Max Starkov is Chief eBusiness Strategist at Hospitality eBusiness Strategies, Inc. in New York City (www.hospitalityebusiness.com). Max is a recognized "thought leader" in Internet marketing strategies in hospitality and is a frequent guest speaker and presenter at industry events and conferences. His eBusiness expertise is sought after by a diverse client portfolio of top tier hotel brands, luxury and boutique hotel chains, hotel management companies, resort and casino companies, franchisees and independents.

Max has spent his entire professional career in hospitality and travel. He has an extensive Internet marketing and online distribution experience. He co-founded and served as CEO of three eBusiness companies: Travelbreak.com 1995-2000 (Innovative direct supplier-to-consumer online travel marketplace, ranked 3rd in traffic after Priceline.com), WhaleMedia.com 2000-2001(Winner of the coveted Microsoft RAD Award for hotel online booking systems), and HeBS (since 2001). Under Max’s leadership, HeBS has pioneered many of the "best practices" in hotel Internet marketing and direct online channel distribution, and has won many prestigious awards for its groundbreaking website design and Internet marketing campaigns.

Max received the prestigious HSMAI “Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales and Marketing” honor for 2008.

Max has written numerous reports, conducted industry research, and published articles in major travel and hospitality publications. Since 2001 he has been teaching, as an adjunct professor, graduate courses on eCRM and Internet Marketing and Distribution at New York University's prestigious Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism Studies.

Max has an MS in Economics of International Tourism and an MBA degree, Beta Gamma Sigma Honors, from Fordham University in New York.