Hotel management companies are a huge component of the hotel industry. These companies operate hotels for hotel owners. They range from small organizations that operate one or two establishments to large global businesses managing hotels all over the world. In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about the eight most significant hotel management companies in today’s industry.

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What Is the Hotel Industry?

Hotel management companies operate within the hotel industry. Before learning about management companies, it’s a good idea to learn about the hotel industry more generally. The hospitality industry consists of four general areas: food and beverages, travel and tourism, recreation, and accommodation — the hotel industry.

The term “hotel industry” covers a wide range of different types of business. These include a hotel meaning traditional hotels and inns, hostels, motels, campsites, and more unusual establishments like boatels. The services that a hotel provides to guests also vary.

A simple backpacker hostel may only provide basic services, such as room cleaning and a buffet breakfast. A luxury hotel might provide in-room massages, spa facilities, and even helicopter trips to and from the airport. To learn more about the hotel industry, read “Hotel Industry: Everything You Need to Know About Hotels!”

What Is a Hotel Management Company?

Hotel management companies are recruited by hotel owners to tackle all the complex work involved in hotel operations. The management company takes over the responsibility for essential day-to-day services and processes. These include housekeeping, property maintenance, staff recruitment and training, payroll, budgets and accounting, front-of-house operations, and hotel marketing.

The company manages all the hotel departments, ensuring that the hotel operates smoothly and effectively. By bringing their expertise to bear, a hotel management company can often be more effective than a hotel owner trying to run one or more hotels independently.

Benefits of Outsourcing to Hotel Management Companies

Hotel management companies provide a range of services depending on the hotelier’s needs. The nature of hotel management will be dramatically different if the establishment is, say, a small boutique hotel than if it’s a luxury resort. Typical responsibilities handled by a management company will include organizing maintenance of the hotel building and its grounds and managing renovations, building work, and interior decoration.

The company will handle day-to-day operations such as front-of-house, housekeeping, and food and beverage services. It may also recommend investing in new hotel technology. A management company can also handle staffing and HR, overseeing recruitment, training, and ensuring that staff meets work requirements. If the hotel has a gym, spa, or other facility, a hotel management company will run this too.

The company will handle the hotel’s finances, develop budgets, perform financial analysis, and produce reports. It also falls to the company to maximize revenue by setting room rates, running promotions, and creating effective hotel marketing campaigns. A hotel management company can also work to protect the hotel’s brand through quality customer service, maintaining a welcoming atmosphere, and keeping up with the latest hotel trends.

Top 8 Hotel Management Companies Worldwide

In this section, you’ll learn about some of the most essential hotel management companies in the global hotel industry today. As you will see, many hotel management companies don’t limit themselves to hotel operations but also offer investment and other services.

Aimbridge Hospitality

Aimbridge Hospitality is a global leader in hotel and hospitality management. With more than 1500 hotels under its management worldwide, Ambridge Hospitality is one of the biggest names in the industry. This hotel management company was founded in 2003 with just eight hotels and now manages more than 171,000 guest rooms in 23 different countries.

Aimbridge provides a full spectrum of management services to hotel owners. They work with independent hoteliers and branded hotels that must meet high contractual standards. They have six operating divisions, each aimed at a specific sector within the hotel industry.

The company focuses on delivering measurable results for all its hotel clients, whether full-service or focus-service. Through its multiple geographic and operating divisions, Ambridge Hospitality offers clients the benefits of its strong industry relationships, top talent, and ongoing support. The company utilizes best-in-class revenue management and market analysis tools to deliver client results.

Click here to visit the website of Aimbridge Hospitality.

Hotel Equities

More than just a hotel management company, Hotel Equities provides a spectrum of development and management services to the hotel industry. They work with investors (both individual and institutional), joint venture partners, and brand representatives.

