Meet the Directors: Steven and Aimee
In our new Staff Spotlight series, we’re introducing you to the people behind Switch.
One of the key benefits of working with us is gaining access to our team of hospitality and housing experts. With in-depth knowledge and proven sector expertise, we consistently go the extra mile to deliver exceptional results.
Today, meet two of our founding directors – Group Marketing Director, Aimee Smith, and Group Finance Director, Steven Holt. After joining the business as part of the Park Regis Birmingham team in 2015, they have now worked together for over a decade.
Here, they tell us more about their career journeys, proudest achievements, and what the ‘Switch standard’ means to them.
Steven and Aimee – tell us about your current roles at Switch
Steven Holt (SH): In my role as Group Finance Director, I am responsible for the entire finance function at Switch. My remit spans multi-industry financial leadership, strategic planning, governance, and risk management – with a focus on accounting procedures and practices, forecasting and budgeting, income audit and cost control, and owner relations.
I was originally appointed in October 2015 as Hotel Financial Controller to support the opening of Park Regis Birmingham – overseeing £7m in revenue and working with a small team.
Aimee Smith (AS): As Group Marketing Director, I create marketing strategies, content, and campaigns to help build awareness, strengthen guest engagement, and deliver measurable commercial results for properties across the Switch portfolio.
I was first appointed in November 2015, working in Business Development and Revenue as part of the Park Regis Birmingham team. Supporting the opening of a major independent hotel gave me invaluable experience in commercial strategy, distribution and sales, and the operational detail behind a successful launch. After two years, I moved into marketing which has always been my true passion.
How has your role – and the wider business – changed over the past decade?
AS: With the growth of Switch’s portfolio, my role has also evolved – from supporting one hotel launch to leading the strategic marketing direction across the group, with responsibility for brand, websites, SEO, paid media, CRM, content, social media, and PR.
I’m proud to be Switch’s ‘Brand Champion’, with responsibility for creating, implementing, and leading our marketing plans and content strategies across a range of channels. With a deep understanding of our customer personas and target audiences, I aim to ensure every guest journey is as seamless as possible – from first search to return visit.
With the acquisition of new assets – including aparthotel Birmingham and The Queens Hotel & Spa – I’ve played a central role in bringing these new hospitality brands to life. From market positioning and brand identity to pre-opening campaigns and content, I have helped to turn new concepts into guest-ready, commercially focused brands.
Today, my work extends beyond hospitality, as I’ve also developed our in-house strategies to help penetrate new markets and demonstrate how Switch’s hospitality expertise has successfully transcended sectors. This can be seen in our Switch Housing programme, launched in 2024, which works with local authorities, councils, and private landlords to source residential accommodation for vulnerable people, as well as offering property and tenancy management services.
As Switch has continued to expand and diversify, I’ve maintained a creative and agile approach to ensure we can maximise opportunities while maintaining a consistent brand voice.
SH: Both have changed significantly. Switch’s fast-growing portfolio now includes a number of hospitality assets across the Midlands, including the four-star aparthotel Birmingham and Holiday Inn Express Birmingham, as well as the recent acquisition of two hotels in Bournemouth – The Queens Hotel & Spa and Ibis Styles.
Today, Park Regis Birmingham is the group’s flagship hotel, achieving a record year of revenue as it marked its 10th anniversary. The hotel delivered its highest ever annual RevPAR (revenue per available room) performance in 2025, with 3.9% market share growth and a 5.1% rise in occupancy, demonstrating our ability to be agile and continually evolve in response to changing traveller trends to boost the bottom line.
In my role as Director, I now lead a finance team of seven and manage over £43m in turnover. This growth reflects not only the expansion of the business, but also the ability of the team to scale the systems, processes, and people alongside it.
How has the hospitality sector evolved?
SH: I think the increasing use of data to inform decision-making and enhance senior-level insight has been a key change over the last decade. As the Switch business has expanded, I’ve maintained a strong focus on standardising and enhancing our financial systems and reporting, so we can deliver efficient and future-proofed solutions across the group.
As part of this, I led our transition from an outsourced finance model to an in-house Sage reporting system, allowing us to benefit from improved controls and accountability, greater transparency across departments, and a 35% reduction in reporting time. Investment in systems such as these are vital in helping us to meet evolving sector needs and challenges.
AS: Over the last decade, hospitality has faced an unprecedented period of change – the impact of Covid-19, post-Brexit recruitment and supply pressures, rising energy and operating costs, evolving customer behaviours, and rapidly changing digital channels.
