It’s Not You—It’s Your Hospitality
It’s Not You—It’s Your Hospitality is a podcast for independent restaurant owners, operators, and leaders who want to build thriving businesses without burning out their teams or losing sight of what hospitality really means. Hosted by Preston Lee, founder of The 30% Rule, the show dives into systems, leadership strategies, and culture shifts that separate the struggling 90% of restaurants from the top 10% that thrive. With over 20 years in the industry, Preston shares raw stories, proven tools, and hard lessons learned from the front lines. The podcast aims to help listeners fix high turnover, inconsistent guest experiences, and the endless cycle of training without transformation.
Episodes
The Number One Thing That Can Make or Break Your Brand
Stop Running the Shift. Start Building the Leader. Download Our FREE Leadership Workbook:https://get.30percentrule.com/leadership-dl?el=yt93026Follow @the30rule on Instagram: https://instagram.com/the30rule----------------------------Learn the specific restaurant systems that drive their massive scale.Most owners look at the golden arches and see a fast-food giant, but the real secret is the archi
AI Can’t Fix Your Restaurant’s Biggest Problem (Focus on This Instead)
AI is changing the restaurant industry, but there's one thing it will never replace: the human side of hospitality.In this talk, Preston Lee, breaks down why restaurant success isn't just about great food, marketing, or getting more customers through the door. It's about developing your people, building a culture of hospitality, and creating experiences that keep guests coming back.
How To make Your Brand Actually Impossible to Ignore
Learn how effective brand strategy turns provocative ideas into a loyal community. See why disruption wins customers.Most brands play it safe, but the most memorable ones are not afraid to polarize. This discussion breaks down the reality of using provocative branding to cut through the noise. It is not just about being loud for the sake of it; it is about building a foundation that resonates with
Author of Unreasonable Hospitality: Hospitality Training He Didn't Put In The Book (Will Guidara)
Why do great teams fall apart — even when they have talented people, strong systems, and a great product?It usually comes back to leadership.In this video, Preston breaks down the leadership principles behind building teams that actually last, why culture and accountability matter, and the difference between simply managing employees and creating an environment where people can succeed.Whether you
Service vs. Hospitality: How Chick-fil-A’s Strategy Changes Everything
What separates good customer service from unforgettable hospitality?In this video, we break down how Chick-fil-A built one of the strongest hospitality cultures in the restaurant industry—and why that culture has become such a powerful competitive advantage.You’ll learn the difference between service and hospitality, why anticipating guest needs matters, and how creating a memorable customer exper
How Chick-fil-A & Hillstone Execute Hospitality Training
What do Chick-fil-A and Hillstone understand about hospitality training that most restaurants miss?In this podcast, we break down how Chick-fil-A and Hillstone execute hospitality training to create consistent guest experiences, stronger restaurant teams, and service standards employees can actually deliver — even during the busiest shifts.Great hospitality isn’t created by telling your team to “g
10 years of No Bs Hospitality Training in 15 mins
Here's 10 years of hospitality training, leadership lessons, and guest experience strategy in less than 15 minutes!If you work in a restaurant, bar, hotel, hospitality business, or lead a customer-facing team, this video breaks down what actually separates average service from unforgettable hospitality.Service is a transaction. Hospitality is a feeling.The restaurants and bars that win aren&a
This Mindset Hack Separates Great Restaurant Owners From the Rest
Great restaurant owners don’t ask, “Why can’t we do this?” They ask, “How can we make it work?”In this podcast, Preston Lee breaks down one of the biggest mindset differences between restaurant owners who stay stuck and those who continuously improve, innovate, and grow.After working with restaurant owners and hospitality leaders across the industry, one pattern shows up again and again: the diffe
The Secret to Building a Michelin-Star Restaurant Team | Josiah Citrin & Preston Lee
What does it really take to build a restaurant team capable of delivering Michelin-level hospitality?In this conversation, Michelin-star chef and restaurateur Josiah Citrin shares the lessons he’s learned from decades of building restaurants, developing teams, navigating major industry challenges, and balancing culinary passion with the realities of running a profitable business.Josiah explains th
How I Increased His Restaurant's Sales OVERNIGHT: My 3-Step Blueprint
Want to know how to increase restaurant sales in 2026—without relying on discounts, gimmicks, or simply trying to get more people through the door?In this episode, Founder & CEO of Thirty Percent, Preston Lee, sits down with Geno McWilliams, owner of Lucia’s Italian Kitchen in Effingham, Illinois, to break down the restaurant sales strategies, hospitality systems, and operational decisions tha
The Real Reason Your Restaurant Staff Aren't Bought In and How to Fix it
Your servers’ obsession with tips may be creating a toxic workplace and quietly damaging your restaurant’s culture, guest experience, and long-term success.In this podcast, Preston Lee, Founder and CEO of Thirty Percent, explores why a “money-first” mindset causes servers and bartenders to judge guests, resent coworkers, resist management, and lose sight of what hospitality is really about.Drawing
How to Motivate Your Restaurant Staff: 3 Steps to Get REAL Staff Buy In!
