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Hotel Solutions Partnership - Thought-leadership articles
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The technology landscape
from hotelmatters no. 6 Anytime from mid to late June, my diary is normally reserved for attendance at HITEC, undoubtedly the world's leading hospitality technology event. This year was no exception so I found myself in Austin, Texas. What a great place - with hotels close to the Convention Centre, this 'Live Music Capital of the World' also enjoys being one of the world's technology innovation capitals. This year, I came away excited by the evidence that the global hotel industry and its technology providers are working on the right issues. |
Mike Wrigley | June 2008 |
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Choosing an operator
from hotelmatters no. 6 When we humans get married, we go through a lengthy and elaborate courting process with extensive support to the couple given by friends and 'experts' before the knot is tied. Yet many developers and hotel owners have jumped into bed with a hotel operator under the terms of a 20-year or more management contract on little more than a whim. Having been engaged recently by several clients to assist in the search and selection for hotel operators, what have we learnt? |
Ian Graham | June 2008 |
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Delivering your value proposition to employees
from hotelmatters no. 6 It makes sense to reduce the probability of employees leaving through dissatisfaction. It also makes sense to maximise the contribution and satisfaction from your most engaged employees. However, in many ways, it makes even more sense to focus your efforts on the bulk of employees who are neither engaged nor disengaged. |
Larry Bowman | March 2008 |
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Creating the future
from hotelmatters no. 6 Creating the future is a leap of faith - and a good jump requires a solid foundation. In business part of that foundation is generally a business plan. It might be a plan ('budget') put forward within an organisation in which resources (people, finance, time) are requested; it might be a proposal for lending addressed to debt providers or a prospectus for investment addressed to business angels, venture capitalists or institutional investors. We've researched and written countless business plans. What do we believe are the essential elements of an attractive business plan? |
Ian Graham | March 2008 |
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Marketing plans that deliver
from hotelmatters no. 5 Like most processes at a well run hotel, developing and implementing a marketing plan requires ownership by the people that will deliver the plan. In a recent assignment relating to a 100-room five-star hotel in Ireland, we were asked to coach the team through the process. The hotel is part of a small and expanding group of top quality hotels. It is approaching its third full year of trading and was seeking support to develop a marketing action plan to deliver an established budget for the new trading year. |
Alastair Stevenson and Frank Coan | March 2008 |
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Ostrich attitudes to a recession
from hotelmatters no. 5 Despite the financial markets being in melt-down, few politicians are yet admitting that their countries are in, or are even entering, recessionary times. There seems little doubt however that the western world (and perhaps other regions) is going to experience a period of slowdown and this must impact hotels sooner or later. Let's shake off such ostrich-like attitudes and consider how a hotel or a hotel business might plan to survive, and indeed benefit, during a down-turn. |
Ian Graham | March 2008 |
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Stairway to heaven
from hotelmatters no. 5 There can be no one way to maximise profitability. Hotel operators around the world increasingly start with the premise that optimising RGI (room revenue generation index = the relative share of the market for room revenue that the subject hotel enjoys compared to its competitive set) is a pretty good way to start. |
Frank Coan and Ian Graham | March 2008 |
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Massaging returns
from hotelmatters no. 5 Is now the right time to invest in a spa? In recent months, it seems as if, wherever one turns, hotel owners and operators are adding spas to their package of products and services. From the most luxurious hotels such as Mandarin Oriental and Four Seasons all the way to Butlins and Centre Parks, everyone is getting in on the act. |
Katrina Craig and Carl Donnelly | March 2008 |
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The guest is tomorrow's interior designer
from hotelmatters no. 4 If modern man is defined by anything, it is by his use - or some would say abuse - of technology. As hotel guests, business and leisure travellers alike come to us with ever-increasing expectations, it is difficult for hoteliers to know how to react or, indeed, what to provide. Read more about the Guestroom 2010 project. |
Mike Wrigley | Nov 2007 |
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Are management agreements encumbrances?
