Eight Continents Hotels & Resorts Appoints Javed Akhtar to Advisory Board

Industry Leadership Appointment

Eight Continents Hotels & Resorts has announced the appointment of hospitality entrepreneur and loyalty strategist Javed Akhtar to its Advisory Board, as the group advances its long-term strategy centred on value-led growth, asset optimisation, and next-generation guest engagement.

The appointment reflects the company’s intent to strengthen its advisory capabilities across loyalty ecosystems, experiential commerce, and technology-enabled revenue frameworks within its growing hospitality portfolio.

Strategic Advisory Role

In his role on the Advisory Board, Akhtar will collaborate closely with the leadership team to guide initiatives spanning loyalty-led growth models, experiential revenue integration, alternative monetisation channels, AI-enabled guest engagement, and global partnership development.

These focus areas align with Eight Continents Hotels & Resorts’ broader ambition to enhance guest lifetime value while improving asset-level profitability across diverse markets.

Industry Experience and Entrepreneurial Background

With over two decades of experience, Javed Akhtar brings deep expertise across hospitality operations, consumer engagement, loyalty architecture, and AI-led revenue strategy. He began his career in hotel operations, gaining hands-on exposure to occupancy management, guest experience delivery, and asset performance optimisation.

Beyond operations, Akhtar is the founder of TripXOXO, a global experiences and attractions aggregation platform operating in more than 140 countries. He also leads RewardPort, a consumer promotions and loyalty solutions company in India, where he has worked extensively on large-scale loyalty programmes, gamification frameworks, and channel engagement systems.

Leadership Perspective

Commenting on the appointment, Richa Adhia, Managing Director, Eight Continents Hotels & Resorts, said that Akhtar’s strategic insight strengthens the group’s vision for sustainable, long-term growth and innovation in guest engagement and revenue diversification.

Javed Akhtar added that he looks forward to working with the team to deepen loyalty integration, experiential commerce, and AI-led engagement frameworks that create enduring value for both guests and hospitality assets.