Struggling to get your restaurant staff fully bought in?In this podcast, you’ll learn how to create restaurant staff buy-in through mindset shifts, stronger leadership, clear standards, accountability, and a deeper understanding of hospitality.Rather than simply telling employees what to do, Preston Lee, Founder & CEO of Thirty Percent, works through a real coaching conversation with Adolfo, a
How Top Restaurants Create Winning Cultures and Strong Leaders
We break down why great restaurants are built on more than food costs, labor costs, and checklists. True restaurant success starts with culture, leadership, team development, accountability, and guest experience. From reducing employee turnover to developing Gen Z team members, this conversation explores what separates managers from true leaders and why the best restaurant teams are created throug
How to Create Restaurant Training & Systems That Scales
How do successful restaurant groups scale without losing quality, culture, or accountability?In this podcast, we break down how to create restaurant training systems that scale—especially when you’re growing from one location to multiple restaurants, managing more GMs, opening new concepts, and trying to maintain the guest experience that made you successful in the first place.You’ll hear a real c
Michelin-Starred Chef Reveals What Restaurant Leaders Must Do Differently Today
What does it take to build a world-class restaurant team?Well...in this video, award-winning chef Philip Tessier shares why the future of hospitality isn't just about creating great food, it's about developing great people.Chef Tessier discusses leadership, ownership mentality, innovation, Michelin-star standards, training systems, guest experience, and why the best restaurant cultures a
Restaurant Mogul & Top Chef Judge Reveals Training Secrets | Janet Zuccarini
Most restaurants don’t fail because of bad food, they fail because of bad leadership, weak training, and inconsistent hospitality.So in this exclusive interview, Restauranteur and Top Chef judge Janet Zuccarini sits down with Preston Lee to break down the secrets to leadership, hospitality, and training systems that helped her build one of the most respected restaurant groups.From opening her very
Restaurant Server Success System in 45 mins...
Restaurant culture is broken… and nobody wants to talk about it.In this server training I break down the detrimental mindset that is destroying hospitality and restaurant culture and instead show how to thrive in the industry. In this powerful training, we dive deep into what real hospitality actually means and why the best servers, bartenders, managers, and restaurant leaders don’t operate from e
Top 10 Reasons Restaurant Management Fails
In this podcast, I break down the 8 biggest restaurant leadership problems I’ve seen after working with over 350 restaurants worldwide and evaluating more than 1,000 restaurant operations, from small mom-and-pop shops to multi-million dollar hospitality groups. And here’s the truth: the problems are always the same. The only difference is scale.If you’re a restaurant owner, operator, or manager, t
Restaurant Management Training that Turns Them into Leaders (ROI time)
For this in depth restaurant management training...Preston sits down with rising restaurant leader Camille, to break down the real-world management training that transforms restaurant managers into true leaders.After leaving her photography business, Cammy started as a hostess in 2021 and quickly climbed the ranks into restaurant leadership. Now managing the floor at a busy Southern California Mex
Coffee Shop Marketing and Branding That Changes Everything l with Coffee Dose founder Jeni Castro
If you think restaurant marketing is just posting pretty food photos… you’re already losing.In this in depth interview, I sit down with Coffee Dose founder Jeni Castro, one of the most disruptive and effective marketers in the coffee and hospitality space, to break down what actually drives sales, brand loyalty, and real growth.From building a cult-like following with “Anti-B*tch Serum”… to creati
Restaurant Manager Training: Step-by-Step to Higher Profits
