Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend

The House Dick

18 min
Dec 4, 20255 months ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

Conan O'Brien interviews Trisha, a Filipino hotel and restaurant owner who runs a 22-room hotel and Victorina's Modern Restaurant in the Philippines. The conversation explores her business challenges, particularly low restaurant awareness, and humorously pivots into Conan roleplaying as a 1940s-style hotel detective and front desk attendant to help market her establishment.

Insights
  • Small hospitality businesses struggle with internal marketing awareness—hotel guests exist but don't know about on-site dining options, requiring targeted promotional strategies
  • Family background and parental expectations can redirect career paths; Trisha abandoned her artistic interests for business due to family pressure, a common pattern in family-oriented cultures
  • Location proximity to industrial parks and international companies creates steady B2B hospitality demand; businesses can leverage corporate travel markets for stable revenue
  • Personal branding and celebrity association can drive foot traffic in emerging markets; Conan's presence alone would attract curiosity-driven customers to the hotel
  • Hospitality businesses benefit from experiential, nostalgic marketing angles; the 1940s hotel detective concept demonstrates how themed experiences create memorable marketing hooks
Trends
Small hotel operators in emerging markets rely on industrial park proximity for business travel revenue rather than tourismRestaurant marketing within hotels remains underdeveloped; cross-promotion between hotel and F&B is a growth opportunityCelebrity partnerships and experiential marketing resonate in international markets as cost-effective promotional strategiesFamily-run hospitality businesses in Southeast Asia balance traditional naming conventions with modern market awareness needsNostalgia-driven, themed hospitality experiences (1940s hotel detective aesthetic) create shareable, memorable brand moments
Topics
Hotel and restaurant marketing strategySmall business growth in emerging marketsFamily business managementCross-promotion between hotel and restaurant operationsIndustrial park proximity as business travel driverBrand awareness and foot traffic generationCelebrity endorsement and experiential marketingCareer path decisions and family expectationsHospitality operations in the PhilippinesRestaurant naming and brand identityFront desk operations and customer experienceThemed hospitality experiencesB2B corporate travel marketsArts versus business career choicesInternational company relocation and employee accommodation
Companies
Bravo to Nowan Hotel
22-room hotel in Tanawan, Philippines, owned and operated by Trisha and Patrick; struggling with restaurant awareness.
Victorina's Modern Restaurant and Bar
On-site restaurant at Bravo to Nowan Hotel named after Patrick's grandmother; underperforming despite hotel success.
People
Trisha
Guest discussing her 22-room hotel and restaurant business in the Philippines and marketing challenges.
Patrick
Trisha's husband and co-owner of the hotel and restaurant; inherited family land used for hotel development.
Conan O'Brien
Podcast host who interviews Trisha and humorously offers to work as hotel detective and front desk attendant.
Matt Gourley
Podcast producer and co-host who participates in the hotel detective sketch with Conan.
Quotes
"Right now I'm in Santo Tomas, Batangas. It's an hour away from Manila, which is the capital of the Philippines."
TrishaEarly in episode
"We both run and manage the small hotel in Tanawan. It's the town next to Santo Tomas. So right now there are 22 rooms."
TrishaMid-episode
"I was more into the arts. I was more right brained and I actually belong to a family of doctors. So I was so out of place."
TrishaMid-episode
"I'm the hotel dick. I'm a dick wherever I go. That's for sure. I've also been a motel dick."
Conan O'BrienSketch segment
"They'd definitely be happy to see you. And then hit me. Six foot foreman with red hair. You'd be an attraction."
