Empowering Quality Growth at Pyramid Global Hospitality

Photos Courtesy of Pyramid Global Hospitality

Empowering Quality Growth at Pyramid Global Hospitality

Pyramid Global Hospitality, a leading hospitality management company with properties across the U.S., Caribbean and Western Europe, works with Avendra International for professional procurement services. Both organizations share a people-first approach, built on mutual respect and collaboration to drive meaningful results.

When Pyramid needed a collaborator to help drive efficiency throughout its portfolio, Avendra’s industry-leading pricing and consistent support stood out from other Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs).

Avendra Edge Magazine spoke with Isaac Hicks, Chief Operating Officer for Pyramid Global Hospitality to explore how Avendra International helps the organization find quality growth.

Q: Why has Pyramid Global Hospitality chosen Avendra International as your GPO?

Isaac Hicks: “We’ve been engaged with Avendra International for quite some time. Our goals in working with Avendra include maximizing property profitability by leveraging their $20.5 billion purchasing power to secure competitive pricing, while keeping guest satisfaction high at every property.

When we merged with another company in 2020, we switched to their GPO as part of our negotiations. As the rollout of this newly formed business took place, we were not entirely comfortable with what we were getting from the new GPO. So, we turned to the data.

We drew up a comparison between the new GPO and Avendra International, looking for about a 12-point savings in non-food areas. When we did a side-by-side comparison with data from another GPO, we found a nearly 15-point savings for our owners with Avendra International. That is huge, meaningful savings. It was clear Avendra International was the better choice.”

Q: What is your experience working with Avendra International?

“Avendra makes making money and saving money easy”

“Not all GPOs do that. Something as simple as a common credit app makes a tremendous difference. We are working with as many as 30 new properties a year. The idea of creating individual credit apps for each property and/or vendor just does not work for us.

Right from the start, Avendra International makes it easy for our hotels to start saving. You are delivering savings every day if we’re using your services correctly. And you’re innovative in how we measure success. Avendra International is always looking for a new way to find added savings or hold vendors accountable.”

Q: How do you define a successful working relationship with Avendra International?

“When we pick a business partner, whether it’s a GPO or something else, we truly embrace it—we don’t go halfway in on a relationship.

Our expectations are, at a minimum, meeting the business metrics. The cost savings are the table stakes. That’s the bare minimum we expect from a GPO. We’re also looking for an alignment in culture. We’re looking for alignment in transparency, efficiency, and a willingness to be flexible. Those are huge drivers of a successful partnership. Avendra International checks those marks.

During recent years, as we moved away from Avendra and then back, I appreciated that the doors were always open. Good, positive conversations continued to happen between Pyramid and Avendra International even though we were working with a different GPO. Avendra International did an excellent job of letting us know they were always here for us. Look how that turned out—we’re back to doing business with Avendra International.

Looking ahead, we’re working on growing our whole portfolio’s participation in the Avendra program to maximize savings.”

By staying aligned on culture, goals, and operations, Avendra International has proven to be more than just a procurement collaborator for Pyramid Global Hospitality. Together, we’re building a foundation for quality growth, one success story at a time.

We understand the challenges that come with procurement for large hotel companies—balancing cost savings, operational efficiency and supplier accountability while delivering exceptional guest experiences.

Find more success stories like this in the Spring/Summer 2025 Edge Magazine. Request your copy today!

Empowering Quality Growth at Pyramid Global Hospitality

Q: Why has Pyramid Global Hospitality chosen Avendra International as your GPO?

Q: What is your experience working with Avendra International?

“Avendra makes making money and saving money easy”

Q: How do you define a successful working relationship with Avendra International?

We get it, and we can help.