financescapital

MAY2018MONEYMATTERS2018'STOPINVESTMENTMARKETSSEASONALWORKVISASWHATHOTELIERSNEEDTOKNOWLODGINGMAGAZINE@LODGINGMAGAZINEMAXINETAYLORSVP,CHMWARNICKPRESIDENT,HAMA9BIGEVENTSDRIVINGOCCUPANCYTHISSUMMERCAPITALSUCCESSCREATINGTHERIGHTASSETSTRATEGYASKHERHOW6LODGINGMAGAZINE.
COMMAY2018PRESIDENTEdwardJ.
McNeillJr.
PUBLISHERHollyKayeEDITORKateHughesDIGITALEDITORChristineKillionCREATIVEDIRECTORShaneHickeyASSOCIATEARTDIRECTORJackieCunnaneGRAPHICDESIGNEREileenKeough-CaracappaEDITORIALAPPRENTICERobinMcLaughlinINTERNJenGoetzCONTRIBUTORSBrianCrawford,BrianJohnson,RobertMandelbaum,AnthonyMelchiorri,EllenMeyer,NathanRael,WilliamsonWallaceSALESdirectorofmarketing&businessoperations:DonSerfass215-321-9662,ext.
164,fax215-321-9636dserfass@lodgingmagazine.
comeasternsalesdirector:HollyKaye440-465-0468,fax215-321-9636hkaye@lodgingmagazine.
comwesternsalesdirector:SolomonOrtasse310-526-3988,fax215-321-9636sortasse@lodgingmagazine.
comclassified/marketplace:215-321-9662,ext.
164circulationrequests:dserfass@lodgingmagazine.
comMCNEILLMEDIAGROUPINC.
president:EdwardJ.
McNeillJr.
accountingmanager:SimoneSannelliAMERICANHOTEL&LODGINGASSOCIATIONchair:MarkCarriervicechair:GeoffBallottipresident/ceo:KatherineLugarexecutivevicepresident/coo:KevinCareycfo:MikeWilliamsseniorvicepresidents:BradAldrich,BrianCrawford,RosannaMaietta,andKimberlyMilesfoundingeditors:JamesA.
PearsonandFrancesL.
PearsonPublishedbyMcNeillGroup,Inc.
,Yardley,PA.
NothingcontainedinthispublicationshallconstituteanendorsementbytheAmericanHotel&LodgingAsso-ciation,norMcNeillGroup.
AHLAdisclaimsanyliabilitywithrespecttotheuseorrelianceonanysuchinfor-mation.
TheinformationcontainedinthispublicationisinnowaytobeconstruedasarecommendationbyAHLAofanyindustrystandard,orasarecommen-dationofanykindtobeadoptedorbindinguponanymemberofthehospitalityindustry.
FROMTHEEDITORFindingWhatWorksONEOFTHEBESTPARTSaboutworkinginhospitalityisthesheerrangeofpossibilitiesopentohoteliers.
They'refreetocreatespecializedandthoughtfulexperiencesfortravelers,andtherearesomanyavenuesavailableviawhichtheymayachievetheirgoals.
AtLODGING,ourteamdelightsinfeaturinghotelierswhohaveusedthisfreedomtocraftsomethingcompletelyunique,whetheritbeinnovativedesign,unorthodoxamenities,orevenhavinganorangecatonstafftoliaisewithyourguests(seriously,checkoutthestoryonpage18).
Wearealsothrilledtoturnthespotlightonindustryexpertswhohelpourreaders—youhoteliers,developers,GMs,andotherhoteldecisionmakers—makesmartdecisionsthatimproveyourbusinessesandgrowourindustry.
Thismonth'scoverstoryintroducesourreaderstoMaxineTaylor,SVPofassetmanagementandownersupportservicescompanyCHMWarnick,aswellaspresidentoftheHospitalityAssetManagersAssociation(HAMA).