From a marketing perspective, my focus has been on keeping each of Switch’s brands visible, relevant, and commercially responsive, balancing immediate market needs with the long-term work required to protect brand loyalty and reputation, as well as guest demand and satisfaction. I strongly believe in the value of direct relationships, strengthening our owned channels to build authentic and customer-focused brands.
What has been your greatest achievement at Switch?
AS: I’ve been particularly proud to see the continued growth and success of Park Regis Birmingham, which is now one of the city’s leading hotels. In my role, over the past 12 months, I have helped to increase the hotel’s online booking revenue by 134%, grow conversion from 0.61% to 0.94%, and boost direct booking share from 13% to 20%.
This was achieved through a major programme of website design and functionality improvements – at Park Regis and across Switch’s full portfolio – which has helped to create more seamless direct-booking journeys and stronger foundations for conversion.
SH: One of my main achievements was successfully navigating the complexities of Covid-19 – working to keep Park Regis open during the pandemic, while overseeing our health and safety investments, operational readiness, and ongoing financial performance.
I managed the transition from 300 staff to a lean director-only structure during furlough periods, protected cash flow, and helped to maintain business continuity during a period of extreme uncertainty. It was a true team effort and one that I’m personally very proud of.
… and the biggest challenge?
SH: In today’s environment, rising operational costs are a pressing concern. Energy bills, food prices, labour expenses, and tax reforms are placing increasing financial pressure on the sector, and a key focus of my role is ongoing cost and energy management. I have led significant cost-reduction initiatives – including reducing our operating costs by 15%, and negotiating a move to flexible energy contracts, resulting in annual savings of more than £50k.
AS: For me, it was the uncertainty and upheaval of Covid-19, which obviously had a major impact on the hospitality sector as a whole. My challenge was to keep our marketing activity as agile as possible during periods of disruption – adapting communications, offers, and channel investment to meet changing guest confidence and demand.
The experience highlighted the importance of creating a more resilient marketing model by investing in our owned channels – including websites, CRM, organic search, and social – so we can remain as responsive as possible, regardless of external pressures or events.
How do you measure success?
AS: In the early years at Switch, performance was often measured through campaign activity, occupancy, and overall revenue. Today, our approach is far more accountable and connected – incorporating brand visibility, website conversion, direct booking share, attributed revenue, ROI, CRM growth, search performance, and guest engagement. Each of these elements helps to inform how our marketing activity is planned, implemented, and optimised.
As a team, we are creative and ambitious, and it’s still so rewarding to see ideas develop from a brief into something that a guest will experience and remember. In simple terms, it’s important to measure what matters – a strong brand is not created by one campaign, it is built consistently through every guest interaction.
SH: In my role, I value the ability to balance commercial agility with strong financial governance. With the support of my team, I’ve successfully pivoted our financial strategy across different business models and industries as the group has diversified, implementing the right financial planning and risk management frameworks to support continued growth.
Describe your leadership style – how do you motivate and inspire your team?
AS: As a senior leader, I am most proud of the people and brands that have grown around me during my time at Switch – whether it’s seeing a new hotel launch become an established business, bringing new brand concepts to life, or helping my team develop the confidence and skills they need to excel. I believe the strongest marketing teams are supportive, driven, and welcoming, with space for creativity alongside clear accountability.
At Switch, I have developed a four-person marketing team with significant in-house capability, including video production, Meta advertising, and strategic marketing development. I encourage my team to be bold and forward-thinking, building high-quality marketing strategies which consistently push boundaries within the hospitality sector.
SH: One of my proudest achievements is not just the financial growth of the company, but the development of the team alongside it. As a values-led and people-driven business, we’re committed to ensuring that the capability, confidence, and strategic thinking of our team evolves at the same pace as the organisation.
Over the past 10 years, I’m proud to have built and scaled a high-performing finance team which is fully aligned with our rapid business growth – with each team member being empowered to excel and develop in their role.
What does the ‘Switch standard’ mean to you?
AS: In marketing, our focus is not just on reaching more people, but on reaching the right audience, enhancing the booking journey, and ensuring that value is delivered by every channel. A deep understanding of our customers is at the heart of our strategy – with a strong commitment to creating the best guest experience possible.
SH: At all levels of the business, we have the freedom and encouragement to think outside the box and do things differently in response to specific asset demands and demographics. That’s what makes the Switch team unique, and helps us to deliver exceptional results to our clients, partners, and stakeholders.
And finally – sum up your career journey at Switch in three words
AS: Inspiring, creative, and fun!
SH: Collaborative, motivating, and fulfilling.
To find out more about the Switch team, meet the full Switch Management team here
