Transcript: Episode 154: Football Lost & Found

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[00:00:00] Susan Barry: This is Top Floor episode 154. You can find the show notes at topfloorpodcast.com/episode/154. 

[00:00:13] Narrator: Welcome to Top Floor with Susan Barry. This weekly podcast ride up to the top floor features tangible tips and excellent stories from the experts and characters who elevate hospitality. And now your host and elevator operator, Susan Barry.

[00:00:32] Susan Barry: Welcome to the show. Mindi Cooke is Senior Vice President of Business Development at Reuninus, the parent company of brands you've heard me talk about, like Unclaimed Baggage, Reclaim for Good, and Net Tracer. As a longtime senior executive at companies like Tommy Hilfiger, Martha Stewart Omni Media, Global Brands Group and Randa Accessories. Mindi has spent her career growing businesses by nurturing partnerships. Today, we are going to talk about how Mindi's company helps to make every loss a win. But before we jump in, we need to answer the call button.

Call button rings

[00:01:18] Susan Barry: The emergency call button is our hotline for hospitality professionals who have burning questions. If you would like to submit a question, you can call or text me at 850-404-9630. Today's question was submitted by Claudia. And here's what she has to say, Mindi. “After getting caught up in the crowd strike flight cancellations over the summer, I want to make a good solid plan going forward. What are the best things for me to do to avoid losing my luggage?” What better question for someone from Reunitus to answer. What do you think? What are the things you do, Mindi?

[00:02:06] Mindi Cooke: Well, you know, it's interesting is that people think, oh, I'm going to put stuff on the outside of my luggage and I'll never lose it. Well, the reality is there's this big thing called “tag off bags” where the luggage tag comes off, the flight tag comes off. And so really to ensure that it's not lost is to put identification on the inside of your luggage. So if I'm traveling for a trade show or on vacation, I literally print out a piece of paper that says where I'm going, what the address is, what the contact information is, and the dates. And I also put my permanent address and phone number and email so that they can contact you because airlines will open up your luggage to see if there's anything identifiable inside. I've even written it in Sharpie on the inside, so I don't have to worry about it. That truly is the best way to not lose it. Oh, and another one that's really fun. Those little barcodes that they put on your luggage, make sure you remove them after every trip because they get scanned. It can go to the wrong destination and that just makes it very troublesome to get back to you. 

[00:03:10] Susan Barry: That's such a good idea about putting your travel information inside your bag so that they're not spending all this time sending your suitcase back home when you could get it the next day in Cleveland or whatever. I'm going to say too, and this is like spoken like a true travel snob, don't check your luggage and then you won't have a problem. You never lose it if it's with you at all times. Okay, the first half of your career was spent in licensing for Tommy Hilfiger and Martha Stewart. Can you talk about what is licensing and how does somebody prepare for that kind of career? 

[00:03:53] Mindi Cooke: Well, licensing is really a business arrangement between two companies. So you have the brand, so we'll use Tommy Hilfiger in this case, and um, their longtime licensor is actually Estee Lauder because you have companies that are really good at making jeans and t-shirts and jackets and coats and all of those different things, but they want to expand into an ancillary category like fragrance. And so they work with another company who can actually manufacture it and who is an expert in that arena. And so you have a lot of, uh, companies who, who outsource for lack of a better term, uh, a variety of different things. So, you know, Timberland has them, Patagonia has them, uh, everyone has licensees to do something if they know they want is their lineup, but, you know, it's not their core competency.

[00:04:45] Susan Barry: So when you're doing licensing for a company, are you the person who's going out and like in the case of Tommy Hilfiger, finding someone to make your fragrance? Or are you the person who's saying, yes, you can use our name on your handkerchief, no you can't. Handkerchief is the dumbest possible example I could ever say, but you know what I mean.

[00:05:08] Mindi Cooke: Absolutely. Uh, well, there's different roles. You know, you have your head of licensing, you know, a vice president or president or really be the one that would initially foster those relationships or create that agreement. When I was in licensing, primarily what I was responsible for is making sure all the terms of contract were adhered to, but also you said earlier on, which is so true, nurturing the relationship with the licensor in between the licensee. And so, you know, when you are the brand, you, you know, you approve designs, you approve samples, you want to make sure that everything is in, meets your brand standards. You know, are they doing the right colors? Is it the right look? Um, and so there's a lot of coordination that has to go on between because even though you're an expert at creating something like shoes, right? You may not have that exact brand look or view. So the brand has designers that help you create that, but ultimately the licensor is the one that approves it and the licensee, the manufacturer will make it and distribute it and sell it. 

