Learn From My Selection
Professionally insightful resources I have personally reviewed — reports, articles and analyses relevant to hospitality investment.
May 10, 2026
This article continues the themes from my previous writings “Re-engineering Hospitality Work” and “A Futuristic 2050 Story”. The hospitality industry is currently navigating a transitional “twilight zone” between 2026 and 2040. One of the most significant yet under-discussed challenges is the leadership succession and redefinition of management roles. The traditional all-round General Manager profile is gradually fading into the past as technology and centralised systems reshape responsibilities. Future leaders will act as skilled orchestrators, combining advanced technology fluency with strategic coordination, emotional intelligence, and genuine human connection. This evolution will gradually improve management remuneration levels and enable the systematic capture of this generation’s invaluable institutional knowledge into AI systems as they step away from the industry, paving the way for a more sustainable and resilient hospitality sector.
May 4, 2026
When I started my career with Hilton over four decades ago, hospitality felt like a noble calling in a smaller, less globalized world that offered genuine international career mobility, better relative pay, and respected societal status. A silent burnout crisis, chronic exhaustion, and related perception are the causes of the global labor shortage in the hospitality industry today. While well-intentioned employee wellbeing programs exist, they remain largely performative and rarely extend beyond managed hotels. In franchised and independent properties, many owners still operate with a mindset rooted in the 1980s-90s. Having placed their capital and future on the line, they expect staff to feel grateful for the job and opportunity provided, regardless of modest compensation or demanding conditions. Generational change is inevitable, but the real solution lies in human-centric technology. In 15-20 years, AI and robots will handle menial tasks, elevating human roles to create meaningful careers and restore industry pride.
April 28, 2026
This article explores the future of hospitality through the journey of Selin traveling from Istanbul to London in 2050. It illustrates how AI, robotics, and “Organizational Intelligence” deliver operational perfection while highlighting the irreplaceable nature of the human touch. By analyzing the evolution of a 400-room hotel’s staffing from 300 down to 150 FTEs, the narrative presents a visionary balance where technology provides “invisible” efficiency, and humans craft “heartfelt” connections through empathy and storytelling, defining the ultimate guest experience of the future.
April 21, 2026
This article explores the “prestige trap” in hospitality investments through a fictional portrait, illustrating how personal ambitions often clash with market realities. Despite record-breaking tourism figures, misaligned luxury branding continues to erode profitability for many investors. By debunking the myth of hotels as passive real estate, the piece emphasizes the necessity of professional courage, independent advisory, and rigorous feasibility modeling. The goal is to shift from costly trophy properties to resilient, long-term assets—pairing deep industry knowledge with the strategic realism required to navigate today’s bifurcated hospitality landscape.