Brandt Hospitality Group Getting Great Results From Accounting Software Partner
Aptech | June 5th, 2024
Hospitality Financial Leadership: Why Prioritizing Employee Development Has the Best ROI for Owners Too
David Lund | March 27th, 2023
Improving the Hotel Bottom-Line Begins With Knowing How to Read a P&L
HotStats | December 7, 2020
By Aggie Wojciechowska "Here's the bottom line..." It's a familiar turn of phrase that is succeeded by the speaker getting to the sum or crux of the issue—the overarching point. In running a hotel, getting to the bottom line means getting to what matters: profit. In order to arrive at that point, there are many inputs, both revenue and expense related, which mingle together to produce an outcome. The telling of that dance is recorded in the profit and loss statement (P&L), a signpost that records the story, of which the bottom line is the finale. How to read the story is the first step toward financial success. The P&L (al...
Access Point Financial Secures $8.85 Million to Refinance the Grand Rapids’ Delta Hotel by Marriott
Access Point Financial | November 16, 2020
Recognized leader in hospitality-focused lending completes full loan funding for Grand Rapids’ Delta by Marriott airport hotel ATLANTA - November 16, 2020 – Access Point Financial, LLC (APF), a leading direct lender and specialty finance company focused exclusively on the hospitality industry, today announced the completion of an agreement with Lodging Opportunity Fund REIT to refinance the Delta by Marriott in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As part of the deal, Access Point Financial secured $8.85 million for the Delta by Marriott Grand Rapids Airport property. Lodging Opportunity Fund REIT approached Access Point Financial to provide th...
Aptech to Showcase Its Hospitality-Specific Finance & Accounting Software at HFTP’s CYBER HITEC
Aptech Computer Systems, Inc. | October 26, 2020
Five reasons why hoteliers should purchase their finance and accounting software from a technology supplier with 50 years of hospitality experience; See why Aptech is the industry standard for hospitality financial management at CYBER HITEC PITTSBURGH, OCT. 26, 2020 — In today’s economic climate, hoteliers are looking for ways to reduce costs across the board. To know where to cut, they must have the ability to access, view, compare, and dynamically analyze the performance data of their single hotel or multi-property, multi-branded portfolios. Without access to this vital information, operators may find themselves unable to make effect...
Hospitality Financial Leadership: Chapter 11 – Being
David Lund | October 12, 2020
By David Lund The chapter below is an excerpt from my new book. It’s fiction but some of the characters and story lines are based on people I have worked with and events that have taken place in the hotels I have worked in. The book is a fable about a hotel manager who has some very bad habits. He must change in order to survive and the book takes him and you through the lessons needed to be a great hospitality financial leader. I’m writing ahead each month so I’m not sure how the book will end. I hope you enjoy it and if you missed any earlier chapters you can find them on my website blog tab. The first two days at the Norton...
Budgeting Season Is Here: Oy Vey! But It Doesn’t Have to Be
HotStats | October 9, 2020
By now, most hoteliers are in the throes of budget season. Only this year’s version is unlike any before. COVID-19 has made it so. Hearing from hoteliers and other industry stakeholders, this year’s budget planning is not only cumbersome, but many, including one owner I spoke to, told me they have no idea where to even start. To borrow a line from hands down one of the greatest films of the 20th century, The Big Lebowski, “This is our concern, dude.” Luckily, for all of us, The Dude is not preparing budgets. Still, it may be anyone’s guess as to what 2021will bring as the virus shows no signs of ceasing, the potential of a s...
Aptech Offers Hoteliers Six Budgeting Tips for 2021
Aptech Computer Systems Inc. | September 29, 2020
At a time when revenues are at their lowest, it’s critical that operators understand where to trim costs and how to track spending per occupied room using historical drivers PITTSBURGH, Sept. 29, 2020 — With operating budgets thrown out the window by second quarter this year, hoteliers are scrambling to find useful historical data to help guide them through the 2021 budgeting and forecasting process. Aptech, a provider of budgeting and forecasting, enterprise accounting, and business intelligence solutions for hotels, is advising operators to rely on historical drivers rather than bottom line revenues to help them better plan for the d...
