Over the past few years, I’ve watched many close friends and former colleagues chart extraordinary new paths beyond hotel operations — from tech to real estate, from fine dining to finance.
What stands out isn’t that they “left” hospitality — it’s that they carried it with them.
Each of them built on the same foundation: service mindset, resilience, commercial instinct, and the ability to create value from complexity.
This piece is both a reflection and a celebration — nine real stories from people I know personally, showing how hospitality DNA thrives far beyond the hotel lobby.
For hotel owners and investors, these so-called “alumni” aren’t leaving the industry — they’re expanding its frontier. Below are nine high-impact career paths, with lived examples, transferable strengths, and practical takeaways for operators, developers, and investors.
Highlights
- 1. OTA & Travel Tech Leadership
- 2. Build Your Own F&B Brand
- 3. Luxury Villas, Real Estate & Development
- 4. Executive Search & HR Advisory
- 5. Corporate Services in Financial Institutions
- 6. Data, Insights & Commercial Performance (Property & Seniors Living)
- 7. Social Impact, EdTech & Ecosystem Building
- 8. Civic Institutions, Think Tanks & Place Activation
- 9. Asset Management & Strategic Advisory
- The Hospitality Alumni Advantage: What Sets Them Apart
- Planning Your Own Pivot: A 90-Day Blueprint
- Final Thought: From the Lobby to the Launchpad
1. OTA & Travel Tech Leadership
Case in point: Gegen Sumarjana → Country Head, Indonesia–Malaysia–Brunei at Booking.com. Former front-line reservations at Four Seasons, now leading market strategy and commercial teams across multiple countries.
Why it works: Hotel leaders understand both sides — property realities and platform mechanics.
Transferable strengths: Revenue mindset, inventory discipline, partner ops, negotiation, talent development.
Owner/Investor takeaway: Build stronger OTA partnerships by engaging senior leaders who “speak hotel.” Invite them to quarterly revenue councils and co-fund pilots (geo-pricing, mobile-only rates) with measurement baked in.
2. Build Your Own F&B Brand
Case in point: Chef Maurizio Bombini → Chef-Owner at MAURI Restaurant and Bonito Fish Bar in Bali; brand ambassador for Illy, San Pellegrino, Acqua Panna.
Why it works: Hotel kitchens are execution academies — from cost control to service choreography.
Transferable strengths: Menu engineering, vendor networks, launch playbooks, PR, guest database growth.
Owner/Investor takeaway: Incubate chef-led concepts inside underused hotel spaces. Start with revenue-share pop-ups before committing to capex-heavy fit-outs.
3. Luxury Villas, Real Estate & Development
Case in point: D. → Villa operator / real estate investor-builder in Bali.
Why it works: GMs and DOOs know how to manage P&Ls, FF&E cycles, and service design — all crucial for small-scale, high-yield real estate.
Transferable strengths: Feasibility thinking, design briefs, project planning, direct/OTA channel mix, RevPAV optimization.
Owner/Investor takeaway: Alumni operators are ideal co-GPs for boutique hospitality deals. Structure SPVs to promote waterfalls; align exits via refi or portfolio sale.
4. Executive Search & HR Advisory
Case in point: Caroline Kim → Senior Consultant at ACI HR Solutions; ex-operations and revenue leader across global brands.
Why it works: Hoteliers know how to hire for both capability and chemistry. They’ve seen the cost of mis-hires firsthand.
Transferable strengths: Org design, succession planning, comp benchmarking, culture-fit assessment.
Owner/Investor takeaway: Use search partners with hotel DNA for critical leadership roles. Where feasible, link fees to 12-month performance milestones.
5. Corporate Services in Financial Institutions
Case in point: Gudrun (Ackermann) Smith → Vice President, Business & Operations Manager, JPMorgan Chase.
Why it works: High-stakes guest experience translates seamlessly into high-stakes client experience.
Transferable strengths: Project management, vendor governance, event execution, service standards, continuity planning.
Owner/Investor takeaway: Second banquet and event pros into your B2B ventures or co-working spaces. The margin profile can exceed rooms.
6. Data, Insights & Commercial Performance (Property & Seniors Living)
Case in point: Yvonne Qian → National Manager, Sales Performance & Insights at Keyton (ex Marriott/Starwood revenue leadership).
Why it works: Former revenue leaders bring analytical rigor and commercial creativity to non-hotel real estate sectors.
Transferable strengths: Pricing science, segmentation, pipeline hygiene, RevPAR-to-cash conversion, sales enablement.
