In the current hospitality landscape, there is an increasing realization that brands rely heavily on owners. This shift has been underscored by major hotel conglomerates adopting an asset-light strategy, owning a small fraction of the hotels under their brand. As of January 2025, Marriott International is a prime example of this having a market capitalization of $81.63 billion while owning a marginal portion of the hotels within their portfolio of 1.5 million rooms.

Marriott’s trajectory reflects a broader industry trend. The corporation projects a net rooms growth of 5 to 5.5% from year-end 2022 to year-end 2025. This indicates a need to onboard over 500 hotels per year, which underlines the crucial role of hotel owners in the growth of global operators.

Recently, the awe factor associated with major brands has dwindled considerably. An increasing number of brands are vying for owners’ properties, with the success of their business plans hinging largely on the owners’ decisions. This competitive landscape allows owners to demand more from their operators.

As an owner, you should expect unwavering performance and accountability from your operator. Engaging a prominent, high-cost brand should not merely be a transaction for a nameplate. Instead, it should be seen as an investment in expertise, brand strength, and operational excellence.

The focus should be beyond filling beds to include profitability and asset value enhancement. The hotel should be at the core of each stakeholder’s priority, and the demands from an operator should reflect this. These demands include clear, data-driven strategies to maximize revenue, control costs, deliver strong GOP margins, consistent brand execution, operational transparency, sales and marketing excellence, asset protection and maintenance, talent management, adaptability, and market responsiveness.

Owners should also expect alignment of interests, where operators act in the owners’ best interests, not just the brand. Performance incentives should be structured around clear KPIs that benefit the owners.

In essence, owners must adopt a curious mindset. This involves scrutinizing the fees being paid, the quality of services provided for those fees, performance achievement and monitoring, and whether a third-party operator might be a better option.

Owners should hold them accountable when an operator fails to meet these expectations. If owners are not receiving tailored, individual attention, it may be time for a new operator. Essentially, a hotel is a valuable business asset, not just a brand’s flagship, and owners should treat it as such.

Discover more at Global Asset Solutions.