iovox has appointed David Charlton as Managing Director of HeyGuest, the conversational AI division it acquired earlier this year to serve the global hospitality sector. The hire marks a significant step in iovox’s plan to scale HeyGuest’s platform across the UK, Europe, the United States, and APAC markets.
Charlton steps into the role with more than 15 years of hands-on experience growing hospitality technology businesses from early-stage start-ups through to established market leaders. His career has centred on a single problem: helping operators convert guest interactions into revenue while reducing the cost of running them.
A Proven Track Record in Hospitality Tech
Before joining iovox, David held senior commercial roles at some of the sector’s most recognised names. As Chief Revenue Officer at Yumpingo, he helped the guest feedback platform expand its presence across hospitality groups. Prior to that, as Commercial Director at Zonal Retail Data Systems, he worked closely with large-scale operators on integrated technology adoption. Earlier in his career he served as UK Sales Director at TheFork (then known as Bookatable), where he built direct relationships with restaurants across the country.
That combination of start-up agility and enterprise scale gives him a clear view of where hospitality operators are under pressure and where technology can genuinely reduce that pressure rather than add to it.
“David has seen it all in hospitality tech and has a tremendous track record for solving the real problems operators face every day,” said Ryan Gallagher, co-founder and CEO of iovox. “He knows exactly how to use technology to capture revenue and cut costs, making him the perfect leader to drive the future of HeyGuest.”
What He’ll Lead at HeyGuest
HeyGuest automates guest conversations across voice, web chat, SMS, and social channels, allowing hospitality businesses to capture bookings and handle enquiries without adding headcount. David’s remit covers commercial strategy, partner relationships, and the international rollout of the platform.
Working alongside HeyGuest founders Adam Troman and Charlton Santana, he will help shape the product roadmap and bring the platform to operators looking to automate their guest journey without compromising the in-person experience their teams deliver.
David described the opportunity as a chance to bring together deep sector knowledge with the infrastructure and AI capabilities iovox has built over nearly two decades.
“I’m honored to lead HeyGuest and collaborate with founders Adam Troman, Charlton Santana, and the team to bring what we believe are best-in-class solutions to hospitality operators around the world,” said David Charlton, Managing Director of HeyGuest. “By combining our deep understanding of the guest journey with the strong backing of iovox, we can now help operators automate conversations across voice, text, web chat, and social channels. We are solving their biggest daily headache: capturing every revenue opportunity and cutting costs, without ever sacrificing the guest experience.”
About HeyGuest
HeyGuest is iovox’s dedicated hospitality AI platform, built to manage and automate guest interactions across every digital channel. It gives hospitality operators full channel coverage across voice, text, web chat, and social, helping them drive revenue, reduce operational costs, and free their teams to focus on in-person service. Learn more at heyguest.ai.
About iovox
iovox is a global communications analytics and automation platform with offices in London, Paris, and San Francisco. For nearly 20 years it has helped businesses in automotive, real estate, healthcare, and hospitality track, analyse, and act on every customer conversation. Its AI platform reaches more than 500,000 businesses daily. Learn more at iovox.com.