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People, Hotels & Commercial Performance
Hotel operations • Guest experience • Commercial reporting • Revenue support • Sales • Pricing and demand analysis
About
About Mladen Janev
Mladen Janev is a hospitality and tourism professional with more than 30 years of international experience across hotels, destination resorts, tourism and the wider hospitality environment.
His experience spans commercial reporting and performance analysis, revenue support, sales, hotel operations, guest experience and destination-resort environments across Europe, North America and Australia.
Working across different parts of the hospitality ecosystem has shaped his understanding of how people, hotels, destinations and technology interact — and how decisions in one area can influence the others.
Walton Hospitality Initiative brings this experience together in an independent advisory practice focused on helping hospitality businesses and destinations understand their circumstances more clearly and make better-informed decisions.
The questions behind Walton
- Are we creating the experience our guests need and expect?
- Do our commercial model and business performance support our longer-term objectives?
- Are our people, systems and technology helping the organisation work well?
- How does the business relate to the destination and the communities around it?
- What is changing in the market, and what does that mean for the decisions ahead?
These questions reflect Walton's belief that hospitality is best understood by looking beyond individual measures and considering the relationships that shape the whole experience and business.
Experience & Areas of Focus
The professional experience and interests that inform Walton's independent perspective.
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Destinations & Resorts
Mountain and coastal destinations • Resort operations • Resort economies • Destination strategy
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Tourism & Business
Market understanding • Visitor economy • Independent business • Commercial decision-making
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Technology, Data & Transformation
Hospitality technology • Data and reporting • Digital distribution • Emerging AI applications
Education & professional development
Master’s Degree in Tourism Management
New Bulgarian University, including completion of the Cornell Hotel Management course as part of the programme.
Cornell University — Certificate of Achievement in Revenue Management.
Mladen’s Master’s research focused on the sustainable development of ski areas in Bulgaria, drawing on international practices and approaches to destination and resort strategy.
Walton Hospitality Initiative
An independent advisory initiative built around three sources of value: independence, perspective and clarity.
Walton looks beyond individual commercial metrics to understand how people, hotels, destinations and technology interact. It brings together relevant perspectives to help clients see their situation more clearly, challenge assumptions and consider the implications of their choices.
Walton provides advice and independent assessment. Clients retain ownership of their decisions and the direction they choose to take.
Professional Membership
Mladen Janev, MTS
Member of The Tourism Society, the UK's professional body connecting people and organisations across the tourism industry.
Visit The Tourism Society →