About

Choosing a hotel operator is one of the most important commercial decisions in any hotel development.

The operator you appoint influences your hotel’s positioning, operating model, development requirements, investment and long-term profitability. It also establishes a relationship that may last 20 years or more.

Align helps hotel owners identify the right operator, evaluate competing proposals and negotiate management agreements that protect the owner’s investment while creating the right commercial and operational alignment for the long term.

Our advice is independent, owner-focused and grounded in more than two decades of experience across hotel operations, project development and advisory in international markets.

Why Align?

Every hotel operator offers more than a brand. They bring operating standards, technical requirements, commercial terms and long-term contractual commitments that influence every stage of development.

Those decisions affect:

Capital investment
Area programme
Design complexity
Operating costs
Owner returns
Long-term asset value

Selecting an operator is one of the few decisions that affects both development and operations.

Our role is to evaluate every option from the owner’s perspective, balancing commercial performance, operational requirements, and development practicality before long-term commitments are made.

What makes us different?

Most operator advisors understand hotels. We understand hotel development. Having delivered more than 140 hotel projects across more than 50 international hotel brands, we know how operator requirements translate into:

Construction cost
Area efficiency
Procurement
Design
Programme
Operations
Long-term profitability

When an operator requests additional facilities or revised standards, we understand what those requests mean for the building, the budget, and the business. Our experience across hotel operations, project development, and owner-side advisory allows us to assess these implications together. This enables us to challenge requirements where appropriate, quantify their development implications, and negotiate from an informed owner perspective—protecting the investment while creating a workable long-term relationship with the operator.

We assess what those requirements mean for the project — from area planning, design and technical infrastructure to capital cost, procurement, programme and operating efficiency.

This allows us to challenge requirements where appropriate, understand their development implications, and negotiate from a position that considers both the immediate commercial terms and the long-term performance of the asset.

More than an operator search

We do not view operator selection as a standalone transaction.

The objective is to establish the right alignment between owner, operator, asset and business plan — because the agreement signed today will influence how the hotel is developed, operated and valued for many years to come.

What Align Includes

What We Do

Align provides independent advice throughout operator selection and contract negotiation, ensuring every decision supports your investment strategy rather than simply satisfying operator requirements.

Operator Strategy

Every project begins with understanding the owner’s investment objectives.

We review the project’s positioning, target market, competitive environment and commercial goals before defining the most appropriate operator profile.

This creates a clear strategy for engaging the market.

Operator Search & Evaluation

We manage the hotel brand selection and operator search process, identifying operators whose brands, operating models and commercial objectives align with the project.

The process includes:

Preparing an operator brief
Identifying suitable international, regional and domestic operators
Coordinating operator engagement
Managing information exchange
Reviewing operator proposals
Preparing structured comparisons
Developing a recommended shortlist

Each proposal is evaluated across commercial, operational and technical criteria rather than brand recognition alone.

Commercial & Technical Review

Operator proposals contain far more than management fees.

We assess how each operator’s requirements influence:

Area programme
Guest facilities
Back-of-house planning
Technical standards
Operational efficiency
Development cost
Future flexibility

These decisions become embedded in the business plan and can influence owner returns for decades. Align enables owners to understand the full commercial implications before selecting an operator.

Hotel Management Agreement Advisory

Once an operator has been selected, we lead the commercial negotiation process on behalf of the owner.

Working alongside your legal advisers, we review and negotiate:

Commercial Term Sheets
Hotel Management Agreements
Technical Services Agreements
Product Improvement Plans
Owners’ Charter of Rights
Management fees
Incentive fees
Performance tests
Owner protections
Operator obligations
Term and termination provisions
Centralised services
Pre-opening obligations

Our objective is to create an agreement that supports both successful operations and long-term owner returns.

What We Evaluate

Every operator is assessed against a consistent framework.

Market Alignment

Does the operator strengthen the project’s positioning within its target market?

Commercial Performance

Do the proposed commercial terms support the owner’s financial objectives?

Brand Standards

How do operator standards influence guest experience and competitive positioning?

Development Impact

How will operator requirements affect design, built-up area and construction cost?

Operational Model

Will the hotel operate efficiently throughout its lifecycle?

Long-term Value

Does the partnership maximise the long-term performance of the asset?

Who This Service Is For

Align is designed for:

Hotel owners appointing an operator for a new development
Mixed-use developments incorporating hospitality
Existing hotels considering a brand conversion
Investors evaluating multiple hotel brands
Developers seeking independent operator advice
Owners negotiating Hotel Management Agreements

FAQs

Why should I appoint an independent operator advisor?

An independent operator advisor evaluates each proposal from the owner’s perspective, helping you understand the commercial, operational and development implications before making a long-term commitment.

Do you only work with international hotel brands?

No. We work with international, regional and domestic operators, helping you select the operator that best aligns with your project’s objectives and market opportunity.

Does Align include legal advice?

We review commercial, technical and operational provisions within operator agreements and work closely with your legal advisers, who remain responsible for legal drafting and contractual interpretation.

Can Align be undertaken without an Innsight feasibility study?

Yes, Align can be commissioned independently.

Where Innsight or another feasibility study has already been completed, the market positioning, development strategy and financial assumptions established during feasibility create a stronger foundation for operator selection.

Looking for the right hotel operator?

Align helps owners identify, evaluate and negotiate with hotel brands that fit the project, market and investment objectives.

Talk to us about your project.