budget planning
Methods in the Madness: Insiders Share Their Budgeting Approach
HotStats | October 15, 2024
Budgeting is like training for an Olympic marathon. Days are spent creating a plan to address weaknesses, build on strength and endurance, and hedge against unfortunate events. Money is earmarked for activities that hopefully will generate income or sponsorships to procure better equipment. A significant amount of time is spent too in scoping out conditions in the field and closest competitors. The goal, after all, is to be in business for the long haul while staying lean and nimble in the short term. Like all athletic training, there are no easy ways to go about budgeting. “There’s a lot going around in my head,” says Neetu Mistry, ...
How to Make the 2024 Hotel Budgeting Process as Smooth and Painless as Possible
HotStats | November 6, 2023
By Jeannette King, Marketing Manager at HotStats For hotel owners and operators alike, the annual budget is often a grueling and time-consuming process. This year, with persistent inflation, added pressures on cost control, and uncertainty about the economy, the process is as fraught as ever. Are there ways to make the 2024 budgeting process more streamlined and efficient? For insights and advice, HotStats reached out to leading hospitality experts around the world. 1. Start Early but Submit Late Hoteliers often complain that the budgeting process seems to start earlier every year. This is especially true for large hotel groups with mult...
Is the Annual Budget Process Still a Necessary Evil for Hotels?
HotStats | October 26, 2023
By Kathrin Cockhill For hotels, the annual budget process is like a high-stakes poker game in which the owners keep their cards close to their chest and the operators try to guess what cards they’re holding and if they’re bluffing. By the time everyone shows their hands and the year kicks in, the game has often changed significantly, and all bets are off. Does it have to be this way? Today, more data than ever is available to enable operators to budget and forecast based on current conditions rather than rely on outdated projections. But will this serve the needs of owners? For insights, HotStats reached out to hospitality leader...
2024 Budget Planning: What Is Top of Mind for Hotel Owners & Operators?
HotStats | October 19, 2023
Budget season is upon us, and around the world hotel owners and operators are buried deep in data trying to come up with 2024 performance numbers. What unique challenges are hotels facing in the 2024 budgeting and planning process? HotStats reached out to global hospitality leaders to find out. By Michael Grove Chief Operating Officer HotStats 1. 2023 Hotel Performance: Growth Is Slowing In UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, Brazil, and the Caribbean, hotel profit margins in the first half of 2023 well surpassed 2019 levels, whereas they lagged in the UK, Germany, Spain, Poland, and Qatar. In China, hotels experienced tremendous growth rel...
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...
Now Available for Download: Hotelier’s Guide to 2020 Digital Marketing & Technology Budget Planning
NextGuest Digital | September 30, 2019
Budgeting season is a time to analyze your hotel’s marketing and technology initiatives from the previous year and set a new plan in action to start off 2020 on the right foot. When putting together your budget, think about upgrades your property needs to make regarding your digital technology and marketing strategy. It’s important to have an idea of where the industry is heading and keep forecasted trends for the upcoming year in mind when deciding how you want to allocate your marketing dollars. Budgeting should be looked at as more of an action plan to give your hotel a clear picture of where your money will be going each month and ...
Hoteliers – Make the Most of Your 2019 Tech Budget
Magnus Friberg | October 1, 2018
By Magnus Friberg Autumn isn't the only season that is taking shape right now — for hoteliers, budget planning season is fast approaching. Budget management is always top of mind for hoteliers, but no time more than now, as CFO's and Controllers work to predict expenses and allocate spend for the upcoming year. The question on everyone's mind becomes — where will 2019 investments go? Renovations? Technology? Staffing? Marketing? FF&E? During the budgetary process, there are a number of variables to consider. Primarily, hoteliers tend to focus on guest-facing CAPEX initiatives in the form of property updates — think...
Asset-Managing the 2018 Budget Story
Gary Isenberg | November 9, 2017
By Gary Isenberg As summer tumbles into fall, hotel asset managers grapple with the annual challenge of reviewing and approving budgets for their hotel or hotels. As they leaf through page after page of a budget submitted by management and cobbled together with input from all facets of hotel operations—from housekeeping and food and beverage to maintenance and marketing—asset managers ought to look beyond the spreadsheets and revenue projections to conclude whether they are reading a great story. In the case of a hotel budget, the tale being told is that of the asset's revenue goal for the coming year and how it will achieve...
