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Opinion Articles
E-Payments: Understanding the Last Mile of the Automation Process
Over the past few decades, we have seen constant advancements in automation technology, particularly when it comes to the hospitality procurement process. Procedures like sourcing, tendering, auctioning, and ordering products have all been adopted into automated systems. And while these advancements have created unmatched levels of consistency, efficiency, and convenience, there’s one area in particular that often gets left out of this automation: payments.
How Credit Suisse and UBS have been bailed out and the repercussions
In the wake of the 2008 bailout by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and the Swiss taxpayer of the country’s largest systemic bank, Union des Banques Suisses (UBS), the authorities in Bern went straight to work to hammer out new financial legislation.
By Giuliano Bianchi and Andrew Brenner
Working With Hotel Owners and Investors in Challenging Times
This is a thank you to the owners and investors of hotels and a pep speech for the rest of us in the industry to take care of our owners and investors.
By Paul Breslin, Managing Director USA, Horwath HTL
What are the biggest challenges in developing a hotel project in Africa?
Developing a hotel project in Africa can be highly profitable, but can also present a range of challenges.
By Frederic Van Lennep, Business Development Director MEA, IT Hospitality
Credit Suisse: What’s going on in the market?
On March 13, U.S. President Joe Biden reassured the depositors and employees of two large banks, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank, that their deposits were safe and that wages would be paid. More generally, President Biden reassured investors that the U.S. banking system was solid and the government was taking action to secure deposits.
By Giuliano Bianchi, Co-director of Quantitas Institute and Associate Professor of Economics, EHL
PAM – The Most Useful Benchmark for Hotel Investment
Following the introduction of Revenue Management (RM) in the airline industry in order to maximise the yield per available seat, made possible by the industry’s deregulation in the 1970s, RM eventually spread to the hospitality industry. Shortly afterwards, RevPAR (Rooms Revenue per Available Room) became the metric of choice for hotel asset managers, operators, investors, funders and analysts to gauge the success or lack thereof of a hotel’s room inventory management. RevPAR remains one of the most recognised and used performance measures in the hospitality industry, providing general market comparison trends and some useful revenue indications.
By Russell Kett and Christopher Boyd
Podcast interview with expert Kris Herrin reveals the surprising payments risks companies face today and the benefits of cloud-based procure-to-pay solutions
A recent Gartner report claims that by 2025, quite 50% of organizations around the world will have a cloud-based procure-to-pay suite. Tools like BirchStreet Pay are gaining traction as hotels learn more about the advantages and cost opportunities of using saving procurement solutions.
So, What Are You Seeing?
At this year’s Americas Lodging Investment Summit, the opening question in almost every conversation I participated in was “what are you seeing?”
By Jan Freitag, National Director, Hospitality Market Analytics, HotelNewsNow
Combating Phishing Scams with E-Pay Protection
In 2022, more than 255 million phishing attacks were reported by businesses—a 61% increase from 2021. However, as hacker skills become more sophisticated, cyber security and e-pay protection have become one of the fastest-growing fields of industry.
Use a Business Mindset: David Lund on Hotel Finance
David Lund, a financial consultant for hotels, shares his thoughts on how hotels should approach hotel finance software and tools, and the role technology plays in daily operations, highlighting the skills needed to succeed. With vast experience in hospitality operations, finance, and accounting, David offers his unique view on the hospitality business and advocates financial literacy for hoteliers as one of the most crucial skills to have.
By David Lund, The Hotel Financial Coach, David Lund
Exploring the Benefits of Switching to E-Payments
It's no secret that e-commerce has experienced a rapid surge over recent years, reaching a nearly 50% user penetration rate for digital commerce in 2020, and more skyrocketing growth throughout and following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Three Questions and a Funeral
The U.S. hotel transaction market looked to be downshifting as we closed out 2022. The first part of 2022 had 3 times the transaction volume (deals $10M+) of 2021 but the rise in interest rates has dramatically slowed the transaction lead volume in Q4.
By Jon Peck, President of Peck Hotel Consulting and active Consultant with Cayuga Hospitality Consultants, Cayuga Hospitality Consultants
You can’t direct the wind, but you can adjust your sails: financial planning for 2023
The last few years have been unprecedented, both globally and in the hospitality industry specifically. This means that extraordinary measures have been necessary for the industry to adapt, and a level of creativity and adaptation is still essential in all aspects of the industry, including financial planning.
By David Kasten, Hotel Finance and Asset Management Expert, Strategic Solution Partners
Maximizing Your Cash Back Benefits with E-Pay Software
From remote workplaces to the metaverse, the world of business is becoming more and more virtualized. Digital business models are taking over, and companies are being led to unique optimizations, such as automatization, data-driven decision-making, and streamlined collaborations.
Hospitality Financial Leadership – Why GMs Have Such a Hard Time Managing Their Financial Leader
This is not the case for all GMs, but it is definitely the case for many. The reason is simple: the GM has not been given any formal accounting training and they are intimidated by the numbers and their lack of knowledge.
By David Lund, The Hotel Financial Coach, David Lund
The Trifecta of Lodging Acquisition Studies
Congratulations! You have acquired a new Lodging Property. After months, or years, of due diligence, you have finally closed on your newly acquired Lodging Property.
By Walter O'Connell, Managing Director of Hotel Valuation & Cost Segregation Services, LLC (HVCSS) and a consultant, Cayuga Hospitality Consultants
ALIS Kicks off 2023, with Most Expecting the Year’s Best Days to Come in the Second Half of the Year
Another ALIS is in the books, and a busy one at that, with nearly 3,000 in attendance. If you weren’t one of those lucky thousands, here are our takeaways.
By Rodney Clough, President - HVS Americas, Denver, HVS
A Look Back at 2022: How M&A Is Shaping the Hospitality Industry
As the year comes to a close, 2022 could be argued as one of the most difficult years for business sectors. But for the hospitality industry, hotel owners, restauranteurs, operators, and global brands pursued new opportunities and grew their portfolios through mergers and acquisitions of other companies.
Understanding Hospitality REIT
The US government first established Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in the 1960s, allowing retail investors access to the nation's vast portfolio of income-producing real estate assets. Since then, the REITs market has expanded significantly across many real estate asset classes, including hospitality. The first hospitality REIT (or lodging REIT) was introduced in the US in 1970, but this asset class didn't start to gain popularity until the mid-1990s when investors realized they could own and profit from lucrative hotel assets without having to spend a significant sum of money to acquire the asset.
By Dipti Mohan and Anand Rai