An interview with Bradley Moore, Vice President, Aimbridge Hospitality

Bradley Moore

Vice President

Aimbridge Hospitality merged with Interstate Hotels and Resorts in October 2019, and the combined portfolio makes Aimbridge the largest third-party hotel management company in the world. Aimbridge now operates over 1,500 branded and independent full service and select service luxury hotels, destination resorts, convention centers and lifestyle hotels. This portfolio takes Aimbridge to 49 U.S. states and 20 countries across the globe. in the Mix last spoke with Bradley Moore in September of 2017. A lot has happened since then, so it is time to check back in with the Vice President and beverage leader of the largest lodging portfolio in the world.

ITM: Thanks for joining us again, Bradley. Tell us about your role with Aimbridge Hospitality as compared to your role with Interstate Hotels and Resorts.

Bradley Moore: Beyond working with a larger portfolio, we have an incredible team, bringing the talent of Aimbridge, Evolution and Interstate F&B together; and creating this force of 10 people with a very diverse skill set has been amazing. The collaboration on projects and processes makes you remember why you got into this business in the first place. The combined company creates so many more advantages of scale and ability to attract talent, just to name a few benefits. It seems like the worst of the pandemic is behind us, our merger integration is in the rearview mirror, and we have a great team — I’m excited for what’s ahead!

ITM: I see there are eight different “verticals” as you call them. They cover all the different types of hotels from luxury and resorts to economy. Is this a new way to classify and manage the diverse types of properties and branded hotels you manage?

BM: Our teams are deployed against eight operating verticals, so our experts are immersed in and understand the nuances of operating, selling and hiring, and developing talent in each vertical. This structure provides a personalized, focused approach on each hotel so we can deliver strong outcomes for our hotels and owners — it is definitely not a cookie-cutter approach. The verticals are Luxury & Resort, Lifestyle, Full Service–Corporate, Full Service–Group, Select-Service Enhanced with F&B, SelectService, Extended Stay, and Economy. For example, selling to a customer and servicing a guest in Extended Stay is very different than in Luxury & Resorts, requiring different skill sets, different customers, selling strategies, labor models, guest experiences and activations.

ITM: The merger happened right before the pandemic. That must have been the last thing you needed. What was the course of action to keep everything together?

BM: Well, it was the last thing any of us needed. But looking back, we had an amazing integration plan and team that kept all of us focused and on task. Early on, our leadership made the decision to maintain as many corporate teams as

Bradley Moore, Vice President, Aimbridge Hospitality

possible so we could directly support our hotel teams, who were on the front lines of this pandemic. We started with daily calls, seven days a week including holidays, with our GMs so we could provide guidance and they could provide us feedback. I have to say that I’m extremely proud as a member of the Operations Resources team that we were trailblazers in our approach and efficiencies.

ITM: You are directing Food and Beverage for the Select Division and leading beverage across the Premium FullService and Evolution Lifestyle portfolios. Tell us how you work with Gus and Paul to maximize beverage offerings, activations and sales.

BM: I’m delighted to say that earlier this year we launched the “Mix & Muddle” Beverage Program that I oversee, with seven tiers and nearly 500 participating hotels. It’s been an incredible accomplishment, a differentiator for Aimbridge and a powerful resource for our properties. In my role, I focus on F&B operations and beverage for Select-Service, FullService and Lifestyle verticals. Working with Gus and Paul has been great, and their support within their verticals has been crucial with on-boarding and activations. We’ve been proactive to come out of the pandemic strong, so with everything reopening and with nearly all hotels on FinTech now, we all have the tools to manage the program and maximize activations, sales and profits.

Back row from left: Andy Nelson, Paul Lynch, Bradley Moore, Meghan Schulze, Angela Kuzma

Front row from left: Wesley Gray, Gus Laliotis, Jon Eyer

Paul Lynch (left), Jon Eyer (right)

ITM: You just launched a myriad of one-year beverage programs across all the divisions. What can the hotels and supplier partners expect in the coming year?

BM: It will be a very focused approach, be it outlets, rooftop bars, catering or market places. We truly believe that our attention to detail in each of the verticals will set us apart from our competition in beverage sales.

ITM: “Think like a guest — act like an owner” and “Think WE not ME” — I found these tenets in the “Our Values” section of your website. They are some pretty good values to abide by. Are these some of the core values that help Aimbridge Hospitality stand out?

BM: One reason why the Aimbridge and Interstate merger was so successful was how similar both organizations were in regard to company culture. We believe in a people-first culture. It’s not by coincidence that our new values came out early on after the merger. As leaders, we were all highly interested in taking a thoughtful approach to what described this newly combined company: to define who we are, who we want to be, what we’re all about. Our values differentiate Aimbridge through our associates, hotel owners and prospective employees. We immerse our values into everything we do. It’s pretty important to our success.

ITM: I was reading the news and saw that the Rio Las Vegas ownership has engaged Aimbridge Hospitality to reposition the Rio Las Vegas to multiple Hyatt full-service brand offerings, including taking one of the towers and transforming it into a Hyatt Regency, as well as reconditioning all of the current public spaces including gaming, retail, food and beverage, spa and fitness, and pool recreation deck. Sounds like a big job! Will you be involved in this?

BM: Huge win for us! I can’t imagine anyone with Aimbridge that won’t be touched by this. With the diversity of the Hyatt brands touching so many of our verticals, Gus, Paul and I will all have second addresses.

ITM: With all this complexity, IMI has expanded the team that supports beverage programming. How will Meghan, Wes and Andy be Building Better Beverage Business™?

BM: Let’s just say that the last three months have been fantastic as we reopen the outlets and have this team supporting the hotels. Specifically, Meghan, our beverage marketing person, is tasked with activations and LTOs by verticals. Wes, our beverage analyst, breaks down the FinTech data and the menu compliancy data, and sends weekly reports to our SVPs. Andy, our newest team member and corporate mixologist, is creating cocktails and menus as well as handling reopenings and openings; and, to be quite honest, I haven’t seen a lot of him lately … very busy guy and a very busy team.

Left to Right: Wesley Gray, Meghan Schulze and Andy Nelson

Meet Our Beverage Team!

With significant growth and changes over the past year, Aimbridge Hospitality is excited to introduce a new beverage team who will be working with Bradley Moore to help promote and support Aimbridge Hospitality’s Mix & Muddle Beverage program.

Meghan Schulze – Beverage Marketing Specialist

Meghan comes to Aimbridge after years working in bar management, event coordination, menu creation, marketing and community activation. With relocating to Aimbridge Hospitality HQ this summer, she is excited to begin working with beverage supplier partners and helping hotels with beverage opportunities – specifically with partnerships, beverage marketing and menu optimization.

Andy Nelson – Beverage Ideation Lead

Andy comes to Aimbridge after years of mixology, staff training and bar management in the Lifestyle Hotel space. He is a resource for property management in the areas of beverage concepting, training and the execution of the beverage program at property level. Andy will assist Meghan with opening beverage menus and setting the hotels up with bar management systems and measurement metrics. Andy is a road warrior and looks forward to adding beverage expertise for the hotels.

Wesley Gray – Beverage Data Analyst

Wes is the go-to guy for managing data integrity, especially regarding beverage, across all Aimbridge F&B platforms. This includes analyzing data and sales trends, monitoring property compliance to the beverage program and fostering efficacy and success at every property. Wes was instrumental in helping Aimbridge evaluate and navigate food and beverage opportunities throughout COVID. Wes has become a powerhouse in all things Aimbridge data analytics.