Learn From My Selection
Professionally insightful resources I have personally reviewed — reports, articles and analyses relevant to hospitality investment.
May 31, 2026
For the full audio version, click on the heading or the view source button below. Read the full article on my LinkedIn Newsletter In Part 1 of this two-part series, I examine the hidden costs of excessive owner control in hotel owner-operator relationships. Drawing on anonymized real examples from my own experience and colleagues, I show how overly optimistic feasibility studies frequently fail to match market reality, creating lasting mistrust. Structural imbalances—where owners hold ultimate power while operators focus on brand consistency and long-term performance—generate recurring conflicts. In Türkiye, first-generation ownership, emotional attachment, economic volatility, and hierarchical cultures often intensify these tensions, sometimes fostering “yes-man” environments. I highlight four recurring patterns: deferred structural repairs for short-term savings, post-contract disillusionment that leads to tighter control, pyrrhic victories that harm performance, and rare positive turnarounds from key personnel changes. These misaligned relationships ultimately damage trust, staff retention, standards, and long-term asset value.
May 18, 2026
After 46 years in hospitality, starting as a 16-year-old ballroom attendant on a windy New Year’s Eve at Istanbul’s Çınar Hotel, I have witnessed every major tech wave—from mainframe computers to today’s AI and service robots. Each innovation first gave big chains an edge, then quickly became standard for everyone. Now, as AI levels the playing field faster than ever, the real differentiator is no longer technology. It is your team. The hotels that will stand out in 2050 are those that master smart tools while giving their people the time and space to deliver the one thing machines can never replicate: genuine human warmth and care.
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.