Group items tagged

Lower interest rates, revenues that are outpacing expense growth and below average supply additions are combining to give lenders and investors a greater comfort level with the U.S. lodging investment market,

"Double-digit profit growth, coupled with the low cost of capital and limited supply growth, make hotel real estate an attractive option to commercial real estate investors," said Scott Smith MAI, vice president in the Atlanta office of PKFC

"Institutional investors and private equity funds are showing a bias towards full-service and resort hotels in the major markets, where profit growth has been the greatest,"

"There's a growth problem for a lot of restaurants in the U.S. Many fast-casual dining-type restaurants are mall-based or attached to retail spaces and consumers are just not going there as much," said Tom Champion, a Cowen analyst who follows Grubhub. Grubhub stock has shot up 141% from a year ago.

Millennials think about cuisine in global terms, says Warren Solochek, a restaurant industry analyst at NPD.

They typically share 20% to 30% of a bill with third-party delivery services. That matters in an industry with 10% to 15% operating margins and high fixed costs, including rent and staffing.

most revolutionary and disruptive technologies in history, creating a major paradigm shift.

wide availability of information is perhaps the biggest benefit that the Internet has had on investing.

contact a company directly for the latest financial report, which could prove costly in terms of postage for large financial reports,

ecognizing that operating hotels is a global industry, HFTP determined that there is not a globally accepted method that financial professionals, ownership structures, investors and benchmarking information services can use to support efficient operations. There is also not a globally accepted method to monitor investment performance from region to region without significant assumptions and data mining.

Currently, research is being conducted into current practices. This research will identify who is doing what in different parts of the world, with a view to establishing best practice and providing practical guidance for students, practitioners and professionals involved in the industry.

In order to create a global resource for the hospitality finance industry, Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) began development on a global hospitality accounting system users guide this past March. Recognizing that operating hotels is a global industry, HFTP determined that there is not a globally accepted method that financial professionals, ownership structures, investors and benchmarking information services can use to support efficient operations. There is also not a globally accepted method to monitor investment performance from region to region without significant assumptions and data mining. HFTP’s Global Hospitality Accounting System Users Guide (GHASUG) will address this need. Where does the project stand right now? Currently, research is being conducted into current practices. This research will identify who is doing what in different parts of the world, with a view to establishing best practice and providing practical guidance for students, practitioners and professionals involved in the industry. The guidance will be formulated by industry experts, based on the research findings. To date HFTP has commitments from major information benchmarking companies, hotel corporations, hospitality associations and globally recognized hospitality schools around the world. Once completed, HFTP will make the outcome accessible online, together with analytical tools. It will be available at a minimal cost and users will have the capability to print versions if they desire. The hotel sector currently enjoys the benefits of an accounting structure developed in the USA specifically for the industry.  The Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry has been widely adopted, principally by US based operating companies, and linked to management contract terms.  HFTP has been involved in this project for many years and will continue to sponsor the 11th edition in support and via a monetary contribution.

formance

Each of our ownership groups has different goals; some want to maximize cash flow; others are focused on value appreciation

We work to achieve their individual goals

In today’s world, it’s imperative that companies and businesses constantly evolve

here are two different groups of people that you need to cater to as a business: your guests and your investors.

technology has helped my business grow and improve exponentially.

Many restaurant industry examples provide evidence that as a firm’s internal control structure weakens and deficiencies are found, the opportunity for fraud increases significantly.

The main premise of the study tests the application of the fraud triangle framework constructs to publicly traded restaurant companies during the time period of 2002–2014, using proxy variables defined through literature. The proxy variables selected were company size, amount of debt, employee turnover, organizational structure, the Recession, inflation rate, interest rate, executive stock compensation, return on assets, and international sales growth.

growing pressures from both passive and active investors to constantly increase their stock value in a competitive world where meeting performance goals are necessary to maintain a competitive edge

Benchmark leverages its team’s financial and management skills and is a leader in putting technology in service to the bottom line.

Three years ago Benchmark invested in the hospitality industry’s first ‘private’ cloud platform to host its properties’ systems and data. The virtual platform enables Benchmark to reduce hardware costs for investors, protect corporate and guest data in a secure off-property environment, and collect and process performance metrics for its hotels. Benchmark uses the Internet-enabled Profitvue enterprise back office system from Aptech Computer Systems to centralize property accounting.

The Profitvue enterprise accounting system is flexible so reports can be built that compare metrics from similar properties.

A key part of the company’s success is its centralized financial hotel accounting software platform that enables Prospera’s team to track each property’s daily performance and deliver flexible reporting. 

