The Skift Travel Podcast Growth Under Pressure: The Decisions Hotel Brands Are Making Now
Oct 2, 2026
Heather Balsley, IHG’s chief commercial and marketing officer, and Peter Manoogian, a ZS partner in growth strategy, explore hotel profitability and expansion. They discuss conversions versus new builds, overlooked revenue from stronger demand capture, and loyalty’s role as AI transforms search. The conversation also examines machine-readable content, smarter technology investment, and why AI must deliver more than marketing hype.
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Use AI To Improve Owner Profitability
- Protect owner returns by reducing brand costs and improving property-level efficiency.
- IHG lowered marketing and loyalty assessments, increased rewards-night reimbursement, and is launching lower-cost commercial services through AI revenue management.
Conversions Need A Faster Commercial Launch
- Conversions and new builds both support growth, but they require different commercial playbooks.
- Conversions need rapid demand shifting and staff training, while new builds allow more time for presales and preparation.
Fix Revenue Foundations Before Expanding
- Improve demand capture before assuming footprint growth is the best lever.
- Keeping rates current, answering group RFPs within 12 hours, and preserving GDS pricing produced consistent mid-single-digit revenue gains.