Taylorhasbeenhelpingpropertiesoptimizetheirfinancesfordecades,andherroleinhospitalityhasonlybecomemoreimportantasthehotellandscapebecomesmorecomplicated—especiallywhenitcomestobooking.
And,atthispointinthelodgingcycle,makingthemostofyourdollarsiskey.
Thegoingisstillgood,butfindingtherightplacetoinvestgreatlyimpactsyourlong-termsuccess.
Inourfeaturestoryonpage40,LODGINGspokewithbrokersandmanagementandinvestmentprofessionalsaboutthestrategiesthattheyseepayingoffinyearstocome.
Whiletheyallhadoverarchingtipsandtricks,acommonthreadwasfindingwhatworksforthemandtheircompanies.
Findingwhatworksiskeytotheirsuccess,evenifthey'repursuingthedevelopmentofwildlydifferentproperties.
Asyoureadthroughthisissue,thinkaboutwhatmakesyourpropertiesunique,andhowyoucanbestsupportthequalitiesthatmakethemstandoutfromthepack.
Andifyouareeverindoubt,looktotheexpertsforhelp.
Theywillhelpyoudistillwhatsetsyouapartandmakeyourpropertythebesthotelitcanpossiblybe.
TherewasatypoinApril'sGuidetoManagementCompanies.
ThepointofcontactforBrightonManagementisDanielHowngandhecanbereachedatdaniel.
howng@brightonmgtllc.
com.
CORRECTIONMAY2018LODGINGMAGAZINE.
COM13NEWS,IDEAS,ANDINSIGHTSFRONTDESKny,Taylorbeganwaitingtablesatthenon-commissionedofficerclubwhenshewasn'tonduty.
"That'swhenIre-allystartedtogetintohospitality,"shesays.
Aftersheleftthemilitary,TaylorstudiedhospitalityatFloridaStateUniversityand,upongraduating,waspromptlyhiredbyRitz-Carl-ton.
"Afterfiveyears,Idecidedthatworkingweek-endsandholidayswasn'tgoingtobesustainableforme,soIwentbacktoschool,"Taylorsays.
Aftergettinghermaster'sdegree,TaylorbeganworkingforHorwathLandauerHospitalityConsult-ingasananalyst.
"Advisingmilitaryinstallationsontheirhospitalityrealestate—suchasofficerclubs,AVoiceintheIndustryMAXINETAYLORRAISESTHEBARONHOTELASSETMANAGEMENTBYKATEHUGHESINCREASEDVISIBILITYMaxineTaylor,SVPatCHMWar-nick,aimstoraiseawarenessofassetmanagersandhowtheycanhelphoteliersgrowtheirbusinesses.
SUCCESSSTORYAFTERMORETHAN30YEARSINTHEHOTELINDUSTRY,MaxineTaylorhasadeepwellofmind-bogglinganecdotes,especiallyfromhertimeasanassetmanager.
Sherecallsoneincidentafewyearsago,whenshenoticedthatapropertyinherportfoliowasspendingmorethan$700,000ayearonboilerwatchmen.
"Thesestaffmemberswereliterallysittinginthebasement,watchingtheboiler.
Iimmediatelyasked,'Whyarewedoingthis'"shedescribes.
"Theytoldmethatsuchapositionwascityregu-lation.
Ilookedintotheexactverbiageandlearnedthatthesewatchmendidn'tneedtobeinthesamevicinityoftheboiler;theyjustneededtobeabletorespondinacertainamountoftime.
Thisallowedustoreassigntheseboilermechanicsaroundthebuildingforothertasks,ratherthanhavingredundantpositions.
"ThiseyefordetailhasbeenadrivingforcebehindTaylor'shospital-itycareer.
SheisnowtheseniorvicepresidentoftheassetmanagementandownersupportservicescompanyCHMWarnick,andwasrecentlyelectedpresidentoftheHospitalityAssetManagersAssociation(HAMA).
Ambitiousfromayoungage,Taylorstartedworkingwhenshewas12yearsold,making$2anhourservingicecreamatDairyQueen.
