Brandt Hospitality Group Getting Great Results From Accounting Software Partner
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Important News for Hospitality Executives: How the New Tax Act Could Affect Your Estate Plan
Jim Butler | January 30, 2018
By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group® Hotel Lawyers | Authors of www.HotelLawBlog.com 30 January 2018 If you are a hotel executive or other highly compensated individual in the hospitality industry, you need to be aware of how the new Tax Act (H.R. 1 – Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) might affect your estate plan. In some cases, the impact will be significant. In the brief article below, JMBM's tax attorneys recommend that you review your existing estate plan to ensure that the Tax Act does not alter your plan's original intentions. They also point to substantial new planning opportunities provided by the Tax Act, and you wil...
RLH Corporation Executes Five Hotel Purchase and Sale Agreements
RLH Corporation | January 29, 2018
DENVER (January 29, 2018) — RLH Corporation (NYSE:RLH) today announced the execution of five hotel purchase and sale agreements resulting from the previously disclosed listing for sale of 11 company-owned hotels. The five sales are currently anticipated to close in February or early March, 2018, subject to standard contingencies and closing conditions. The sale prices contracted on these five assets exceeded the company's expectations. The real estate market conditions remain robust and RLH Corporation was able to negotiate pricing for these first five hotels reflecting single-digit cap rates. The company expects to maintain Red L...
Hospitality Financial Leadership – Every Line Needs an Owner
David Lund | January 29, 2018
By David Lund My dear mother Donna often recited her favorite sayings, especially when she wanted to make a point. She had some really good sayings, and several have stuck with me. One of them I relate to hotel financial leadership. Her saying was "Many hands make light work." How does that relate to creating an engaged leadership team at your hotel? Let me explain. It is true in any aspect of our lives at home and work that teamwork makes things easier. The reason it makes them easier is that we have more effort directed toward the thing we are trying to do. The simplest example is trying to lift a heavy rock. If we work in a coordinat...
AHLA’s Financial Management Committee Issues Guidance for the New Revenue Recognition Standards
American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) | January 25, 2018
The Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") recently revised how revenue from contracts with customers should be recorded. This was contained in FASB's Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 606. Implementation of ASC 606 is effective starting January 1, 2018 for public companies and no later than December 31, 2019 for all other companies. The objectives of the new accounting guidance are to clarify how revenue should be recognized for goods and services. The American Hotel & Lodging Association's (AHLA) Financial Management Committee has issued guidance on the new revenue recognition standards and how it affects the hotel ...
HFTP Launches Certification Advisory Program (CAP) to Benefit CHAE and CHTP Applicants
HFTP | January 25, 2018
The new program will pair new certification applicants with experienced mentors International association Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) recently introduced its new Certification Advisory Program (CAP), which is designed to provide guidance to Certified Hospitality Accountant Executive (CHAE®) and Certified Hospitality Technology Professional (CHTP®) applicants. The inaugural program will pair HFTP certification candidates with HFTP members who hold an active HFTP designation. The advisors will help and support candidates via one-to-one interactions as a supplemental review option for the certific...
New Guide Outlines Strategies for Building Thought Leadership, Influence and Market Leadership
Puzzle Partner | January 25, 2018
Travel and Hospitality marketing agency Puzzle Partner shares content marketing tactics that drive trust, visibility and sales TORONTO, ON (January 25, 2018) – We have entered an age where leadership matters more than ever — thought leadership, to be exact. Building trust, credibility, awareness, and influence to increase profits is more than just a goal of most CEOs and executives. It's also the topic of a new guide from the leading travel and hospitality technology marketing agency, Puzzle Partner. The firm recently published "Thought Leader - Market Leader" developed to help brands become a sought-after source for informa...
