The Hotel General Manager Development Model is Changing: Building an Internal Leadership Pool with Davidson GM Edge

Being a general manager in a hotel has long been seen as a natural result of operational experience.

An experienced manager rising through the front office, F&B, or rooms would eventually become responsible for the entire hotel.

In today’s full-service hotel, however, the GM role is broader.

Knowing operations is still a fundamental requirement. But now financial management, technology, compliance, human resources, reporting, owner relations, and corporate systems are also part of the same role.

Davidson Hospitality Group’s new GM Edge program is one of the current examples of this change.

The company has selected nine high-performing employees for the 2026 program. The goal is to prepare these managers for more advanced leadership roles within the organization and strengthen the internal leadership pool for future growth.

First Group of Nine

The following names are part of the 2026 GM Edge program:

Anne Krugman, Gabriel Suniega, Hicham El Ibrik, Lauren Roberts, Madison Techmanski, Marina Baronas, Nicole Ramamurthy, Vivian Chen, and Whitney Rodriguez.

Davidson states that the program is designed for employees who have demonstrated high performance in hotel, resort, and restaurant operations and are ready for the next stage in their careers.

According to the company’s COO Jason Reader, one of the key priorities for 2026 is employee retention and increasing internal promotions. Davidson defines this as part of a strategy to create "bench strength," or a ready leadership pool that will support future growth.

The critical point here is that the program serves not only as training but also as a succession planning function.

Being a GM is No Longer Just About Operational Knowledge

Program participants will regularly work with both on-property and corporate-level managers.

According to the company’s statement, areas of development include:

systems and technology, reporting, financial management, people & culture, and compliance.

This content illustrates why modern hotel GM roles differ from traditional operations management.

A GM can:

evaluate P&L,

attend owner meetings,

address employee engagement issues,

make decisions about technology investments,

prepare for brand audits,

discuss revenue strategies with revenue and F&B teams.

Therefore, promoting a strong department head directly to GM is not always sufficient.

The role requires a transition from department expertise to the ability to manage the entire operation.

On-property and Corporate Teams Work Together

One of the notable aspects of GM Edge is the inclusion of both "on-property" and "above-property" leaders in the program.

This distinction is significant in hotel management companies.

A property-level manager knows daily operations.

The corporate team, on the other hand, looks at portfolio performance, standardization, financial benchmarks, technology, human resources, and owner reporting from a broader perspective.

Future GMs must understand both worlds.

A manager who only knows the hotel may miss portfolio and investor expectations.

A manager with only a corporate perspective may not fully grasp the real constraints of daily operations.

GM Edge aims to create an early transition space between these two perspectives.

Davidson's Leadership Investment is Not New

GM Edge is not a standalone program.

Davidson previously announced that it launched a multi-year talent transformation program in 2021 and reshaped its leadership approach based on employee feedback. The company created "Journey to Leadership" programs aimed at supervisor level and a Leadership Lunch & Learn series for entry to mid-level managers during this process.

In 2024, the company also announced plans for a high-potential leadership program, leadership coaching, and a mentorship network for employees in various directions.

Thus, GM Edge can be seen as one of the upper tiers of a broader system that extends Davidson’s leadership development from new employee levels to GM levels.

GM Council Forms the Second Part

In June 2026, Davidson also established its first General Manager Council.

This group, consisting of 11 general managers, aims to bring field perspectives to the center while developing the company’s new processes, tools, and corporate practices.

There is a functional distinction between the GM Council and GM Edge.

The GM Council involves current general managers in company decisions.

GM Edge, on the other hand, prepares managers who could take on this role in the future.

When these two programs are considered together, a more systematic talent pipeline emerges:

gather feedback from current GMs,

prepare high-potential managers,

create continuity in leadership within the organization.

Why is Developing GMs Internally Important?

Changing general managers in hospitality does not only create HR costs.

