Hospitality Revenue Management and Commercial Strategist | Executive Coach

Damiano is a passionate advocate for strategic transformation, combining a strong commercial mindset with a cross-functional approach to business. With over 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry and a solid foundation in revenue management, he has consistently driven performance at property and corporate levels.

His career is defined by a unique ability to foster collaboration across Sales, (Digital) Marketing, Revenue Management, and Distribution, championing the synergy between people and technology. Known for his strategic leadership, Damiano has held multiple corporate roles at IHG - InterContinental Hotels Group and IDeaS RMS where he built trusted partnerships and guided teams through change.

In 2023, he founded DZ Consulting, focused on advising businesses on revenue and commercial strategies, leading sustainable transformation initiatives, guiding and developing talents and delivering executive coaching.

Core Expertise and Selected Projects

Leadership & Team Empowerment

Damiano is a true people enabler, focused on building strong, high-performing teams. At IHG, as Director of Revenue Management for Hire (RMH), he led a team of 30 remote revenue managers overseeing over 160 hotels (15K+ rooms) across 15 European countries. Under his leadership, the team introduced award-winning, commercially-driven consulting support that significantly improved performance and strengthened relationships with both franchised and managed properties.

Business Transformation & Innovation

As Director of Hotel Performance Support at IHG, Damiano oversaw the performance of more than 300 hotels (>250K rooms). He built and led a new team focused on redefining performance measurement, shifting from traditional metrics to a more holistic, trust-based model with hotel owners. This transformation unlocked new ways of operating, driving both revenue and operational excellence through proprietary systems.

In his most recent role as Advisor and Principal Consultant at IDeaS, he led hotels through the shift from manual to AI- and machine-learning-driven environments.

By aligning Sales, Marketing, Distribution, Revenue Management, and Operations, he enabled organizations to maximize digital investments and adopt fully automated performance measurement strategies.

Speaker & Educator

A strong believer in shaping the next generation of hospitality leaders, Damiano is an active speaker and lecturer at leading institutions. Since 2008, he has served as Guest Professor for the Revenue Management Specialization within the MITH – Master in Tourism and Hospitality at IULM University in Milan. He also teaches the EMBA in Hospitality at Les Roches and leads the Revenue Management module at the Hospitality Innovation Academy (HIA) in Florence. He is also a co-organizer of the Global Revenue Forum.

Certifications & Coaching

Damiano holds an ACTP accreditation from the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and is certified as a Change Management Specialist by the Change Management Institute (CMI). His dedication to personal development is a core element of his leadership philosophy.