Afterhighschool,shejoinedtheArmy"soIcouldaffordtopayforcollege,"sheexplains.
WhilestationedinGerma-"[Assetman-agers']rolehasalwaysbeenlookingoutoveramuchlongerhorizonandwehavealotofindustryknow-ledgetoshare.
"14LODGINGMAGAZINE.
COMMAY2018FRONTDESKlodging,andgolfoperations—wasagrowingsourceofbusinessforthefirmatthattime,somybackgroundwasspot-onwithwhattheywerelook-ingfor,"shesays.
ItwasatHorwathLandauerthatTaylormetmanagingdirectorsChadCrandellandKenWilson.
Whenthosetwostartedtheirowncompany,CapitalHotelManage-ment(CHM)—thefirstofitskindtobededicatedsolelytohotelassetmanage-ment—in2000,Taylordecidedtojointhem.
In2015,CHMjoinedforceswithWarnick+Company,anotherhotelassetmanagementandconsultingfirm,"Thekeytocontrollingthecus-tomerserviceexperiencebe-ginswhenthecustomerbooksdirectwithabrand.
Itgivesustheabilitytoharnessthepoweroftheinternettohoneinonourguests'desiresandprovidetheservicestheywantsowecankeepthem.
"GARYISENBERGPresident,LWHA"Theimportantthingisthatwecontinuetoapproachtechnolo-gyasameanstoenablebetterservice.
Wedon'tseeitasawayofreducingtherolesofteammembers.
"ALEXANDRAJARITZSVP&GlobalBrandHead,TrubyHilton"Rewardsprogramsaredueforadisruption,andIthinkwe'llseetechgiantslikeAmazonandGooglelaunchingrewardspro-gramsacrossmultipleindus-tries.
It'sgoingtohappen,andit'sgoingtobeagame-changer.
"JUSTINJABARAVP,Development&Acquisitions,MeyerJabaraHotelsTECHTALKGOODADVICEMAXINETAYLOR,CHAM,SENIORVICEPRESIDENTOFCHM-WARNICK,ANDPRES-IDENTOFHAMA,HASTHEFOLLOWINGAD-VICEFORHOTELIERSLOOKINGTOINCREASETHEVALUEOFTHEIRHOTELASSETS.
Haveabird'seyeview.
"Everypieceofthebusinessisimportant—howyouconductcon-tractnegotiations,benchmarkandevaluateex-penses,developstrategiesfordrivingrevenue,stayontopofthelatesttechnology,understandandapplynewindustryaccountingpractices—shouldallbetakenintoaccountwhenyou'remakingaplan.
"Benimble.
"Marketconditionsarechangingsorapidly;youhavetostayuponthetrends.
"Knowyourmarket.
"Youhavetounderstandyourassetandwhatitsdemandgeneratorsare.
Onlythenwillyoubeabletocreateandimple-mentaplanthatwillhelpyougettowhereyouwanttobe.
"Bewillingtotakerisks.
"Thereisgoingtobesometrialanderrorinvolved.
Ifsomethingdoesn'twork,don'tdwellonit,justjumpintosomethingdifferent.
Don'tbeafraidtotrysome-thingnew,becausewaitingandseeingwhathappensneverworks.
"4123formingwhatisnowCHMWarnick,andbe-comingthelargesthotelassetmanagementandownersupportservicescompanyintheUnitedStates.
AccordingtoTaylor,herjobhasverymuchevolvedoverthepastthreedecades,especiallyconsideringthatassetmanagersareafairlynewadditiontothehotelindustry.
"WhenIfirststartedintheindustry,themajorityofbusinesscamethroughbrandchannels,andrateswereprettystatic.
Revenuemanagementwasn'tevenreallyafactor.
ButasOTAscametoprominence,theneedforsome-onelikearevenueorassetmanagerbecomemuchmorepronounced,"Taylornotes.
