News

March 11, 2015

Cushman & Wakefield and RobertDouglas Arrange Financing for Regional Mall Development in Hawai‘i

Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. and RobertDouglas, serving as co-advisors to an affiliate of Tampa-based DeBartolo Development, are pleased to announce the capitalization of the first phase of Ka Makana Ali'i, a $500 million regional mall development project located in Kapolei, Hawai'i on the island of Oah'u, approximately 25 miles west of downtown Honolulu. Joint venture equity was provided by OPSEU Pension Trust and the $167 million construction loan for Phase I of the project was provided by The Union Labor Life Insurance Company ("ULLICO") on behalf of its separate accounts.

RobertDouglas

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States

February 23, 2015

Cornell Compendium Presents Latest Hospitality Research

The 2015 Compendium from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) provides a handy guide to the latest research from the faculty of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration (SHA). In addition to Cornell Hospitality Reports, which are published at no charge by the CHR, the Compendium lists the SHA faculty members' contributions to Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, the school's journal of applied research, and research papers published across the spectrum of journals from the academic disciplines of SHA faculty. Like the CHR Reports, the Compendium is available for download at no charge.

CHR

February 23, 2015

Sales Tax Audit!

I am a believer that the best kind of bad experience is second hand. This article is your opportunity to have a second hand bad experience and minimize your own potential problems with sales taxes. While this happened in Minnesota much of it applies to any state with sales taxes. This article can give the reader ideas as to items to inquire about in each state where your company has an owned or managed hotel.

By Kirby D. Payne, Founder and President, HVS

Minnesota, United States

February 2, 2015

U.S. Hotel Development Cost Survey 2014/15

HVS has tracked hotel construction costs throughout the United States since 1976. Each year, HVS researches development costs from our database of actual hotel construction budgets, industry reports, and uniform franchise offering circulars. These sources provide the basis for our range of component costs per room. This 2014/15 survey reports updated per-room hotel development costs through the end of 2014, and considers data for six lodging types

By Elaine Sahlins, Executive Director in the Hospitality and Gaming practice, Cushman & Wakefield

PAS (Professional Accounting Solutions, Inc.)

January 27, 2015

Award winning BlackLine Systems now tailored specifically for Hospitality by PAS

PAS is bringing the world's most trusted solution for Finance Controls and Automation, BlackLine Systems, to hospitality. Leveraging their in-depth experience in hospitality operations and their hands free integration platform, pasUNITY, PAS is creating an unparalleled solution surrounding the Financial Close - Balance Sheet, Bank and Credit Card Reconciliation Automation. The security and integrity that comes with pasUNITY integrations, eliminates many of the human errors that are commonly associated with such sensitive financial information.

January 20, 2015

RobertDouglas Advises Owners in the Financing of Legendary Beverly Hilton Hotel and Construction Financing of the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills

Los Angeles, CA – January 20, 2014 – RobertDouglas announced today that it advised Oasis West Realty, LLC, in a transaction involving the re-financing of the landmark The Beverly Hilton hotel and, in addition, a facility to finance the construction of the adjacent 170-room Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills.

RobertDouglas

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Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP)

January 12, 2015

RobertDouglas Advises Hospitality Resorts Inc. on a CAD$150 Million Financing for the Hilton Niagara Falls / Fallsview Hotel and Suites in Niagara Falls, Ontario

RobertDouglas announced today that it has advised Hospitality Resorts Inc. on a CAD$150 million refinancing of the 965‐key Hilton Niagara Falls/Fallsview Hotel and Suites, located in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Hospitality Resorts Inc. is a privately-owned hotel investment, development and management company that has been active in the Niagara hotel and restaurant businesses for more than 40 years. The fixed-rate, seven-year financing was provided by Pacific Life.

RobertDouglas

Ontario, Canada

December 22, 2014

Caesars Entertainment, Caesars Acquisition Co. Agree to Merge

Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ: CZR) ("Caesars Entertainment") and Caesars Acquisition Company (NASDAQ: CACQ) ("Caesars Acquisition") today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to merge in an all-stock transaction. The merged company will be one of the largest gaming and entertainment companies in the world. Upon completion of the merger and the proposed restructuring of Caesars Entertainment Operating Company, Inc. ("CEOC"), the merged company will be well capitalized and positioned for sustainable long-term growth and value creation. Upon the completion of the transaction, Caesars Entertainment will own a collection of high-growth assets, including properties in destination markets and a majority stake in Caesars Interactive Entertainment, Inc. ("CIE"), and will operate a valuable network of domestic and international resorts and casinos. startclickprintexclude endclickprintexclude

Caesars

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

November 18, 2014

Sandals Upgrades BI to Latest Aptech Execuvue with Dashboards for 21 Resorts

Aptech Computer Systems announced that Sandals Resorts International (SRI) upgraded to the latest Execuvue Business Intelligence for easy-to-use, flexible global reporting for its 21 resorts throughout the Caribbean. SRI operates Sandals, Beaches and Grand Pineapple Beach Resorts. Aptech is the leading provider of hospitality software for business intelligence, budgeting, and enterprise financial accounting. Click here for more on Aptech's products and services. Execuvue BI enables Sandals to make decisions on near real-time performance information

Aptech

November 6, 2014

HFTP Unveils Newly Designed Website

In support of its broadening resources and services with global reach, Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) has launched a completely redesigned, mobile-friendly web site: HFTP.org. The new site, designed by Interactive Sites, was built with all HFTP audiences in mind — members, hospitality professionals and industry-related businesses —and will serve as a central portal to the association.

