A Reorganization For Added Responsiveness
Aimbridge Adds To Leadership Team; Creates Six Operating Divisions
With an eye on adding bench strength and more personalized service to its owners, Aimbridge Hospitality recently formalized the creation of six distinct operating divisions while hiring several experienced industry veterans to bolster its leadership team.
Speaking with Hotel Interactive at last week’s Lodging Conference, Aimbridge President/CEO Mike Deitemeyer described the recent hirings and organizational initiative as “investing in talent in a non-traditional way for third-party managers.”
He added that the Plano, TX-based third-party management company has been “really leaning into training and people” following COVID. The initial outbreak of COVID in the U.S. took place just a few months after Aimbridge completed its 2019 merger with Interstate Hotels & Resorts creating one of the largest global hospitality companies with some 1,500 properties in as many as 23 countries.
The most impactful personnel additions include Mark Tamis, who has been named president of global operations, and Allison Reid, who assumes the role of chief global growth officer. Both executives are charged with driving initiatives to add value for owners across the full spectrum of hospitality verticals and identifying growth opportunities while inspiring a culture for passionate individuals, according to the company.
Deitemeyer elaborated on the hiring of Tamis, whose experience includes serving as a general manager for Four Seasons, as well as more than a decade in the cruise industry.
“He has the DNA of hospitality but also brings with him a global perspective, which is important for us as we continue to grow and expand markets. In addition, from a culture and leadership perspective he just brings a different lens. We’re really excited about the addition of Mark and how we relaunched our employee value proposition,” he said.
Reid, meanwhile, has held executive posts with a number of major brand companies, including Starwood Hotels & Resorts and most recently Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, in addition to a previous tenure with Interstate Hotels which prompted Deitemeyer to note, “she’s come full circle.”
Other notable hires include: Mark Chloupek, chief legal officer; Tim Pruiett, SVP of acquisitions and investments; and Emily Gerstner, vp, philanthropic partnership and community outreach. The company also elevated Greg Nurse and Cindy Landes to SVP of operations, and Michelle Reitan to SVP, shared services.
The creation of six operational divisions is designed to allow Aimbridge to be “much more nimble and responsive to our owners,” according to Deitemeyer.
“One of the things our competitors would say about us is that ‘we’re so huge that you’re not going to get the hands-on approach.’ So this was our answer to that. These divisional presidents have true decision-making capability. They can meet directly with an owner, interact, solve issues, deploy additional resources or whatever is needed to be responsive to our owners,” he noted.
The company describes the four vertical expertise-driven operating divisions and two geographically-focused divisions as: full-service, hotel and resort expertise at scale; evolution lifestyle, differentiated through curated experiences; enhanced select-service, focused-service for lasting success; select-service, efficiencies that drive results for short and extended stays; EMEA, expanding beyond the UK and Europe; Lat Am, building from a strong foundation in Mexico.
These operating divisions further showcase the advantages of working with Aimbridge at scale, benefiting owners through reinforced and strengthened services along with the curation of top talent, training and recruitment, best-in-class supplier agreements and unparalleled partnerships with industry brands, according to the company.
Going forward, the company continues to expand its portfolio and deepen its presence both inside and outside of the U.S. borders. As an example, Deitemeyer noted Aimbridge opened an office in Monterrey, Mexico last year and now has a double-digit pipeline.
The CEO talked specifically about the global growth potential of Aimbridge.
“As we continue to grow what we’ve seen is there’s more global investment in hospitality and that’s creating new opportunities for us in emerging markets. I think our size and scale is such in the U.S. we’ll have great single-digit growth. However, you’re going to see us opening in these new emerging markets and bringing this core value of how we think about business and how we invest in our people. That’s what we’re seeing right now starting to come to life in Mexico,” he said.
