PULSE! Today’s Hotel, Restaurant & Bar Industry News Deep Dive | 09/17/2026 Episode

"Mise En Place" Culture First™ · Sep 17, 2026 · 39m · transcript

The hospitality landscape is undergoing a massive shift—from multi-unit franchise restructuring to c-stores taking over QSR market share.

What’s inside today’s episode:

📉 Franchise Squeeze: Inflation, debt, and value-sensitive diners driving Chapter 11 restructurings.

🏨 Luxury Expansion: Capital pivoting to high-margin "experiential density" lodging.

🤖 Agentic AI: Autonomous tech automating inventory, IoT maintenance, and back-of-house operations.

🍕 C-Store Takeover: Kwik Trip, 7-Eleven, and RoadDog targeting the QSR lunch rush.

🥑 GLP-1 & Texture Trends: High-protein menu pivots, "swavory"…