HFTP Chapters Offer Regional Education for Hospitality Finance and Technology Professionals
HFTP | January 24, 2018
Online registration open for Mid-South Atlantic Regional and Florida Regional Several chapters of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) have banded together to curate and host regional, educational conferences in 2018. HFTP's regional conferences showcase the many advantages of HFTP membership, and provide continuing education and networking opportunities to hospitality professionals in the area. To date, two HFTP regional conferences have been scheduled in areas across the United States. "HFTP's regional conferences are known for their intimate nature and top-notch education sessions," said F...
Pebblebrook Hotel Trust Presents the 6th Annual Pebby Award Nominations
Pebblebrook Hotel Trust | January 23, 2018
HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB) (the "Company") today announced the nominations for its Sixth Annual Pebby Awards. The Pebby Award nominees were chosen for their outstanding accomplishments in 2017, as determined by the Company. The Academy's nominations are notably diverse this year, and while Skamania Lodge received four nominations, multiple hotels earned three nominations each, including: Hotel Zoe San Francisco; Hotel Zelos San Francisco; LaPlaya Beach Resort & Club; The Nines, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Portland and Union Station Hotel Nashville, Autograph Collection. The fierce competition amongst the p...
Hospitality Innovators to Converge at Sixth Annual RSS This July
Kalibri Labs | January 23, 2018
Hotel Industry Leaders Meet to Confront Challenges of Evolving Consumer Trends and Increasing Complexity in Distribution and Technology Washington, D.C., January 23, 2018 — Hoteliers and industry thought leaders will come together July 10 to identify the major trends transforming hospitality and share best practices for facing them at the annual RSS in Washington, D.C. The sixth RSS will be held at The Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue, just a few blocks from The White House. "The Newseum is a perfect venue for RSS in its sixth year, because it seems like it's a new story in this industry every day," said Patrick Bosworth, Co-Founder...
HFTP Launches New GDPR Bytes Site, an Addition to its Online News Portfolio
HFTP | January 19, 2018
A daily news source as the industry prepares for a compliance date of May 25, 2018 Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), an international nonprofit hospitality association, announced today the launch of its new GDPR Bytes website. GDPR Bytes is an aggregated content destination where users will find the latest news all in one place. The cross-platform site serves as a daily news outlet that brings together specific publications, reports, feature articles, white papers and more. As hospitality companies conducting business in Europe prepare to make operational changes to conform with the EU General Data Protecti...
Avison Young Hospitality Group Has Another Strong Year in 2017
Avison Young | January 18, 2018
ATLANTA – January 18, 2018 – The Avison Young Hospitality Group announced today that 2017 was another strong transaction year for the hotel practice group. Since 2013, the group has closed 325 hotel transactions, consisting of 93 Marriott, 68 Hilton, 43 IHG, 28 Choice, 17 Red Roof, 15 Wyndham, seven Carlson and 54 other branded, historical or independent hotels. In addition, the hospitality practice currently has 191 assets on the market with a cap value of $3.2 billion. These assets combined have over 17,000 rooms. 70 of the assets are hotels under sale agreement totaling almost 1 billion in allocated property value. "Given...
SHR 2017—Another Year of Growth and Innovation
SHR | January 17, 2018
HOUSTON, TX, January 17, 2018—SHR, Sceptre Hospitality Resources, a pioneer and leading provider of advanced hotel distribution technologies and developer of Windsurfer® CRS, is pleased to provide a look back at its activities over 2017, a year full of new clients, partners, and innovation, including the following highlights and milestones. Growth and Market Expansion Cross-Tinental Acquisition. In August, SHR acquired Cross-Tinental, a well-known leader in the European hospitality tech consultancy sector. This purchase served to immediately jump start SHR's already growing European presence, giving the company a broader base ...
PwC: Global Economic Growth in 2018 on Track to Be Fastest Since 2011
PwC | January 16, 2018
The main engines of the global economy - the US, emerging Asia and the Eurozone - are expected to contribute almost 70% of economic growth in 2018 compared to their post-2000 average of around 60%. Growth in the Eurozone is predicted to be above 2% in 2018, as PwC expects the peripheral economies to outpace the core for the fifth consecutive year. Of the larger Eurozone economies, the Netherlands is expected to lead the way with economic growth at around 2.5%. By contrast, uncertainty relating to Brexit is expected to drag on UK growth, which is predicted to be 1.4% in 2018. Barret Kupelian, senior economist at PwC, comments: "In 2...