Hotel Equities aims to create and develop world-class hotel establishments through its proprietary approach, which uses a balanced scorecard system to evaluate hotels across various metrics. The company has over 250 hotels and resorts in its portfolio, distributed throughout the US and Canada. They focus on upscale and luxury properties, with various types of establishments on their client list.

Hotel Equities has been able to weather many upheavals in the hotel industry thanks to its scalable business model. As well as providing management and development services, they also offer training programs in hotel management and develop strategic partnerships with hotel and resort owners.

Click here to visit the website of Hotel Equities.

HEI Hotels & Resorts

HEI Hotels & Resorts is a leading hotel investment and management company. As well as managing hotels owned by other entities, HEI Hotels & Resorts owns many hotels in its own right. The company now owns and operates upwards of 90 hotels.

The company focuses on exclusive hotels and resorts in the upper-upscale and luxury sectors, offering hotel management expertise for full-service establishments. They manage hotels for some of the top brands in the United States, including Hilton, Le Méridien, Sheraton, and Embassy Suites.

The company has been recognized for its investment in energy-saving technologies at its properties, winning the US EPA’s Energy Star Partner of the Year Award on multiple occasions. The company’s HEI Loves program aims to provide recognition and support for its associates through competitive compensation and benefits packages and promote charitable activities and sustainability in operations.

Click here to visit the website of HEI Hotels & Resorts.

Video: Welcome to HEI!

HHM

HHM was founded as Hersha Hospitality Management. Based in Philadelphia, this hotel management and investment company now has a portfolio of over 200 hotels in 30 states. HHM focuses on full-service and select-service establishments and is one of the leading hotel managers for brands like Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and IHG.

HHM operates more than 30 independent hotels, including The Whitney Hotel in Boston and Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Hotel. As well as managing hotels, HHM has an in-house investment team dedicated to hotel investments and developments. This team works with public and private investment firms to acquire and develop new hotels.

HHM is one of the fastest-growing hotel management companies in the industry, with over $1 billion in revenues. The EarthView program promotes and supports sustainable hospitality through environmental impact analysis, community integration, and responsible financial stewardship.

Click here to visit the website of HHM.

Hyatt Hotels

The Hyatt Hotels Corporation is one of the world’s biggest hotel and hospitality companies. Alongside the famous Hyatt Hotels brand, the corporation owns more than 20 premier brands across the hospitality industry.

As well as owning an enormous portfolio of hotels and resorts worldwide, Hyatt Hotels also manages more than 370 of its own hotels — a significant portion of the 875-plus properties that Hyatt owns worldwide. As of 2022, the company’s portfolio included over 1,200 hotels, resorts, and other hospitality-related properties operating under the Hyatt brand or other brands owned by the company.

Enterprises under Hyatt’s brands include traditional hotels and resorts, fitness locations such as gyms and spas, vacation properties, and branded residences. Hyatt subsidiaries own, develop, license, franchise, and manage hotels, as well as provide services to hotel and resort owners across the hotel industry.

Click here to visit the website of Hyatt Hotels.

Benchmark Pyramid

Benchmark Pyramid is a division of Pyramid Global Hospitality. It was born from a merger between Benchmark Global Hospitality and Pyramid Hotel Group. The company manages over 240 properties in the US, Europe, and the Caribbean.

Benchmark Pyramid offers various services, from hotel operations and marketing management to facilities design and construction. Benchmark Pyramid provides feasibility studies, market demand studies for the hotel industry, and technical and pre-opening marketing services. The company specializes in very high-end properties and enterprises, with a large portfolio of independent, select-service, and full-service hotels and other hospitality businesses.

They focus on the luxury and lifestyle market and are the largest third-party manager of independent hotels and resorts. Benchmark Pyramid has multiple offices in Massachusetts, Texas, Ohio, and London, England.

Click here to visit the website of Benchmark Pyramid.

Highgate

Highgate is a hotel, hospitality, and real estate investment company. They are based in the US, and most of their properties are located in the States, but they have an increasing number of properties in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe.

