Finance

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

The next-gen metrics that move hotel P&L

Ad Guide

Hotel tech has changed what's possible – and measurable. RevPAR and ADR aren't enough; discover the metrics that really matter.

Mews

Ad Investment Guide

Which Hotel Tech Should Come First?

A practical framework to identify priorities, align stakeholders, and invest smarter.

Amadeus Hospitality

April 30, 2014

RobertDouglas Advises KHP Fund I, L.P. on the $44 Million Refinancing of the Nine Zero Hotel, a Kimpton Hotel, in Boston, Massachusetts.

RobertDouglas announced today that it advised KHP Fund I, L.P., a Kimpton sponsored hotel real estate fund, in the $44 million refinancing of the Nine Zero Hotel, a Kimpton Hotel, in Boston, Massachusetts. The 5-year, floating-rate financing was provided by Mesa West Capital.

RobertDouglas

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

April 29, 2014

Texas Days Inn Rebrands as Magnuson Hotel Brownsville

Magnuson Hotels, the world"s largest independent hotel group, announced today the complete rebranding of the Magnuson Hotel Brownsville

Magnuson Hotels

Brownsville, Texas, United States

April 11, 2014

The 2013 HVS U.S. Lodging Tax Study

In this second annual Lodging Tax Study, HVS Convention, Sports, and Entertainment Consulting surveys lodging tax rates and revenues across the United States. Updating the first edition, this study is expanded to include a broader range of cities and tracks policy trends in lodging tax imposition. This research identified the lodging tax rates levied at the state, county, city, and special district levels, and the collection and distribution of revenue from lodging taxes levied in all 50 states and in the 150 largest cities in the United States.

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

Which Hotel Tech Should Come First?

Supplier News

January 8, 2014

M3 Accounting + Analytics Celebrates Fifteen Years of Consecutive Growth

M3 Accounting + Analytics, the national leader in hotel-specific accounting software, operations reporting and business analytics, has closed out its fifteenth year in the industry with another successful year of growth in 2013. In December, M3's flagship hotel accounting platform, AccKnowledge, crested the 3,000 threshold of active hotels online.

Georgia, United States

Supplier News

January 7, 2014

RobertDouglas Advises Justice Investors on the $117 Million Refinancing of the Hilton San Francisco Financial District

RobertDouglas announced today that it advised Justice Investors in the $117 million refinancing of the Hilton San Francisco Financial District. The 10‐year, fixed rate financing was provided by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Clarion Partners. Ideally located in the heart of San Francisco, the iconic hotel is at the crossroads of the Financial District, Chinatown and North Beach.

RobertDouglas

San Francisco, California, United States

Ad Investment Guide

A practical framework to identify priorities, align stakeholders, and invest smarter.

Amadeus Hospitality

January 6, 2014

How U.S. Hotels Are Faring | Forbes.com

The holidays may be over, but for the U.S. hotel and motel industry, the good times could continue into 2014. Privately held hotels and motels saw their third year of solid sales and profit growth, according to recent data from Sageworks, a financial information company, and net profit margins have turned nicely positive in recent years as tourism and business travel continue to improve from the depths of the recession.

Forbes

December 19, 2013

Competing For Deals – How to Get Your Offer Accepted

While the transaction market is heating up, compared to other cycles, there still remains a shortage of hotel properties coming to market. One major factor driving this is that many owners are looking at their improving operating metrics and deciding to delay selling their assets in hopes of realizing greater gains in the future. A second factor is that low interest rates and aggressive competition among lenders has resulted in a market where owners can receive high loan proceeds should they choose to refinance rather than sell. When viewed on an after-tax basis, the refinancing scenario may very well yield higher proceeds than a sale. That said, the common view is that we will see more hotel transactions in 2014 and 2015.

By William Sipple, HVS

External Article

November 21, 2013

Successful Hilton Worldwide IPO would be a Blackstone landmark - ft.com

In one of the largest buyouts of all time, Blackstone Group acquired Hilton Hotels in the heady days of 2007 for $26bn including debt. It sought to give the hotel company a new lease of life, and part of the private equity group’s task was to restore the Waldorf Astoria’s original grandeur. Now after six years under Blackstone ownership, the company – renamed Hilton Worldwide – is set to go public within weeks. Seeking at least $1.25bn, the offering would be the highest amount raised for a US hotel company and would move the buyout firm closer to realising the profits from its biggest single investment.

ft.com

November 5, 2013

Convenience Shops: Cash-flowing amenity creep

As a hospitality consultant, I have the opportunity to visit hundreds of hotels and resorts each year as part of hotel appraisal and feasibility study assignments. Recently, I've noted that limited-service hotels are adding miniature versions of the gift shops once spotted only in the lobbies of full-service and select-service hotels.

By Laurel Keller, Executive Vice President | Hospitality Gaming & Leisure Group, Newmark

Inland Real Estate Investment Corporation

November 5, 2013

Inland American Real Estate Trust, Inc. Purchases Collection of Hotel Monaco Properties

Inland American Lodging Group, Inc. ("Inland American"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Inland American Real Estate Trust, Inc., today announced the acquisition of three luxury boutique hotels from Kimpton's Hotel Monaco collection for a purchase price of $189 million. The acquisition includes the Hotel Monaco Chicago, the Hotel Monaco Denver and the Hotel Monaco Salt Lake City, totaling 605 rooms. All three properties are part of Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants' prominent boutique brand, Hotel Monaco, a collection of high quality, luxury boutique hotels that are converted from iconic, historic buildings and feature upscale bars and restaurants.

November 1, 2013

HFTP 2013-2014 Global Executive Committee and Board of Directors Begin Term

Today, the Global Executive Committee and Board of Directors for Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) officially begin their 2013-2014 term. The association leaders represent a variety of hospitality industry segments (clubs, hotels, academics and management companies), and will use their professional expertise to help guide the association as it carries out its strategic plan. Upcoming goals for the association include growing globally, successfully serving the current global membership and continued development of the Global Hospitality Accounting Common Practices (GHACP), and maintaining the top-notch education and resources for the hospitality finance and technology professional community.

HFTP

Dallas, Texas, United States

November 1, 2013

Jerry Trieber Begins Term as HFTP Global President

Today, Jerry Trieber, CPA, CHAE, CFE, CFF, CGMA officially starts his term as Global President for Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP), with a directive to lead the association in carrying out its strategic goals. Trieber is regional director of accounting for Crestline Hotels and Resorts based out of Virginia. A member for 16 years, Trieber was recently honored at the HFTP Annual Convention & Tradeshow this past October in Dallas, Texas.?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /

HFTP

Austin, Texas, United States

October 15, 2013

Hotel Budget Accuracy - Prosperity Equals Accuracy

During the depths of the 2001 and 2009 industry recessions, hotel managers underestimated their revenue levels by an average of 10.4 percent, while the profit deficits averaged 23.4 percent. Conversely, when market conditions were on the rise, the budget variance for revenues was a positive 1.2 percent on average, while profit goals were exceeded by 3.4 percent. For the purpose of this analysis, profits are defined as net operating income (NOI) before deductions for capital reserve, rent, interest, income taxes, depreciation, and amortization.

By Robert Mandelbaum, Director of Research Information Services, CBRE Hotels