Nisal de Silva · Hospitality technologist · Colombo, Sri Lanka
I make hotels smarter.
A decade at the meeting point of hospitality and technology: AI, intelligent automation, and the commercial systems behind modern hotel business.
Now: Director, Commercial Technology & AI · Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts
The spark
2014.
One PPC account for global travel clients at eMarketingEye. Where the obsession started.
The climb
-
2014
Paid digital, from the ground up
eMarketingEye
PPC, SEO and social for global travel clients, rising to Head of Paid Digital Marketing.
-
2018
Associate Director, Digital
dentsu international
Performance marketing and analytics leadership for key accounts.
-
2021
Director, Digital Marketing
Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts
Global digital presence, SEO, content and analytics for the brand.
-
2025
Director, Commercial Technology & AI
Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts
AI strategy, intelligent automation, martech and commercial platforms for a leading South Asian hotel group.
The machines
Then came a new kind of collaborator. Today the work is AI and the systems around it: booking engines, CRM and data platforms, intelligent automation, and the analytics that turn guest data into commercial decisions.
- AI agents
- Martech
- CRM & data
- Booking tech
- Analytics
Selected builds
- AI enterprise developments for hospitality
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud with Data Cloud and Service Cloud
- SynXis booking engine and payment gateway
- Brand website rebuild
- Chinese social ecosystem: Weibo and WeChat
The record
Internationally awarded, from PPC craft to campaigns.
- 2023SLIM Digis 2.3, BronzeBest Leisure & Travel Digital Campaign · “Maldives Go Premium”
- 2022SLIM Digis 2.2, SilverBest Performance Marketing Campaign
- 2020One Under 30, Young Marketer SpotlightBranding in Asia
- 2016HSMAI Adrian Awards, SilverBest PPC Manager
- 2015HSMAI Adrian Awards, BronzeBest PPC Campaign Manager
Passing it on
Teaching the next generation of digital marketers since 2017, and never stopping being a student.
In the classroom
- Visiting Lecturer, Digital MarketingSLIM, ICBT and APIDM · 2017 to present
On stage
- Digital Travel Summit APACSpeaker. Travel e-commerce, digital strategy and the systems behind direct bookings.
- Booking.com Elevate APAC 2023, BangkokThe future of travel through digital trends, data insights and the evolving guest journey.
Open to panels and talks on hospitality technology and AI.
Still studying
- MBA, Business AnalyticsQueen Margaret University · in progress
- Omnichannel Strategy & ManagementDartmouth College
- Digital Leadership MicroMastersBoston University
- Digital Diploma in Professional MarketingChartered Institute of Marketing
- Postgraduate Diploma in Digital MarketingDigital Marketing Institute, Ireland