TrishaLate episode
Full Transcript
This podcast is brought to you by Hotels.com. Make your next trip work for you. Hotels.com's new Save Your Way feature lets you choose between instant savings now or banking rewards for later. It's a flexible reward program that puts you in control with no confusing math or blackout dates. Book now at Hotels.com. Save Your Way is available to loyalty members in the US and UK on Hotels with member prices. Other terms apply. See site for details. Conan O'Brien needs a fan. Want to talk to Conan? Visit teamcoco.com slash call Conan. Okay, let's get started. Hi, Trisha. Welcome to Conan O'Brien Needs a Fan. Hi. Hi, Trisha. How are you? Oh my God. I am so happy to be here. I don't have no idea. Like, I'm screaming internally. I'm such a big fan Conan. Why are you screaming internally? I like my fans to scream externally. No, I got to be cool. I'm meeting one of my idols. Oh, you really don't? You don't have to be cool around us. Well, it's very nice to meet you, Trisha. And you are in the Philippines, is that right? Yes. Whereabouts? That's right. Right now, I'm in Santo Tomas, Batangas. Where is that in relation to from Manila? Yeah, it's an hour away from Manila, which is the capital of the Philippines. Yes, that's the one thing I did know. Yeah. Yeah. And so you are about an hour away north, south, east, west. Are you on the coast? Are you inland? I just like to know these things. I'm building. I'm making a map from my from my phone. Yeah, we're south from Manila. Okay. So it's an hour drive from Makati by a car. Are you in a mountainous region or is it more of a flood plain? And I'll be done with these questions soon. Mountainous. Okay. Okay. We're not near the beach at all. Is the air humid or is it a dry heat? Are you planning an invasion? What are you doing? I'm not saying whether or not I'm... It's hot. I'm not admitting that I'm planning an invasion, but sleep well and ignore any noises. Okay. So Trisha, tell me a little bit about yourself, your life. What's going on? Right now. It's funny because I wanted to sleep early for this podcast, but I woke up an hour and 30 minutes later because my daughter kicked me in the face because she was asleep next to me. So I haven't slept since then because I don't want to miss this call at all. This is funny you say that because about two hours ago, my daughter kicked me in the face and she's 21. Oh my God. Yeah, and she was wearing steel-toed boots and screaming, I hate you, I hate you, father, I hate you. So in a way, we both had the same experience. So you have one daughter? Mm-hmm. She's 33 next month. Oh, that's really cute. That's great. And what about... Do you... Are you married? Are you in a partnership? Yeah, I'm married. Yeah, I'm married right now. Right now. Right now. Is that what you say? Who are you married to? What is the name of this? Every time she checks her watch. What is the name of your significant other? His name's Patrick. OK, so you're married to Patrick and every day you say the marriage is still going as of right now? Yeah, yes, as we speak. As we speak, there is still a marriage. Continue. Stand by for other alerts. And tell us about your life. You have... It's you, Tricia. It's Patrick. You have a daughter. What do you do? What do you guys do? We both run and manage the small hotel in Tanawan. It's the town next to Santo Tomas. So right now there are 22 rooms. It's a simple, small hotel. Well, 22 rooms is a... That's a good size. That's a lot of work, I would think. You run a hotel and it's 22 rooms. Yeah, it is. And yeah, we've been encountering problems actually. And we would like... And we also run a restaurant, which we would like to market more. Because right now the hotel is doing better than the restaurant. OK, so let me paint the picture here. Hotel thriving. Got a 22 room hotel. But there is a restaurant that's part of the hotel and it's not getting enough business. Yes, we would prefer to have more foot traffic. But right now it's not at its peak. So we would like to capture more of the market. Yeah, and it's been running for five years now. Five years. It's like, yeah, we would like to have more people come in the restaurant. Now, be honest with me. Oh, you think I could help? Yeah. You use it. How could I help? You can help by like serving the people. You can be a waiter. Yeah, I'm not. Wait a minute, Trisha. I'm looking for a server. Trisha, I thought you were going to say, oh, come meet Conan O'Brien at the restaurant. Use my celebrity. But no, you want me waiting tables. Or a dishwasher. Or a dishwasher. OK, well, I could maybe do that. My wife would say I'm not very good at washing dishes, but I'd give it a go, which is more than I do at home. Well, OK, I'm curious about something. You have guests in the hotel. You say the hotel is doing well. Do the guests eat in the restaurant? Yes, they do eat in the restaurant. Do they like the restaurant? Is it a good restaurant? Do you think the restaurant could be better? It's a it's definitely a good restaurant. And I think we just want more people to know more about the restaurant. Because right now I don't think they're aware that there is a restaurant there. So we want, aside from the hotel guests, we would like people from the town. There's a lack of awareness. Can I ask you what the name is of the restaurant? It's called Victorina's Modern Restaurant and Bar. It's actually named after my husband's grandma. Oh, that's beautiful. From the town. Yeah. Well, Trisha, we're going to change that name. And wait a minute. Wait a minute. We're going to change that name. Hey, you