Hotel & Motel Management - October 15, 2007 - (Page 6)

Checking In PERSPECTIVE & LETTERS H&MM October 15, 2007 | HotelMotel.com EDITORIAL Hotel valuations decline 10 percent IN THE details Credit crunch challenges Industry says wait and see International problems? Invest in tech infrastructure By Jeff Higley Editorial Director T he headline on this column is ﬁctitious. Or is it? It’s hard to know at this point what effect the current credit crunch has had on the values of hotels, but it deﬁnitely is on the minds of anyone associated with the buying or selling of a property. It was deﬁnitely on the minds of attendees at The Lodging Conference in late September. But there was no consensus on its meaning. Since news of the subprime credit crunch broke in early August, the lodging industry has taken a wait-and-see approach regarding the ramiﬁcations of the situation. That hasn’t changed. During a spirited discussion at the Lodging Invest- ment Council meeting in Phoenix, it was suggested that hotel valuations have dropped as a result of the crunch. The reasoning is simple: With less capital to be lent to potential hotel buyers, prices on lodging assets would drop, leading to a fall in value. It’s just one of the many questions the credit crunch has created, and the reality is that it might take three, six or even 12 months to determine the actual damage the situation did to the lodging industry. The number of hotel transactions will temporarily decline. There’s some talk that some deals already agreed upon will be revisited. Most notable in that category is The Blackstone Group’s pending acquisition of Hilton Hotels Corp. Some observers believe the deal will be repriced to reﬂect the new credit environment. I fall into the group that believes a deal is a deal, and because the deal was already agreed upon, it will get done. There is still a lot of debt available as long as buyers are willing to put sufﬁcient capital into any deals, so there is no reason to be alarmed. But you can be certain that many lodg- ing executives are keeping close tabs on the situation. The geopolitical climate around the world has to have senior executives of hotel companies worried. As talk of a potential cold war between the United States and China continues to percolate, I can only wonder what that would mean to the hotel industry. If the U.S. ever imposes sanctions against China the way it has against Cuba for the past ﬁve decades, what would become of all the hotels that have U.S.-based brands on their front doors? The same question could be asked about Russia or any of the other countries that are becoming less than friendly in their business dealings with the United States. One issue all hotel developers should be addressing is putting the proper infrastructure in place when building a hotel. That includes ﬁber-optic cable that provides the most bandwidth into a property. There are plenty of good causes to donate hard-earned money to in the lodging industry. One that should be considered is a scholarship fund at Florida International Uni- versity in the name of the late Anthony G. Marshall. Tony, a long-time columnist for H&MM and a trusted friend, died last December. Rocco Angelo, associate dean and E.M. Statler Professor at FIU’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, is rallying to raise a minimum of $100,000 so the school can get a $50,000 contribution from the state of Florida. Tony joined FIU as the founding associate dean in 1972 and became the dean in 1981. By the time he retired after 16 years as dean and 27 years at FIU, he had inﬂuenced thousands of students and industry leaders with his teaching, writing and mentoring. His passion for education and the school led him to establish the scholarship for undergraduate students with ﬁnancial need in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. That care and giving is what endeared Tony to so many people in the hotel industry. For those interested in participating, contact Denise Rau, FIU’s director of development at raudg@ﬁu.edu or (305) 919-4538. jhigley@questex.com give away a room without discussion, but whenever we do provide a complimentary accommodation it should be part of the negotiation process. 600 Superior Ave. East, Suite 1100, Cleveland, OH 44114 Jeff Higley, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR . . . . . . . . . jhigley@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3728 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Stephanie Ricca, MANAGING EDITOR . . . . . . . sricca@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3791 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Elaine Simon, SENIOR EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . esimon@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3782 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Stacey Mieyal Higgins, SENIOR EDITOR . . . . . .shiggins@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3783 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Heather Gunter, ASSOCIATE EDITOR . . . . . . . hgunter@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3792 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Jason Q. Freed, ASSOCIATE EDITOR . . . . . . . . jfreed@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3727 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Emily Hanna, ASSOCIATE EDITOR . . . . . . . . . ehanna@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3784 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Amy B. Witek, ART DIRECTOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . awitek@questex.com Rob Ghosh, ART DIRECTOR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .rghosh@questex.com