Turnbull Capital Group and Dr. Donald W. Wise Present a World Class Team of Professionals to Discuss: Where Are Hotel Asset Values Today?
Turnbull Capital Group | September 29, 2020
Dr. Donald W. Wise, Co-founder and Senior Managing Director of Newport Beach-based Turnbull Capital Group, and Gretta Brooks, Founder & CEO of Plano-based SalesBoost, LLC, are pleased to announce their third Webinar in a series on the discovery of hotel and resort values today. This Webinar is moderated by Dr. Donald W. Wise, Founder of CBRE Hotels in the 1984 and Founder of the lodging and hospitality lending group at Walker & Dunlop in 2007. The panel features a world-class crew of veterans: Mr. Gregory Mount, Founder, the Victory Hotel Group Ms. Suzanne Mellen, MAI, CRE, FRICS, ISHC, Senior Managing Director...
Property Taxes Post COVID-19
Brian F. Bisema | September 28, 2020
By Brian Bisema, Suzanne Mellen After realizing record-high RevPAR levels with over 100 consecutive months of growth, the lodging industry continued to strengthen through 2019, albeit at a significantly more tempered rate. Then, in the first quarter of 2020, COVID-19 struck. The unimaginable pandemic erased years of RevPAR gains virtually overnight, leaving owners and operators scrambling to strategize the forthcoming steps. While logistics pertaining to reopening hotels, new sanitation standards, and controlling variable operational expenses are on the forefront of hoteliers’ minds, fixed expenses, particularly an asset’s property tax...
Benchmarking 101: The Bottom Line on Utility Costs
HotStats | September 22, 2020
In the age of COVID, numerous operating costs have decreased, as hoteliers have done all they can to reduce expenses to help offset the extreme reduction in revenue. Still, there’s never zero cost. Even a closed hotel has expenses. So, too, do hotels operating at reduced capacity. One of the areas that hoteliers should always be mindful of is utilities, which in the 11th edition of the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI) are recorded in the Property & Maintenance schedule. Utilities include electricity, gas, propane, oil and water/sewer. Utilities can have a massive impact on a hotel’s profit. And even...
Caesars Entertainment and VICI Properties Enter Into $400 Million Mortgage
Caesars Entertainment, Inc. | September 21, 2020
RENO, Nev. and LAS VEGAS, Sept. 21, 2020 -- Caesars Entertainment, Inc., (NASDAQ: CZR) ("Caesars," or "Caesars Entertainment") announced today its subsidiary's entry into a $400 million mortgage with a subsidiary of VICI Properties Inc. (NYSE: VICI) ("VICI Properties" or "VICI") that is secured by the CAESARS FORUM Conference Center in Las Vegas, in accordance with the previously announced letter of intent (the "LOI") entered into on June 15, 2020. The five-year mortgage will initially bear interest at a rate of 7.7% and will be pre-payable beginning in year three, subject to certain conditions (and may be prepaid earlier in the cas...
How Turning to Benchmarking Can Stave Off Financial Ruin
HotStats | September 1, 2020
When the winds of crisis whip, and a hotel’s cash begins flying away, it’s easy to panic. During a crisis, it might feel like the whole market has been pulled out from under you. However, there is hope even in the worst financial crisis. With hotel benchmarking, it’s possible to fight off financial ruin, even in the middle or during the aftermath of financial turmoil. Wondering how? In this article, we dive into ways hoteliers can use benchmarking to keep a hotel out of the red and steer operations to long-term profit amid a nightmarish market. First, What Happens During a Financial Crisis? Every financial crisis will be diff...