Hospitality Asset Managers Association (“HAMA”) Names 2018 Board of Directors
HAMA | January 16, 2018
ATLANTA, Ga., January 16, 2018—Officials of the Hospitality Asset Managers Association ("HAMA") today announced their new board of directors for 2018. Recently appointed at the group's semi-annual conference, the new members include: CHMWarnick's Maxine Taylor as president Three Wall Capital's Tim Dick as vice-president Fulcrum Hospitality's Larry Kaminsky as secretary Host Hotels & Resorts' Christopher Ostapovicz as treasurer Pinnacle Advisory Group's Matthew Arrants as marketing chair hotelAVE's Kim Gauthier, CHAM (Certified Hotel Asset Manager), as head of the education chair CHMWarnick's Larry Trabulsi as head of t...
Sonnenblick-Eichner Company Arranges $60,000,000 of Financing for The St. Regis Deer Valley, Park City, Utah
Sonnenblick-Eichner Company | January 16, 2018
Beverly Hills, California – January 16, 2018 – Sonnenblick-Eichner Company announced today that it has arranged $60 million of financing for The St. Regis Deer Valley (www.stregisdeervalley.com), a year-round destination resort located on the slopes of the world renowned Deer Valley ski area in Park City, Utah. The St. Regis Deer Valley offers 67 hotel condominium suites divisible into 177 hotel keys and 25 private whole-ownership residences. The ski-in, ski-out resort is considered among the finest destination ski resorts in the world. Amenities at the resort include the 14,000 square-foot Remède Spa and fitness faci...
The Belvedere Hotel Trusts IDeaS’ Advanced Technology to Optimize Revenue Strategy, Increase ADR
The Belvedere Hotel | January 16, 2018
Independent hotel switches revenue technology to capture more demand and optimize revenue results with IDeaS G3 RMS Tweet this: @BelvedereNYC switches #revenuemanagement providers to optimize revenue opportunities with @IDeaS_RevOpt MINNEAPOLIS – Jan. 16, 2018 – Step into the 1920s at this art-deco styled, independent property in New York City – The Belvedere Hotel. This non-traditional boutique hotel, accommodating an impressive 355 guestrooms, is within a block and a half of Times Square, yet offers guests a quiet residential feel. The Belvedere sought to upgrade its revenue strategy solution in order to keep up with...
Hospitality Financial Leadership – Recording Average Length of Stay
David Lund | January 15, 2018
The one thing I see time and time again with clients is just how poorly their financial statements are set up. The statements almost always lack basic information that is readily available and is critical information for maximizing profitability: poor design and missing features. If they were a car, I would want to call them a Lada. My apologies to any Russian readers. The flip side of this challenge is all the information that is needed to fix this reporting problem is at your fingertips. No new software is required. No real investment. Your team just needs to use what they already have and put it to work. Typical stumbling blocks to c...
HFTP Now Accepting Applications for Entrepreneur 20X at HITEC Houston 2018
HITEC | January 15, 2018
Innovative pitch competition for hospitality technology startups Back by popular demand, international nonprofit Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) is proud to host its innovation pitch competition, Entrepreneur 20X (E20X), at the world's largest hospitality technology exposition in 2018. HFTP is currently accepting applications online from hospitality startups who wish to compete in E20X at HITEC® Houston this June. Past applicants and winners are welcome to re-apply as long as they are still considered Series A or a startup. E20X came to be at HITEC Austin in 2015, and since has expanded internatio...