Our investors have specific individual reporting mandates, and it is essential our accounting system has the strength and flexibility to provide these

“Profitvue’s cloud-based platform is a real benefit,” says Breed. “Our smaller properties do not have to install the software or be responsible for upgrading or backing it up." Properties require only a PC and Internet connection to access the accounting package. 

Fieldman’s target customers include movie theaters, casinos, restaurant chains and stadiums, not local bars. He’s going after clients that can easily afford his product and might want it to serve a few thousand drinks a day, whether it’s helping order-slammed bartenders out front, making drinks in the kitchen for servers to pick up, or wheeling it poolside at a hotel.

The machine makes one drink at a time, whereas bartenders can line up several glasses at once to fill up, said Aria bartender Nick Houck, a member of Local 165’s executive board

Fieldman said the Smartender cannot replace all bartenders. However, he said it could “eliminate some labor costs in certain environments,” such as replacing a back-of-house service bartender or an extra bartender who’d be out front on busy nights to help fill orders.

A key part of the company’s success is its centralized financial hotel accounting software platform that enables Prospera’s team to track each property’s daily performance and deliver flexible reporting.

Cloud-based system adds multi-flag, multi-property accounting flexibility

Prospera opted to run its accounting software as a web-enabled ASP solution that Aptech hosts from its secure data center. 

LBA Hospitality Partners with M3 Accounting + Analytics to Enhance Accounting Processes and Increase Efficiencies July, 31 2013 M3 Accounting + Analytics Seeking to update and streamline accounting processes for its 70-plus Southeast properties, Dothan, Ala.-based Larry Blumberg & Associates, Inc. (LBA Hospitality) recently announced an expanded partnership with M3 Accounting + Analytics, the national leader in hotel-specific accounting software, operations reporting, and business analytics. “If we are to continue to be an industry leader, we must have the ability to meet the requirements of our stakeholders and provide accurate, real-time and relevant information for our management team and owners,” said LBA President Beau Benton.  LBA sought the ability to swiftly handle budgets, forecasts, and reports, and to dissect business data, all while insuring that the back-office accounting platform functionality was state-of-the-art and industry-specific.  In choosing M3, Benton cited how the company integrates accounting, business intelligence, and reporting, while eliminating most redundancy, software investment and annual hardware/software maintenance. In addition, Benton and LBA were looking for continual and automatic upgrades, backup and disaster protection, and minimized downtime.  LBA is implementing the full suite of M3 products: accounting through the AccKnowledge platform, time, attendance and labor management through the newly released RightTime solution and LaborWatch, and payroll services through RightPay. The company will also continue to use M3 Link business intelligence reporting, as LBA will be expanding it to bring financial data, operating stats, Smith Travel feeds and guest satisfaction data (including verbatim responses) into one completely customizable dashboard. LBA, which launched its business by developing a Sheraton Inn in 1973, is rapidly growing its management business and securing more and more agreements from sophisticated owners and investors.   Scott Watson, M3 Vice President of Sales & Marketing, said, “While our core product remains our accounting solution, we’ve continued to evolve and offer new products and services that meet the current and future needs of the hospitality industry. It is truly exciting that our product platform will help Beau and LBA achieve the aggressive growth they are anticipating over the next five years.”  The implementation and training process for all LBA properties is expected to be complete by December 1.  About LBA Hospitality Based in Dothan, Ala., LBA Hospitality is a hospitality management company focused on maximizing return, safeguarding assets and enhancing value. Founded in 1973, the company now manages 70 properties throughout the Southeast, from Texas to Virginia. More information is available at http://www.LBAHospitality.com.  About M3 Accounting + Analytics M3 is the national leader in hotel-specific accounting software, operations reporting, business intelligence and analytics, processing more than $8 billion in financial transactions for more than 3,000 properties. M3’s integrated suite of hospitality accounting products includes: AccKnowledge, Link, payroll and labor management services, and document imaging and retrieval – all designed to help provide hotel operators, owners and managers unsurpassed access to the information they need in the most integrated and cost-effective manner. The company was founded in Gainesville, Ga. in 1998, and also has a base of operations in Tampa, Fla. More information is available at www.M3AS.com. 

“If we are to continue to be an industry leader, we must have the ability to meet the requirements of our stakeholders and provide accurate, real-time and relevant information for our management team and owners,” said LBA President Beau Benton.  

continue to be an industry leader, we must have the ability to meet the requirements of our stakeholders and provide accurate, real-time and relevant information for our management team and owners,” said LBA President Beau Benton.  

As established during day one of the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF), hospitality investment has grown up.

One of the challenges Winter and his team has faced over the last 19 years is changing demand from travelers, and how to meet that demand while keeping costs low.

the company kicked off an investment of €30 million to update all existing assets over the next two years