With over 40 years of hotel operations, restructuring, food & beverage, sales & marketing and branding expertise, we are pleased to offer a wide range of services to owners of independent properties, multi-property brands or any other operator.
Where We Can Help
Asset Management
- Asset valuation, acquisitions and dispositions and CAPEX assessment
- Senior staff evaluation and organizational analysis
- Property refinancing
- Connecting hotels with investors
Competitive Analysis
- Marketplace positioning
- Competitive set strategies
- Product differentiation
- Rebranding and flag selection
Vendor Evaluation
- Agency oversight
- PMS optimization
- Assessing new technology deployments
- Overseeing implementation
Sales & Marketing
- Promotions strategy
- Group sales planning
- Awareness strategies
- Copywriting and content development
Revenue Management
- Rate planning
- Yield management
- Channel analysis
- Direct booking and loyalty strategies
Food & Beverage
- Profitability Review
- Conceptualization
- Service optimization
- Staffing optimization
There are very few situations that our consulting team has not encountered and for all that we have we delivered an exceptional hotel operations or marketing solution. Here are just some of the questions that help to answer for owners or other hotel operators.
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- I need an audit of my technology: what I have, what I am missing and how I can reduce labour costs through technology.
- As an owner, how do I know when is the best time to buy or sell a property?
- What actions can I take to better position a property I currently own for a higher valuation?
- A new product launch into a very competitive marketplace, what is the best ROI on my asset spend?
- What’s new in hotel technology and how can I get the best return from my investment?
- How can I optimize technology to reduce labour costs?
- I’ve got my architect’s plan for the hotel, but I need someone to see if makes sense. Can you help?
- What is my sales and marketing department doing? Where can I find new customer growth opportunities?
- Should I re-flag or rebrand my property? If so, then with whom? How do I know when I should de-flag a property?
- Is my guest service offering meeting expectations? If not, what can we tweak?
- Should I fix my hotel’s current website or scrap it? How much should I pay for a refresh?
- Is my external communications agency (digital or traditional) doing a good job? If not, can you fix it?
- How do I realign the organizational structure to optimize performance and team empowerment? How do I train at the senior level?
- What should I do to revitalize my team and my property in the face of new or asymmetric competition?
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Marketing Services
As we got our start in the advertising world, naturally we are quite adept in this particular area and are above to help in the following ways that directly impact how a hotel brand presents itself to the public.
Marketing Plan Review: As a general manager or owner/operator, your experience set tends to be in operations or finance. Let me assist you in evaluating your marketing program: Are expenditures appropriate for the circumstances? Are you getting the appropriate return for your marketing investment? Is your marketplace positioning effective? These are just some of the issues that can be addressed through an unbiased, independent and experienced approach.
Teams ‘n Tech Audit: An examination of your personnel practices and labour utilization. An examination of your technology ‘stack’ and identification of gaps may lead to cost savings and importantly, labour savings.
Property Evaluations: How does your property stand up relative to its star rating? How does it compare to other properties in a similar price range? How will the property “rank” in a AAA, Forbes, or in an association entry (LHW, PHRW, SLH, R&C) examination? Our experience level in working and staying with a broad range of properties at almost every level provides a realistic, independent evaluation.
Brainstorming Sessions: Want to conduct a session with your planning committee, to generate new ideas and expand upon business opportunities? We will lead or participate in brainstorming sessions to help your business break away from its current operations and marketing plan. This can include new products, product segmentation, business acquisition, customer acquisition, or new initiatives.
Modelling Programs: Learn from your existing past customer data and capitalize upon this knowledge. Modelling data allows you to take advantage of computer simulations to refine the best potential candidates for direct mail campaigns. Ten years ago, these programs were expensive and only available to the largest properties or chains. Today, this work is both cost-effective and easily executed.
Marketing Plan Development: Need a fresh look at your marketing plan? Want new ideas that have proven themselves in past programs? Want to integrate the latest electronic communications elements into your marketing mix? We can work either solo or with your in-house marketing team to build a comprehensive marketing plan designed to take your property to the next level. Alternatively, we can confidentially evaluate the marketing program submitted to you (as GM or owner).
VP/Director of Marketing Evaluation and Search: One of the most pivotal, yet least-understood members of your planning committee is your Vice-President or Director of Marketing. A great DoM is often the critical catalyst that drives your business to the next level. Yet, how do you know if your current DoM, or the DoM you are looking to hire is the right candidate for the job? Let us help you with your evaluation, or work with you and your HR department on the search.
Internet, Advertising and PR Agency Evaluation: How do you know if your communications team is delivering the best they can? And, how do you know if what they offer is sufficient to meet your needs, or if it is priced competitively? We can work with your Director of Marketing to provide an evaluation of their respective strengths and opportunities.
Advertising Agency Search: How do you improve your search for a new advertising agency? What are the criteria for their selection? Who forms the shortlist for agency presentations? Is it fair to ask for speculative work, and if so, what are the legal ramifications? Who checks prospective agency credentials? Importantly, how do you adequately evaluate their presentations to you, based on your own personal experiences, where the number of times you have had the opportunity to perform this task is limited? Let us act as your consultant and personal coach in this process.
Mystery Shopper Programs: Want to test your current sales team and/or reservations team? Let us shop your property and see how they handle room and group requests in comparison with your key competitors.