3.5.2025
With over 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Catt McLeod has built a distinguished career as a commercial leader, specializing in global sales and distribution strategies. As Vice President of Brand Development at Elegant Hotel Collection, she is at the forefront of redefining luxury hospitality by supporting independent hotels in delivering authentic and distinctive guest experiences.
A Fellow of the Institute of Hospitality, Catt has a deep understanding of the luxury travel market and the evolving expectations of discerning travelers. Leading the Elegant Hotel Collection Global Movement, she is committed to empowering hoteliers while preserving the cultural and historical significance of the properties they manage.
Catt’s journey in hospitality began at Pegasus Solutions (now Cendyn), where she built strong industry relationships before taking on key commercial roles at organizations such as HotelREZ Hotels & Resorts and Supranational Hotels. Her experience transforming Supranational Hotels from a not-for-profit entity into a profitable global representation company reflects her strategic expertise and ability to drive meaningful growth in the sector.
In this Spotlight Interview, Catt shares insights on her career in hospitality, the evolution of the luxury hotel market, and how Elegant Hotel Collection is supporting independent properties in navigating the complexities of modern hospitality. From technology and distribution strategies to guest expectations and sustainability, she discusses the opportunities and challenges facing luxury hoteliers today.
You’ve dedicated more than 25 years to the hospitality industry. What initially drew you to this sector, and what key experiences have shaped your career path?
For me, hospitality is about community – it’s proven to be an incredibly supportive environment that has opened doors whilst being flexible. Not only does it offer great travel opportunities but also transferable skills, which really enriches career aspirations.
Like many people, the accessibility of jobs in pubs for teenagers was my first foray into hospitality. I worked at a pub in Twickenham during university – and was particularly enchanted by the teamworking ethic and the buzz of serving hundreds of guests. There’s always a wonderfully vibrant atmosphere.
I remember my first Irish Hotels Federation Conference when I was with Utell (now Cendyn), turning up as an incredibly nervous junior executive armed with banners and brochures. Being 5-foot nothing, I was amazed by the help I was given from hoteliers and partners to put the stand together. That broke down so many barriers and demonstrated how collaborative the sector is.
I worked with Mark Lewis, founder of HotelREZ, in the early days, before embarking on an opportunity to take Supranational Hotels to the next level as Commercial Director. After this, I was warmly welcomed back to HotelREZ to lead strategic partnerships, a role I was able to develop myself. This has taken me on to establish Elegant Hotel Collection as a pioneering luxury brand.
What are some of the most significant changes you’ve witnessed in the hospitality industry throughout your career?
The beauty of hospitality is that a lot of things on the surface have stayed reassuringly the same. The biggest changes have come on the commercial side – think about the development of payments from cash and cheque to instant mobile payments where guests can pay without even thinking.
The digitalization of processes has sometimes come with burdensome technology that hospitality professionals have to contend with. The sheer breadth of sales channels has been a big challenge for hoteliers – making sure they are accurately represented with the right rates, availability and hotel details.
When I started my career in global distribution, the GDS was very much for the big, often chain-branded city center hotels. But now, through the development of affordable and accessible technology with the likes of HotelREZ, independent hoteliers can drive really cost effective business to compete in this market.
What is the mission and vision of Elegant Hotel Collection, and how does it differentiate itself from other luxury hotel groups or representation companies?
The Elegant Hotel Collection brand has come from a genuine desire to champion the work of passionate and inspirational hoteliers. Data shows that sophisticated travelers are searching for unique and authentic experiences, and we believe that independent luxury hotels are ideally placed to meet this growing demand.
We’re enabling properties that offer authentic luxury hospitality, in distinctive locations worldwide, to take full advantage of an award-winning global sales platform together with marketing and travel industry sales expertise. Building on a foundation of 20 years of excellence where HotelREZ – and I can say this honestly – is the most highly recognized and respected GDS representation company, we are upending traditional industry dynamics by championing our member hotels’ direct booking channels and setting new standards by introducing a unique commercial model that is biased towards results rather than high fixed fees.
Our vision is to build a global community that champions authenticity and empowers independent luxury hotels to unlock their true potential without compromising their individuality. All while driving consistent, measurable, and sustained commercial growth.
Elegant Hotel Collection is described as a “luxury soft brand.” Can you elaborate on what this means and how it benefits member hotels?