Restaurant Manager Training: Step-by-Step to Higher ProfitsStruggling with inconsistent staff performance, poor hospitality, or missed revenue opportunities? In this in-depth restaurant manager training, I sat down with a general manager and we broke down the real reasons his team isn’t executing and I showed him a step-by-step system to fix it.This isn’t theory. This is what actually works inside
Your Host Is Costing You Thousands (Here’s Why)
Are your hosts secretly hurting your restaurant’s growth?Most restaurant owners massively underestimate the power of the host role and it’s costing them sales, guest retention, and long-term success.In this podcast, Preston Lee talks why your host (or cashier in QSR) is actually one of the most important positions in your entire operation and how failing to properly define, hire, and train this ro
Fix THIS or Your Restaurant Will Keep Struggling
Most restaurants don’t have a sales problem, they have a people development problem. When you break down inconsistent service, weak guest retention, bad reviews, and high turnover, it almost always comes back to the same root issue: underdeveloped training, weak leadership, and broken systems. In this video, we break down a complete restaurant training and onboarding system designed to fix that at
Fix Your Hospitality Training through Leadership Development
If you think your managers are a cost, you’re already losing money.After working with over 300 restaurants worldwide, I’ve seen the same mistake again and again: owners try to fix training, systems, or hospitality first… but nothing truly changes until leadership is fixed. Leadership is the foundation. If it’s weak, everything else breaks.In this video, I break down how an $80,000 manager can eith
The Crazy Truth Behind Turning $12 to $100M Restaurant Empire
How do you turn $12 into a $100 million restaurant empire?In this video, I break down the incredible true story behind Carlo Distefano and the rise of the San Carlo Restaurant Group, one of the most successful luxury restaurant brands in the UK, with locations in London, Manchester, Dubai, and soon Miami. If you’ve ever wondered how to start a restaurant, scale a restaurant business, or build a br
I Found the #1 Mistake Killing Restaurants in 2026 and How to Fix it
Running a restaurant has NEVER been harder. Since 2020, the cost of operating a restaurant has increased by 35%… while margins were already razor thin. At the same time, competition is rising, staff expectations are changing, and consistency is harder than ever to maintain. So how do the top 10% of restaurants still win? In this video, I break down the real problem holding restaurants back and why
How One of America’s Most Profitable Restaurants Built Its Brand on a Shrimp Cocktail
Most restaurants fail.The average independent restaurant lasts less than 5 years. Profit margins sit around 3-5%, staff turnover can exceed 75%, and the industry is notorious for destroying even the most passionate owners.So how did St. Elmo Steak House survive 123 years... and become one of the highest-grossing independent restaurants in America?Located in Indianapolis, this legendary steakhouse
Hot Dog Cart to $750 Million Dollar Empire: The Untold Reason of Portillo's Success
Grab the popcorn, because in this podcast I break down one of the greatest restaurant growth stories ever: How Portillo's went from a tiny hot dog trailer funded with just $1,100 to a $700M+ public restaurant empire.I recently spent $1,200 on a company dinner… and it made me realize something powerful:Someone else once took roughly the same amount of money and built a national brand using sys
Why Most Restaurants Fail at Training Gen Z — And What Actually Works
Why is it so hard to train Gen Z in restaurants? Why do so many restaurant owners, managers, and leaders feel like Gen Z employees don’t care, won’t commit, and walk out at the first sign of accountability?Well, in this powerful podcast I explain exactly why training Gen Z feels broken, what’s actually happening beneath the surface, and how you can systematize your training, hiring, and accountabi
The Insane Reason People Pay $350 JUST for a Reservation to Carbone!