want my help or not? And we're going to call it. I love that it's named after Patrick's grandmother. But that's got to go. And we're going to change it to the International House of Pancakes. Or my God, or I hop for short. OK. Yeah. OK. OK. Maybe make it. Just I hop and then Filipino version. No, we just say I hop. And we say we have 23 kinds of syrup for the pancakes. And when they come in, they get, you know, authentic food from the Philippines. You know, and and I just say, oh, yeah, that was a misunderstanding. Eat your food and fucking shut up. And you'll be there to serve the food, right? Yes, I'll be there to serve the food. You really want to serve her? Yeah, that's you need any help also? Would I just work in the restaurant? Or would I also maybe work around the hotel? Oh, yeah, you can definitely man the front desk. I think I think people would like that. What do you have to do? A white man. What do you have to do? You want Conan to be the first thing they experience when they come to the front desk? You think I'd be good at the front desk because I'm a white man. Oh, yeah. He's a very white man. Yeah, I mean, there's white men and then there's me. I'm a very, very white man. Well, what do I do at the front desk? Do I get to wear a little cap or is that just the bellman who wears that? No, the girls have like this little scarf around their neck. Maybe you can wear that. The girls, who are the? It's part of the uniform. Wait a minute. Who are the girls? No, the front desk attendants. They're front desk attendants and they were little scarves. Yeah, it's part of their uniform. So maybe you can wear that too. No, no, it's not what you think. Oh, how do you know what I think? It better not be what I think. I think she knows what you think because I have this your way of mind. You went, hmm, hmm. No, no, no, it's a corporate hotel. Yes, of course. Of course. No hanky-panky ever at a corporate hotel. Yes, no. Oh, the board. You know how business men are always so above board. Oh, my God. Hey, is it my job as the person at the front desk to make sure that couples that say they're married really are married and sort of be the house detective? Do I get to pry into their personal lives at all? Oh, sure, go ahead. What if a lady of the night tries to check in? Is it my job to investigate those things? You let them, you have to let them. I'm thinking, you know what, but this is a reputable joint. Yeah, he's the house dick. But they're business people. You know what, I'm with Matt here. I'm with, hold it, I'm with Matt here and we're both thinking of the same thing which is it's the 1930s and I'm the house detective or house dick. Yeah, the hotel dick. I'm the hotel dick. I'm a dick wherever I go. That's for sure. I've also been a motel dick. We are thinking the same thing. But my thing is that I would be asking a lot of questions like, hmm, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, eh? That's a pretty common name. What's your real name? We come in and you gotta grill us. We're a couple, okay? What kind of couple we don't know? What's the name of the hotel? It's called Bravo to Nowan Hotel. Bravo to Nowan? Okay. Welcome to the Bravo to Nowan. How can I help you? Pretty good, thanks. Hi. Yeah. Okay, yeah, well, again, how can I help you? We really like a room and fast, man. Okay, man. Yeah, I'll pay you anything. Yeah. Yeah, you seem like all worked up and sweating, huh? It's just, yeah, finally gonna happen. Okay, you're gonna, all right. I had a room just for 15 minutes. You want a room for 15 minutes? Okay, well you two seem all, wait, you got lipstick all over your face there, buddy. I know I got a lipstick fight. Yeah, wow, okay. And all right, I'll just need to know your names. What are your names? My name is actually John Smith. Actually John Smith and you are? Slurred. Wait, you're not married? Slurred Smith. Yeah. So we are married. I'm very suspicious. Okay. I'm gonna need some identification. Oh, God, I just, I got off, I got mugged. Okay, all right, well, listen, I'll give you a room for 15 minutes, but I'm gonna have to be in the room with you to make sure there's no hanky-panky. Cool, man, I'm into that. No, we're all gonna stand, no one gets to lie on the bed. That costs extra, sir. Mm, I'll pay it. Let me see some ID. Here it is, sir. Can I come upstairs with you guys? Yeah, hey, your name is Slurred too. Yeah, I'm from a long line at Slurred. The Connecticut Slurred? Yeah, I just heard of Slurred, was that you, sir? You seem pretty worked up. All right, let's get out of here. That was the sketch, it was called, Three's a Crowd, what do you think? Did you like it? Yeah, it was, I was thinking, I was thinking you can even, like, catch cheating husbands, you know? Yes, that's what I'm gonna do. But that doesn't happen. I'm gonna be a very nosy house detective. I would like to be a house detective, but I'm not a house detective, I'm not a house detective, I'm not a house detective, I'm not a house detective, I would like to work, I mean, I'm kind of interested in working in the restaurant, but I'm really interested in working in the hotel. And do you have a little bell that dings when people check in? No, I'll go get one for you. I'm gonna bring a bell, I'm bringing a bell. I can put your name on it. No, you don't have my name on the bell, it's just a bell and people know to ding it and then I cover it really quickly. It's a fun bit that's existed in many old movies. I do need to be in a little bell cap or a bell box hat or whatever. I want a little pill box cap with a strap around the chin. I want the