In this episode of The Route to Success, Ben Campbell, CEO of Hospitality America, shared powerful lessons on leadership, empathy, and building resilient teams. With 850 employees across 20 hotels in eight states, Ben leads with a people-first philosophy grounded in understanding, active listening, and intentional kindness – principles that every leader can apply, no matter the industry.
1. Empathy Is the Foundation of Leadership
Ben began his career as a night auditor while pursuing his MBA, working his way up through nearly every role in the hotel industry. That experience now shapes his leadership. “Every time I ask our teams to do something different,” he explained, “I can say, I’ve done your job. I know how this impacts you.”
Tool:
To build credibility and trust, spend time understanding the daily realities of your team. Ask employees what challenges they face most often and what small changes could make their jobs easier. Empathy grows through exposure, not assumption.
2. Define and Live Your Core Values
When Ben took over as CEO in 2022, he formally defined the company’s culture through the PEACH values:
- Passionate with a spirit to serve
- Excellence that inspires results
- Adjust, Adapt, and Overcome
- Community builders inside and outside the hotels
- Humble, Trustworthy, and Transparent
These aren’t slogans – they’re woven into every hiring decision, meeting, and customer interaction.
Tip:
If your organization hasn’t articulated its core values, gather your team and ask:
- What do we stand for?
- How do we want people to describe working with us?
Once defined, reinforce those values through storytelling, recognition, and leadership modeling.
3. Practice Intentional Listening
Ben emphasizes what he calls intentional listening – hearing feedback and acting on it. Hospitality America’s annual engagement survey has a 90% response rate, yielding over 1,600 employee comments. “If you’re not doing anything with what you hear,” he says, “why would employees be honest next time?”
Tool:
Conduct regular pulse surveys or feedback sessions. The key is to close the loop – share what you learned and how you plan to respond. Transparency builds trust faster than perfection.
4. Coach for Kindness, Prevent Burnout
Kindness isn’t an abstract value at Hospitality America – it’s operational. Daily huddles reinforce communication, empathy, and accountability, while leaders ensure every team member understands why their work matters. “Burnout happens,” Ben says, “when people work hard without knowing the purpose.”
Tip:
Begin meetings with one “why” reminder: a story, metric, or customer success that connects the task to the mission. Clarity of purpose fuels energy and commitment.
5. Pivot with Perspective
From the pandemic’s 7% occupancy lows to losing major government contracts, Ben’s teams have mastered the art of the pivot. Their “continuously strategizing” process – weekly, monthly, and quarterly reviews – helps hotels react quickly and stay aligned.
Tool:
Build a feedback loop that turns reflection into action. After each project, ask three questions:
- What worked?
- What didn’t?
- What do we do differently next time?
Final Thought: Hope Through Perspective
When asked how leaders can build hope, Ben’s advice was simple but profound: Change your perspective. In moments of adversity, shift focus from problems to what you can control. That mindset – paired with empathy, listening, and purpose – creates the kind of resilient teams that not only survive change but thrive through it.
Takeaway:
Leadership isn’t about authority; it’s about awareness. Whether you’re running a hotel, a nonprofit, or a small business, success starts with empathy, clarity, and the courage to keep listening.