NASHVILLE, Tennessee — In an environment of ever-increasing costs, hotel owners want their management companies to be focused on profits, even though those companies have for decades been incentivized to focus on top-line success.
That shifts presents both challenges and opportunities for hotel commercial strategy teams, said Sage Hospitality Group Senior Vice President of Sales, Revenue and Distribution Strategy Priya Chandnani. Sage operates and owns branded and independent hotels and restaurants across the U.S.
"Never before has it become more important for us to not only envision what does top-line strategy look like, but how does that tie into profitability," she said on the most recent episode of the "CoStar News Hotels" podcast, recorded at the 2026 Hotel Data Conference. "And who better to do it than people who only look at this all day long? So, I think it's exciting times to say 'OK, what paths do we want to go? Do we want to build out depth in profitability or do we want to scale around the commercial space or maybe both?"
She said she's been encouraged recently that more brands have been willing to share in owners' focus on profitability, and a shift to heavier use of artificial intelligence can also help in bringing down costs.
She said that last item is increasingly important for operators like Sage that are unwilling to make concessions in terms of "the level of experience [delivered] to our guests."
"We continue to invest in front of the house," she said. "So we continue to invest in our people, continue to invest in that guest experience. And it's [about] how do we then automate the back of the house using AI as a tool that can build better efficiency within that space."
For more from Sage Hospitality Groups’ Priya Chandnani, watch the video embedded above or listen to the podcast below.