And,astechnologybe-camemoresophisticatedandbrandsbeganaccumulatingmoreandmoredataabouttheirmarkets,customers,andtheirbookinghabits,thejobofanassetmanageralsobecamemorecomplicated.
"Youhavetobeextreme-lydiligentandmonitornotjustwhat'shappeningatagivenhotel,butalsotheTheFairmontSanFranciscoisapropertythathasusedTaylor'sassetmanagementexpertise.
Atthisyear'sHunterConference,industryleadersspokeabouttheevolvingroleoftechinhospitalityandhowit'sdisruptingtheindustry.
16LODGINGMAGAZINE.
COMMAY2018FRONTDESKLet'spartnertobuildhotelsthatdrivevaluefromthegroundup.
We'reConcordHospitality,anaward-winninghoteldevelopment,ownershipandmanagementcompanyandaleaderinnewhoteldesign,investmentandconstruction.
Developyournextproject,ontimeandonbudget.
Let'sgetstarted.
CONCORDHOSPITALITYENTERPRISESEXPERIENCEEXCELLENCEATCONCORDHOTELS.
COM/DEVELOPsurroundingmarketandtheindustryasawhole.
YouhavetostayontopofOTAsandothernewbookingchannels.
Youalsohavetobesurethatyou'reawareofandtakingintoaccountnewindustrytrends,"shedescribes.
Inthisregard,Taylorbelievesthatindus-tryorganizationslikeHAMAareinvalu-abletoassetmanagers.
"Assetmanagersfirstbecameprevalentwhenthemarketwentbadandlenderswounduptakingoverhotelsover25yearsago.
Banksdidn'tknowwhattodo,andtheyneededourhelptoturntheassetsaround.
Today,assetmanag-ersareanintegralpartofmanyproperties'operations,"shesays.
"Havinganorgani-zationthatsupportstheseprofessionalsissoimportant,andhelpseveryoneinthiscornerofthehotelindustrybebetteratwhattheydo.
"TaylorjoinedHAMA13yearsago.
Throughouthertenurewiththeorgani-zation,shehasjumpedatanyopportunitytobecomemoreinvolved.
"AtCHMWar-nick,webelievethatifyou'regoingtogetinvolvedwithanorganization,youtakeanactiveroleandgetinvolvedatthehighestlevels—thatis,secureaboardpositionandbecomealeadingvoiceintheindustry.
So,withHAMA,beingpresidentisariteofpassageatCHMWarnick;I'mthefourthpresidentfromourcompany,"shesays.
Aspresident,atermthatlastsoneyear,Taylorisfocusedonseveralinitiatives,includingraisingawarenessofthecertifiedhotelassetmanager(CHAM)designationsheherselfhasearned.
"It'sadesignationthatdemonstratesexpertiseatthehigh-estlevel,likeaCPAinaccounting,"shesays.
"We'vedevelopedclassestoeducateourmembersandwe'rereallyinvestedinensuringthateveryoneunderstandsallaspectsofassetmanagement.
Wewantallofourmemberstobewellrounded.
"TaylorhasalsosethersightsonmakingHAMAmorevisible.
"Wehave220mem-bersintheUnitedStatesthatrepresentmorethan32,000hotelsand76,000guest-rooms.
And,overthelastfiveyears,we'vedoubledourmembershipbyfoundingfiveinternationalchaptersoftheorganization.
Wewanttogrowourvoice,beaninfluenceintheindustry.
"Taylorseesassetmanagementbecominganevenmoresignificantpartofthehotelindustryinyearstocome,andsheencour-ageshotelierstoembracethatchange.
"Ourrolehasalwaysbeenlookingoutoveramuchlongerhorizonandwehavealotofindustryknowledgetoshare.
We'reconstantlylookingforwaystoincreaserevenuesandstreamlineoperations,andweneedtospreadthatmessage.
""Youhavetobeextremelydiligentandmonitornotjustwhat'shappeningatagivenhotel,butalsothesurroundingmarketandtheindustryasawhole.
"