Aimbridge Hospitality Powers Toward Year-End 2024 with Strong Foundation and Clear Vision in Place Following Transformative Year
Global hospitality leader advancing with a performance-driven vision, emphasis on talent and culture, and leveraging its strength and scale
Aimbridge Hospitality, the world’s leading third-party hotel management company, is marking a transformative year with notable leadership changes, investment in talent, and enhanced differentiated service offerings aimed at driving unmatched performance and results for hotel owners. As the company builds on the momentum it has generated this year, Aimbridge remains focused on empowering its talented associates and general managers, expanding its robust collection of best-in-class tools and expertise-based services, and harnessing the power of its scale leading to success across its managed portfolio.
“We are united by a shared vision to deliver superior hotel performance while deepening our relationships with our owners,” said Craig S. Smith, Aimbridge Hospitality CEO. “Aimbridge is strategically positioned to lead the industry with a strong executive team that is hyper focused on operational excellence, innovation, and partnership. At the heart of this transformation is our investment in people—particularly our general managers, whose leadership is critical to our property teams as they deliver exceptional guest experiences that ultimately make our managed properties successful. Together, we are shaping a future where operational agility, empowered leadership, and sustained results define our success.”
Key highlights of 2024 thus far include:
Complete Leadership Team
Throughout 2024, Aimbridge welcomed a series of leadership appointments and promotions to complete its deep bench of expertise, including Craig S. Smith, CEO, Eric B. Jacobs, Chief Global Growth Officer, William Davenport, CFO, Christopher Tatum, President-Full Service, the internal promotion of Keryn McNamara, Chief Information Officer, and the return of Greg Moundas, Chief Legal Officer. These significant announcements underscore Aimbridge’s focus on driving a collective vision for the future and reinforcing its strategic goals to better serve hotel owners and foster growth.
Investment in Top Talent
Ann Christenson, Chief Human Resources Officer, has continued to serve as a leader and champion in shaping the company’s culture, spearheading efforts to build a world-class talent development program and ensuring Aimbridge remains a highly sought-after employer for industry talent, with a focus on creating an inclusive and supportive environment for all associates.
Aimbridge's commitment to talent, with a strong focus on general managers (GMs) as the "CEOs" of their respective hotels, continues to pay dividends. One such investment is the GM Connect leadership development program, which equips general managers with the skills and knowledge necessary to lead their properties and teams. Since its inception, more than 800 GMs have participated in the program, contributing to a decrease in GM turnover by 48 percent in the past year and continuing to keep it significantly below the industry average.
Industry Recognition
In response to its focus on company culture and development, Aimbridge has been recognized with an impressive list of workplace awards, further solidifying its reputation as a leading employer in the hospitality industry. These accolades include:
- 2024-2025 Best Companies to Work For: Private Companies and Hotel, Restaurants and Leisure from U.S. News & World Report
- America’s Greatest Workplaces by Newsweek
- America’s Best Large Workplaces and Best Employers for Women by Forbes
- Comparably Awards for Best Company Leadership, Career Growth, Best HR, Engineering, and Sales Teams, Best Company Outlook, and Happiest Employees
- Best Leadership Development Program - Aspire Leadership Development by HR.com
Commitment to Innovation & Alignment
With an emphasis on leveraging Aimbridge's unmatched scale, the company continues to build trust and deliver results for hotel owners through industry-leading processes and tools. Strengths in technology, data, and expertise further differentiate the company’s ability to optimize performance and drive superior results across its portfolio.
In September, Aimbridge rebranded its topline disciplines to Aimbridge Commercial, underscoring the company's focus on generating profitable revenue for owners with a comprehensive approach to revenue generation. With more above-property sales leaders than any other third-party operator, Aimbridge also offers expanded commercial services to its owners through its industry-leading e-commerce and marketing team, Second Wave, the company’s in-house digital and marketing agency.
The company is also dedicated to ensuring the flexibility of its on-property associates, made possible by embracing technology that gives employees control in scheduling and work-location preferences through intelligent shift scheduling. Through a mobile app, associates can self-schedule, swap shifts, and pick up open shifts across hotels, leading to better work-life balance and improved employee satisfaction. More than 12,000 employees—about 30 percent of Aimbridge’s hourly workforce—have traded shifts since program launch in 2023.
The Aimbridge leadership team, along with the company’s commitment to a balanced scorecard approach, ensures alignment on key performance metrics, consistent accountability, and a collective focus on delivering superior results for owners and properties alike.
These results are now shared through a newly introduced data and reporting tool built by Aimbridge called Aimbridge Intelligence, part of the company’s owner dashboard OwnView. Aimbridge Intelligence creates greater transparency and collaboration with owners by providing near real-time access to STR performance, RevPAR Index, profitability, guest service, and turnover data. Through Aimbridge Intelligence, owners can view the metrics associated with their individual hotels or an entire portfolio, allowing for faster identification of areas of opportunities and implementation of relevant strategies.