What Makes a Good Hotel Management Company? 7 Things Owners Overlook

Brand flags, management fees, and track record are the obvious criteria. But there are seven things that consistently separate management companies that deliver from those that disappoint.

First: who actually runs your hotel day-to-day? Ask to meet the general manager who will be assigned to your property before you sign.

Second: how is revenue management structured? Central revenue management, shared across a portfolio, consistently outperforms hotel-level revenue management.

Third: what does the reporting actually look like? If it leads with occupancy rather than RevPAR and TRevPAR, the company's incentives are misaligned.

Fourth through seventh: how are procurement savings shared? What is the exit mechanism? Who owns the guest data? Does the fee structure align with your goals?