robert mandelbaum
Loyalty Program Membership, Contribution, Liability, and Costs Continue to Grow
CBRE Hotels | November 4, 2024
By Rachael Rothman CFA, ISHC, Robert Mandelbaum, and Christine Bang Strong loyalty programs help hotel brands lower customer acquisition costs, increase direct-to-consumer access, and offset occupancy shortfalls during shoulder periods and weaker economic conditions. After analyzing publicly available data from five large hotel companies, we found that while growth in several key metrics slowed in 2023, loyalty members' overall contribution to occupancy increased, though marginal contribution per member contracted. Benefits The average number of loyalty program members at the subject five companies increased 11.3% in 2023, slower tha...
Commitment to Knowledge: HFTP Celebrates Robert Mandelbaum’s Impact in Hospitality Research
Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals | October 7, 2024
Robert Mandelbaum, Research Director at CBRE Hotel Research, has long been a leader and educator in hospitality financial research and a dedicated contributor to HFTP. It is with great honor that HFTP will present Mandelbaum with the 2024 HFTP Paragon Award, recognizing his significant and lasting contributions to both the association and the hospitality industry. Mandelbaum will receive the award during the HFTP 2024 Annual Convention at the Keynote Session on October 23. "It is so special to receive this recognition from the volunteer leaders and professional staff at HFTP,” said Mandelbaum. “I know how much time and effort they ...
Golf Revenue: Above PAR and POR for Hotels
Robert Mandelbaum | October 7, 2024
Throughout the latter part of the 20th century, golf was growing significantly in the United States. Not only was participation soaring, but new golf courses were being built at a record pace. In some years, development activity exceeded 400 new courses. The popularity of golf began to decline around 2000, as the tech bubble recession that began in 2001 slowed the pace of growth during the first few years of the decade. Annual declines in the number of rounds played started in 2006, and participation in the sport weakened further in 2007 and 2008 as the Great Financial Crisis sapped discretionary expenditure funds from the prototypical golfe...
Parking and EV Stations Charge U.S. Hotel Performance
Jim Hurless | September 9, 2024
By Robert Mandelbaum and Jim Hurless Parking revenues have increased by 23.1% from 2019 to 2023, based on a sample of U.S. properties in CBRE’s Trends® in the Hotel Industry database, which is more than four times greater than the growth rate for total hotel revenues during that period. Not only is parking a growing source of revenue, but it is relatively profitable as well. In 2023, parking department profit margins for the CBRE sample were 61.3% of total department revenue, while the average profit margin for all other-operated departments was 58.7% at those hotels. While the contribution to revenues and profits is welcomed news to hot...
Soft Brands – A Third Alternative
Robert Mandelbaum and Paul Isaacson | September 4, 2024
By Robert Mandelbaum and Paul Isaacson Historically, hotel owners have had the option to either affiliate with a known brand or operate independently. Affiliating with a brand provided access to a reservation system, loyal customers, communal marketing programs, a known identity among consumers, and a sense of stability within the finance and investment community. Brand affiliation, however, comes with costs. Owners pay a variety of fees for royalty, marketing, reservation, and guest loyalty programs, and need to conform to facility, service, and operating standards. Operating independently relieves owners from the burden of the franchise-r...
Hotel Loyalty Programs: Betting on the Law of Large Numbers
CBRE | July 15, 2024
Executive Summary Despite 5% growth in global room count last year for the five public hotel companies we analyzed for this report, an 11% increase in hotel loyalty program members resulted in a 2.5-percentage-point (pp) increase in total hotel occupancy attributable to loyalty member bookings. Loyalty programs are becoming less dominated by frequent travelers. Heavy users (30+ nights a year) comprise a declining percentage of total membership as the earning of loyalty points has become more tied with credit cards and affiliate programs and less directly with just frequent travelers. Loyalty program redemption revenues increased by...
Assessing the Digital Infrastructure of Your Hotels
CBRE Hotels | July 3, 2024
By Robert Mandelbaum, John Pomposello, and Adam Barry In 2023, U.S. hotels faced rising operating expenses outpacing revenue growth, resulting in declining profit margins. To combat this, hotels are leveraging technology to enhance efficiency and guest satisfaction. Key areas of technological investment include employee productivity tools, automated guest services, and improved cybersecurity. Analyzing IT expenditures from 4,121 properties, CBRE found that IT costs represented a relatively controlled 1.4% of total operating revenue, despite a 7.4% increase in 2023. Higher IT spending was noted in Resort and Convention hotels due to their e...
New Labor Challenges Arise in 2023
Robert Mandelbaum | June 6, 2024
By Robert Mandelbaum, Andrea Grigg The scarcity of employees has long been the primary labor concern for U.S. hoteliers, even before the onset of the COVD-19 pandemic. Historically, jobs in the lodging industry have had a negative perception as being too physically demanding, requiring too long of hours, and requiring work on weekends and holidays. The shortage of personnel was exaggerated during 2021 and 2022 as many of the employees that were laid off during the pandemic in 2020 opted not to return to the industry. The difficulty of attracting workers to fill line-level positions within hotels lessened somewhat in 2023. Reductions in ...