little bell. I wanna have a big quill or a giant pen that signs in the registry. We need a big old fashioned registry. I want all of the old tropes that would be in a sketch from the 1940s. A luggage cart you can ride in too. Yes, exactly. And oh, does the elevator have an arrow that goes up, up, up, up, up in a semi circle? No. Oh my God, we gotta fix this hotel. Yeah, you gotta, yeah, you need to. Now tell me, how did you get into the hotel business? My husband's grandparents, they had this plot of land that was available to be developed. So my husband decided to make a hotel with it because he saw potential in the market because nearby there's an industrial park. So they're big international companies as well. So that's why we also put this hotel up because there are people from abroad who bring their employees to work here for a while, like engineers. Got it, got it. Things like that. Yeah. Okay, so you built this hotel. Was this your dream as a child? One day I'll have a hotel? No, far from it actually. I was more into the arts. I was more right brained and I actually belong to a family of doctors. So I was so out of place. Yeah. So I didn't want to be a doctor. I knew I would regret it and I knew I would be unhappy. So I decided to go the safer route and take business. So at least with business, I can evolve or I can do more things with it. You know what I mean? Ah, I like it. What kind of art did you like to do? When I was young, I'd paint and all that but it was never really prioritized. So it was kind of based to the side. So the skill was never, yeah. You weren't getting encouragement. You weren't getting encouragement. Yeah, or it wasn't like, it wasn't a priority. So yeah, it wasn't something they saw that could be like a career. Sure. Yeah. Well, my parents always thought this wasn't a career. And even after you were very successful. After 30 years and late night, they said, when's your career gonna come? But you're successful though. Oh my God. Well, Trisha, I would very much like to help your hotel and restaurant. We got to change the name to IHOP. That would be great. Okay, no worries. And have a lot of syrups around, different flavored syrups. No hotel. And then I want to be the house detective and also I want to be dressed as a Bellman but working the front desk. And I think I'll mix well with the ladies who wear scarves around their necks. I will also wear a scarf if you wish. And I think I could be a big help to you. And my one question is, do you like Balot? Oh no, my dad does though, but I don't. Balot? You have to eat that though. I don't know if I can. It's, you know what Balot is. Is it the little bird? It's the little embryo baby chicken that's inside a pickled egg. That's my dad's favorite. Yeah, people swear by it and they say, once you have it, you go insane and you just have Balot the rest of your life. Yeah. Yeah, and sometimes you can even feel like the tiny bones go down your throat. Stop it. Yeah. But they say it's good. Yeah. What's the difference? What's tiny bones going down your throat? That's just tiny bones going down your throat. I mean, when you think about it, it's no different than eating chicken. Yeah, or eating any fetus. So... Well, Trisha, it's been very nice talking to you until this imagery late in the podcast. But I do wish you well and I wish Patrick well and your daughter. Thank you. And if I get a chance to come visit you, I'd like to try and help your business. Yes, of course. You're welcome anytime. Yeah. Let me ask you quickly, am I known in the Philippines? Am I a known fellow in the Philippines? So if you say Conan O'Brien's here at the hotel, people would be happy to see me or would they be angry and want to come hit me? They'd definitely be happy to see you. And then hit me. Six foot foreman with red hair. You'd be an attraction. Yes, I am. Like come see the tall white guy. Yeah, yeah. All right. Okay, take it easy there, buddy. Sideshow. Yeah, like a side show. Yeah, almost sideshow-y. Like the bearded lady. Yes. Except weirder. Okay, take it easy. Sorry. Trisha. Oh, and what's the name of this stew that's made with blood and all kinds of stuff? What is that? Oh, um... Dinuguan. Dinuguan. Dinuguan. That's so good. Dinuguan, like the blood is blood. But tell us what it's named of. Goat's blood? I'm not exactly... I think it's pig's blood, but it's really good with rice. I think you should try that. Sure. It's really good. We even have this dish. Fetal bird and then the pig's blood, yeah. Yeah, no, one of the restaurants in trouble. I'll have the fetal bird with some... Then bring me the pig's blood and then we'll throw a little rice in it. Can I have pancakes with raspberry syrup? You betcha! All right, Trisha, it was very nice talking to you. Best of luck to you and I hope... It was so nice meeting you. And maybe I'll see you in the near future. You never know. Yes, yes. You're welcome anytime, though. Thank you so much. It was lovely talking to you. Thank you. Bye-bye. Nice meeting you guys. Nice meeting you too. Bye-bye. Conan O'Brien needs a fan with Conan O'Brien, Sonam of Sessian and Matt Gorely. Produced by me, Matt Gorely. Executive produced by Adam Sacks, Jeff Frost and Nick Leaugh. Incidental music by Jimmy Vivino. Take it away, Jimmy. Supervising producer, Aaron Blair. Associate talent producer, Jennifer Samples. Associate producers, Sean Doherty and Lisa Byrne. Engineering by Eduardo Perez. Get three free months of SiriusXM when you sign up at SiriusXM.com slash Conan. Please rate, review and subscribe to Conan O'Brien Needs a Fan wherever fine podcasts are done.