from hotelmatters no. 4 Hotel owners negotiating management agreements will invariably find a provision in the operator's standard form of management agreement restricting the sale of the hotel unless the management agreement is also transferred to the purchaser. This means that the owner cannot sell his property unencumbered or with vacant possession. Prior to agreeing such a provision, owners should consider the effects of this both on the marketability of the hotel and also its value. |
Douglas Wignall | Nov 2007 |
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On average
from hotelmatters no. 4 Isn't it odd that, in this industry, key performance indicators are AVERAGE occupancy, AVERAGE room rate, AVERAGE RevPAR? So why do we pay homage to the surveys that tell us average occupancy in this market is 70%, that average rate in that city is €100, that average GOP is 35%? |
Ian Graham | Nov 2007 |
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Pride - a deadly sin for leaders?
from hotelmatters no. 4 Pride, and excessive belief in one's own abilities, is traditionally thought of as the first of the seven deadly sins. And in business it can be VERY destructive. Excessive pride risks disregarding the competitor, the product, the shareholders - and, in particular, the customer. |
Rosemary Jackson | Nov 2007 |
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Risk assessment
from hotelmatters no. 4 Whether you are at the point of lending funds for a mixed-use facility, considering launching one of your hotel brands in an emerging economy, proposing to develop a spa in your hotel, evaluating your hotel management company's proposals for the deployment of capital, you will be taking account of risk. |
Ian Graham | Nov 2007 |
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Coaching to win
from hotelmatters no. 3 Increasingly major hotels and hotel companies, other corporations in both the public and private sectors, as well as in the not-for profit sector, are integrating coaching and mentoring into their development programmes for senior and other executives. This article looks at the different roles of the coach and the mentor. |
Rosemary Jackson | Sept 2007 |
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The end of budgeting?
from hotelmatters no. 3 As they return from their summer holidays, hotel management teams around the world are facing up to the annual task of preparing the annual budget. This article looks at how almost all companies will oblige their teams to take their eyes of the ball of guest satisfaction to serve the alleged needs of corporate office in preparing the budget. |
Ian Graham | Sept 2007 |
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Mine host
from hotelmatters no. 3 Increasingly hotel and hotel company IT professionals are recognising that data storage and application hosting are best done by specialist professionals outside of the organisation and that the real role of IT is to enable all users to access the best application for each separate business need. |
Ian Graham | Sept 2007 |
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Small is beautiful
from hotelmatters no. 3 This article looks at some of the urban myths abounding in the hotel industry. Food and beverage is at best a loss leader; unbranded hotels cannot compete with against the major global brands; location, location, location; fill your hotel then push up the price; boutique hotels will always win out. |
Katrina Craig | Sept 2007 |
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Developing leaders
from hotelmatters no. 2 People are often appointed as leaders on the strength of their success in different and previous circumstances. Past success may not be relevant to current challenges. What is more important is to know how to learn from experience and be able to adapt rather than to do what was successful elsewhere in a different situation. |
Rosemary Jackson | June 2007 |
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Educating trainers
from hotelmatters no.2 A lot of hotel owners and operators are training avoiders. Although some employers spend considerable time and resources developing employees, both on and off the job, a large number of employers do not give training and technical skills a high priority. |
Ian Graham | June 2007 |
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Investing in the operator
from hotelmatters no.2 Whatever your view on where value is to be added in hotel development, the facts are that the role of the operator is paramount. It seems to us that successful investors will invest in the people that lead and manage the brand and the operator. |
Katrina Craig | June 2007 |
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Minimising carbon footprints
from hotelmatters no.2 We aim to provide consultancy with a very low carbon footprint. The HSP business model minimises the impact on the environment and we buy an appropriate level of carbon offsets when we travel. With the ten warmest-ever years all occurring since 1980, hotel operators or owners of hotel companies are increasingly managing the effect of climate change. |
Ian Graham | June 2007 |
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Resurgence of the East
from hotelmatters no.2 The last two hundred years have been an aberration with western societies, industries, businesses and cultures in the ascendancy. China and India are now the world's biggest economies and they will influence future growth in the hotel and leisure sectors. |