Lake Lawn Resort Selects Solution Suite from Rainmaker to Increase Profitability and Outperform the Competition
Rainmaker | January 10, 2018
Wisconsin Resort Implements Rainmaker's Industry-Leading Revenue Optimization Solutions ALPHARETTA, GA. — Jan. 11, 2018 — The Rainmaker Group (Rainmaker), a leading provider of cloud-based hospitality revenue and profit optimization software, today announced that Lake Lawn Resort in Delavan, Wis., has selected a comprehensive solution suite, including guestrev®, grouprev®, revcaster® and revintel®, to optimize hotel revenue and drive competitive advantage at the 271-room property. The agreement expands Rainmaker's footprint in the upscale hotel and resort market. Lake Lawn Resort, located less than 90 minutes...
Serent Capital Invests in BirchStreet Systems, a Leader in Procure-to-Pay Business Solutions
BirchStreet Systems | January 10, 2018
San Francisco, CA – January 10, 2018 – Serent Capital, a San Francisco-based private equity firm focused on investing in high-growth technology and services businesses, has made a minority investment in BirchStreet Systems, the leading provider of cloud-based procure-to-pay automation software for customers in the hospitality, restaurant, and foodservice industries. BirchStreet's suite of solutions encompasses eProcurement, Accounts Payable Automation, Inventory Management, Recipe System Management, and Capital Projects. The software increases efficiency by streamlining many manual processes and creates a comprehensive, inte...
Paramount Lodging Advisors West Coast Office Sells California Courtyard by Marriott Land
Paramount Lodging Advisors | January 10, 2018
Paramount Lodging Advisors (PLA) has successfully executed the sale of a land parcel with approvals for a 122-room Courtyard by Marriott development located in Petaluma, California. Senior Managing Director Scott Griemsmann represented the seller in this transaction. The hotel itself will be part of the 35-acre "Riverfront" mixed use development. It is currently planned to include office, residential, retail, and 7.5 acres of open space. "We are very pleased with the results for this transaction. This is a great project in a high barrier to entry market that has easy access to Napa/Sonoma wine country and the San Francisco Bay Area. Thi...
Sonnenblick-Eichner Company Arranges $110,000,000 of First Mortgage Financing for InterContinental San Francisco
Sonnenblick-Eichner Company | January 10, 2018
Beverly Hills, California – January 10, 2018 – Sonnenblick-Eichner Company announced today that it has arranged $110 million of first mortgage financing to refinance the InterContinental San Francisco, a 32-story, 550-room hotel located adjacent to San Francisco's Moscone Convention Center in the South of Market district (SOMA) of downtown San Francisco, California. The Four-Diamond, AAA-rated hotel includes 43,000 square feet of meeting, banquet and pre-function space; Luce, a Michelin rated restaurant; a 10,000 square-foot spa and subterranean parking accommodating 180 valet spaces. The interest rate for this 10-year, non-...
2018 Commercial Real Estate Lending Predictions
Brian Holstein | January 9, 2018
By Brian Holstein Borrowers and lenders both enjoyed a fruitful 2017 and US Hotel Advisors predicts that 2018 will be more of the same. Looking Back at 2017 Most experts predicted that 2017 would be a rough year for commercial real estate lenders and borrowers alike. The "Wall of Maturities" was supposed to come crashing down. The newly-instituted risk-retention regulations were expected to curtail lending capacity and damage liquidity. Both the 10-year Treasury rate and loan spreads were projected to rise. All of this sounds dreadful, unless of course it never happened. US Hotel Advisors took the contrarian view and got it right. The "...
HITEC Houston Online Registration and Housing Bureau Open; Advisory Council Announced
HITEC | January 9, 2018
Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), producers of the world's largest Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC®), has announced that attendee registration for its HITEC Houston is now available online as well as hotel reservations. Selected by HFTP leadership for their experience and expertise, the HITEC Houston Advisory Council will determine event's education program. HITEC Houston will be the second, and largest, HITEC event of 2018, and will take place from June 18-21 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas USA. "The selection process for HFTP'...