Hotel & Motel Management - March 17, 2008 - (Page 30) 30 Special Report H&MM March 17, 2008 | HotelMotel.com Recession Continued from page 25 most impact.” Marshall agreed, saying monitoring the bottom line at a property is a g.m.’s responsibility. “First and foremost, you talk to a g.m. and let them know what the game plan is,” Marshall said. “For the larger hotels, we’d have a committee meeting. But ultimately, the bottom line is the g.m.’s responsibility.” Marshall said a big problem in the industry is that the recent success, or the upcycle, has allowed many franchise companies to overspend and litter properties with high-end amenities and offerings. Consequently, if a recession makes a significant im- TECTON HOSPITALITY Clean and modern guestrooms make up the Hotel Mela near TImes Square in New York City, a Desires boutique hotel. “We work with many of the largest ATM deployers in the country and have found that in terms of service levels, operational controls, and integrity of the operators that ATM Systems is in the very upper echelon of all of the ATM companies in the country.” --Cash Connect, a division of WSFS Bank John Clatworthy, VP of Sales & Marketing “I am a loyal client as a result of your professionalism and reaction time to my needs. Your decision to replace the old ATM was much appreciated. The new ATM is perfect.” --Radisson Hotel Sacramento George LaPointe, Director of Operations “Our front desk employees continually share with me the positive feedback they have received from our guests. Based on these comments, it’s clear that the ATM is fulfilling a guest service need at our hotel and has proven to be a real convenience for our guests.” --Radisson Hotel Boston Jack Eagan, Controller pact and the downturn is propelled, management companies are stuck. “There’s no going back now,” he said. “I would say we could look at energy costs—those are killing us right now. But we’re going to have to spend some money to reduce those costs, and the problem is, in a downturn, Marshall you don’t have MARSHALL MANAGEMENT the money to spend.” Isenberg recommends only making cuts that will not effect long-term operations. “We will not sacrifice quality in product or service, as that is a short-term strategy with longterm negative consequences,” he said. “We will only make expense reductions on a variable basis and will not make expense cuts that will negatively impact our service to our customers.” Learn from the past Although Leal hasn’t seen any signs of a downturn so far in 2008, he said he knows the industry is cyclical and some changes may have to be made soon. To prepare for the future, he looks to the past. “The most severe was 9/11,” he said. “During 9/11, we had to put together an immediate contingency plan. Our first focus was on protecting the integrity of the workforce and to safeguard the personnel.” Leal said the effects of 9/11— a major slowdown in travel—afSee Recession | page 32 CIRCLE NO. 102 ATM Systems http://HotelMotel.com http://www.atmsystems.com http://www.atmsystems.com
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