We empower independent luxury hotels to succeed by celebrating their individuality. We don’t believe in dictating the experience. Instead, our member hotels have the freedom to express themselves and focus on generating real value for their customers and guests.
As a global soft brand, we are breathing new life into luxury representation by combining global sales and marketing support with worldwide distribution and tech innovation. As a result, we offer unparalleled sales, marketing and revenue opportunities on a global scale.
In celebrating individuality within a global community of like-minded hoteliers, our unique commercial model provides a transparent ROI for producing direct bookings, while reaching international markets in a cost-effective way.
The collection includes a diverse range of properties, from historic estates to modern yacht hotels. What are the criteria for selecting member hotels, and how do you ensure consistency in quality and brand identity across the collection?
Whilst deeply rooted in luxury, the Elegant portfolio is equally distinguishable by its diversity. By invitation only, we seek out remarkable four and five-star hotels that deliver authentic luxury hospitality in distinctive locations around the world.
Beyond being individual and highly distinguishable, our curated collection of independent luxury hotels must also share our core values of authenticity, inclusivity, innovation and sustainability. This will enable us to help our member hotels to meet the evolving demands of modern luxury travelers and the changing market dynamics.
What are some of the key technology challenges faced by independent luxury hotels, and how does Elegant Hotel Collection help them overcome these challenges?
Today, data is one of the most difficult technology challenges faced by hotels. There’s a greater imperative for managing and maximizing knowledge and actionable insights from guest data. That’s where system connectivity and robust interfaces play a major role.
We are very mindful that technology must never burden but always serve a hotel. For marketing and global sales to be effective and translate into measurable bookings, meetings and events business, it’s imperative that the technological plumbing is connected. We help each individual property create a distribution mix which is as unique as they are, with an immensely powerful Central Reservation System, leveraging more than 20 years of experience.
With HotelREZ, we work diligently with suppliers, partners, and the broader industry, including our competitors, to ensure we are supporting and meeting the needs of our hotel members while improving the future of our industry.
How does Elegant Hotel Collection support its member hotels in developing and executing effective global sales and marketing strategies?
With a strong focus on driving profitability, we offer a personalized service that is tailored to the unique identity, vision and business needs of every hotel. We proudly offer a commercial model that focuses purely on performance. In addition to worldwide distribution supported by industry-leading tech innovation, we provide our member hotels with global marketing and sales support through a network of 60 sales offices worldwide. Also, our enhanced global trade sales outreach program encompasses incremental luxury RFP generation, bespoke agency blitz activities, global roadshows, tradeshow participation and wider industry engagement.
Each member hotel benefits from a tailored sales, marketing and distribution strategy that is unique to their individual business needs, ensuring each property is receiving measurable business from the right channels, driving reservations from the right guests through the right channel at the right time.
What role does technology play in managing channel distribution and maximizing visibility for member hotels?
Partnerships and collaborations are key for successful marketing, sales and distribution. Therefore it’s essential to build trust, provide transparency and be consistent in the market to drive demand with channel partners. Technology is fundamental in managing channel distribution and maximizing visibility for our member hotels.
For Elegant, there are five key elements we focus on getting right for effective distribution: availability, rates, imagery, content, and payments. These support relationships and success with our chain-wide agreements with consortia, TMCs and corporate bookers.
Firstly, we ensure availability is managed in real-time using effective and well-maintained interfaces, along with rate consistency tailored to the specific channels and commission payments. Within the GDS and through our REZtoMarket tool, we ensure that hotel images are correct and optimized by channel, along with hotel content and property descriptors across all data fields. Finally, we ensure timely and accurate commission payments to our partners, which incentivizes travel agents to book again and again.
What are your predictions for the future of the luxury hospitality industry, particularly for independent hotels?
Independent luxury hotels have the best chance to innovate and provide really unique and individual experiences. There has been a fantastic appetite for learning and development within the industry, which will create a robust future for this sector.
I see independent hotels that are deeply rooted within their locations and their communities are uniquely placed to support their teams and provide their guests with authentic personal experiences. They can offer thoughtful recommendations and local knowledge that technology is not capable of providing. This meets, and often exceeds, guest needs, without having to adhere to rigid brand standards.
Growth in social conscience and people-focused sustainability will be a big selling point as they harness the local supply chain and provide connections to real local experiences. This can all now be underpinned by accessible – and also incredibly affordable – technology.
