April 26, 2011 – Prospera Hospitality, a leading hospitality operator, has earned a solid reputation as a successful third-party property manager for institutional investors.  Its current portfolio contains 18 branded and independent hotels and resorts that includes Marriott, Hilton, DoubleTree, and Starwood flags and encompasses both large full-service assets and select service 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. 

Managing by the numbers
"Each of our ownership groups has different goals; some want to maximize cash flow; others are focused on value appreciation,” said Tim Breed, Prospera’s CFO.  “We work to achieve their individual goals and also to balance guest experience with brand requirements and value."  Prospera utilizes the Profitvue web-based enterprise accounting and performance management solution by Aptech Computer Systems that generates individual and multi-property general ledger, enterprise resource planning, accounts payable, statistics, and financials.  
 

Investors require customized financials "We use Profitvue hotel software to create customized financial statements, balance sheets, and to generate daily reports that give us an instant, clear picture of each property’s operating health,” Breed said, explaining that as a third-party manager, Prospera is required to provide investors with accurate reporting in various formats.  "Our investors have specific individual reporting mandates, and it is essential our accounting system has the strength and flexibility to provide these."   Prospera’s Profitvue financial platform is designed specifically for hospitality management accounting and enables the company to streamline its back office processes for a more efficient operation. Side-by-side comparisons Prospera’s corporate team regularly consolidates financials for investors with multiple properties.  Other reports are utilized for side-by-side comparisons of similar properties.  "Side-by-side assessment helps identify hotels that are posting a higher cost-per-occupied-room than others in their category or are performing outside other normal operating performance characteristics," Breed said, giving the example that if a hotel has utility bills that are consistently higher than similar properties, it could indicate a water leak or other anomaly that can be quickly corrected.   “Comparison reporting is an excellent tool to spot best practices and apply them where appropriate to boost investor value," Breed said, adding that this is especially useful in the case of its nine Fairfield Inn properties which are all of similar size and located within the same geographic location.

The Ellis Hotel – Atlanta, GA

Cloud-based system adds multi-flag, multi-property accounting flexibility
Since smaller select service properties usually do not have the staff to support on-property software, Prospera opted to run its accounting software as a web-enabled ASP solution that Aptech hosts from its secure data center.  Prospera installs the Profitvue software as an on-site application at its larger full service hotels.  “Profitvue’s cloud-based platform is a real benefit,” said 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. 
 
"Our full-service properties have the staff to oversee the system’s operation, and this platform flexibility is valuable,” said Breed.  “Profitvue is a perfect system for our multi-property operation because it is reliable and has a wide variety of reporting capabilities." 
 
Breed gives Aptech high marks for its hospitality focus.  "The Aptech team understands the industry and is continually updating the system to make it better for operators," he said.  
 
Prospera Hospitality
Prospera Hospitality is a top level hospitality management company focused on balance, creativity, and quality.  Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, it is led by industry executives who have worked together for more than 20 years and share a wealth of experience with hotels and resorts in all markets.  The company name comes from the Latin word for "good fortune."

Aptech Computer Systems, Inc., based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, leads the hospitality industry in leveraging change by valuing human relationships and applying technology to solve business problems for people. Incorporated in 1970, Aptech is a financial and operations technology solutions and service company whose products include state-of-the-art back office, business intelligence and enterprise planning products: Profitvue®, Execuvue®, and Webvue®. Over 2,500 properties, including very large chains, multiple-property management companies, and single-site hotels utilize Aptech solutions to understand their financial and operational data. Execuvue and Profitvue are registered trademarks of Aptech Computer Systems, Inc. All other trademarks are owned by their respective holders.