They provide services relating to property acquisition, planning, and development through disposition. They manage many hotels and resorts, including various brands and independent establishments. Highgate deploys revenue management tools to identify, analyze and predict markets in the hospitality industry, allowing them to maximize asset value and performance.

As well as their other hotel management and investment services, Highgate also operates the Highgate Technology Ventures firm (HTV), which invests in hotel technology and other technologies related to the hospitality and travel industries. These include e-commerce and B2B technologies, data analytics and business intelligence tools, restaurant technology, and revenue management tools.

Click here to visit the website of Highgate.

GF Hotels & Resorts

GF Hotels & Resorts is a Philadelphia-based hospitality management and ownership company. It was founded in 1988 and has won awards for its management, ownership, and advisory services. The company works through its affiliates for various institutional lenders, individual hotel and resort owners, and real estate funds.

It has a portfolio of almost 130 different assets, which include everything from hotels and resorts to gold courses and conference centers. GF Hotels & Resorts manages third-party assets and those owned by its principals. This provides the company with a durable and balanced framework.

Besides providing hotel management, asset management, and consulting services, GF Hotels & Resorts also provides services relating to loan workouts and hotel receiverships. They evaluate hotel properties for hospitality firms, the legal profession, and financial institutions. They also provide pre-takeover analysis and perform in the role of receiver.

Click here to visit the website of GF Hotels & Resorts.

Luxurious Hotel Groups

Working for a luxury hotel group is the dream for many people to build careers in the hotel industry. The cache of a position at an upscale hotel is highly sought after, as are the attractive salaries and benefits packages. For those looking to move into the luxury hotel sector, it’s useful to know the top luxury hotel groups you might consider working for.

If reading about hotel management companies has piqued your interest in the sector, “Hotel Groups: Top 10 Luxurious Hotel Groups to Work For” should be your next read. You’ll learn all about the most exclusive hotel groups, what positions are available, and how to find opportunities with them.

Become a Successful Hotel Investor

The hotel industry might have its ups and downs but as the hotel management companies listed above can tell you, it remains an economic powerhouse worldwide. This is great news for real estate investors everywhere. A hotel investment can represent an exciting opportunity for those looking to invest in property.

For an established real estate investor, adding hotels to your portfolio can be a great way to diversify and maximize your returns. In “Hotel Investments: How To Become a Successful Hotel Investor,” you’ll learn about the benefits of investing in hotels and how you can make investments.

Hotel Management Companies FAQs

Hotel management companies specialize in areas like marketing, guest relations, finance and employee management and use their expertise to implement strategies and best practices that streamline operations and improve guests’ experiences.

The most common approaches are for hotel management companies to charge a percentage of the hotel’s total revenue as a fee, or charge a fixed fee. Using this approach, the management company has an incentive to improve performance. Some companies may implement a combination of these two approaches.

Yes, hotel management companies are often brought in to help with rebranding. They can assist with market analysis and come up with ideas for repositioning or rejuvenating the hotel brand. Combined with operational changes, this can help a hotel to reach a new audience or shift perceptions.

It is important for hotels to explore a management company’s methods, areas of expertise and past work. Credible companies will happily share past successes. A focus should also be placed on how the company can improve financial results and the guest experience.

Hotel management companies are used by hotels of all types, including large chains, independent hotels, luxury resorts, budget hotels and other types of accommodation, such as inns and motels. Some management companies specialize in working with specific hotel types.

Hotel management companies perform valuable services for hotel owners. They can bring significant resources and expertise to bear upon everything from customer service and front-of-house operations to hotel marketing and investments in hotel real estate.

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This article is written by:

Martijn Barten

Hi, I am Martijn Barten, founder of Revfine.com. With 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, I specialize in optimizing revenue by combining revenue management with marketing strategies. I have successfully developed, implemented, and managed revenue management and marketing strategies for individual properties and multi-property portfolios.