Biography

Passion for exceptional guest experiences fuels Alec Dalton’s leadership in hospitality service quality. From hotels to headquarters, his experience ranges from operating five luxury properties to holding various corporate positions with industry pioneers like Marriott International, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, and Walt Disney Parks & Resorts.  In 2018, Hotel Management Magazine named him to the “30 Under 30” list for rising hospitality leaders. In 2019, Alec co-authored the international best-selling book Customer Experience, a guide to the strategy of experience marketing and operations.
 
Alec currently serves as Senior Manager of Global Quality for Marriott International. In this role, Alec balances improving worldwide guest experiences while maintaining profitable, on-strategy hotels across 30 award-winning brands. He is chiefly responsible for developing systems, tools, and training to help operators enhance the performance of over 7,000 hotels in the Marriott portfolio.  He also partners with senior executives as an internal consultant on operations strategy and analysis.  Applying his passion for empowering hoteliers through technology, Alec additionally serves on advisory teams for Marriott’s satisfaction survey and social media review programs and for the company’s customer relationship management system. He joined Marriott in 2013, starting in property leadership roles with The Ritz-Carlton and pivoting to corporate positions in Global Marketing and Global Operations. 

Beyond Marriott, Alec is as an independent consultant on hospitality quality and technology management. He also serves on the Advisory Board of HorizonCX, a boutique customer experience consultancy.  He previously worked in lodging operations for Walt Disney Parks & Resorts and Grand Heritage Hotel Group.  The Council for Six Sigma Certification recognizes him as a Certified Six Sigma Green Belt, and the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute named him a Certified Rooms Division Executive and a Certified Hotel Industry Analyst.  He frequently lectures on topics in hospitality operations and quality management. Alec holds membership in the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the American Society for Quality, and the Customer Experience Professionals Association.

Alec’s scholarly research has been published in the Journal of Foodservice Business Research and in Hospitality Management Learning Modules by Pearson.  Along with Drs. Peter Szende and Michelle Yoo, he is the co-editor of a forthcoming textbook on hospitality operations management.  Alec graduated from Boston University with dual bachelor’s degrees in business and hospitality administration. 
Connect with Alec for industry insights, consulting opportunities, and media inquiries.

Professional Experience

Marriott International
Senior Manager, Global Quality | Marriott International Global Operations
Feb. 2019 - Present
  • Leading the design, development, and deployment of a pioneering quality management system to scientifically improve the guest experience at 7,000+ hotels worldwide;
  • Leveraging artificial intelligence to guide operations strategies for guest experience programming;
  • Establishing a body of knowledge on hotel operations, including best-practice tools, techniques,training, and technology.​

Manager, Global Quality | Marriott International Global Operations
Sep. 2017 - Feb. 2019
  • Producing strategic insights and recommendations for senior operations and marketing executives to improve the programs and initiatives of 30 leading hospitality brands;
  • Developing quality management resources and analytical tools to help hoteliers enhance the guest experience at 7,000+ properties, globally.

​Senior Program Specialist, Global Quality | Marriott International Global Operations
Jun. 2016 - Sep. 2017
  • Serving as chief of staff to the Vice Presidents and Senior Director of Global Quality, with responsibility for the operations, finance, and technology of a 42-member team
  • Facilitated a brand-wide SWOT analysis for The Ritz-Carlton, engaging 25,000+ participants for input and then interpreting global insights for executive strategic planning;
  • Modeled company-wide hotel tiers for quality accountability and goal-setting, based on an analysis of guest engagement and audit data from 4,500+ hotels.

Manager, Rooms Operations and Guest Relations | The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner 
Jun. 2015 - Jun. 2015
  • Managed operations planning and guest communications for a $25 million hotel renovation;
  • Fostered a 44% YOY increase in pre-arrival guest revenue in 2015;
  • Recognized for exceptional employee engagement with the Leader of the Quarter Award in 2016;
  • Facilitated Marriott's “Breakthrough Leadership Training” initiative as a coach of the top-performing Ritz-Carlton hotel in the eastern region

Corporate Intern, Customer Relationship Management | The Ritz-Carlton Corporate Office 
June 2014 - Aug. 2014
  • Resolved brand-wide information systems configuration issues affecting 86 global hotels;
  • Developed conceptual features for The Ritz-Carlton Rewards and engaged in ideation, focus group analysis, and preliminary financial estimation for new product development;
  • ​Authored field support manuals for interpreting a revenue management dashboard and for designing member-exclusive events for The Ritz-Carlton Rewards.

Intern, Front of House Operations | The Ritz-Carlton, Boston Common
May 2013 - Aug. 2013
  • Led a hotel-wide customer relationship management campaign yielding over 1,500 guest preferences for a corporate database;
  • Designed an executive-level training program for managerial presence and guest engagement in public spaces; 
  • Provided relief support to front desk agents, lobby and club concierges, guest relations agents, doormen, bellmen, and telephone operators at a 194-room luxury hotel.

