Ian Graham

Ian Graham gives his clients high value adding advice, free of all bias, with a passion for the industry that has been slow-cooking for 45 years. He leads and contributes to complex advisory assignments for hotel owners and operators around the world, leveraging his deep understanding of the separate but linked goals of each of the guest, the hotelier, the investor, the lender and the brand owner - and all this from a unique base of experience that has seen him working on hotel issues in more than 60 countries.

Ian has built an unrivalled network of clients, friends and colleagues around the world of hospitality and this has enabled him to create and lead The Hotel Solutions Partnership Ltd under which outstanding teams of consultants respond to tough questions asked by savvy clients.

The business is in its ninth trading year - and has attracted the cream of the world of independent consultants to the network.

In 2011, Ian led teams, or was a team member, on assignments that required him to

• challenge the business plan of a Mongolian SPV and in so doing provide the investment appraisal on an accommodation led Private Members Club concept that led to a complete change of direction by the client
• support the provision of technology and distribution & e-channel advice to a returning South Korean quoted client
• lead a team sourced from around the world in the analysis of and then design of a turnaround for a mixed use development in Spain owned and operated by an Irish quoted company that includes hotel, golf, F&B and spa as profit centres
• provide support to our team that was asked by the client to analyse family based resorts in Central Europe
• challenge the sales and marketing plans of mid market hotels in Ireland
• analyse the need for and then create a workout plan for a failing mixed use resort development in southern England
• mentor the leadership and a senior management team at a Christian retreat in East London that included Ian identifying the need to replace the finance executive as well as introduce a radically different pricing model

And last year, he was appointed as a non-director on the several boards of the hotel developments of the venture capitalist firm Downing LLP. He continues to be the Chairman of the Tourism and Hospitality Special Interest Group of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) as well as being a Visiting Fellow at the School of Hospitality and Tourism at Oxford Brookes University.

In the 1970s and 80s, he was an executive with ITT Sheraton rising to the position of VP Controller Europe, Middle and Africa and then in the 1990's he held the executive role of VP Finance, Legal and IT at Bass Hotels and Resorts (now IHG). From 1999 to 2003 he was a Director in the global hospitality consultancies of Andersen and then Deloitte.

Ian is a Fellow of the ICAEW and holds a BSc in Hotel and Catering Administration from the University of Surrey.

Associated Areas of Expertise

Asset management Read more >

Benchmarking performance Read more >

Brand management Read more >

Business turnaround Read more >

Central reservation systems (CIS) Read more >

Customer relationship management Read more >

Development strategy Read more >

Due diligence Read more >

E-commerce Read more >

Finance Read more >

Franchisee and relationship management Read more >

Hotel management contracts Read more >

Hotel operator selection Read more >

Hotel operator relationship management Read more >

Investment appraisal Read more >

IT strategy and investment planning Read more >

Market entry and exit Read more >

Process design Read more >

Process improvement Read more >

Procurement Read more >

Property management systems Read more >

Standard operating procedures Read more >

Strategic planning Read more >

Sustainability Read more >

Valuation advice Read more >

Web site development Read more >