[00:06:16] Susan Barry: So, I mean, that sounds like a really fun and interesting job to me. If someone's listening and they want to do that. What do they study or what do they learn or is it on the job? 

[00:06:28] Mindi Cooke: It's interesting is it's probably a business degree most sets you up for licensing in some respects because there's contracts that have to be reviewed and adhered to but you always have lawyers for that, of course. But you know really my preparation was more about, you know, fashion classes, um, in college, but understanding how the product development process works. So it's probably a mix of a little bit of fashion experience and a little bit of business. 

[00:06:55] Susan Barry: Got it. You made the switch to merchandising and business development, serving as Senior Vice President of Merchandising for Luggage and Travel at Rhonda Accessories. A company name that I insist on pronouncing incorrectly at every possible opportunity. What did that job entail and how did it prepare you for now selling software that reunites lost and found items?  

[00:07:27] Mindi Cooke: Well, it's interesting because switching from licensing to merchandising was like hopping a fence because you're part of the product development process on one side, and then you're actually responsible for it on the merchandising side. But when it comes to, you know, how it prepared me in some ways, Again, it goes back to nurturing relationships. It's not necessarily a business function. You know, when you, when you switch like that, it's more of a study of human nature. So all businesses are in business because you have a problem to solve, right? Whether it's, you're creating goods that somebody needs to buy or clothing or food or, um, you know, But when it comes to selling software, you're really fitting the need of a client partner. Um, and so it was more about how to help people solve their problems, um, or create something that they need, you know, create a great solution to returning items or creating a great product that would help you want to come to luggage, get you from point A to point B. So it's, I would probably talk about it that way is really trying to listen to a client or partner and what's the problem they have and how do you help them solve it. 

[00:08:35] Susan Barry: So you didn't have to be a luggage construction expert to get the job that you have now. It just so happened to be an interesting and seamless transition between the two.

[00:08:49] Mindi Cooke: Yes, absolutely. Yes. 

[00:08:53] Susan Barry: We covered the history of Unclaimed Baggage, which is the business that was founded by Doyle Owens in 1970 in episode 92 with Sonny Hood, which, and my listeners know that I'm obsessed with that place and I just find the whole concept fascinating. But can you explain for those who don't know how that company ties to And maybe ultimately resulted in your company Reunitus.

[00:09:23] Mindi Cooke: Absolutely. Um, I think to explain it correctly, we need to start at the beginning. Um, you know, you talked about Doyle Owens, uh, who started Unclaimed Baggage, who was a true entrepreneur and he started with a loan in a pickup truck, but that entrepreneurial spirit, uh, definitely carried through to Brian. Who's our current owner Doyle's eldest son, because he developed, um, a software. Baggage tracing and resolution system called Bagnet, which he ultimately sold. 

[00:09:52] Susan Barry: I just realized that Bagnet is like Dragnet. Uh, Oh, totally. I'm very slow and it took me a minute, but now I get it. Nice. 

[00:09:59] Mindi Cooke: Well, uh, and so, you know, Bagnet was actually the first PC based real time enterprise software in the airline industry. And it grew in functionality and Brian ultimately sold it, being a true entrepreneur. And then of course he and Sharon bought Unclaimed Baggage. So they've always been, you know, airlines and how things, processes work have always really been part of, uh, the DNA, Brian's DNA. 

[00:10:26] Susan Barry: So he didn't inherit the business. He bought it from his dad, basically.  

[00:10:33] Mindi Cooke: He did, yeah. Took over, you know, however that exactly transaction works. I'm not sure, but yeah

[00:10:40] Susan Barry: Maybe for a good price. Who knows?

[00:10:42] Mindi Cooke: Yeah, exactly. Um, and so really, you know, Brian always knew that they're, you know, baggage tracing was an issue because bags as a result of it. However, airlines do an excellent job of reuniting bags. It's over 99.7% of all missed, lost, and mishandled bags are actually reunited. Um, but it's still that less than half a percent. Uh, and so, you know, really, Brian came up with the idea of the next generation baggage tracing and resolution system, which is what resulted in Net Tracer, which was the first web-based tracing and resolution system.

