Iberostar’s CEO on Family Ownership, Brand Evolution and Responsible Tourism

When Phil McAveety took the helm of Iberostar Hotels & Resorts, he stepped into a legacy stretching nearly 150 years — from the parent company Iberostar Group’s origins in shoe manufacturing in Mallorca to its current footprint of 100 resorts across 13 countries. Speaking at Skift Global Forum on the Suite Success podcast with Katie Cline, McAveety described how Iberostar is reshaping itself for the next era of resort hospitality while staying rooted in its family-owned ethos.

From Marketing Executive to CEO

McAveety’s career spans Nike, Starwood, and now Iberostar. Unlike the finance or operations-heavy backgrounds typical of hotel CEOs, his journey began in advertising and brand management. That perspective, he said, has shaped his leadership style.

“The most important transferable skill is building teams and managing people,” he explained. “In hospitality, the truth of the brand lives in the hotel stay, and you need respect for the operators delivering it every day.”

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Realigning Iberostar’s Brand Portfolio

Under his leadership, Iberostar recently streamlined its portfolio into three distinct categories: Waves by Iberostar (family-focused, playful resorts), Selection by Iberostar (elevated but serene experiences), and Joya by Iberostar (luxury, service-driven destinations).

The shift, McAveety said, is about clarifying expectations for both guests and potential owners as the company expands beyond its traditionally owned assets into management contracts. “We want people to know instantly whether a property is right for their trip, and to give our partners confidence in what each brand stands for,” he said.

Responsible Tourism as Core Strategy

Few global hotel groups have gone as far as Iberostar in embedding sustainability into core business metrics. McAveety described responsible tourism as one of the company’s four key performance indicators — on par with guest experience and employee satisfaction.

That focus includes eliminating all single-use plastics across properties, cutting food waste by 70% since 2021 through AI-enabled monitoring, and investing heavily in coral reef restoration with eight nurseries, three coral labs, and 30 in-house scientists.

“It’s not about short-term ADR gains,” McAveety emphasized. “It’s the right thing to do. Without healthy oceans and beaches, we don’t have a business.” Iberostar’s Wave of Change program earned it recognition as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential companies in the world.

Looking Ahead

While artificial intelligence dominated the discussion at this year’s Forum, McAveety is most interested in AI’s potential for operations. He cited earlier work using AI to reduce parking system errors in Australia and said similar applications could streamline housekeeping, maintenance, and guest services in hotels.

“The sexy part of AI is recommendations and personalization,” he said. “But the bigger win might be making our teams more efficient so they can spend more time with guests.”

The Long View

As one of the few global hotel groups still entirely family-owned, Iberostar has flexibility that public companies often lack. McAveety noted that while quarterly pressure can push public operators toward short-term decisions, Iberostar can invest in multi-decade initiatives — like coral science and ocean conservation — that won’t pay off immediately but could safeguard the future of resort travel.

“The very definition of ‘lead’ is that others will follow,” McAveety said. “We need the rest of the industry to join us if we’re going to protect the destinations our business depends on.”