About Hospitality Speaker Traycee Mayer
Great Hospitality Starts with Great Leadership
Most hospitality organizations aren’t struggling because they lack talented people.
They’re struggling because leaders have been taught to focus on the wrong things.
The industry spends enormous amounts of time discussing guest satisfaction, customer experience, and service standards.
Those things matter.
But none of them happen without engaged employees.
When your people feel overlooked, unsupported, and disconnected, even the best customer service strategies fall apart.
That’s where Traycee Mayer comes in.
Leadership Built One Relationship at a Time
Throughout her 40-plus year hospitality career, Traycee led teams ranging from frontline employees to hundreds of staff members across hotels, convention centers, venues, restaurants, and corporate hospitality environments.
She discovered something that many organizations overlook:
People don’t stay because of policies.
People stay because of relationships.
The strongest cultures are built when leaders take time to know their people, support their growth, and create genuine human connection.
The Heart of Gold Framework©
After decades of leading teams and producing results, Traycee developed the Heart of Gold Framework to help leaders restore humanity to leadership.
The framework is built around five principles:
Remember
People want to be seen, valued, and remembered.
Mine for Gold
Every person has unique strengths, gifts, and value waiting to be discovered.
Team First
Strong teams create extraordinary results.
Model Consistency
Culture starts with leadership behavior.
Play
Joy, curiosity, and connection create stronger workplaces.
Together, these principles help leaders create cultures where employees thrive and guests benefit.
Why Hospitality Leaders Trust Traycee
Traycee doesn’t teach theory.
She teaches what she has lived.
Her experience includes:
- More than 40 years in hospitality leadership
- Executive leadership experience across hotels, venues, and hospitality organizations
- Leading teams of up to 600 employees
- Award-winning author
- Certified coach
- Trusted advisor to hospitality leaders and organizations
Most importantly, she has spent her career proving that caring for employees and achieving strong business results are not competing priorities.
They are the same strategy.
Beyond Hospitality: An Adventurer at Heart
Traycee’s passion for people extends far beyond the workplace.
A lifelong adventurer, she believes some of life’s greatest lessons come from stepping into unfamiliar places, meeting new people, and experiencing different cultures firsthand. Whether she’s exploring a new country, diving beneath the ocean’s surface, or discovering the traditions and stories of communities around the world, Traycee approaches every experience with the same curiosity that has defined her leadership career.
Her travels have reinforced a belief she has carried throughout her life: every person has value, every story matters, and meaningful connection transcends language, culture, and circumstance.
That perspective has shaped the way she leads, coaches, and speaks. It is why Traycee naturally connects with people from all backgrounds and why her message resonates across generations, industries, and cultures. She believes leadership begins with curiosity, grows through understanding, and flourishes when we take the time to truly see one another.
Whether she’s diving in crystal-clear waters, exploring a bustling city halfway around the world, or sharing stories with people she’s just met, Traycee remains a student of humanity, always learning, always connecting, and always searching for the gold in others.
Credentials and Awards
Let's Build Something Better
If you’re ready to strengthen culture, improve retention, elevate guest experiences, and create lasting leadership impact, Traycee is ready to help.