Owner/Investor takeaway: Apply RM logic to other verticals — wellness, seniors living, memberships — to lift NOI without new builds.
7. Social Impact, EdTech & Ecosystem Building
Case in point: Janine Teo → CEO, Solve Education!; Board and Advisory roles; Cross-country execution.
Why it works: Hospitality leaders are natural community builders — a core capability in social impact ventures.
Transferable strengths: Mission storytelling, field execution, coalition building, grant ops, grassroots scaling.
Owner/Investor takeaway: Tie CSR to performance — build internship pipelines, develop local suppliers, or support skill programs that align with future hiring needs.
8. Civic Institutions, Think Tanks & Place Activation
Case in point: Manuel Martinez Garcimartin → Executive Director of Hospitality, Milken Institute (Former GM: The Mark NYC; St. Regis Washington, D.C.; Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City; Managing Director at Salamander.)
He helped open the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream in Washington, D.C. — a 70,000-square-foot, high-touch visitor experience just steps from the White House.
Why it works: Elite GMs know how to blend high-touch service, public programming, and operational precision.
Transferable strengths: Placemaking, visitor-to-member conversion, donor stewardship, retail/F&B mix, media under scrutiny.
Owner/Investor takeaway: Treat civic spaces like a flagship “hotel lobby for the city.” Monetize via timed ticketing, chef residencies, events, and memberships — and track uplift in adjacent lease rates.
9. Asset Management & Strategic Advisory
Case in point: Pierre Marechal (Myself!) → VP, Strategic Advisory & Asset Management (JLL); ex-regional RM leader (Starwood/Marriott).
Why it works: Asset managers translate operations into investor outcomes — with rigor.
Transferable strengths: Distribution strategy, capital prioritization, HBU analysis, operator alignment, performance challenge.
Owner/Investor takeaway: Treat asset management as an alpha source, not overhead. A sharp owner’s rep can add 100–300bps to NOI through mix shift, CAC control, and capex ROI.
The Hospitality Alumni Advantage: What Sets Them Apart
- Systems thinkers: Bridge guests, labor, and channel economics
- Crisis-calibrated: Black swans, FX swings, ash clouds, pandemic pivots
- Commercial literacy: Forecast-driven, margin-minded, outcome-obsessed
- People leaders: Multicultural, 24/7, emotionally intelligent under pressure
Planning Your Own Pivot: A 90-Day Blueprint
- Weeks 1–2 → Audit Your Edge: Map hard skills (P&L, RM, openings) + outcomes (cost saves, share gains)
- Weeks 3–4 → Clarify Your Narrative: “I turn distressed assets into market leaders” beats “I was a GM.”
- Weeks 5–8 → Build Market Signals: Publish 2–3 LinkedIn posts, speak on a panel, ship a simple portfolio site
- Weeks 9–12 → Generate Deal Flow: Aim for 5 warm intros/week to recruiters, chefs, founders, and asset owners
- Ongoing → Compound Visibility: Track and share a KPI (e.g., RevPAV delta, CAC/LTV) through short case studies
Final Thought: From the Lobby to the Launchpad
A hotel career is not a cul-de-sac — it’s a launchpad. The fundamentals still apply: obsess over the guest (or client), manage cost and demand with precision, and lead people with composure under pressure.
Whether you land in tech, F&B, real estate, finance, social impact, or owner’s advisory — hospitality DNA is a competitive advantage. And increasingly, it’s one that travels well.
Editor’s Note:
This article, originally titled “Life After Hotels: 9 Career Paths Where Hospitality Pros Thrive,” was contributed by Pierre Marechal, Vice President of Strategic Advisory & Asset Management at JLL. He advises hospitality investors and operators across Asia-Pacific on asset performance, revenue strategy, and commercial transformation.
Views expressed are the author’s own. To pitch a story or share insights on hospitality, leadership, or business in Asia, contact the NIA editorial team.
Highlights
- 1. OTA & Travel Tech Leadership
- 2. Build Your Own F&B Brand
- 3. Luxury Villas, Real Estate & Development
- 4. Executive Search & HR Advisory
- 5. Corporate Services in Financial Institutions
- 6. Data, Insights & Commercial Performance (Property & Seniors Living)
- 7. Social Impact, EdTech & Ecosystem Building
- 8. Civic Institutions, Think Tanks & Place Activation
- 9. Asset Management & Strategic Advisory
- The Hospitality Alumni Advantage: What Sets Them Apart
- Planning Your Own Pivot: A 90-Day Blueprint
- Final Thought: From the Lobby to the Launchpad
Read the Chinese article here.
