Photographs & Memories - Fernando Vives - The elaborate hotel hoax

A man whose passions are quite clearly his family and hospitality, our next memory maker ditched a future in Computer Science for a life in hospitality and has never looked back. Fernando Vives spent his childhood obsessed with building computers, however a summer before heading to the States to study, he had a change of heart.With hotels very much in his blood, Fernando’s mother was a defining influence on his decision to head to university to study tourism and hospitality. “I knew I would never die of hunger if I worked in hospitality”. But he has continued to connect back to technology and science in his role. Fernando reflects on the learnings he received from his mother, and the importance of making travel time for his kids and wife: “If you get the kids used to different souvenirs, you’ll face a nightmare - it’s not like traveling for business and having time to shop for gifts. “ He explains the significance of a white hard hat.And, in Fernando’s Fawlty Towers moment he explains a moment where he almost fell hook line and sinker for a very expensive hoax involving the entire 9th floor, £100,000 and a Louis Vuitton bag. “We were so excited to have such spend at the hotel, all this revenue. Everything seemed perfect.”Now CCO, Fernando joined NH Hotel Group in 2014 as Senior Vice President Commercial Strategy & Pricing after occupying various positions at the Le Meridien, The Ritz, Hesperia, and Meliá Hotels International. An expert on revenue management, commercial practices and distribution with experience both in the urban and resort arena, in 2018 he was recognised as one of Europe’s Top 20 Extraordinary Minds and Commercial & Revenue Optimisation Leaders. Being a passionate hotelier, Fernando established the Master's Degree “Expert on Revenue Management “ at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid, the most prestigious RM Official education in the Spanish language. He is also an associate professor at IE Business School on their MBA programs. He also co-founded the revenue management & distribution firm Xotels and is co-founder of The Cool Food Company, a successful F&B operatorFernando lives in Madrid, Spain with his wife and 2 kids.Each episode we invite an industry professional to share 2 photographs and a treasured souvenir from their travels representing moments particularly important to them. Join us as we go on a journey through time to explore the significance of each.A Travel Market Life series, a Haynes MarComs production. Hosted and sponsored by Atomize.  For more episodes and details of the series Photographs & Memories, visit https://www.haynesmarcoms.agency/travel-market-lifeListen to more episodes of the hospitality industry podcast Travel Market Life and subscribe for the latest news at http://travelmarket.life/ Follow us on LinkedIn for more thought-provoking content: https://www.linkedin.com/company/travel-market-life/ Do you have a story to share about technology, digitalisation or culture changes within the hospitality and travel industry? We'd love to hear what your company is doing and the impact it is having. Please contact us through http://travelmarket.life/

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Travel Market Life is a podcast focused on the travel, tourism, hotel and hospitality industry to address industry issues, digitalisation, technologies and systems, consumer trends, marketing and communications.