Aimbridge leans in to new culture

PHOENIX – The listening and apology tours are over and the renewed Aimbridge Hospitality leadership team is now 16 months into its plan to strengthening the management giant’s foundation through an intensified operational focus, divisional growth, and investments in technology and talent.

During last week’s Lodging Conference in Phoenix, Aimbridge Chief Global Growth Officer Eric Jacobs told Hotel Investment Today the leadership team is leaning in harder with their brand partners by conducting quarterly check-ins to see how they are performing with guests and versus other management companies. As part of a more holistic approach to working with brands, Aimbridge is also offering more aggressive support for product rollouts or other brand initiatives.

On the growth side, Aimbridge has recognized a new opportunity with all-inclusive, especially as the big brands growing in the space and looking for best-in-class management.

Eric Jacobs

Since launching a dedicated all-inclusive division in August, Jacobs said Aimbridge has signed two deals in the Dominican Republic – Wyndham Alltra Punta Cana and Wyndham Alltra Samaná – and is expecting to finalize one more deal before the end of the year for a voco-branded all-inclusive property in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Jacobs added that he sees more all-inclusive opportunities coming in the Caribbean and Mexico, as well as in Europe.

More generally speaking, Jacobs said Aimbridge is being more thoughtful about who they partner with, are more willing to say ‘no’ to deals and expects growth to come via larger assets in the upper upscale and upscale segments, preferably with owners who are more long-term holders.

Recent highlights include the transition of the 150-room voco Kissimmee Orlando near Walt Disney World Resort — the fifth voco property to join Aimbridge’s portfolio — and the upcoming management of Nashville’s future tallest tower, a 53-floor landmark featuring 400 guest rooms, 100 residences and meeting space slated to open in 2028.

With the house back in order, Jacobs said Aimbridge is also starting to look at new international markets for further growth.

To drive growth, Aimbridge is also more willing to co-invest in assets and Jacobs said they prefer sliver equity to key money.

From a performance perspective, Jacobs said year-to-date revenue growth index is up for the full-service division and flat to slightly up in select-service.

The goal is to grow market share and Jacobs said the much stronger leadership team has checked their egos at the door and owners are starting to notice the changes with five companies who previously “benched” Aimbridge bringing them opportunities again.

Most recently, Chris O’Donnell was appointed president of Select Service, bringing a performance-oriented discipline and focus, while Allison Handy was promoted to chief commercial officer.

On the operations front, Aimbridge is piloting its proprietary AI-driven forecasting tool, designed to help hotels anticipate demand more effectively. In addition, Aimbridge Intelligence dashboards are streamlining reporting and performance reviews, saving hours of manual work and providing owners near real-time visibility. Additional AI-powered tools for expense and labor analysis are in development.

Aimbridge has also introduced its GM Career Mobility Map, a tool that helps associates explore transparent pathways for advancement within Aimbridge’s global portfolio. It  will soon launch career mapping for sales leadership roles.