People are paying $350 just for a reservation at Carbone in New York. Not for food. Not for wine. Just to get in the door.And yes, there are reservation brokers whose entire business is reselling tables at nearly impossible to get restaurants.So the real question is…👉 Why does Carbone have that kind of demand?Is it the food? The celebrities? The hype?In this podcast, I break down exactly how Carbo
The Right Way to Upsell in Your Restaurant (No One Teaches This)
Most restaurants don’t fail overnight.They die slowly.And the two biggest silent killers I see over and over again are:👉 Inconsistent hospitality👉 Little to no 'real' upsellingSo that's why in this podcast, I break down why hospitality and upselling are not “soft skills”, but how they are revenue systems. If you want higher check averages, stronger guest retention, and a more profit
I’ve Worked With Over 300 Restaurants… They All Have This ONE Problem
I’ve talked to over 1,000 restaurant owners in the last two years. We’ve worked with 300+ restaurants (and we’re closing in on 400). From single location mom and pop shops doing $250k a year to multi-unit hospitality groups doing hundreds of millions and even billion-dollar global brands.And here’s the crazy part…👉 They all have the same problem.The problems don’t change. They just get bigger, hea
The Hospitality Mindset That Creates Top Performers (And More Money)
Whether you work in a restaurant, a private club, or any service business, your real job isn’t just to do tasks it’s to make people feel valued. In this presentation, I explain why hospitality is really about the small moments, not just grand gestures, how “micro-dosing hospitality” creates massive loyalty, and why a guest-first or member-first mindset changes everything. When people feel seen, re
How to Increase Restaurants Sales Through Maximizing Reviews
When guests search “restaurants near me,” they’re not choosing the best restaurant, they’re choosing the one with the most reviews and the highest rating. That's why in this podcast, I break down why Google reviews are one of the biggest profit levers in the restaurant industry and how most restaurant owners are leaving massive money on the table by ignoring them. With food costs, labor costs
This Training Mistake Is Costing Your Restaurant Millions
After creating training systems for over 300 restaurants and spending more than 10 years building restaurant training programs for groups and corporations, I’ve seen exactly where restaurant training breaks down, and why so many teams struggle to perform consistently. In this live training, I break down the two biggest reasons restaurant training fails: underdeveloped training that creates chaos a
Why the Best Restaurants Are ALWAYS Packed
Hospitality is not a soft skill or a “nice to have”, it is the most profitable marketing strategy successful restaurants use! After working with and studying top-performing restaurant owners, one thing is clear: the most successful restaurants build their brand, culture, and long-term growth around hospitality, not social media ads or gimmicky marketing. Hospitality starts with the owner’s mindse
Most Restaurants Get Hospitality Wrong (They Overlook This)
Most restaurants don’t fail because of bad food, they fail because of missed details.Hospitality is NOT one big moment, but a series of small, often-overlooked details that either elevate or quietly destroy the guest experience. From dirty or creased menus, sticky booths, and slow touch points to transactional service that lacks care...these small mistakes create friction that guests feel, even if
3 Brutal Truths That Keep Your Restaurant From Growth
"What got you here won’t get you there” isn’t just a quote, it’s the reason most restaurants plateau.In this podcast, I break down the single leadership shift that separates stagnant restaurants to ones that explode in revenue, culture, and consistency.Because the truth is simple: you can’t run a 2025 restaurant with 2015 leadership.Gen Z learns differently. AI is changing how teams communica
Hospitality Training in 15 Mins...