Federal Per Diem: Fiscal 2020/21 & Historical Trends
Chelsey Leffet | September 1, 2020
By Chelsey Leffet Government per-diem rates are set for a number of locations, many applying to multiple regions or localities in each state. A per-diem rate is made up of three components: a lodging allowance, meals allowance, and incidental expense allowance[1]; however, this article and the data presented below focus solely on the lodging allowance. The per-diem lodging rates, which provide a maximum amount that a federal traveler can reimburse, are based on the costs of mid-priced hotels, and are set annually by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). The following article examines the per-diem trends of the top lodging markets...
Why Professional Asset Management Adds Value to Hotel Investors?
Ajay Mehtani | August 24, 2020
By Ajay Mehtani & Dipti Mohan The role of a professional Asset Manager has traditionally been underplayed in India, even though the expertise brought in by a quality Asset Manager can yield great results for Investors. This is already a proven fact in several mature markets where Hotel Investors extensively use their services. The role of the Asset Manager has become even more crucial in the current times of uncharted waters. How do professional Asset Managers add value to Hotel Investors? Asset Managers work with owners to maximize the asset value and potential by optimizing operational efficiencies to deliver better ROI. ...
The Owner’s Obligation – Cash
Robert Mandelbaum | August 17, 2020
By Robert Mandelbaum The COVID-19 virus has had an extreme negative impact on the U.S. lodging industry. According to CBRE’s June 2020 edition of Hotel Horizons®, lodging demand in the U.S. will decline by 37.0 percent in 2020. This will cause a 38.0 percent drop in the national occupancy level, along with a 22.5 percent fall in average daily room rates (ADR). The net result is a projected 51.9 percent fall off in revenue per available room (RevPAR) for the year. Using historical data from the CBRE Trends® in the Hotel Industry database of operating statements, the most likely consequence of a 51.9 percent RevPAR decline is a G...
HFTP Offers New Digital Format for the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI), 11th Revised Edition
HFTP | August 4, 2020
Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) has just released a new format for the USALI, 11th revised edition: a digital version that is available through a subscription service. The popular guide is widely used internationally and its primary purpose is to offer operating statements formatted to provide hotel owners, managers and other interested parties with operational information pertinent to the lodging industry. The USALI was first published in 1926 and is currently in its 11th edition. The subscription will make it easy to access on multiple digital devices. "In 2018, HFTP purchased the copyright to the USALI with t...
MGM Resorts International Reports First Quarter Financial and Operating Results
MGM Resorts International | May 5, 2020
The health and safety of our employees, guests, and communities are our top priority The Company has proactively reduced its cash outflows to $270 million per month during closures, excluding MGM China and MGP, and is well-positioned given its strong liquidity and recent $750 million senior notes offering Sports Betting, Japan and Macau remain priority long-term strategic initiatives LAS VEGAS, May 5, 2020 -- MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) ("MGM Resorts" or the "Company") today reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. "The year started strong with results ahead of expectations, however the ...
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Reports First Quarter 2020 Results
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts | May 5, 2020
Company Completes Amendment to Credit Facility Waiving Covenant Testing until Second Quarter of 2021 PARSIPPANY, N.J., May 5, 2020 -- Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: WH) today announced results for the three months ended March 31, 2020. Highlights include: Diluted earnings per share increased 5% to $0.23, and adjusted diluted EPS decreased 4% to $0.50. Net income was $22 million for the first quarter, a 5% increase over the prior-year quarter; adjusted net income was $47 million, an 8% decrease over the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 4% compared with the prior-year quarter, to $107 million. System-wide roo...
Access Point Financial Launches “Navigating Hospitality Finance 2020” Information Resource for Hoteliers Facing Changing Market Conditions
Access Point Financial | April 22, 2020
Recognized hospitality lender addresses the rapidly evolving financial landscape with new blog series to provide best practices for hotel industry stakeholders ATLANTA - April 22, 2020 – Access Point Financial, LLC (APF), a leading direct lender and specialty finance company focused exclusively on the hospitality industry, today announced the debut of a new online resource entitled, “Navigating Hospitality Finance 2020,” which will appear within the Access ViewPoint blog beginning today. The informative four-part series is intended to help hotel owners and investors with an interest in hospitality to plan their best financial strateg...
