Episode Details

Starwood Hotels builds 1 Hotels, Treehouse, and Baccarat around one idea: products need emotion and soul, not templates.

While hosting Starwood's annual conference, I talked with Raul Leal, CEO of Starwood Hotels, about differentiation through nature-led design, human experience, and AI-driven personalization that stays human.

🌿 Raul says nature-led "hardware" sets the tone the second guests walk in
🤖 He uses AI to understand preferences and deliver better moments on-property without creeping people out
🍽️ He treats F&B as brand identity, not a side business
💰 He focuses on total revenue per customer instead of RevPAR-only thinking
🎁 He frames the mission program as affiliation plus perks, not points for points' sake
👥 He uses guest and employee focus groups to keep the brands honest

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