—EP 26 · HOTELIER VS VENDOR—EP 25 · HOTEL BREAKFAST BUFFETS—EP 24 · THE BEST HOTEL WORDS—EP 22 · PRE-ARRIVAL MESSAGES—EP 23 · 13 FRONT DESK QUESTIONS—EP 21 · FAMOUS HOTEL BARS—EP 20 · WORKING FROM A HOTEL ROOM—EP 19 · VALENTINE'S DAY & HOTELS—
FOLIO 02 · THE LETTER

Notes
from the lobby.

A short letter, every Friday. New episodes the morning they drop, plus what we noticed in this week's hotels. No spam. No "exclusive webinars."

01
Weekly episode drops

The new episode lands in your inbox Friday morning — before the algorithm gets to it.

02
Notes from the Lobby

One short letter, every Friday. Things we saw, hotels we stayed in, gossip we half-heard and are 70% sure we can share.

03
Name That Brand updates

New brand rounds, leaderboard standings, and the occasional challenge — straight from the game.

A TWO-MINUTE STAY · IN YOUR INBOX · CHECK OUT ANYTIME
FOLIO 03 · THE GAME

NAME
THAT
BRAND.

8 seconds per round
10 rounds per game
2× multiplier at 5+ streak
250+ brands · 8 parent companies

The hotel brand matching challenge. A brand flashes up — name its parent company before the eight-second clock runs out.

Name That Brand — Hotel Brand Challenge login screen. Click to play.
FOLIO 04 · THE STUDIO

Have a project?

Custom animated videos, brand partnerships, or a specific idea you want to bat around — send us a note. We read every one.