Most businesses say they care about hospitality, but very few actually practice it consistently.In this presentation, I go over why true hospitality is rare, why it has nothing to do with tips, pay, or recognition, and why the mindset of “I’ll do more when I get paid more” keeps people and businesses stuck at average results in and out.To this live audience, I go over:- Why hospitality must be sel
The Iceberg Method That Fixes Your Restaurant Hospitality Problem
Most restaurant owners teach hospitality the wrong way and it's why your team never fully buys in. In this video, I break down my Iceberg Hospitality Training Method, the exact framework I use when I go into restaurants to transform culture, mindset, and performance.So, You’ll learn why teaching hospitality is actually the easy part… and why the real work happens underneath the surface. Befor
The Silent Killer of Successful Restaurants
If your restaurant managers are losing motivation...even the great ones...you’re not alone. After working with hundreds of restaurant brands and analyzing some of the most successful restaurants in the world, I’ve seen the same unfortunate pattern: Successful Restaurants that have amazing culture, strong ownership, great venues… Can STILL get managers to burn out.In this podcast, I break down wh
These Are The 3 Biggest Mistakes Restaurants Make
You’re not struggling because your food is bad.You’re not struggling because “there aren’t enough good people.”You’re struggling because the systems your team needs to win… don’t exist yet.After analyzing 1,000+ restaurants, from $500K mom-and-pops to $25M multi-unit groups...I found the same three problems destroying operations, margins, culture, and consistency:1. No clarity or tools for your st
20 Years of Restaurant Turnarounds in 15 Minutes (Thank Me Later)
Most restaurant owners think inconsistency is a training problem.It’s not.In this podcast, I break down the real reason your hospitality, performance, and leadership fluctuate and why micromanaging, more meetings, or adding extra paperwork never solves it.Instead, you’ll learn the 4 drivers that create inconsistency inside any restaurant and how the top 10% fix them:Here's what I go over:✅ Wh
The #1 Reason Restaurants Break and How to Fix It
Scaling a restaurant from 1… to 4… to 5 locations is exciting, until the cracks start showing.Most restaurant owners think their biggest problem is hiring, training, or systems.But the REAL breakdown happens in one place only:👉 The implementation phase on the floor.In this podcast, I break down the exact reason growing restaurant groups lose consistency, hospitality standards slip, and why even th
Hospitality Isn’t in The Training...It’s in The Selling
Hospitality isn’t dying, the way we train it is.In this presentation, I break down the hospitality mindset that most restaurants completely miss. If you’ve ever wondered why your team can smile, say the right words, follow the script… and STILL fail to deliver real hospitality, this is for you.Most restaurants try to fix the symptom, the surface-level smiles, greetings, and scripts. But the real g
The Mindset Training That Makes your Restaurant Employees Profitable
Most people stay stuck in a paycheck-to-paycheck life because they think like everyone else. So, in this presentation, I show you the exact mindset shift top performers use, and how it completely changes your future in hospitality, leadership, and life.This shift helped Chick-fil-A beat every other QSR without the best product, how Apple crushed Microsoft by focusing on innovation instead of compe
5 Different Billion Dollar Brands Use The Same Theory: E-ROI
Most restaurant owners completely underestimate the power of the host experience. Your host can be the #1 driver of guest retention, reviews, and sales but only if you stop running a basic, mid, average host stand like everyone else. The Emotional ROI Theory not only works for Hosts, but everyone else in your restaurant.In this podcast, I break down how to elevate:✔ Guest retention✔ Sales per gue
I Analyzed Over 1,000 Restaurants...Top 10% Do This
The Top 10% of Restaurants All Do THIS — And Now You Can TooAfter analyzing 1,000+ restaurants, we discovered one undeniable truth:The top 10% all master the experience flow.Not steps of service.Not scripts.Not generic hospitality training.The entire guest journey, mapped, systematized, and executed at a high level.So in this video, I break down the exact experience flow every high-performing rest
Turn Starbucks Failure Into YOUR Success (Here's How)
Starbucks is closing hundreds of locations across the U.S. but that’s not the real story. The real story is why they’re failing… and how you can use their mistakes to grow your own business.So In this video, I break down:✔️ The truth behind Starbucks’ decline✔️ What made them unstoppable in the first place✔️ The moment they lost focus on innovation and hospitality✔️ Why their identity crisis is
10x Restaurant Sales Without Spending a Dollar More (Restaurant Growth Hack)
Most restaurant owners and managers think people leave because of pay. But here’s the truth, money might attract people, but it’s not what makes them stay. Growth does.Companies that invest in their team’s development see a 24% increase in performance, 3.5x higher retention, and 218% higher income growth over time. When people feel like they’re learning, growing, and being led with purpose, they’l
