Brand Builder & Fixer | Product & Idea Wrangler | Growth Leader | Founder | Start Ups | Turn Arounds | Global Brands

WORK

14
REVEL ENTERTAINMENT
BIZ CHALLENGE:
•  Build a portfolio of strong luxury and lifestyle brands under
one roof
•  Establish Revel in the consideration set of travelers who
historically have rejected AC as a destination
•  Develop important brand, revenue and operations
competencies within Revel to deliver brand at scale
KEY RESULTS
•  Brand design, guest experience and demand gen plans developed, executed
•  Revenue operations built from scratch
•  1B impressions, 1.8M visitations, 400K dB in opening months
•  130K room nights (RNs), $30MM in RN revenues (annualized pace), up from $0
•  57% more revenue per stay v comp set from highest value customers
•  20% share of the market’s cash leisure business (17 resorts in market)
•  80% bookings via high margin direct channels, 33% more than industry avg
•  Multiple lifestyle brands developed, launched (Revel, Bask, The Grid, etc.)
•  Awards: Top 8 US Hotel for Food, Best Spa, Best Nightlife, Best New Concert
Venue, Best use of digital, Top 10 hotel of 2012

AUTOGRAPH COLLECTION
BIZ CHALLENGE:
Develop, launch and drive rapid
adoption of new global brand by
segment of independent hotel
owners and consumers who
historically have rejected affiliation
with global chains
BRAND
DESIGN
BRAND
PLAYBOOK
GUEST
EXPERIENCE
PLAN
DEMAND
CREATION
PLAN
KEY RESULTS
•  New brand and business platform built
and launched in 180 days
•  Operations on 3 continents and $230MM
incremental revenue in Y1
•  Fastest growing, most accretive product in
Marriott’s history
•  Repositioned 40 independent hotels
•  38% more revenue per stay from highest
LTV customers v comp set

KEY RESULTS
•  User research and testing
•  Product and service roadmap
•  Product discovery organization
•  Communications platform
•  $1.8MM in seed funding
•  $15MM valuation
•  Key hires
•  Engagement with global enterprises
+SERVICES: A CONSTANT CONNECTION BETWEEN THE
HOTEL AND TRAVELER ON THE GO
+SERVICES
BIZ CHALLENGE:
Create new and better services for
70MM frequent business travelers
and position travel suppliers like
Marriott for advantage with
consumers as others like Google and
Expedia innovate
Plug & Play intermediated experiences +
loyalty-points economy ac9va9on
Customer Experience
Connectivity, digital and
data
Brand, Revenue &
Operations

Operational Excellence Loyalty Branded Experience Authenticity
Page 1
CASE STUDY: MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, REVEL ENTERTAINMENT, CHOICE INT’L
JOURNEY TO A CUSTOMER CENTRIC OPERATING MODEL
KEY PLAYS
1.  Build a portfolio of strong service brands
2.  Align a matrix organization and senior leaders on the requirements for developing leading brands
3.  Pursue the best emerging opportunities to achieve customer preference, generate near-term demand and position for long-
term growth
4.  Develop important competencies across the enterprise
5.  Customize best practices of leading brand companies to fit the industry, company and the unique business model

RESERVATION
SYSTEM
eCHANNELS
SHARED
SERVICES
eCHANNELS
MIX
FREQUENCY
PROGRAMS
PRICING
OPTIMIZATION /
YIELD
MANAGEMENT
DIRECT
BOOKING
CREDIT CARD
RATES
INTERMEDIARY
CONTRACTS
GLOBAL
PARTNERSHIPS
%
REVENUE UPSIDE
PROFIT SAVINGS
18
CASE STUDY: AUTOGRAPH, REVEL, ASCEND
NETWORK of UNMATCHABLE ASSETS POWERED by a
PLATFORM that GROWS PROFITABLE REVENUE FASTER
KEY PLAYS
1.  Field strong industry / non-industry
team
2.  Capitalize for success (more PE, less
VC)
3.  Have a defining, differentiating idea
that is VERY important to consumers
4.  Leverage technology for the next
decade rather than the prior decade
5.  Put customer experience at heart of
the operating model

MARRIOTT MEETINGS
BIZ CHALLENGE:
Reinvent $4 billion meetings
business to grow preference and
share amid rapid changes in the way
people work
KEY RESULTS
•  Multiple product and services, that
moved business to first in
customer preference, grew share
from 88% of existing customers
and drove trial from 27% of non-
customers

