Hello.

I’m Sam Weston. A strategic and creative marketing leader with 20+ years of experience spanning SaaS, in-house, agency and freelance roles across multiple industries, with a specialism (and passion) for hospitality.

Work

In my current role as Head of AI & Marketing at 80 DAYS (a creative and digital marketing agency that specialises in hospitality and travel), I head up two interconnected areas of responsibility: defining and leading the agency’s AI strategy while also overseeing the agency’s global marketing strategy. Both are central to our vision of shaping the future of travel marketing. 

Previously: Freelance, Administrate, EssenceMediacom Scotland, The Union and Apex Hotels.

See LinkedIn for more.

Play

I’m a keen hobbyist photographer, videographer and writer.

Speaking

I’m a confident speaker, panellist and moderator at hospitality industry events and very open to future opportunities. Please get in touch to discuss.

Upcoming: Speaking at HSMAI MEA’s Commercial Strategy Conference in Dubai (on Brand in the age of AI) and moderating a panel on GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) at NoVacancy London in February 2026

Previously: I’ve spoken at a number of leading hospitality industry events, including The Summit (by Leading Hotels of the World), The National Hotel Marketing Conference, The Independent Hotel Show London, PoB Hotels member meetings, Luxury Scotland member meetings, IHS member club socials, hospitality tech vendor events etc.

Teaching

I’m an experienced guest lecturer in digital marketing having taught at Heriot-Watt University, The University of Edinburgh and Napier University.

My experience includes:

2023: The University of Edinburgh – panellist “new and emerging digital marketing trends”
2022: Heriot-Watt University – adapted Digital Marketing Analytics course material for their MBA programme
2021: Heriot-Watt University – delivered a series of eLearning videos to support the Digital Marketing Analytics course
2020: Heriot-Watt University – guest lecture/consulting on the Digital Marketing Analytics course examination
2019: Heriot-Watt University – full 12 week module on Digital Marketing Analytics – I collaborated with Heriot-Watt to create this new module for their postgraduate programme, creating weekly course material, an exam and delivering weekly lectures. This was also taught within their Dubai campus.
2017: Heriot-Watt University – guest lecture “The Importance of Marketing Personas”
2016: Heriot-Watt University – guest lecture “The Importance of Attribution”
2015: Heriot-Watt University – guest lecture “Campaign Planning for Digital Media”
2014: Napier University – guest lecture “Impact of Digital on Customer Experience”​

Sam Weston

Things I'm good at...

  • Hotel Marketing
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI)
  • Marketing Strategy
  • Brand Management
  • Digital Strategy
  • Digital Marketing

Things I could improve...

  • Smiling in photographs

Skills

  • AI strategy and adoption (GenAI, LLMs, prompting, tool evaluation)
  • Agentic AI – workflow creation, optimisation and ongoing management
  • Digital marketing leadership (SEO/GEO, PPC, CRO, Analytics, Social Media, Email)
  • Digital project management
  • Lead generation
  • Brand development and positioning
  • Reputation management
  • Thought leadership and public speaking
  • Content marketing
  • Photography, videography and editing
  • HTML, CSS – working knowledge
  • Website setup, optimisation and management
  • CMS experience – including Umbraco, WordPress, Ektron, Drupal, ModX, Xento etc.

© Sam Weston 2024