The work that
got here

Studio Oriente is built around a very specific kind of experience. Not a generalist technology consultancy that has recently discovered hospitality. Not an agency that has rebranded its services around the word AI. Someone who has sat in commercial leadership roles at major hospitality companies, understands what keeps a revenue manager awake at 11pm, and has spent the last few years building real AI systems rather than just talking about them.

Rafael's background spans senior commercial roles at Marriott International (Director of Market Strategy for Cancun hotels), Expedia Group (Senior Director of Lodging for LATAM), and CMO/CRO/CSO roles at Selina and Valentin Hotel Group — across London, Latin America, and Spain. The through-line has always been the intersection of commercial strategy and systems thinking: how do you design the logic underneath the revenue, not just react to the numbers that come out of it.

"Not just strategy. The value is in connecting concept, operations, digital infrastructure, and guest-facing clarity."

He holds a law degree from Spain — which, combined with years in commercial hospitality and a decade watching technology vendors overpromise and underdeliver, produces a particular kind of critical sharpness around AI claims. Studio Oriente's writing exists partly because of this: the "AI Reality Check for Hospitality Leaders" track on Medium is the direct output of watching too many hotel groups waste capital on tools that weren't designed for how hospitality actually works.

He is also an angel investor and board member at RentalQuest, a vacation rental platform, which keeps him close to the commercial realities of technology businesses operating in the accommodation sector. Studio Oriente operates from Granada, with clients and collaborators across Europe and Latin America.

The work that drives him: building systems that actually change how hospitality companies run. Not decks that explain why they should.