In the hospitality industry, few leaders have had the transformative impact of Geoffrey Toffetti, CEO of Frontline Performance Group (FPG). With a career that began on the front lines and scaled into a global leadership role, Geoffrey blends data-driven innovation with human-centered service strategies. Under his guidance, FPG has partnered with over 2,500 hotels across 100+ countries—including major brands like Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt—to boost revenue, elevate guest satisfaction and optimize frontline performance. Read about Geoffrey's journey in this interview, first aired on The Beverley Hills Magazine Podcast.
Beverly Hills Magazine: Geoffrey, welcome! As a visionary entrepreneur and hospitality leader, your work has shaped revenue performance for global hotel brands. How did you get started?
Geoffrey Toffetti: Thank you! It’s a pleasure to be here. I didn’t found FPG, but I’ve dedicated my career to building businesses. This is the second company I’ve helped scale significantly. I love the constant challenge of entrepreneurship—solving puzzles, building systems and learning from every experience. That variety keeps me engaged, and the journey builds resilience and creativity.
Learn How FPG Elevates Hotel Revenue → Client Case Study: How New World Hoiana Beach Resort Increased Upsell Revenue by 60%
Beverly Hills Magazine: Was there a moment that shifted your career trajectory or confirmed your path?
Geoffrey Toffetti: It was more a mindset than a moment—saying yes to new opportunities. Early in my career, I volunteered to handle data analysis, even though I’d never done it before. That decision opened doors, led to executive exposure, and made me indispensable. Growth happens when you step into the unknown and take calculated risks.
Beverly Hills Magazine: Can you tell us about FPG’s global mission and services?
Geoffrey Toffetti: FPG has been around for over 30 years, empowering frontline employees to increase revenue and enhance guest service. Initially, we were a consulting and training company across customer-facing industries. About a decade ago, we doubled down on hospitality. Today, we partner with thousands of hotels globally through a tech-enabled platform that delivers real-time training, data analytics, and performance tools for managers and teams.
Beverly Hills Magazine: Is your platform better for major hotel chains, or can new and boutique hotels benefit too?
Geoffrey Toffetti: Both. Our most successful clients bring us in at the pre-opening stage to establish a service-focused culture from day one. But even well-established hotels benefit from our tools. We’ve worked with everything from 30-room boutiques to 3,000-room resorts. Our strength lies in helping teams of any size drive revenue and guest satisfaction simultaneously.
Beverly Hills Magazine: You’ve partnered with elite brands. How did you break into that level?
Geoffrey Toffetti: It started unconventionally—with a theme park. We did such a great job that a sponsor there introduced us to an executive at a major hotel brand. They sent us to their flagship property, expecting us to fail because we were a small company. But we were professionally persistent—never pushy, just consistent—and we knocked it out of the park. That executive became our champion, rolling us out across their managed properties. From there, it was a spider-web effect: one hotel led to five, then 30, then 60. Our reputation for delivering results and being easy to work with, plus acquiring two competitors, helped us grow. In hospitality, relationships are everything, and once you’re in, owners and managers introduce you to others.
Beverly Hills Magazine: Let’s talk technology. How is FPG using AI and analytics to improve hotel performance?
Geoffrey Toffetti: Technology is at the core of what we do now. Performance starts with data, so we’ve integrated with dozens of hotel systems to pull transactional data and visualize it in our platform. This lets managers see, in near real-time, who’s performing well and why—say, one server outselling another in a restaurant shift. AI takes it further by identifying patterns, like which products appeal to business travelers or optimal pricing strategies, making insights actionable. We also use AI to translate our training videos, re-rendering the speaker’s face and voice in any language, which has opened new markets like India, where domestic travel dominates. It’s a game-changer for global scalability.
Beverly Hills Magazine: How do you ensure technology complements, rather than replaces, the human touch?