Um, and of course it quickly gained traction. And so the company continued to grow. And so, Over time, you know, it had a bunch of different, um, areas of business or separate entities, you would say we have our managed services for baggage. We have managed services for lost and found Net Tracer, Unclaimed Baggage, Reclaimed For Good. And so really in the last year and a half, two years, we decided to put them all under an enterprise name of Reunitus. 

[00:11:50] Susan Barry: Got it. I'm, I'm surprised to hear that Brian, the son of Doyle, created that Bagnet software over to the side. I would have said, I mean, obviously he did it based on observing the amount and volume of unclaimed bags that came through Unclaimed Baggage, but I think I would have thought it would be more part and parcel, like more of a united front. So that's really interesting that it was more about observation. Note to parents listening, your kid is going to develop brilliant software that addresses whatever physical work that you're doing in the real world. Um, so can you talk about Net Tracer a little bit? How does that lost and found software work?

[00:12:38] Mindi Cooke: Well, Net Tracer, um, is sort of a giant in a lot of ways over a variety of different modules. And so, you know, as we talked about before, it has baggage resolution, it has fraud detection, it has claims management, but it also has what I'm going to refer to as a module about lost and found. Um, and so that's the one that's probably most relevant to hospitality. We call it Lost To Found because ultimately we want to reunite as many items is absolutely possible. Um, and what it does, the Lost To Found software is it optimizes and automates the lost and found management process. So it's web based. Um, it allows for a guest of a hotel, uh, or any property it doesn't have to be a hotel to log a lost report put in.

I lost my cell phone. It was on the, um, the restaurant on the first floor. It looks like this in the details. And of course, you have staff on the other end that inputs the found report and says we found a cell phone restaurant first floor. This is the details and it helps automate. Um, it has great matching capabilities, algorithms essentially that bring up a bunch of matches for you to be able to review. Um, and streamlines the communication so that the guest knows, you know, it gets regular updates. We're looking for your item or we found your item. It's time to check in and, you know, have it sent back to you. So it's, it's a great streamline solution that really takes out a lot of the guess work in, uh, returning lost items.

[00:14:12] Susan Barry: That makes a lot of sense. You also referred to managed services. Can you talk about that? What does that entail? 

[00:14:20] Mindi Cooke: So managed service is essentially a white glove customer service that we do on behalf of our partners. Um, and so we're really, we're outsourced, uh, when it comes to lost and found management. You have airlines that send us boxes daily where we input them into the system and we proactively try to reunite them. We ship them out all while the customer thinks that we're one of our airline partners. They never know that it's us doing it on the back end. And so we're utilizing our own software to help reunite those items with the original owner. 

[00:14:55] Susan Barry: Okay, so that makes sense. And then if I were you, I would want 100 percent managed services because you do this sort of end to end process where you will then if not, if an item isn't claimed, you'll buy it and sell it through Unclaimed Baggage. I was confused about that, but now it makes sense to me. If they're sending all these boxes to you, they're already in the possession of the company, so why not do that? I read, I was surprised to read on your website, the piece where you pay upfront for lost items. Is that something that you do as sort of like a extra value for these managed service clients or do you do it for whoever?

[00:15:41] Mindi Cooke: Well, we do it for all of our partners. Um, you know, we're really Reunitus is the end to end solution for all unclaimed baggage and lost and found because ultimately from a guest experience, we want a guest lost item to ultimately be reunited with the original owner. But we all know that people just don't come back for it, don't want it, whatever the reason is, there's always something left behind and you can't - What are you going to do? Fill up, you know, just hold it in a warehouse forever. It's not, you can't right? You can't hold it until someone remembers five years later. And so when there's something that's left behind, that's where Unclaimed Baggage comes in. And so we do pay our customers on price value. We don't wait for it to sell in the store. It's not consignment. Um, and the reality is, is we're utilizing years of experience to price the item at the right selling price to give it a new life. And so we know, uh, you know, the value of Gap Jeans. We know the value of Louis Vuitton or Prada.

[00:16:40] Susan Barry: I was going to say, you know, the value of Chanel because I have not found a deal yet. I keep looking.

[00:16:44] Mindi Cooke: Well, Chanel is an interesting one. Yeah. Sometimes used items go for more than retail just because it's so rare. You figured that out. Yes. It is crazy. Yeah. So really, it's the benefit to our partners is that we create a new revenue stream for them. For things that, you know, ones that just use our salvage solution, um, or just send us unclaimed items, you know, once it's truly deemed unclaimed, you know, we're, we're giving them a new revenue stream and a sustainable solution. Instead of throwing something away, throwing electronics away is really bad for the environment. And so we want to make sure that we keep as much out of landfill as possible. 

