Omni Hotels Knows it's Tiny. Here's How it Thinks it Can Compete with Global Giants
Skift Take
The global hotel groups talk like they're going to inherit the earth. So how can a small brand like Omni thrive? In his first major interview as its new president, Kurt Alexander outlines his plan.
Early Check-In
Editor’s Note: Skift Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill brings readers exclusive reporting and insights into hotel deals and development, and how those trends are making an impact across the travel industry.At first glance, Omni has the odds stacked against it.
It only has 51 hotels and resorts. The global giants – such as Marriott, Hilton, and IHG – argue that smaller players like Omni can't compete with their ability to use enormous loyalty programs to drive guests to their thousands of properties.It's up to Omni's new president, Kurt Alexander, to navigate among the giants.
Alexander became president of Omni late last year, replacing Peter Strebel. Robert Rowling, the Omni's owner, recently passed day-to-day oversight to his youngest son Blake Rowling, via their Texas holding company TRT.The new CEO said the largest hotel groups overcharge owners.
"In the framework of value creation and value capture, the big brands have gotten really good at creating a lot of value by driving more revenue — but then they capture all of that for themselves," Alexander said. "If you line up the cost of Omni as a brand, it's less expensive [for owners] than the big brands from a franchise fee, a royalty fee, and, in some cases, a management fee standpoint," he said.Alexander is partly "talking his book" by saying the big brands are overrated. But he also ran the numbers.
In 2021, when Alexander was chief financial officer, Omni de-branded five su