HFTP

Austin, Texas, United States

October 29, 2014

2014 Marks Another Successful Year for HFTP

Over 600 Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) members and other hospitality industry professionals from 10 countries recently gathered for HFTP's 62nd Annual Convention & Tradeshow. The convention was held October 22 – 25 at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans in New Orleans, La. Attendees celebrated the association's successful year with a convention full of topic focused education sessions, multiple networking opportunities and access to leading industry suppliers at the trade show.

HFTP

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

October 29, 2014

WAKEUP CALL Revolutionizes Risk Management for the Hospitality Industry with New Online Solution

WAKEUP CALL, the first online risk management solution designed specifically for the hotel industry, today announced the official launch of its next generation SaaS-based platform. After successful beta testing with select hotel properties over the past two years, the unique WAKEUP CALL solution is now being made available though an affordable subscription model with a proven ROI. This proactive approach to risk management helps protect hotels from potential liability and lawsuits, while consolidating and tracking related documents and data in the Cloud, so that it is easily accessible to all stakeholders in the organization.

WAKEUP CALL, Inc.

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October 22, 2014

Sertifi and Cendyn Arcaneo to Host Webinar on eSignature and Payment Integration into eProposal

Sertifi, a leading eSignature provider for hospitality organizations, and Cendyn Arcaneo, revolutionizing the way event professionals and suppliers plan, execute and measure meetings and worldwide, will conduct a 30-minute webinar on how the event planning organizations can use Cendyn Arcaneo's eProposal solution to collect signed contracts and customer payments electronically on Wednesday, October 29 at 1 p.m. CST.

Sertifi

Chicago, United States

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Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP)

October 7, 2014

2014 HVS Lodging Tax Report - USA

In this third annual Lodging Tax Study, HVS Convention, Sports & Entertainment explores trends in the imposition of lodging taxes in the USA. This updated version provides lodging tax rates/collections in all 50 US states and across 150 US cities. By Thomas A Hazinski, Daniel Wonk and Alex Moon.

By Thomas Hazinski, Managing Director of HVS Convention, Sports, & Entertainment Facilities Consulting in Chicago, HVS

August 5, 2014

Choice Hotels International, Inc. to Change Revenue Recognition Practice for Certain Franchise Fees and Accordingly to Restate Certain Quarterly Financial Statements

Choice Hotels International, Inc. /quotes/zigman/187443/delayed/quotes/nls/chh CHH +1.61% today announced that the Company will change its practice of accounting for royalty and certain marketing and reservation fees in order to comply with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP") by reporting these fees in the same period that the underlying gross room revenues are earned by the Company's franchisees rather than one month in arrears, as more fully described below. This change will result in immaterial upward adjustments to annual statements and will result in certain quarterly and interim periods being restated.

Choice

July 22, 2014

Extended Stay America Announces Resignation of Chief Financial Officer

Extended Stay America, Inc. (NYSE:STAY) (the "Company") today announced that Peter Crage, Chief Financial Officer since 2011, has notified the Company of his intentions to leave for personal reasons as of July 31, 2014. Mr. Crage will complete the preparation and filing of the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 and will serve in an advisory capacity until the end of the year to assist in the transition.

Extended Stay

Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

June 9, 2014

Red Lion Hotels Sells and Signs Franchise Agreements on Two Properties

Red Lion Hotels Corporation (NYSE:RLH) announced the company has sold its properties in Kennewick, Wash., and Twin Falls, Id., to new owners who each signed franchise agreements with property improvement plans.

June 2, 2014

Hotel Industry Leaders to Discuss Implementation of New Hotel Reporting Standards

Several hotel industry leaders will host a conference call on Thursday, June 12, 2014 at 2:00 PM EDT for management companies and hotel owners to discuss the implementation process of the 11th Edition of the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry ("11thEdition"). The panelists on the conference call will include:

Educational Institute

May 29, 2014

Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry Provides Essential Guidance for Hoteliers

The American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (EI) interviews Ralph Miller, CPA, CA, CBV, CHA, CHAE, vice chairman of the Financial Management Committee of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, about the Eleventh Revised Edition of the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry, available this month from the Educational Institute.

By Ralph Miller, President, Cayuga Hospitality Consultants