Hospitality Training
Most people think hospitality is about perfect service, polished lines, flawless timing, or saying the “right” thing. But real hospitality isn’t a script. It’s communication.Thats why I break down what I call “the art of communication”, the most powerful skill your team can learn to elevate hospitality, build connection, and grow confidence both in and out of work.I share a real story from a resta
The Secret Ingredients of Great Hospitality...BROKEN DOWN
Restaurateur Will Guidara's life changed when he decided to serve a two-dollar hot dog in his fancy four-star restaurant, creating a personalized experience for some out-of-town customers craving authentic New York City street food. The move earned such a positive reaction that Will Guidara began pursuing this kind of "unreasonable hospitality" full-time, seeking out ways to create
Give me 20 Minutes and I'll Fix Your Restaurant's Leadership Problem
Most restaurant owners don’t have a hospitality problem, they have a leadership problem.After working with over 300 restaurants worldwide, I’ve seen the same pattern repeat itself: poor training, lack of structure, weak growth culture, and misaligned leadership. When your team struggles with hospitality, upselling, or morale, those are symptoms, not root causes.In this presentation, I break down t
How to Turn 1 Restaurant Guest Into 3... (Start Now)
The most successful restaurants in the world all share one mindset, they think outside the box.But “thinking outside the box” in restaurants doesn’t mean being weird or trendy. It means rethinking how you lead, train, and execute inside your restaurant so that every guest experience creates a lasting impact.So, in this episode I explain how the top 10% of restaurants operate and why 90% of restaur
The Hidden $27M System Behind the World’s Most Profitable Restaurant
What if I told you the most profitable full-service restaurant chain in America doesn’t sell steak, sushi, or seafood, but soup dumplings? This is the story of Din Tai Fung, the quiet empire that turned discipline, patience, and systematized hospitality into $27 million per location… nearly double what the next best chain makes.In this video, I break down how a tiny oil shop in post-war Taipei tra
Fix Your Restaurant's Hospitality with THESE 5 Simple Steps
Restaurants were built on hospitality, yet it’s harder than ever to find. From pancake houses to fine dining, guests feel the drop, and owners are frustrated. The truth? Hospitality isn’t dying… our training and leadership systems are outdated.So in this video, I break down why traditional restaurant training no longer works and reveal the 5 Phases every top-performing restaurant uses to rebuild g
Hospitality Isn’t Dead. Your Trapped in Outdated Training (Here's How to Fix It)
Everyone says “hospitality is dying,” but that’s dead wrong. The problem isn’t hospitality, it’s the way we train it.After working with 300+ restaurants worldwide and talking to over 1,000 owners, I’ve seen the same issues everywhere:• Staff who can’t deliver hospitality at a high level• Leaders who struggle to inspire consistency• Teams who’ve become transactional instead of relationalIt’s not ab
The One Thing That Kills Great Restaurants (and It’s Not Food)
I recently visited one of the most talked-about restaurants in Minneapolis and on paper, it had everything going for it. A James Beard nominated chef, national press, and a husband-and-wife ownership team where one runs the kitchen and the other is a hospitality pro who’s worked with some of the best in the business.The food was supposed to be incredible, and the hospitality should’ve been next-le
Future Proof Your Restaurant with This 20 minutes (from 20 years of Training)
86% of restaurant managers say dealing with employees is the hardest part of their job, but what if that’s actually your biggest opportunity? That's why I break down the real playbook for transforming your restaurant staff from “it’s just a job” thinkers into driven, growth-minded professionals who actually care.I go over:✅ How to align your employees’ goals with your company mission✅ Build “
Hospitality is Dying - Here's How to Profit From It
Hospitality is in crisis. From restaurants to banks to everyday service businesses, genuine care and connection have become rare. Guests expect frustration instead of hospitality, and that’s a massive problem for any business trying to stand out.In this episode, we dive into:✅ Why hospitality is failing across industries✅ How Gen Z, post-COVID mindsets, and technology have changed the workforce✅ T
3 Things I Avoided When Scaling 300 Restaurants
Welcome to the very first episode of It’s Not You, It’s Your Hospitality! In this first episode, I give a little background on myself and share my journey from bussing tables with zero experience to becoming an entitled server, only to hit rock bottom and finally discover the real secret to thriving restaurants.I go over how I went broke, lost my car, and almost got evicted. Then the mindset shif
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