[00:17:27] Susan Barry: We like to make sure that our listeners come away with some very specific and tangible tips from every single episode of the show. Um, so my first question for you along these lines is what are the basic things a business needs to have in place to be a good fit for this, to be a good fit for lost and found software. I'm thinking about these mom and pop restaurants I worked at when I was a kid that, that I was the hostess and therefore I was in charge of lost and found. And maybe I'd have, you know, six pairs of sunglasses and somebody's windbreaker. Probably too small or no?

[00:18:06] Mindi Cooke: Yes, in some ways. Um, I mean, I would say the key thing that a business needs to have to be a good fit is the desire to have best in class customer service. You know, if you have so much lost and found that you can't store those few sunglasses up by the, uh, the podium and be able to return them when a guest comes back for them, you know, having enough volume where you're like, Oh, my goodness, what do I do with it? I can't keep track of it all. It really becomes a burden, but really, it's a commitment to want to return unclaimed items and have the best in class customer experience because that's what, you know, the software does. I mean, we work with, you know, airlines. We work with casino chains. We work with, you know, smaller boutique hotels. We work with really large hotels. Uh, so really work with theme parks, a variety of different, uh, and, you know, business and hospitality entities. 

[00:19:01] Susan Barry: One thing that comes up definitely in restaurants and I think in hotels, too, is that if it's sort of like an incentive for people to turn in last items that if you turn them in and they aren't claimed within a certain amount of time, then you as the finder get to keep it. Um, I'm guessing that is eliminated with the managed services piece. So then what how what's the incentive for an employee to turn something in instead of take it home. I don't know. 

[00:19:36] Mindi Cooke: Well, that's a really that's an interesting one because it's there's so many different points of view within the hospitality industry you have some finders keepers is very prevalent. Um, you have it in a variety of different hospitality verticals, depending on whether you're a hotel or a theme park, some people do it. Some people don't, um, you know, that the idea is, is you want integrity from your, uh, from your staff in order to turn something in so that it can be reunited. You know, with managed services, yes, if you're sending it, it's not necessarily finders keepers is becomes a little bit tricky in that respect. But a lot of the things is that, you know, having incentives for the team of, hey, we returned this many items and then having, you know, some type of celebration or rewarding them. That isn't necessarily taking home an item, but it's doing something good for the team. So they know, hey, if we turn in, you know, every lost item or the value, you know, you get something back in return, I think is really an important aspect to that. There's a way to reward your team members that isn't finders keepers, but of course we don't dictate how they handle it. We just take it at the end of the day.

[00:20:52] Susan Barry: I could see something really cool being implemented, sort of like a reunion score or something like that where. The percentage of lost reports that you get versus found and then the percentage of things that get reunited becomes the score for a hotel. So it's another way for them to celebrate their team members, their associates. How long should a traveler expect a business to hold on to her lost items? And I obviously know there's no rule that you can implement for this. But as we've been talking, I've been thinking about this Burberry raincoat that I left in the trunk of a rental car like 12 years ago and I'm like, should I call them? I'm just kidding. Of course, that's gone. But how long do you think is like a reasonable amount of time? 

[00:21:42] Mindi Cooke: I would say that, you know, it varies industry standard, it varies, you know, different entities do different things, but the range is typically 30 to 90 days. Sometimes it's longer. Some people hold high value items much longer. It just depends.  

[00:21:58] Susan Barry: Got it. Okay. We've reached the fortune telling portion of the show. So now is the time to predict the future. And then we will come back and give you a score later on. So what is a prediction that you have about the future of hospitality? 

[00:22:14] Mindi Cooke: Well, I would say technology will continue to be at the forefront of everything. You talk about AI, you talk about automation, you talk about, you know, experiences in the room. You now, you can use your phone and log on to Netflix when you're in the room. You can have all those comforts of home. Um, and so, you know, technology is great in a lot of ways, right? Cause you can make a reservation, you know, with your phone, you can have a voice automated assistant when you call. Um, You can actually reunite a lost item with technology. But I would say, too, that that's also going to have some challenges, uh, because automated systems are great. You know, you like to talk to them. However, people still like to talk to people. So, I think that's going to be the interesting thing as we go forward in the future. You've got that virtual assistant, but she's not going to be able to handle it like a real person could. So, it'll be interesting to see how that works out, but technology more than anything. 