DESIGN THAT MATTERS
BIZ CHALLENGE:
•  Solve problems for and with the poor in developing
countries using design
•  Build company with sustainable revenue model to do it
over and over and over again
•  Develop new service offering for corporate partners that
grows employee / student engagement and retention
KEY RESULTS
•  Multi-award winning leader in user-centered,
context appropriate design for social impact
•  Devices in 23 countries, delivering treatments to
tens of thousands of patients
•  The world’s most effective phototherapy device
for low-resource hospitals
•  1,000s of professionals, students engaged

networked destinations
•Aligns with upscale consumer travel patterns, pain points and aspirations
•Corrects, focuses and expands development strategy; better positioning Ascend to grow share of wallet
•Differentiates with brand, targeted demand generation and profit savings benefits
•Levels playing field relative to other distributors via simple contracts and pricing, elimination of IDP
•Maximizes current fixed cost base, borrows partner capabilities to fill gaps
•Aligns with corporate objectives to drive midweek and upscale customer growth
•Scalable platform to multiple destinations – just plug in partners (traffic, destination curator)
•Requires “right” B2C partner – credibility, highly engaged audience, extensible equity
•Requires investment to activate market, grow connectivity with more distributors
“Ascend x________ Brand”
How It Works
Pros
“Ascend x _______ Brand”
“Its going to be a
beautiful weekend.
We should do
something.”
“Hey, a couple of
these look really
fun. Three are food
themed, and there’s
a cool boutique
hotel deal, too.”
Seven
Sensational
weekend trips
within 3 hours
WASH
INGT
ONIA
NSev
en
“Where can we go
without getting on a
plane or overrun by
soccer teams?”
“Ascend x _______ Brand” (cont.)
“What an amazing day!
This place was made
for us.”
“So much better than
the Westin. And no
TSA to deal with.”
“We’re seeing
double-digit growth
from ‘Dabblers’ and
‘Bucket List-ers’.
Hotelier
Partner (media,
credit card,
association, etc.)
Choice
Pros •  Aligns with upscale consumer’s planning, travel, stay and engagement patterns
•  Aligns with consumer trend wave of ‘purposeful fun’
•  Geographic focus provides more chances to grow share of wallet
•  Overcomes Choice limitations as a B2C company
•  Increases sales and marketing efficiency
•  New revenue stream for partner
•  Leverages fixed cost base
•  Mobile-first opportunity (acquisitions)
•  Requires “right” B2C partner - highly engaged audience; extensible equity
•  Scalability
Cons
“’Multi-Generational’
trial and ‘Active
Seniors’ repeat is
quadruple forecast.”
Cons
“Ascend x _______ Brand”
“Its going to be a
beautiful weekend.
We should do
something.”
“Hey, a couple of
these look really
fun. Three are food
themed, and there’s
a cool boutique
hotel deal, too.”
Seven
Sensational
weekend trips
within 3 hours
WASH
INGT
ONIA
NSev
en
“Where can we go
without getting on a
plane or overrun by
soccer teams?”
“Ascend x _______ Brand” (cont.)
“What an amazing day!
This place was made
for us.”
“So much better than
the Westin. And no
TSA to deal with.”
“We’re seeing
double-digit growth
from ‘Dabblers’ and
‘Bucket List-ers’.
Hotelier
Partner (media,
credit card,
association, etc.)
Choice
Pros •  Aligns with upscale consumer’s planning, travel, stay and engagement patterns
•  Aligns with consumer trend wave of ‘purposeful fun’
•  Geographic focus provides more chances to grow share of wallet
•  Overcomes Choice limitations as a B2C company
•  Increases sales and marketing efficiency
•  New revenue stream for partner
•  Leverages fixed cost base
•  Mobile-first opportunity (acquisitions)
•  Requires “right” B2C partner - highly engaged audience; extensible equity
•  Scalability
Cons
“’Multi-Generational’
trial and ‘Active
Seniors’ repeat is
quadruple forecast.”
In-A-Nutshell: Millions of locals to the DC area struggle each week to figure out where they can go to get away without having to get on a plane or overrun
by soccer teams. Washingtonian + Ascend offers extraordinary hotels and rare retreats in and around the DC region an unprecedented way to maximize
share of stays from these customers by combining Washingtonian’s authority as a travel curator and highly trafficked website with Choice’s powerful ‘go
pass,’ distribution channels, analytics tools and reservation platforms.
A collection of peaceful, practical
urban spaces whenever you
need to work, meet or relax
An advanced purchase pass
that increases share of
wallet and ancillary spend of
in-region heavy users
A unique collection of lodges
around the world committed to
sustainability, authenticity and
service excellence
National Geographic
Unique Lodges of the World
Go Pass Breathr
“Ascend x______ Brand” (cont.)
Other Example Concepts
A collection of peaceful, practical
urban spaces whenever you
need to work, meet or relax
An advanced purchase pass
that increases share of
wallet and ancillary spend of
in-region heavy users
A unique collection of lodges
around the world committed to
sustainability, authenticity and
service excellence
National Geographic
Unique Lodges of the World
Go Pass Breathr
“Ascend x______ Brand” (cont.)
Other Example Concepts
Ascend x Washingtonian
A unique collection of extraordinary
journeys and thrilling destinations, rare
retreats and unique experiences in
and around the DC area.
Elevate x CP
Beyond ordinary rewards, Elevate
x CP is easy, on-the-go access to
dozens of perks - information, offers,
events - rewarding your curiosity for a
destination and making your trip more
rewarding
Recapture Collection
Revolution Momentum
Un-Franchisor messaging platform
Simple Contracts
No FDD
Fair Pricing
‘Key Drivers’
Benchmark Calculator ++
Analyze, visualize and report performance
across channels. Manage demand,
understand acquisition costs and maximize
net revenues.
KEY RESULTS
•  Grew market share 250 bps and LTR 4 bps, reversing material multi-
year declines in both measures
•  Grew development pipeline 25% and deal value 170% year-over-year
•  Repositioned 50 independents into upscale, soft-branded product
•  End-to-end redesign of franchise services
•  Cut avg. expected opening time 30%
•  Identified $230MM (est.) in unrealized fee opportunities
ASCEND HOTEL COLLECTION
BIZ CHALLENGE:
•  Optimize value of $200MM marketing, distribution
and operations platform
•  Reverse material declines in operating performance,
unit growth rate and satisfaction among franchisees
and guests
•  Breakthrough perception of Choice with respect to
upscale and lifestyle

