robert mandelbaum
Poor Performers
Robert Mandelbaum | June 18, 2019
By Robert Mandelbaum According to the March 2019 edition of CBRE’s Hotel Horizons® forecast report, the 2019 average annual occupancy level for U.S. hotels is projected to be 66.2 percent. This will mark the sixth consecutive year of occupancy levels above the 62.5 percent long-run average, and fifth year above the pre-2014 historical high of 64.8 percent. Despite such healthy market conditions, not all hotels are enjoying lofty levels of performance. According to STR, 35.7 percent of the hotels in their U.S. national sample achieved an occupancy level less than 60 percent during 2018. If you have attended any hotel investment co...
Attrition and Cancellation Revenue
Robert Mandelbaum | May 20, 2019
By Robert Mandelbaum Per the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI), the income received from transient and group guests that fail to occupy a room, or cancel a reservation in the prescribed timeframe, and for which payment was guaranteed on an individual basis, is recorded as No Show Revenue in the Rooms Department. This source of revenue is frequently difficult to identify as a discrete source of income on the standard hotel operating statement format. On the other hand, the fees hotels receive from the cancellation of group meetings are typically presented as a separate line item in Miscellaneous Income. Because ...
Revenue Is Rising, But Collecting Is More Challenging
Robert Mandelbaum | April 18, 2019
By Robert Mandelbaum According to STR, U.S. hotels achieved all-time high levels of occupancy, ADR, and RevPAR in 2018. While a record number of guests are staying at hotels, and revenues are flowing in, the ability to collect these funds is starting to become more of a challenge. Per the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry, an account entitled "Provision for Doubtful Accounts" has been established in the Administrative and General Department of a hotel operating statement. Each month, hotel managers estimate the portion of their property's receivables that they do not believe will be collectible. The Provision for Doubt...
Unit-Level Hotel Marketing: P&L Reveals Changes In Department Functions
CBRE | February 22, 2019
By Robert Mandelbaum and Viet Vo Technology, online intermediaries, social media, revenue management software, shared-services, and the proliferation of market intelligence reports have reshaped the way hotel Sales and Marketing Departments conduct business. The traditional organizational structure of assigning personnel by demand segments (commercial, group, leisure) has given way to assignment by function (revenue management, social media, channel distribution, customer relationship management). According to one industry executive, most of the "selling" of hotel rooms has moved from the property level to corporate and regional offices...
U.S. Lodging Performance Fell Short of Budget in 2017
Robert Mandelbaum | October 22, 2018
by: Robert Mandelbaum In 2017, the actual achieved levels of occupancy, average daily rate (ADR), total revenue and profits for U.S. hotels were less than their respective budgeted amounts. After a five-year period (2011 through 2015) of extremely accurate budget projections, this marks the second consecutive year that owners and operators failed to meet their operating goals. As general managers, controllers, and directors of sales begin the process of preparing their budgets and marketing plans for 2019, we present the results of our most recent look at the budgeting accuracy of U.S. hotel operators. From CBRE Hotel's Americas Researc...
Ten Years Later: Has the U.S. Lodging Industry Really Recovered?
Robert Mandelbaum | September 20, 2018
By Robert Mandelbaum and Keval Rama Lodging is a cyclical industry meaning that it passes over time through four distinct phases: peak, contraction, trough and expansion. Most industry participants believe that 2007 was the previous peak of the current business cycle following six years of expansion from the 2001 industry recession. According to STR, the demand for lodging increased for six consecutive years from 2002 through 2007, while average daily room rates (ADR) grew in excess of 4.5 percent during the latter four years. Per CBRE Hotels' Trends® in the Hotel Industry survey, gross operating profits (GOP) were growing at a 10 p...
Contract and Non-Management Employee Payrolls Rise in 2017
Robert Mandelbaum | August 20, 2018
By Robert Mandelbaum As the pace of revenue growth continues to decelerate for U.S. hotels, the capability of hotel operators to control costs will determine the ability of a property to increase profits from year to year. According to the 2018 edition of Trends® in the Hotel Industry, total operating revenue increased by just 2.0 percent in 2017 for the average hotel in the survey sample. Fortunately, by limiting the growth in operating expenses to 1.9 percent, managers at the Trends® properties realized an increase in gross operating profits (GOP) for the year. Unlike 2016, it was non-labor related costs that were the primary ...
Cost Controls Perpetuate U.S. Hotel Profit Growth In 2017
Robert Mandelbaum | July 17, 2018
By Robert Mandelbaum U.S. hoteliers enjoyed an eighth consecutive year of increasing profits in 2017 despite another slowdown in the rate of revenue growth. According to the 2018 edition of Trends® in the Hotel Industry, total operating revenue increased by 2.0 percent in 2017 for the average hotel in its survey sample. Fortunately, by limiting the growth in operating expenses to 1.9 percent, managers at the Trends® properties realized a 2.2 percent increase in gross operating profits (GOP) for the year. Trends® in the Hotel Industry is the CBRE Hotels' Americas Research's annual survey of operating statements from thousands...
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