MEET ALEC
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Service scientist Alec Dalton inspires guest experience excellence: Alec leads global teams that advise governments, brand-names, and boutique businesses on hospitality and tourism strategy. Leveraging experience and passion formed while leading and learning within Disney, The Ritz-Carlton, and Marriott International, is a frequently-sought advisor, speaker, and author on customer experience management and quality strategy.
In 2024, Alec was recognized by Global Gurus amongst the "World's Top 30 Hospitality Professionals." Previously, the International Hospitality Institute named Alec among its lists of "100 Most Powerful People in USA Hospitality," "Global Top 20 Executives to Watch in Hospitality," and "Global Top 15 Trainers in Hospitality." The Customer Experience Professionals Association recognized him in 2021 with the inaugural Emerging Leader in CX Award to acknowledge his rising contributions to the customer experience discipline. In 2018, Hotel Management Magazine named him to the “30 Under 30” list for rising hospitality leaders. Alec is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of the Hospitality Leadership Academy, a firm offering professional development programs and management consulting - all focused on service excellence. He simultaneously serves as Co-Founder and Executive Director of Accelerating Leaders. His teams help boutique businesses and brand names alike develop five-star service, whether they be in hospitality or healthcare, restaurants or retail. Separately, Alec teaches and conducts research on experience management as a professor at Florida International University's Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. He further serves the industry via the boards of the Customer Institute, HorizonCX, and Hospitality Internships, and he judges several global CX awards programs. Alec co-authored the international best-selling books Customer Experience and Customer Experience 2, collaborative guides to the strategy of experience marketing and operations. Along with Drs. Peter Szende and Michelle Yoo, he is also the co-editor of the textbook Operations Management in the Hospitality Industry. Alec’s scholarly research has been published in the Journal of Foodservice Business Research, in the International Journal of Gaming, Hospitality, and Tourism, and in Hospitality Management Learning Modules by Pearson. Previously, Alec held a variety of leadership roles within Marriott International's Global Quality office: Alec was chiefly responsible for developing quality management systems, tools, and training to help operators enhance the performance of over 7,500 hotels across a portfolio of 30 leading brands. He also served on advisory boards regarding operations and marketing research, luxury branding, loyalty management, and hotel experience design. Prior to his six years at Marriott International Headquarters, he served in managerial and operational roles within five luxury hotels - with brands such as The Ritz-Carlton, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, and Grand Heritage Hotel Group. The Customer Experience Professionals Association regards Alec as a Certified Customer Experience Professional, the Council for Six Sigma Certification recognizes Alec as a Certified Six Sigma Green Belt, and the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute named him a Certified Hospitality Trainer and a Certified Hotel Industry Analyst. Alec holds senior membership in the American Society for Quality, founding membership in the World Experience Organization, and general membership in the Customer Experience Professionals Association and the Experience Research Society. Alec holds a master of science degree in hospitality management from Florida International University, where he was also named the 2024 Outstanding Graduate of the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. He previously graduated from Boston University with dual bachelor’s degrees in business and hospitality administration; in 2020, Boston University's School of Hospitality Administration recognized Alec as "Young Alumni of the Year" for his continued service toward the university and industry. |
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