ADVERTISING/SALES/CIRCULATION 600 Superior Ave. East, Suite 1100, Cleveland, OH 44114 John McMahon, GROUP PUBLISHER . . . . . jmcmahon@questex.com 757 Third Ave., 5th Floor, New York, NY 10017 Ph: (212) 895-8243 | Fax: (212) 895-8212 Matt Waddell, PUBLISHER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . mwaddell@questex.com 2835 N. Shefﬁeld Ave, Suite 236, Chicago, IL 60657 Ph: (773) 880-2240 | Fax: (773) 880-2241 Mary Malloy, NORTHEAST, INT’L. . . . . . . . . .mmalloy@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3790 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Brian Levine, SOUTHEAST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . blevine@questex.com 757 Third Ave., 5th Floor, New York, NY 10017 Ph: (212) 895-8285 | Fax: (212) 895-8215 Jason Wallace, WEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jwallace@questex.com 1461 S. 375 E., Kaysville, UT 84037 Ph: (801) 499-9999 | Fax: (801) 315-4137 Mary Jo Cotner, MIDWEST, CANADA . . . . . . .mcotner@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3793 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Brian Olesinski, CLASSIFIEDS, RECRUITMENT, DIRECTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .bolesinski@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3794 | Fax: (216) 706-3711 Heidi Spangler, DIR., AUDIENCE DEV. . . . . . . . hspangler@questex.com Ph: (216) 706-3705 | Fax: (216) 706-3714 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Stacy Silver, BUSINESS DEV. DIRECTOR. . . . . ssilver@questex.com Ph: (954) 306-0747 | Fax: (954) 697-6265 J. Richard Casson, ASSOCIATE BUSINESS DEV. DIRECTOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . rcasson@questex.com Ph: (212) 895-8426 | Fax: (212) 895-8210 PRODUCTION 306 W. Michigan St., Suite 200, Duluth, MN 55802 Bonnie Ling, PRODUCTION DIRECTOR . . . . . . . bling@questex.com Ph: (218) 279-8820 | Fax: (218) 279-8812 Janelle Heller, PRODUCTION MANAGER . . . . . jheller@questex.com Ph: (218) 279-8834 | Fax: (218) 279-8815 MARKETING/MAGAZINE SERVICES MARKETING/MAGAZINE SERVICES Ilene Schwartz, Kroll Direct, LISTS . . . . . . . . .ilene@krolldirect.com Ph: (216) 371-1667 | Fax: (216) 371-1669 PERMISSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . .questexpermissions@reprintbuyer.com Ph: (800) 494-9051 Ext. 100 REPRINTS . . . . . . . . . . .HotelandMotelManagement@reprintbuyer.com Ph: (800) 290-5460 Ext. 100 SUBSCRIPTIONS, CUSTOMER SERVICE. . Questex@sunbeltfs.com Ph: (866) 344-1315 | Fax: (615) 377-0525 BACK ISSUES, SINGLE CURRENT COPIES, CD-ROM, MICROFILM, MICROFICHE Ph: (866) 344-1315 | Fax: (615) 377-0525 RFP process I enjoyed, as I always do, reading Howard Feiertag’s column in HOTEL & MOTEL MANAGEMENT magazine about technology and the sales process [“Use today’s technology to plan meetings,” Sept. 3, 2007, page 10]. I thought I would give you a brief peek at our experience. We generally receive roughly 40 or so electronic leads a month, from various sources including the brands’ global sales ofﬁces. For example, in August, we received 164 leads totaling 33,360 room nights in potential business. For the Mail Box Letters to the Editor hmm@questex.com year to date through August, we have received 1,026 leads through that channel totaling a potential of 275,217 room nights. So, you can see, it is of extreme urgency that this particular method garners our meticulous attention. It is mind-boggling to me to hear that planners report a problem with the lack of responses from properties that receive these requests. Tell me, what possibly could be more important? We have a policy in our ofﬁce that these leads are attended to immediately. I still appreciate Howard’s articles after nearly 30 years in the business. Recently he spoke of how we should always look for revenue sources, and as an example he mentioned why one should always include a one per 50 comp policy. I made copies of the article and distributed it to my sales staff. We agreed to not just Jack Guy Vice president of sales and marketing Sheraton Sand Key Resort Clearwater Beach, Fla. PRESIDENT & CEO—Kerry C. Gumas EXECUTIVE V.P. & CFO—Tom Caridi EXECUTIVE V.P.—Robert S. Ingraham EXECUTIVE V.P.—Tony D’Avino EXECUTIVE V.P., CORP. DEV.—Claudia Flowers V.P. & G.M.—Don Rosenberg V.P., DIGITAL MEDIA—Seth Nichols V.P., HUMAN RESOURCES—Diane M. Evans Copyright 2007 Questex Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopy, recording or information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of speciﬁc clients, is granted by Questex Media Group, Inc. for libraries and other users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923; phone: (978) 750-8400; fax (978) 7504470; call for copying beyond that permitted by Sections 107 or 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law. For those not registered with the CCC, send permission request to questexpermissions@reprintb http://HotelMotel.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hotel & Motel Management - October 15, 2007

Hotel & Motel Management - October 15, 2007 Contents Concord Sets Goal to Double Portfolio Leaders: Budgetel Brand Off and Running Pension Funds Put More Capital Into Hotels Perspective Letter to the Editor At Your Risk Consultant's Corner Sales Clinic On Finance Guest Column Trends & Stats Industry Leaders Say Healthy Times Will Continue Eco-Concious Hotels Looks for Certification Events Removing Chemicals, Suds from Housekeeping Products Handhelds Help Track Safe Activity People on The Move Awards Transactions Supplier News Ad/Editorial Index Bath Trends Marketplace Classifieds Checking Out

Hotel & Motel Management - October 15, 2007

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