This issue, our April 7th issue, has been—and still is—one of the most anticipated issues of the year: It’s our management company edition, and we not only report on management companies making news (or ones that we think you need to know more about), but we also run our annual ranked list of management companies, based on surveys submitted to Hotel Business. This year, we’ve chosen to profile Chartwell Hospitality; Crestline Hotels & Resorts LLC; Dimension Development; PM Hotel Group; RHW Management Inc.; The Hotel Group; and OLS Hotels & Resorts. The profiles begin on page 34.
Our cover story, which starts on page 28, is also about a management company—one we’re all familiar with: Interstate Hotels & Resorts. Associate Editor CJ Arlotta chats with CEO Mike Deitemeyer—who is roughly a year into his position—about the 57-year-old management company, topics ranging from domestic and international growth to the leadership team to its relatively new lifestyle management division.
And while Interstate has been—and still is—a giant and a leader in the management space, I want to call your attention to another company that has, in terms of our survey, assumed the leadership position: Aimbridge Hospitality. While Interstate Hotels & Resorts has been at the top of our list for many years, this year, Aimbridge Hospitality, an independent hotel investment and management firm, based in Plano, TX, has taken the number-one spot.
Last year, Aimbridge generated $4.8 billion in gross annual revenue (an increase of about 55% from the year prior). The hotel management company’s portfolio grew from 488 rooms in 2016 to 705 rooms in 2017. Aimbridge’s portfolio now has 93,150 rooms (about a 38% increase from 2016). The company’s acquisition of TMI Hospitality in June 2017 spurred the jump. While this deal did help put Aimbridge at the top, the management company’s differentiators are also driving portfolio growth.
“There are many benefits of scale that differentiate us from our competitors, such as our people, platforms, and procurement costs,” Bill Stadler, chief investment officer at Aimbridge, told Hotel Business. “Aimbridge has a robust and diverse portfolio that attracts the highest level of talent and provides career growth opportunities, both at the corporate and property levels, to keep key talent engaged.”
He also attributed portfolio growth to Aimbridge’s technology platforms. “Our IT systems are the best in the industry in terms of accounting/reporting,” he said. “We offer proprietary sales and revenue management tools in addition to a full-service in-house marketing/digital agency called Second Wave.” Aimbridge has also seen growth because of the procurement platform it uses to decrease good costs for its owners.
“Furthermore, all purchasing is done through one procurement platform, which enables us to deliver the lowest cost of goods possible to our owners, which translates to higher profit margins,” Stadler said.
A note before I go: We always love seeing new names on our management company list—on all of the lists we run and in all of our coverage throughout the publication—and each year, a few more pop up. I encourage you to go to hotelbusiness.com and click on our “surveys” tab and submit your information for the one(s) appropriate to your business. Not only do we want to include you, but I’m sure our 40,000-plus readers would love to get to know you.