Two Chicks, Three Seats Podcast Roundup: Our Favorite Episodes of 2021
Over the course of 2021, Tripleseat’s podcast, Two Chicks, Three Seats provided 32 valuable episodes. This brings the show to a total of 62 episodes since its start in 2020.
In case you haven’t listened yet, the podcast is hosted by myself and Kate Kennedy, and covers a variety of hospitality and events industry topics including event trends, marketing tips, relevant news stories, and interviews with event professional guests.
While every episode is considered a great one to the hosts, we each selected three episodes as our favorites. Take a look at these selections below and be sure to listen to them back in order to hear for yourself, anywhere you listen to podcasts!
Rachel’s favorites:
1. Episode 56: Up Your Marketing in the Hospitality Industry with Marketing Professionals, Jessika Phillips and Christine Gritmon
In this episode, we sat down with Jessika Phillps and Christine Gritmon, two experienced marketing professionals, to discuss marketing in the hospitality industry. Phillips and Gritmon provided content ideas for restaurants or venues to try, discussed specific strategies for certain social media platforms, gave advice on direct connection and communication with customers, and much more. There is always more to learn about marketing tips in the hospitality industry, so why not hear it from two experts themselves?
Check out Phillips’ digital marketing agency, NOW Marketing Group, and Gritmon’s business, Christine Gritmon, Inc. to learn more about our guests.
2. Episode 58: Using a 3D Design Platform to Plan Events with Randi Bushell, Founder of Merri
In this episode, we sat down with Randi Bushell, Founder and CEO of Merri. Merri is a 3D design and planning platform for the hospitality industry that helps clients visualize their event space during their planning process, from selecting furniture, table settings, decor, and more.
As of fall 2021, Merri is also a partner of Tripleseat, which means the two platforms can now integrate with one another. Floor plans, design boards, and all other planning in Merri will now be accessible within specific events in Tripleseat. Bushell discussed this integration in-depth on episode 58, along with other event trends she has seen from her clients. If you are a Tripleseat customer and want to get started with this integration, click here to learn more.
3. Episode 54: Trust Us, Not Everything is Going to Hell in a Handbasket
In this episode released at the end of August 2021, we gave a little pep talk during a stressful COVID Delta variant spike time period. The headlines in the industry were not great that week, so we took the time to reflect on the positives and what things restaurants did have control over at that moment.
The topics included the ability to lean into technology, the opportunity to show extra appreciation for employees, the knowledge and backup plans created over the past year, and much more. Some may feel that this current Omicron spike may give certain feelings of uncertainty, so this episode could be timely for today as well.
Kate’s favorites:
1. Episode 40: The Past, Present, and Future of the NYC Hospitality Scene with Andrew Rigie, Executive Director at the New York City Hospitality Alliance
In this episode, we sat down with Andrew Rigie, the Executive Director at the New York City Hospitality Alliance, to discuss the climate of the industry around March of 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic had been impacting the industry for over a year at this point, and Rigie had been at the forefront of advocating for restaurants in New York City. Rigie was involved in advocating for numerous pieces of legislation, including the Open Restaurants program and the Restaurant Relief Fund.
In this episode, Rigie discussed the journey of fighting for the hospitality industry amid the pandemic, along with other underlying issues in the industry that the pandemic brought light to. Rigie also appeared at Tripleseat’s EventCamp in October of 2021, where we interviewed him once again about the latest in the hospitality industry. This virtual session is available for purchase here along with all other EventCamp sessions.
2. Episode 32: Email Marketing Tips to Set Your Restaurant or Venue Up For Success in 2021
In this episode, we dove into one of the most powerful forms of marketing: email marketing. There are many elements that need to be considered when creating a perfectly curated email.
This episode covers the essentials in an email, including gathering email addresses, segmenting lists, creating an intentional Call to Action (CTA), setting up drip campaigns, and much more. While this episode may be from early in 2021, the topic of email marketing is timeless and a refresher on basic email marketing tactics is always going to be helpful.
3. Episode 46: Eleven Madison Park Going Vegan, Bills on Third-Party Delivery Services, Making Takeout Materials Sustainable, and More in Hospitality Industry News
In this episode, we discussed a number of trending news stories in May of 2021. This included one notable announcement of New York City’s Eleven Madison Park moving to a fully vegan menu once reopening after being closed in the pandemic.
More on this transition has been posted on notable industry sources, but the initial announcement was one that made us intrigued. We also discussed more on third-party delivery services and a restaurant prioritizing sustainability in their business operations.
What do you want to hear about in 2022?
We have experienced a whole lot in the hospitality industry over the course of the past year, and we anticipate 2022 to be another exciting one. We are optimistic that 2022 will bring more events, new event trends, new social media tactics, and more interesting perspectives from industry experts. Tell us what you want to learn more about in 2022 and we will make it happen. Send us a note to 2chicks3seats@tripleseat.com to share your thoughts.