KEY RESULTS
•  New brand design, guest experience plan, product / service
roadmap, halo moments, day part programming, etc.
•  Enterprise alignment, activation and unit growth targets
realized
•  Awards: #1 luxury Brand (JD Powers), World’s Best (T+L
500), Reader’s Choice (Conde Nast)
JW MARRIOTT
BIZ CHALLENGE:
•  Position luxury challenger brand for accelerated growth
•  Double distribution to 80 hotels by YE 2015
•  Generate $600 MM in incremental room night revenue

Neil Cantor
240.605.3985
neilcan@gmail.com
Neil helps grow brands and businesses into customer-centric, revenue
powerhouses.
His leadership includes defining and executing innovative and change-making
global brand, marketing, PR, operations, go-to-market, growth, customer
experience, service innovation, turnaround and transformation strategies for
multi-unit F500/F100 global brands and PE/VC-based start-ups.

His notable track record targeting peak profit segments includes development
and launch of one of the fastest growing, most accretive products in Marriott’s
history, commercial impact exceeding $1.0 billion incremental annual revenue and
transforming enterprises to put customers at heart of operations.

His expertise is in helping companies tap into a tremendous source of value
focusing first on (1) data and analytics-based insights about what customers value
that inform strategic investment in products they’re likely to buy and services,
offers and messages likely to drive purchase and engagement. And then on (2)
achieving coordinated action enterprise-wide based on what drives engagement.
Neil’s work with companies like Marriott, Revel Entertainment, Dow Jones, IDEO
and Choice Int’l spans travel, discovery, wellness, loyalty, playful learning, live
events and entertainment, real estate development and repositioning, the future
of work and meetings, news reporting, employee / franchisee engagement,
service innovation and more.

Neil is a graduate of MIT Sloan School of Management and Cornell University, and
resides in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife and kids.
Neil Cantor

Brand Builder & Fixer | Product & Idea Wrangler | Growth Leader | Founder | Start Ups | Turn Arounds | Global Brands

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (15)

Similar to Brand Builder & Fixer | Product & Idea Wrangler | Growth Leader | Founder | Start Ups | Turn Arounds | Global Brands

Similar to Brand Builder & Fixer | Product & Idea Wrangler | Growth Leader | Founder | Start Ups | Turn Arounds | Global Brands (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Brand Builder & Fixer | Product & Idea Wrangler | Growth Leader | Founder | Start Ups | Turn Arounds | Global Brands