robert mandelbaum
Luxury Hotels: Elevated Occupancy and Expenses
the Authors | December 16, 2019
By Mark Woodworth and Robert Mandelbaum Despite the relatively high cost of construction and complexity of operations, developers are still attracted to owning and managing luxury hotels. As of August 2019, STR reports that just 0.7 percent of the hotels (2.3% of rooms) in the United States are chain-affiliated luxury hotels. Concurrently, the STR pipeline report shows that 1.2 percent of the properties (2.9% of rooms) either under construction or planned for development meet this criterion. The reasons for this attraction vary: Luxury hotels do achieve premium occupancy and ADR levels, that result in greater than average levels of...
How Changes in Hotel Revenues Suggest Changes in Guest Preferences
Robert Mandelbaum | October 22, 2019
By Robert Mandelbaum From the high-tech preferences of Generation Z, to the experiential fondness of Millennials, to the health and wellness realities facing Baby Boomers, hotels continually adjust the amenities and services they offer to satisfy their guests. These adjustments are based on extensive consumer research, much of which has been published in the lodging industry trade publications. From the owner’s and operator’s perspective, the changes in guest preference manifest themselves on the hotel operating statement. Over the years, income from the variety of revenue-generating departments operated at hotels rise and fall as g...
Managing RevPAR for Profits
CBRE | September 18, 2019
By Robert Mandelbaum and Bram Gallagher Ph.D. Per the name, the historical role of revenue managers has been to maximize revenue - specifically rooms revenue or RevPAR. RevPAR growth is achieved by increasing occupancy and/or average daily rates (ADR). Basic economic theory says that prices influence changes in demand (rooms occupied). Depending on the date and market conditions, an increase in ADR typically tends to mute, or reduce, changes in demand. Conversely, a lowering of ADR will most likely stimulate demand and increase occupancy. Historically, revenue managers have adjusted ADR to find the best mix of occupancy and ADR that...
U.S. Hotel Interest Coverage / Robert Mandelbaum and John B. Corgel, Ph.D.
Robert Mandelbaum | August 20, 2019
By Robert Mandelbaum and John B. Corgel, Ph.D. According to the March 2019 edition of CBRE’s Hotel Horizons® forecast report, RevPAR growth for the U.S. lodging industry will be limited to under 2.5 percent through 2020. Further, CBRE is projecting a 0.6 percent decline in RevPAR for 2021 as CBRE expects the economy to slow down during the year. The combination of modest increases in revenue and rising operating expenses (especially labor) make hotel owners and operators nervous about their ability to enjoy profit growth the next few years. While the profit growth story is concerning, it should it should be noted that current GOP...
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...
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