[00:23:13] Susan Barry: Okay, if you could wave a magic wand and change anything about flying, it can be realistic or unrealistic, what would this be? What would you change? 

[00:23:24] Mindi Cooke: I want a better seat. You know, I, every time I get off a plane, I feel cramped. I have, you know, muscle, you know, just everything. I mean, if it could be like the massage chair, when you get a pedicure…

[00:23:35] Susan Barry: That's so perfect. What a good idea.

[00:23:37 ] Mindi Cooke: I would, I would take that. I think that would make flying exceptional.

[00:23:41] Susan Barry: I could not agree more. I love that plan. I feel lucky because I'm short. So being, you know, in the middle seat, I don't love it because I don't want people to touch me, but I can survive in terms of leg room, but it is not comfortable. You are absolutely right. So what, Mindi, is next for you and what is next for Reunitus?

[00:24:04] Mindi Cooke: Well, as a company that's dedicated to innovation, I would say we're always looking for the next best thing. So, you know, Net Tracer has new releases that's coming out. We have, you know, optimization for lost and found new releases in that software. And so really, um, It's just continuing to improve on what we already do well. I wouldn't say there's anything necessarily revolutionary, except we're always looking to our clients, our either new partners or existing partners, to solve any problem they have. And we've created some great things out of helping our customers solve problems. 

[00:24:44] Susan Barry: Okay, folks, before we tell Mindi goodbye, we are going to head down to the loading dock where all of the best stories get told.

Elevator voice announces, “Going down.”

Mindi, what is a story you can only tell on the loading dock? 

[00:25:01] Mindi Cooke: Well, the fun thing is, is when you think about lost and found to go and see what people actually lose is quite priceless. Um, but the fun part too, is that everybody loses stuff. And when I say everybody, I mean famous people. We have iPads from celebrities. Unfortunately, I can't share their names, but big time, big time people. 

[00:25:23] Susan Barry: You look at their pictures, I bet.

[00:25:26] Mindi Cooke: Oh my goodness. And like crazy. Well, we'd, we'd actually open the open the iPad, um, authors, actors, politicians, they've all lost stuff. Um, this is a fun fact that I totally love. We have gotten something from almost every pro football team, whether it's a player or a coach in lost and found. Yes. Um, it's funny because losing an item is not discriminatory. It doesn't matter if the world knows who you are or if the world does not know who you are, everybody loses it. Um, and, uh, well, here's another one too, is that we've had the same item lost more than once and returned 

[00:26:06] Susan Barry: Not just the same type of item, the same item?

[00:26:10] Mindi Cooke: The same specific item, the same specific person has come through managed services and lost it more than once. 

[00:26:17] Susan Barry: What? That's crazy. Can you say what the item is?

[00:26:20] Mindi Cooke: It's an iPad.

[00:26:21] Susan Barry: Oh my God. What? Get it. Just get a couple buddy. What's going on? That's crazy. Is it from leaving it in the seat back? I bet you anything. 

[00:26:32] Mindi Cooke: Yes, absolutely.  

[00:26:33] Susan Barry: Oh my gosh. 

[00:26:34] Mindi Cooke: But the one item or the one category that is really the highest priority to return is stuffed animals. We get more thank yous and more pictures of kids being reunited with Mr. Fluffy or you think the Velveteen Rabbit loves so much. Um, the kids just love getting their items back and that's the thing that people come after the most.

[00:26:56] Susan Barry: Oh, I love that. That is so sweet. Mindi Cooke, thank you so much for being here. I know that our listeners were fascinated by the world of lost and found as I am. And I really appreciate you riding up to the top floor.

[00:27:11] Mindi Cooke: Thank you for having me. It was a pleasure to be here today.

[00:27:17] Susan Barry: Thank you for listening. You can find the show notes at topfloorpodcast.com/episode/154. Jonathan Albano is our editor, producer, and all around genius. He even wrote and performed our theme song with vocals by Cameron Albano. You can subscribe to Top Floor on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen. And your rating or review will go a long way in helping us give you more of what you like. 

[00:27:51] Narrator: Thanks for listening to the Top Floor Podcast at www.topfloorpodcast.com. Have a hospitality marketing question? Reach us at 850-404-9630 to be featured in a future episode.