In this podcast, Alexandre Maia de Carvalho tells our listeners about his hospitality career in Portugal and why it continues to be one of the top-ten destinations for European tourists and is gaining popularity for travellers coming from the US, China and Canada. Alexandre’s specialty is luxury hotels and resorts, and in this podcast he describes this growing field and how it has evolved over the past 10 years and what the future holds for this niche.  He also discusses the current challenges that the hospitality field is facing and how it can adapt to an ever- changing environment. Finally, he gives advice on how hotels can better recruit, train and retain talent.  Alexandre Maia de Carvalho was born in Coimbra, Portugal in 1973, and today lives between Lisbon and the Algarve.  He is currently the General Manager of the Wyndham Grand Algarve, Portugal.  He has a strong commercial profile oriented towards luxury consortia, upscale travel agencies and luxury concierge companies. Alexandre also owns and operates a boutique hospitality consulting firm called MC Hospitality Advisors www.mchospitalityadvisors.com focused on helping private equity firms to find assets and start operating them in Portugal and luxury hotel openings. Alexandre holds a degree in International Hospitality Management from the Glion Hotel School, and a postgraduate degree in F&B Management from Cornell University. In recent years, he has invested heavily in online training in Asset Management, Portfolio Management and Private Equity.  Alexandre is very experienced in bridging solid foundations between hotel operations, management companies and private equity funds. Maximizing asset value by property repositioning and curating unique guest experiences: turning great hotels into iconic properties. He has a strong track record leading hospitality focused projects, excels at design and is both a creative and strategic thinker.  Alexandre is an actual and former member of Tourism Boards in Lisbon, Cascais and Vilamoura.