>_

HOSPITALITY TRANSFORMATION · PARIS

Felipe Díaz Marín

Built in hospitality.

Now I help it evolve.

20 years running luxury hotel operations — IHG, Westin, crisis management at Sonesta. I help hotel and F&B teams fix the systems holding them back. No generic frameworks. No 200-slide audits.

scroll
Felipe Díaz Marín

20+

yrs ops leadership

4

continents

5★

luxury hotels

3

ES · FR · EN

Background

Operations first. Everything else followed.

I spent a decade inside hotel operations — purchasing at InterContinental Santiago, F&B management at Westin Kuala Lumpur, full operational recovery after the 8.8 earthquake at Sonesta Concepción. Four continents, three languages, every department from kitchen to front desk.

For the last eleven years, I've taught organizational leadership and project management at CY Cergy Paris Université — turning operational experience into frameworks that teams actually adopt. I also build products, because the fastest way to understand a problem is to try to solve it.

If your hotel team is stuck — firefighting daily, losing people, struggling with new tools — I can help. Not with a slide deck. With a clear diagnosis, a human-centered system, and hands-on deployment alongside your team.

Previously at

IHG
Westin
Sonesta

How I help

HOSPITALITY CONSULTING & TRAINING

Operational Transformation

Your team knows something is wrong but can't name it. I run structured diagnostics rooted in 20 years of hotel operations to surface the root cause — and design a fix your frontline will actually adopt.

Leadership & Team Development

Managers promoted for technical skill, now struggling to lead. I build capability programs anchored in real hospitality scenarios — multicultural teams, pressure situations, shift dynamics. Not theory.

AI & Digital Integration

Most hotel tech deployments fail because the vendor never managed a shift handover. I evaluate, select, and deploy digital tools your teams will actually use — from PMS to F&B analytics.

Training Architecture

One-day workshops get forgotten by Tuesday. I design modular training systems built around real job tasks — the same methodology behind 80+ university cohorts, adapted for your operations team.

The Process

How I work.

01

Diagnose

One week embedded with your team. I observe workflows, interview staff at every level, and identify the 2–3 root causes behind visible symptoms — the handover gaps, unspoken bottlenecks, and training holes nobody has named.

02

Design

A system built for your context — not a template. I design frameworks your team helped shape, so adoption happens because they own it, not because you mandated it.

03

Deploy

I stay through implementation. Adjusting in real time, training your managers to run the system after I leave. You keep the capability — not just the deliverable.

Blog

Writing

·9 min read

Cara a Cara: What I Got Right in 2014 — and What I Missed

In 2014 I published research arguing that hotels should use telepresence to create more human moments. 8 out of 10 survey respondents said they'd try 'teledining'. It never happened. Here's what that tells us about technology adoption — and what the industry still gets wrong.

·7 min read

20 Years in Operations — Beyond What School Teaches

Twenty years in hospitality operations across four continents. The theories work — but they're not enough. What the classroom cannot give you.

·6 min read

AI in Hospitality — Where the Industry Gets It Wrong

Most hotels deploy AI to cut costs rather than create value. Here's why that fails, and what actually works.

Read → →

The Approach

Most consulting focuses on: frameworks, deliverables, and billable hours.

I focus on: the human behind the problem.

Curiosity · Responsibility · The Work

Ready to stop firefighting?

30 minutes. I'll listen to what's happening in your operation and tell you honestly whether I can help — and how.

Find me on