Geoffrey Toffetti: We’re unique in that our technology empowers people rather than replaces them. Our platform helps frontline staff—like front desk agents or servers—learn what works, improve their skills, and increase their income through service-based sales. We train them to make recommendations that enhance the guest experience, like suggesting an executive lounge to a business traveler, not pushing irrelevant upsells. When done right, service and sales go hand in hand: revenue rises, but so does guest satisfaction, because you’re building trust. It’s about educating guests and giving them choices, not selling for the sake of selling.
Beverly Hills Magazine: How does FPG adapt to different languages and cultures across global markets?
Geoffrey Toffetti: We employ native speakers in 39 languages and have offices in places like Dubai and Singapore. Pre-COVID, we’d visit sites in person, but now our technology lets us deliver training digitally in any language, with AI re-rendering videos to match the speaker’s appearance and voice. This has unlocked markets like India and Thailand, where domestic travelers expect training in their native tongue. Beyond language, we focus on cultural nuances, ensuring our training respects local hospitality norms while maintaining our core principles of service and performance.
Beverly Hills Magazine: How do you maintain consistency and service quality at scale?
Geoffrey Toffetti: It’s all about culture. Internally, we operate like a tribe—connected by purpose. We build strong relationships with our “champions” at each hotel, who influence 10 to 30 employees, impacting over 100,000 people across 3,000 hotels. Our programs also support vulnerable employees, like helping someone living in their car secure an apartment through our incentive plans. Externally, we emphasize treating employees the way you want guests treated. If leaders are authoritative, employees won’t be warm with guests. It’s a trickle-down effect—culture drives quality.
Beverly Hills Magazine: How did you navigate COVID-19’s impact on the hospitality sector?
Geoffrey Toffetti: COVID was brutal—we lost 90% of our global revenue in March 2020. Instead of demanding payments, we proactively reached out to clients and paused all agreements, promising to resume terms post-pandemic. This built trust when others were pressuring them. We stayed in touch, offering support, which kept relationships strong. My philosophy is to make it easy to work with us—no litigation, no friction. A wise hospitality leader once told me, “Make it easy to hire you, easy to fire you, and do a great job.” That’s how we operate—be a bright spot for clients, especially in tough times.
Beverly Hills Magazine: How do you stay motivated through tough seasons?
Geoffrey Toffetti: I’m naturally curious, which keeps me motivated. There’s always something new to learn, whether it’s a technology like machine learning or a business strategy. When things are slow, we innovate—during downtime, we’ve developed new products or explored AI. I read voraciously, juggling three or four books on different topics, and I don’t stress easily. For me, building a business is the ultimate adventure. Knowing we’re helping thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of people globally is incredibly energizing. It’s a fun ride, and I’m all in for the journey.
Beverly Hills Magazine: What’s next for FPG over the next five to ten years?
Geoffrey Toffetti: We plan to triple or quadruple our size. A major focus is the restaurant industry, which is ten times larger than hospitality. The dynamics of guest interaction are similar, and we see huge potential. We’re also developing new AI-driven products that will launch soon. Growth, innovation, and staying true to our mission—those are our pillars.
Beverly Hills Magazine: Lastly, what’s the one message you want hospitality leaders to take away?
Geoffrey Toffetti: That people are the heart of hospitality. Technology and innovation are powerful, but it’s the frontline employees—armed with the right training, tools, and mindset—who create memorable guest experiences and drive business success. Invest in your people, align their work with purpose, and the results will follow. That’s where the magic happens.
About Geoffrey Toffetti
From valet to visionary CEO, Geoffrey Toffetti leads with service, strategy, and heart. At Frontline Performance Group, he champions a culture of bold thinking and people-first innovation. His leadership continues to shape the future of hospitality—where technology and humanity work hand in hand.
Related Reading: Pre-Arrival vs On-Arrival: Which Upsell Wins?Case Study: How New World Hoiana Beach Resort Achieved a 60% Upsell Revenue IncreaseHotel Front Desk Training: How Role Play Boosts Confidence and Sales
Discover how FPG and IN-Gauge can help your property unlock its full potential:👉 Request a Demo 👉 Download Our Hotel Upsell Playbook
