Developing Your Marketing Mindset: Real-World Lessons from Hospitality

by Leora Halpern Lanz

International Bestseller
#10 in the US
Top 40 in the UK

You should have a marketing mindset. Everyone should.

Developing Your Marketing Real-World Lessons from Hospitality invites readers to see marketing not as pushing products, but as creating meaningful connections.

Written by award-winning hospitality marketing strategist and Boston University professor Leora Halpern Lanz, this book draws on decades of industry and classroom experience to share real-world lessons for anyone—leaders, entrepreneurs, employees, students—who wants to think more strategically and act more purposefully, whether or not “marketing” is in their title.

Through compelling examples and mini case studies, Leora shows how the principles of hospitality—anticipating needs, personalizing experiences, and building community—can elevate brands, inspire teams, and deepen loyalty. Readers gain tools to communicate with empathy, embed wellness, sustainability, and community into their work, and turn business goals into lasting human connection.

A free bonus chapter, Marketing with Meaning, available at leoralanz.com (beginning September 15, 2025), demonstrates how conscious marketing drives profit and trust in any industry. This is marketing with intention—and with hospitality at its heart.

Perfect for communicators, marketers, hospitality professionals, and service-driven leaders—anyone who believes there’s more to marketing than just metrics. Everyone should have a marketing mindset.

This future classic belongs on the same shelf as Setting the Table and Unreasonable Hospitality.

Awarded New England Book Festival WINNER, Business Book 2025
Awarded International Impact Book Award, February 2026

362 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 10, 2025

About the author

Some people map out their careers with precision, but mine has been guided by a willingness to embrace opportunities and a deep belief that happiness matters more than anything else. Financial success was never my primary driver; I focused on creating value for others and finding joy in my work. It was the satisfaction of contributing alongside individuals I respect in an industry I love that mattered most. For me, it’s about the experiences, the people, and the trust built along the way. It’s also about self-respect and integrity.

My journey in hospitality began in high school with a summer internship on the hospitality training team for the now-shuttered restaurant brand, Beefsteak Charlie’s. Does anyone remember the all-you-can-eat salad bar and the all-you-can-drink sodas? I had so much fun learning about service and making employees and customers happy. Throughout college, my “work-study” financial aid job was as a server, host, busser, and stock person at an on-campus restaurant, where I enjoyed the team synergy that created a beautifully choreographed flow of service.
During graduate school, I held two internships simultaneously—one with the newly opened Four Seasons Hotel on the Boston Common and the other with the city's destination marketing agency (the latter thanks to a successful group project from school).
Those experiences shaped my understanding of hospitality and the power of relationships.

Years later, former mentors from the Four Seasons called me with an opportunity that changed everything: a move from Boston to New York City, where I took on marketing and branding challenges I never could have imagined.

Leading public relations efforts for the rebranding and repositioning of the ITT Sheraton Hotels of New York City was an incredible learning experience. Working daily with sales and operations colleagues, managing crisis situations, and occasionally engaging with VIPs and celebrities taught me the nuances of marketing communication and the importance of working “on property.”

After nearly a decade in New York, I spent 15 years at the global hospitality consulting firm HVS as the Global Director of Marketing & Communications. For 14 of those years, I also wore two hats, spearheading the marketing efforts for clients in the Americas and the Caribbean. I managed branding, social media, and conference marketing while advising hotel owners and hospitality services.

I later launched LHL Communications, helping hotels, restaurants, and tourism organizations sharpen their branding and digital strategies through content creation, storytelling, and strategic consulting.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of my career has been teaching. What started as a temporary gig at Boston University’s School of Hospitality Administration evolved into a long-term relationship, proving that unexpected turns can lead to fabulous new destinations. As an Associate Professor of the Practice, I developed and teach courses on Experiential Marketing and Hospitality Digital Marketing Strategies. Working with students eager to shape the future of hospitality is both inspiring and humbling. I’ve developed a reputation for “tough love” in the classroom, setting high expectations while nurturing their growth and success.

My teaching experiences shaped this book, Developing Your Marketing Mindset: Real-World Lessons from Hospitality, which explores the principles behind a hospitality-driven marketing mindset, encouraging critical and strategic thinking. In the forthcoming follow-up to this book Elevate Your Marketing: Inspired by Hospitality, we build on that foundation, furthering practical applications, sharing real-world examples, and highlighting technical approaches to thinking like a marketer.

I strive to give back to the industry that has given me so much. I am a founding board member of the non-profit Center for Responsible Hospitality and a member of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants and the Ho

Reviews

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. A must read for anyone, whether in hospitality industry or not!