Hospitality Financial Leadership – Should I Develop a Detailed Budget and Monthly Forecast?
David Lund | April 20, 2020
By David Lund The simple and only answer is yes, you should. Without these tools you are flying in the dark and sooner rather than later you are going to run into a mountain. In my opinion if you are running your hotel business without this and you think that is okay then you are simply irresponsible. If you are thinking it is too complicated or only for the big kids, well, you are wrong again and this recap will be an eye opener for you. This piece is about a client of mine and how we worked to develop these tools, and how they are helping him manage his business as proactively as possible during this crisis. As he recently called it, ...
Access Point Financial Secures $9.2 Million Loan for Delta by Marriott, Green Bay
Access Point Financial | April 6, 2020
Recognized leader in hospitality-focused lending completes full loan funding in just 15 days amid coronavirus outbreak GREEN BAY, WIS. - April 3, 2020 – Access Point Financial, LLC (APF), a leading direct lender and specialty finance company focused exclusively on the hospitality industry, today announced the completion of an agreement with Lodging Opportunity Fund REIT (LOF REIT) to refinance the Delta by Marriott in Green Bay, WI. LOF REIT worked with Access Point Financial to secure a $9.2 million loan on the property. The REIT chose APF as its lending partner due to the company’s ability to be nimble when working with a limited...
COVID-19 and Hospitality: 7 Alternative Ways to Cut Costs and Save Your Business…BEFORE Resorting to Layoffs
Nicole Dehler, Vice President of Product Management | March 26, 2020
By Nicki Dehler The hospitality industry is entering uncharted territory. As concerns surrounding the continued transmission of COVID-19 continue to mount, we find ourselves isolated in our homes, unsure of when this pandemic will pass. What does the future hold for our communities? Moreover, what will this crisis mean for those businesses who have ceased operations due to recent recommendations and mandates for complete shutdowns? There is no denying that from a business perspective, travel and hospitality have taken the brunt of the pandemic’s economic impact. Hotels and airline companies have suffered unprecedented losses as escala...
Hospitality Financial Leadership: What to Do in a Financial Crisis
David Lund | March 9, 2020
By David Lund A lot has been said about the flu outbreak and the devastating effects it will have on the travel and hotel industry. But what can you do about it? The old saying, “You can’t save your way to prosperity,” still holds true, but you can be the best of class when it comes to being the least affected. Occupancy and rates are going to fall, they always do. The question is, where will the market go and how can we keep our REVPAR index? I’ll leave that piece for the revenue and marketing pundits. Here is a list of the top 10 things you can do today to mitigate the financial tsunami that’s coming. I have lived and manage...
Access Point Financial to Finance Hitalk Hotels’ Acquisition of Hyatt Place Mohegan Sun in Connecticut
Access Point Financial | March 5, 2020
Leading hospitality industry lender selected to finance hotel acquisition near the famed Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut ATLANTA – March 5, 2020 – Access Point Financial, LLC (APF), a leading direct lender and specialty finance company focused exclusively on the hospitality industry, has signed an agreement with Hitalk Hotels to provide financing for the company’s acquisition of the Hyatt Place Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. Access Point Financial provided $10.1 million in financing for the acquisition of the property, which will be managed by Aimbridge Hospitality. The hotel is expected to now undergo a ren...
How to Control Payroll for Better Profit
HotStats | February 24, 2020
For hoteliers and investors, it’s easy to be dazzled by revenue numbers. Unfortunately, when labor costs jump, revenue can quickly disintegrate. This is why getting a grasp on payroll data is at the heart of driving profit. Rising labor costs have put a fright into even the most seasoned of hoteliers. And there's reason for concern: Not accounting for payroll can eviscerate profit. Consider how U.S. hotels performed in the third quarter last year. Total revenue (TRevPAR) jumped across the board, but had trouble filtering down to the bottom line. Why? Hotels were hit by a 3.7% year-over-year increase in labor costs. The good n...
