Clarity as a Competitive Advantage in Hospitality Leadership
Hospitality is, at its core, a people business. Service defines the guest experience, and people deliver that service at every touchpoint - placing employees squarely at the center of competitive advantage. In this industry, disengagement is never hidden. It shows up in every interaction. And service quality depends on whether employees understand not only what they are doing, but why it matters. Despite record workforce levels, the industry continues to face 70–80% turnover (December 2025, The Hospitality Labor Report). Compensation increases and expanded benefits (2025 Survey, American Hotel & Lodging Association) have not solved the problem. The AHLA reports that roughly two-thirds of hotels still face staffing shortages, even as employment levels exceed pre-pandemic benchmarks.
Read moreWhy 2026 Will Force a Redesign of Pay, Incentives, and Performance Expectations
Compensation has always been a sensitive topic in hospitality, but it has become a strategic inflection point. Wage inflation, shifting employee expectations, increased competition from other service industries, and new pay transparency regulations have combined to reshape how hotels must structure compensation at every level...
Read moreHow Hospitality Leaders Are Navigating Talent, Tech, and Capital Shifts
The hospitality industry is entering 2026 at a crossroads. Owners and operators are facing a landscape shaped by tightened capital markets, shifting guest expectations, wage escalations, and rapidly evolving technologies. These forces are rewriting the rules of how hotels are led, structured, and staffed. And, they’re redefining what it means to be an effective senior executive...
Read moreCEO Pay in Hospitality 2025
In last year’s study of CEO pay, we explored the ongoing shifts in compensation following the pandemic’s disruptive impact on the hospitality industry. This year, we turn our focus to a period defined by mounting global uncertainty, driven by political transitions, tariffs and worldwide trade deals. Amid this backdrop, reassessing CEO compensation and corresponding performance metrics has been critical...
Read moreThe Rise of the Co-CEO
There has been a recent flurry of announcements from the business press regarding the appointment of Co-CEOs. What was once an oddity is becoming more common place. A recent article by Barron’s Andy Serwer addresses this trend in the broader marketplace. I thought it would be interesting to look at how the hospitality industry is or is not embracing this movement. Of the 8,088 hotel, casino and restaurant companies we track at AETHOS, only 24 had a Co-CEO arrangement, representing less than 1% of the industry...
Read moreEnhancing Leadership Coaching: Transforming Individual Growth into Team Excellence
Leadership coaching can have a profound impact when individual leader development is integrated with a team-focused approach. This dual focus leverages the interdependent nature of leadership teams, maximizing the benefits of coaching for both individuals and the organization. The foundation for these improvements lies in self-discovery, achieved through greater awareness of influence and effectiveness...
Read moreThe Real Estate Recruitment Trap: When the Pursuit of Perfect Hurts Organizational Health
As we sit here in Q4, waiting for the U.S. hotel real estate market to truly heat up, I am fielding many calls each week with a similar refrain; individuals are seeking growth, more responsibility, new experiences, and/or greener pastures. They are also looking for clarity on the overall job market after nearly 24 months of minimal activity. In many ways the hotel real estate job market can be described analogously to the hotel real estate market - stagnant.
Read moreCEO Pay in Gaming 2024
The last time we did our Gaming CEO pay study it was pre-pandemic, a landscape very different from the one we know today. The pandemic caused widespread uncertainty and disruption across the globe, with the gaming and entertainment industries being particularly hard hit. This year’s figures, however, reveal a broader trend of recovery and adaptation within the industry, as well as evolving dynamics in executive compensation in the post-pandemic world. Operators are fewer but more global. Much of the casino real estate is owned by REITs and technology is driving innovation and new platforms for customers to access.
Read moreCEO Pay in Hospitality 2024
Average CEO pay in the industry rose to USD $9.8M, from the previous year’s $9.5M. Most of this increase came in the form of short-term incentive pay, making the correlation between stronger operating fundamentals and CEO pay. Interestingly, “other compensation” also increased indicating more perks and benefits for hotel leaders. By contrast, salaries and long-term incentives remained relatively flat.
Read moreCEO Pay in Hospitality 2023
As part of our study, we aim to identify CEOs who earned their pay and others who were overpaid according to our pay-for-performance model. The model factors stock and EBITDA growth over a three-year period and compares that to company size and CEO total pay. The result is an index that shows if a CEO was over or underpaid relative to their peers.
Read more