Eric David Meeuwsen is a seasoned hospitality consultant based in Las Vegas, Nevada. With over 30 years of experience in the hotel and resort industry, Eric is known for transforming underperforming properties into guest-favorite destinations. His career began in the early 1990s in guest services at a luxury hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. From there, he worked his way up through operations, leadership, and executive roles across Las Vegas and other major U.S. destinations.
Eric holds a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management from Florida International University, where he distinguished himself with a focus on customer experience. In 2018, he founded Meeuwsen Hospitality Consulting to help hotels and resorts refine operations, train staff, and elevate service standards.
Over the years, he has worked with large-scale resorts, boutique properties, and pre-opening hotel projects in Las Vegas. His specialties include operational audits, team coaching, digital guest journey mapping, and food & beverage strategy. Eric believes true success in hospitality isn’t only about flashy design or branding—it’s about people. “If your team feels supported and proud, your guests feel it too,” he says.
Outside work, Eric is a husband, father, and community mentor. He volunteers with the Nevada Hotel and Lodging Association and frequently speaks at local colleges to inspire the next generation of hospitality leaders. He enjoys early-morning hikes in Red Rock Canyon, trying out new restaurants along the Strip, and collecting vintage hotel memorabilia from Las Vegas’s storied past.
Eric’s story shows what’s possible when experience, curiosity, and care come together—both in business and in life.
Q&A with Eric David Meeuwsen: On the Real Meaning of Success in Hospitality and Life
Q: Eric, how do you define success?
Eric: To me, success means doing meaningful work and making people feel better because of it. It’s not about money or titles. When I can help a resort team turn around poor guest reviews—or help a young staffer grow into a leader—that’s success. It’s real. It lasts.
Q: You’ve spent over 30 years in hospitality. How has your view of success changed?
Eric: When I started out on the Strip in the 1990s, I thought success was about becoming a general manager at a marquee property. I worked the front desk at 7 a.m., helped with bags, ran late checkouts—it was all about climbing the ladder. But over time, I saw that the most impactful work happened behind the scenes. Coaching a housekeeping manager. Fixing a broken check-in system. Turning a two-star experience into a five-star memory. I realized success was about creating those moments, not chasing positions.
Q: What’s one mistake you see people make when they chase success?
Eric: They skip the learning part. They want to be in charge, but they haven’t worked every corner of the hotel. I’ve done everything—guest services, back-of-house, F&B, even overnight audit shifts. That’s how I learned to see the full picture. If you don’t understand the pressure on your team, you can’t lead them. And you won’t earn their respect.
Q: Can you share an example of a time when something small made a big difference?
Eric: Sure. I was consulting for a mid-size Strip property that was struggling with guest satisfaction scores. Leadership thought the problem was marketing, but when I shadowed the front desk, I noticed the staff was reading from stiff, scripted greetings. Guests felt like numbers. We scrapped the scripts, trained staff to ask real questions, and gave them the freedom to personalize the guest experience. Within six months, ratings climbed and occupancy improved. The fix didn’t cost money—just time and care.
Q: What’s a personal habit or mindset that has helped you succeed?
Eric: I walk the floor. Always. Even as a consultant, I don’t start with spreadsheets—I start by watching. Who’s greeting guests? Is the lobby calm or chaotic? What’s the energy between team members? You can solve half the problems in a hotel just by walking, listening, and paying attention.
Q: What advice do you have for someone just starting out in hospitality?
Eric: Work every role you can. Learn the basics. Make mistakes. But most importantly, don’t treat any guest interaction as small. Someone checking in late at night after a long flight doesn’t care about your brand name. They care about how you treat them at that moment. That’s where trust is built. Also, find a mentor—or be one. I wouldn’t be where I am without people who believed in me early on. Now I try to pass that forward through my mentoring work here in Las Vegas.
Q: How does success show up outside of work for you?
Eric: My family is my anchor. Melissa and I have lived in Las Vegas for many years, and now that our kids are grown, we still love exploring everything the city has to offer together. Whether I’m hiking, enjoying a new show on the Strip, or hunting down vintage postcards from classic Vegas hotels, success at home is about being present and grateful. Hospitality isn’t just what I do—it’s how I live.
Q: Any final thoughts for readers trying to define their own version of success?
Eric: Don’t chase what looks good on paper. Chase what feels good when you’re doing it. The world doesn’t need more burnt-out leaders. It needs people who care—about their work, their teams, and their guests. If you lead with care, success tends to follow.