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Difficulties in the pub trade Feb 22, 2012: Guest Columnist Conor Kenny shares insights on business and financial challenges in this You Tube video on one of the world's most established segments of hospitality - the local pub. While you may not have a "pub" in the traditional sense of the word, there are many similarities to other services in hospitality. We felt our global readers would appreciate this unique perspective.

U.S. - Challenges of LEED certification Feb 22, 2012: Jones Lang LaSalle's Helee Hillman, LEED AP, discusses the growing popularity of LEED certification in buildings outside the U.S., and the resulting challenges, such as translating and interpreting guidelines into many languages and dealing with conflicting building codes.

Hoteliers have energy management concerns Feb 22, 2012

Investments in energy efficiency initiatives in four- and five-star U.S. hotels are impacted by concerns from hoteliers about building automation and control systems around initial costs and the perception that energy management systems will result in a negative guest experience, according to a recent survey by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Harrah Hotel College and Cannon Survey Center.

A Common Sense Review Process for Capital Investments Feb 20, 2012: In this time of global uncertainty, there is a hesitancy to spend capital dollars without having a clear sense of the timing of the ROI (return on investment). That concern is reasonable, but it may also cause some hoteliers to delay needed updates or improvements at a time when lower occupancy allows for both availability of space and potentially lower costs from those providing the products or physical improvements. This delay could also allow new competitors to more quickly enter markets when the cycle does improve if existing hotels are not competitive or not meeting the current needs of evolving clientele.

A Methodology for Analysing Lodging Property Operating Cost Structures Feb 15, 2012

Analysts frequently apply erroneous rule-of-thumb assumptions regarding the breakdown of operating expenses between their fixed and variable components in evaluating relative profitability or in budget planning for specific properties.

“A Bakers Dozen” of Strategies for Hotel Controllers Feb 8, 2012

There is an enormous range of responsibilities for financial controls in today’s hotels and much of this depends on the type and size of hotel property. A facility that has gaming, banquet facilities and extensive public space has very different needs than a smaller rooms only hotel. This article shares the needed strategies for success.

Understanding what we measure and making it count! Feb 2, 2012: There is an enormous range of responsibilities for financial controls in today’s hotels and much of this depends on the type and size of the hotel property. Finance and accounting do not usually provide much reader feedback, but I was pleased to have requests from groups and associations asking to reprint it in their publications. This column will follow up on the strategies to a degree, but it will focus much more on approach.

What Hotels Should Know About Repair & Maintenance Studies Jan 29, 2012: Recent tax courts cases have paved the way for R&M studies,which are generating
significant tax benefits for many business owner