NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Nearly a year after hospitality management companies PM Hotel Group and Sightline Hospitality formed a strategic merger under the PM Hotel Group name, the combined company is now a premier player in the lifestyle luxury space.
Lovell Casiero, senior vice president of commercial strategies at PM Hotel Group, said the company has a division that is dedicated to the people and hotels transitioning into its portfolio, which helped with the integration process.
"One of my favorite phrases is, 'It takes a village.' So we had a village on the initial transition and just got everybody in, looked at the people first and made sure that they were taken care of and then it's been a journey along the way," she said during a video interview with CoStar News Hotels at the recent Hotel Data Conference.
The lack of inbound international travel is one of the major headwinds in the U.S. hotel industry currently, and PM Hotel Group has felt the effects. Casiero said the company has properties in markets such as Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; New York City; and Hawaii that have been affected by lower international demand.
"Our portfolio is really feeling it," she said. "For me personally — it's definitely hurting our data at the portfolio level and our performance in those markets — but it's also just very sad to me that we have this [geopolitical] noise going on. People should be able to travel and do what they want to do and explore the world."
As a leader of PM Hotel Group's commercial team, Casiero said she believes her team has accomplished an idealized commercial department. The company has experienced leaders in the three disciplines — revenue management, sales and marketing — and they all meet to strategize and help each other out.
"I think that's what it's about — making sure everyone is held accountable to the same goals instead of your revenue managers are focused on this and they get goaled on that, your marketing team is focused on this and they get goaled on that. We brought that under one umbrella," she said.
For more from PM Hotel Group's Lovell Casiero, watch the video above.