Ian Graham | June 2007 |
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Revisiting revenue management
from hotelmatters no.2 In recent years, the industry has seen increasing focus on revenue management as a core element of hotel management. Internal and external analysts have learnt to focus on RevPAR (room revenue per available room) and RGI (revenue generation index). Laudable as this is, RevPAR and RGI as goals in themselves ignore at least three issues. |
Ian Graham | June 2007 |
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Dwelling on tourism's successes and vulnerabilities
Malcolm Bell, Chief Executive of soutwesttourism, reflecting on the results of recent market studies of visitors to the region, believes that the success of the region and its business is based on high satisfaction levels particularly amongst returning visitors. But he warns that, unless first time visitors can be 'wow-ed', they may not return. |
Ian Graham | 21 September 2007 |
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Developing Bahrain's tourism executives - excelling in service delivery
This presentation was delivered by Larry at UN World Tourism Organisation meeting in Bahrain. It focuses on creating an understanding of what contributes to delivering excellent customer service |
Larry Bowman | 15 May 2007 |
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Developing Bahrain's tourism executives - excelling in growth
This presentation was delivered by Ian Graham at UN World Tourism Organisation meeting in Bahrain. It focuses on feasibility studies and covers the roles of demand, seasonality, channels of distribution, brand, market share, competition, price, costs, etc., |
Ian Graham | 11 May 2007 |
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Profits are dropping Hotel Solutions Partnership offer expert advice in the Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine's 'strategy clinic'. |
13 February 2007 | |
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All change In this article, we explore some of the issues that arise when hotel owners and operators decide to change the hotel brand. |
Ian Graham and Doreen Boulding | 10 October 2006 |
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Closing a hotel during refurbishment Hotel Solutions Partnership offer expert advice in the Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine's 'strategy clinic' |
10 October 2006 | |
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Introducing a loyalty card scheme Hotel Solutions Partnership offer expert advice in the Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine's 'strategy clinic' |
12 July 2006 | |
| Valuing hotels
In a presentation given at Profithotel, a conference for hotel investors in Warsaw, Ian looks at what assets contribute to value, some of the methods used to value hotels and, based on his experiences, some of the areas of valuation which need special attention. |
Ian Graham | 25 May 2006 |
| Choosing an on-line reservation system Hotel Solutions Partnership offer expert advice in the Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine's 'strategy clinic' |
Doreen Boulding | 12 May 2006 |
| Uniformly wrong It is 80 years since the New York hotel association first sponsored the uniform system of accounts and it's been with us ever since. So why do I, and others, think the time has come for the industry to think again and perhaps recognise that the uniform system's sell-by-date has passed. As published in Hotel and Motel Management magazine |
Ian Graham | 6 March 2006 |
| Thinking square meterage Hotel Solutions Partnership offer expert advice in the Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine's 'strategy clinic' |
20 February 2006 | |
| Reducing utility cost Hotel Solutions Partnership offer expert advice in the Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine's 'strategy clinic' |
5 January 2006 | |
| Competing against a new budget lodge Hotel Solutions Partnership offer expert advice in the Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine's 'strategy clinic' |
15 December 2005 | |
| Implications of a hold investment strategy Hotel Solutions Partnership offer expert advice in the Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine's 'strategy clinic' |
1 December 2005 | |
| Strategy for reducing waste Hotel Solutions Partnership offer expert advice in the Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine's 'strategy clinic' |
8 August 2005 | |
| Securing investment for private hotel projects Hotel Solutions Partnership offer expert advice in the Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine's 'strategy clinic' |
23 June 2005 | |
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Pre-opening process map A unique model for the international hotel industry |
Ian Graham | 8 December 2004 |
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From share of revpar to share of wallet The drive to build share of a market is a drive for relative value and is a far more valuable exercise than a simple drive for increasing occupancy, or drive for increasing average rate. |
Ian Graham | 7 December 2004 |
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Is that I.T.? Using technology in the global hospitality industry to respond to a changing world |
Ian Graham | 5 May 2004 |
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Indian Tourism - Unlocking the strategic opportunity An article based on an address given by Ian at 'World Travel India'. |
Ian Graham | 5 February 2004 |