Speaker · People, hospitality & scale

Build the team.
The team builds the experience.
The experience builds the business.

Dave's career runs through food & beverage, retail, airports, real estate, and now outdoor hospitality — different rooms, one throughline: teams create the experience, the experience drives the business. Today that thinking runs a fast-growing portfolio of RV parks across North America.

Book Dave to speak More about Dave
Dave Willner, COO of Unhitched RV Dave Willner
Role
COO, Unhitched RV
Home turf
Dozens of parks and counting
At home
Husband. Father of one.
About Dave

I don't believe the product is the heart of a business. The people are.

When team members thrive, guests have exceptional experiences — and everyone with a stake in the business sees the results. Dave has built more than 20 years on that belief, leading complex hospitality, resort, airport, and campground operations — often as the first senior leader an organization has ever hired to bring order to chaos. His specialty is building the culture, systems, and strategy that work everywhere, while letting every location's personality shine — balancing standardization with the room each business needs to be itself. Along the way he's scaled operations from single locations to hundreds of properties across North America, always keeping people at the center of growth. Today, as COO of Unhitched Management, he drives culture-first growth in multi-site hospitality and real estate, blending operational excellence with relationships that last.

Leadership & culture Operations & growth Finance & analysis Hospitality, F&B, airports, resorts & campgrounds
Dave with part of the Unhitched team
Dave (center) with part of the team — the people the whole philosophy is actually about.
What Dave speaks about

Three ideas he keeps coming back to.

One

People before property

Why the best hospitality investments start with the people operating them, not just the physical asset.

Two

Building the operating engine

How teams, systems, standards and accountability let a hospitality business grow without losing what made it special.

Three

Turnarounds without tearing it down

Why an underperforming business doesn't always need a new concept or another tech platform — sometimes the operating engine just needs to change.

Ask him about

Two decades building teams and operating engines across hospitality, retail and beyond — distilled into whatever your group needs most.

Running the business Owner essentials Staffing challenges & solutions Family & team dynamics Design & expansion Wi-Fi & connectivity Technology for campground management
Marketing & community Low & no cost marketing Marketing magic Social media best practices Building a community Guest communication
Revenue & experience Camp store Bar, grill & snacks Ancillary income ideas Off-season revenue Shoulder season ideas Theme weekend ideas Groups, events & activities
Guest & culture Dealing with difficult guests The power of positive
Dave and his daughter at a baseball game
Dave's wife and daughter on a hike
Dave's daughter performing on stage
Dave performing in community theater
Off the clock

Husband first. Then father. Then COO.

Dave is married to a marketing executive who thinks about brand for a living — which means the dinner table doubles as a strategy session more often than either of them planned. Together they're raising one daughter, and cheering her on from the audience every chance they get. And when Dave's not the one watching from the seats, he's occasionally the one on stage — a longtime community theater habit that keeps him comfortable in front of a room and, by his own admission, a little less self-important.

Father of one Married to a marketing exec Community theater regular

"Dave has a way of inspiring our workforce to feel supported, proud, and valued. Having a passion for people, excellence, and creativity creates a work environment that's conducive to success."

Chase Anderson — VP, Skyport Hospitality
Get in touch

Bring Dave's thinking to your team, conference, or industry.

Hospitality, hotels, restaurants, retail, entertainment — if your business runs on people, this conversation is for you. Reach out directly and expect a real reply, not a form-letter.