Skift Take
The U.S. business travel recovery has been uneven. New York City? Thriving. San Francisco? Not so much. But the hotel manager giant Highgate sees signs for optimism.
Highgate manages over 560 hotels with about 86,000 rooms, claiming to be the second-largest U.S. hotel management company after Marriott.
Most of the manager's 86,000 rooms are select-service roadside and full-service urban properties. So Highgate can serve as something of a proxy for how the recovery in business travel is progressing, mirroring what its close rivals Marriott, Aimbridge Hospitality, and MCR Hotels are seeing.
Highgate also runs luxury properties: It bought lifestyle brand Viceroy Hotels & Resorts in late 2022, and expanded into Europe last year by acquiring a leisure portfolio of almost 3,000 rooms in Portugal.
Skift got an update on Highgate's performance from Ankur Randev, chief commercial officer.
New York City StrengthHighgate says it's the largest hotel operator in New