When a new GM arrives;

owner relations,

department heads,

employee culture,

local customer relations,

sales accounts,

operational rhythm

can be reshaped.

External transfers can sometimes be necessary and beneficial. However, constantly seeking leaders from outside can create a perception of a career ceiling within the company.

If strong hotel managers or directors do not see a pathway to the next level, the risk of them leaving for other businesses increases.

It is no coincidence that Davidson uses the terms retention and advancement in the same sentence in its own statement.

Internal promotions, when done correctly, can combine employee engagement with succession planning in the same system.

But There Are Risks with "High Potential" Programs

These types of programs have both strong and sensitive aspects.

The selection of nine individuals as "high performers" can raise the question among other employees:

Why wasn’t I selected, and what do I need to do to be selected?

If the criteria are not visible, a high-potential program can create a perception of a privileged group instead of motivation.

Therefore, the business must:

clearly define selection criteria,

expected competencies,

performance indicators,

the possibility of reapplying to the program

as openly as possible.

Otherwise, succession planning may decrease employee engagement instead of increasing it.

Training Can Be Limited If Not Combined with Real Responsibility

Another critical issue in GM preparation programs is the difference between classroom training and real decision-making experience.

Taking finance training is one thing; making decisions in a real P&L meeting is another.

Completing a compliance module is one thing; taking responsibility in an operational risk situation is another.

Therefore, the strongest GM development model should not only provide content.

The participant should temporarily:

lead a department head meeting,

attend a budget review,

prepare owner reporting,

contribute to the CAPEX plan,

gain cross-exposure at another hotel

to acquire real responsibilities.

The regular contact with property and corporate leadership anticipated in Davidson’s program is positive in this regard; however, the company does not disclose the duration of the program, evaluation criteria, or GM promotion rate targets in its public statement.

Thus, it is still early to assess its effectiveness.

As Scale Grows, Succession Planning Becomes More Critical

According to Davidson’s company statement, it has 87 existing hotels and resorts, over 230 restaurants, bars, and lounges, and 1.4 million square feet of meeting space in its portfolio. The company operates properties under various brand systems such as Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Kimpton, Margaritaville, and Nobu.

This diversity creates a unique challenge for GM development.

Managing an Autograph Collection hotel is not the same as managing a large resort, a lifestyle independent property, or an urban hotel with a high F&B volume.

Future GM candidates must not only be successful in one hotel but also be able to adapt to different operating models.

How Can Hotels in Turkey Implement This?

In Turkey, succession planning often comes to the forefront when a critical position becomes vacant.

When a general manager leaves, the question "who can we put in their place?" is asked that day.

This approach is too late.

A stronger system would identify future GM candidates years in advance.

For example, each hotel could conduct a talent review once a year:

ready for GM,

may be ready within 12–24 months,

stronger in a specialist role

and then provide candidates with development plans in areas such as:

finance,

revenue,

F&B,

people management,

owner relations,

technology

according to their needs.

This model can particularly reduce dependence on external transfers in groups operating multiple hotels.

How is the True Success of the Program Measured?

The success of GM Edge should not be measured solely by the participation of nine individuals in the program.

More meaningful indicators include:

the percentage of program graduates who become GMs,
the time taken to promotion,
the retention rate of program participants within the company,
employee engagement in the first year as GM,
GOP and operational KPI performance,
changes in the need for external GM hires.

If these metrics are absent, a leadership program may convey a strong employer branding message, but proving its commercial value becomes challenging.

Stafflink’s View

In our opinion, the most important aspect of GM Edge is not that it is a training program, but that it demonstrates that leadership backup in hospitality should not be left to chance.

Starting the search for a new GM on the day a GM leaves is not succession planning.

True succession planning is recognizing potential leaders before a vacancy occurs, developing their missing competencies, and giving them real operational responsibilities.

As hotel groups grow, this issue becomes more critical.

Because opening a new hotel may involve capital and contractual work; finding the right general manager to run that hotel is a matter of talent infrastructure.