HorizonCX, LLC
Advisory Board Member
Jul. 2019 - Present
  • Sharing expertise in customer experience management to guide the growth of this CX consultancy.

KeyBank Capital Markets
Independent Consultant | Mosaic
Apr. 2015 - Present
  • Advising clients of the boutique investment bank on emerging trends in hospitality services and restaurant technology.

The Walt Disney Company
Collegiate Recruitment Representative, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts Internships & Programs | Disney Worldwide Service
May 2013 - Jul. 2014
  • Executed on-campus and social media-based internship promotion and recruitment operations at Boston University for the Disney College Program, Disney Professional and Management Internships, and related employment opportunities;
  • Achieved ranking among the top 35 participating campus representative programs by fulfilling corporate recruitment goals.

Resort Concierge | Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa 
Jan. 2013 - May 2013
  • Customized nearly 3,000 dining, recreation, and transportation itineraries at the 867-room flagship hotel of Walt Disney World Resort;
  • Prepared and serviced food and beverage operations for club-level guests in 2 concierge lounges;
  • Practiced crowd management and guest engagement in all four Walt Disney World theme parks.

Boston University
Research Assistant to Dr. Sandra Deacon-Carr | Questrom School of Business Center for Team Learning
Sep. 2014 - May 2015
  • Authored best practices guides on the organization and management of large academic teams.

Research Assistant to Drs. Alexander Norbash and Courtney Raeisinafchi | School of Medicine and School of Hospitality Administration
Sep. 2014 - May 2015
  • Assisted with survey design and data collection to assess patient and employee perceptions of healthcare quality at the Boston Medical Center

Front Office Agent | Hotel Commonwealth 
May 2012 - Dec. 2012
  • Handled over 5,000 guest accounts at a 149-room boutique luxury hotel, ensuring reservation and folio accuracy;
  • Linked front desk support for concierges, doormen, bellmen, telephone operators, and valets, in addition to monitoring interdepartmental communications about hotel-wide service operations;
  • Constructed a hotel preventative maintenance database for use by the Rooms Division and Engineering Managers.

Grand Heritage Hotel Group
Supervisor, Housekeeping | Providence Biltmore Hotel 
Jun. 2011 - Aug. 2011
  • Managed over 30 unionized housekeeping personnel, with experience in staff scheduling, employee dispute mediation, inventory purchasing, and quality training and control;
  • Regularly inspected 292 guestrooms, 19,000 square feet of meeting space, and public areas on 18 floors to ensure guest satisfaction and to determine the need for preventative maintenance or repair in an historic luxury hotel.

Publications

Books
  • Szende, P., Dalton, A., & Yoo, M. (Eds.). (2020). Hospitality Operations Management. Bingely, UK: Emerald Publishing.

Book Chapters
  • Dalton, A. (2020). Dollars and sense: The cost of quality in customer experiences. In A. Priestley (Ed.), Customer experience 2. London, UK: Writing Matters.
  • Dalton, A. (2019). What gets measured and mapped gets managed: Frameworks for improving customer experiences. In A. Priestley (Ed.), Customer experience. London, UK: Writing Matters.
  • Kwag, M., & Dalton, A. (2015). Stock investment in the restaurant industry. In P. Szende (Ed.), Hospitality management learning modules. Boston, MA: Pearson.
  • Thompson, M., & Dalton, A. (2015). Stadium and arena foodservice. In P. Szende (Ed.), Hospitality management learning modules. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Education

Academic Degrees
Boston University
  • BS, Business Administration
  • BS, Hospitality Administration

Certifications
American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute
  • Certified Rooms Division Executive
  • Certified Hotel Industry Analyst
  • Certified Guest Service Professional
Council on Six Sigma Certification
  • Certified Six Sigma Green Belt

Professional Affiliations

Trade Associations
  • American Hotel & Lodging Association
  • American Society for Quality
  • Customer Experience Professionals Association​
Academic Associations
  • Alpha Kappa Psi (professional business fraternity)
  • Beta Gamma Sigma (business management honor society)
  • Eta Sigma Delta (hospitality management honor society)

Professional & Research Interests

Services Marketing
  • Customer experience management
  • Customer relationship management & loyalty
  • Sensory marketing
Services Operations
  • Guest satisfaction & engagement
  • Quality management
  • Service design and development
  • Facilities design
Organizational Behavior & Human Resources Management
  • Employee satisfaction & engagement
  • Service cultures & philosophies
  • Training & talent development
Industries
  • Hotels
  • Restaurants
  • Amusement parks & attractions
  • Casinos
  • Cruise lines
  • Retail
  • Healthcare
Miscellany
  • Hospitality technology
  • The experience economy
  • The history of the hospitality industry