#251 - Hospitality Meets Newton Fernandes - Built Across Borders

This week, I sat down with the brilliant Newton Fernandes - and this is one of those conversations that reminds you just how non-linear careers in hospitality can be.

From starting out as a journalist, to working in airline reservations, to quite literally being invited across the road into a hotel career… Newton’s journey spans continents, cultures, and some seriously big roles.

We’re talking global brand, marketing, and communications at a scale that’s hard to get your head around, but always grounded in one thing: understanding people.

In this episode, Newton and I get into…

• Growing up across the Middle East, India, and Europe, and how that shaped his worldview
• Starting out in journalism and developing a love for storytelling
• Moving into American Airlines… and then being recruited into hospitality by a hotel GM across the street
• Why travel, tourism, and hospitality are one industry (and should act like it)
• The reality of working in different cultures, and why curiosity beats assumption every time
• Moving to London and adapting to a completely different way of working
• Starting at the “bottom” in PR & marketing, and why that foundation matters
• Managing brand and marketing across 450 hotels, 12 brands, and 33 countries
• Why structure, training, and community are essential at scale
• Moving to Marriott and navigating the world of franchise vs managed hotels
• Helping independent hotels plug into global brands without losing their identity

Some cracking quote-ables from Newton

“I didn’t move into hospitality… I was invited into it”

“Travel and hospitality are not separate industries, they’re one”

“You can’t understand a hotel brand unless you’ve seen it on the ground”

“Curiosity is more important than assumption”

“The way you work in one country won’t work in another, you have to adapt”

Why this episode is worth your ears

If you’ve ever thought your career path is a bit all over the place… good.

Newton’s story is proof that the most interesting careers are built through curiosity, opportunity, and saying yes to things you didn’t plan.

There’s also a ton in here around leadership at scale, how you manage people, brand, and culture across different countries, different expectations, and different ways of working.

And a reminder that in a global industry like ours…

Understanding people is everything

Show Partners

A big shout out to the first of today’s show partner, RotaCloud, the people management platform for shift-based teams.

RotaCloud lets managers create and share rotas, record attendance, and manage annual leave in minutes — all from a single, web-based app.

It makes work simple for your team, too, allowing them to check their rotas, request holiday, and even pick up extra shifts straight from their phones.

Try RotaCloud’s time-saving tools today by heading to https://rotacloud.com/phil

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