This CMO Put Alexa In 1,000 Hotel Rooms (Amazon's Hotel Experiment!)

Isidoro Martinez, CMO of Minor Hotels ($5B revenue, 550 locations globally), reveals the inside story of partnering with Amazon to put Alexa in 1,000 hotel rooms and what it means for the future of hospitality. From revolutionizing guest experiences through voice-controlled rooms to navigating the post-COVID "experience economy" boom, Isidoro shares hard-won insights on balancing B2B and B2C marketing, the real impact of AI on marketing teams, and why consumers now need 11+ touchpoints before purchasing. Plus, his incredible journey from getting fired at 40 as an "analog" marketer to teaching himself digital marketing from scratch (literally Googling "What is SEO?") and becoming CMO of a global company proves career reinvention is possible at any age. **Key Takeaways:** - Why Amazon is using hotels as distribution channels for Alexa (and their master plan) - How voice-controlled rooms solve the #1 pain point for business travelers - The shift from one-way to two-way marketing communication—and why top-of-mind isn't enough anymore -Why Gen Z's prioritization of experiences over possessions is keeping travel revenue higher than pre-pandemic -AI's real impact: It will eliminate lower-tier marketers while making A-players exponentially more valuable - How to balance B2B and C marketing in the same company (50/50 revenue split strategy) - Data-driven influencer marketing strategies that actually work in hospitality - Search Everywhere Optimization: Why traditional Google-only SEO is dead