Hotel Asset Management

Hotel Operational Performance Audits

With many years of experience in improving the revenue of poor performing hotels and successfully opening many hotel developments, Sear Hospitality has the expertise to help with all aspects of hotel operations.

 

Sear Hospitality can quickly become the most valuable tool hotel owners and developers have. Our systems will ensure that our clients operational management structures result in increased cash flow. We work as ‘Owner Representatives’ for a variety of hotels/hotel groups and our key focus is to protect the owner’s asset, by improving operations and increasing revenue.

 

The first step is to complete a detailed review of the property/s to gain a thorough understanding of key problem areas, and then provide strategies to improve the operational performance of the property. Greg Sear then works closely with management to ensure that the new strategies are implemented and successful.

 

Sear Hospitality has a proven track record and can provide all the assistance you require to ensure that your hotel development performs to the best of its ability.

Hotel Owner's Representation

Owning a hotel is a huge investment and we have seen many that have failed over the years. This is usually because they don’t have the expertise of a hotel professional; one that has the broad array of skills and the experience required to ensure that management and/or the management company are meeting the interests and objectives of the hotel property owners.


With extensive experience across all aspects of hotel operations and hotel management, Greg Sear can and does oversee every aspect of hotel operations and hotel management for his clients. Greg’s priority is always to protect the interests of the owner and to ensure that hotel management understand and support the owners objectives.

Chances are that you’re looking at this web site because your hotel property or the hotel property that you manage could use a little help. Well, you’ve taken the first positive step!

The second step is to arrange a time to have a ‘no obligation’ conversation with Greg Sear. By doing this, Greg will gain an understanding of your circumstances and you will have the opportunity to ascertain how best he may be of assistance to you, in order to reach the performance objectives your hotel property requires.

Sear Hospitality will conduct an extensive site inspection and will complete a an operational review of your hotel or hotel group. During this/these site visits, Greg will meet with the owners’ and/or management to ensure that he has a thorough understanding of any concerns and what the current objectives are. At the initial or subsequent site visit/s, Greg will also meet with departmental managers, which should identify any hotel operational issues in relation to distribution, hotel revenue, poor customer service/satisfaction, staff satisfaction/retention, hotel product delivery issues and additional hotel operational concerns. A strategy will then be developed for implementation, which will improve the operational performance of the hotel property and therefore will result in an increase in revenue.

Greg will work closely with management to ensure that the new strategy is implemented correctly, monitored and adjustments are made when and where necessary. Greg will drive management to achieve the hotel owners desired outcomes and stay in regular contact with the hotel owners to ensure that they are kept informed of progress at all times.

Greg conducts regular 'review' property site visits, which are imperative to ensure that the asset is presenting as per market expectations. It’s also a valuable exercise that provides the opportunity to build respectful relationships with management, therefore resulting in greater buy-in and support when implementing change and driving management to achieve objectives.

Hospitality Financial Services

Sear Hospitality provide financial services support that delivers timely accounting information. This information can (when properly presented) can be use by management to improve future revenue performance. Sear Hospitality utilises accounting as a report card to control expenses based on past, present and future goals approved by hotel owners.

 

The unique nature of hotel accounting may not be familiar to accountants from other industries. Sear Hospitality recommends to clients that their accountants have a minimum of fifteen years’ experience, working directly with hotels. This time is valuable in mastering the issues that often seem confusing to non-hotel accountants but represent the everyday occurrences in your hotel.

 

We can deliver detailed Budgets and P&L’s with proven industry benchmarks and custom fit them to your specific hotel. Sear Hospitality can then identify and correct variances before they turn into major problems, allowing us to assist our clients to make well-informed financial decisions.

 

Sear Hospitality can assist in managing all of your hospitality accounting needs, implementing industry standard hospitality financial systems and assist with training your team to deliver the required standards. This will ensure production of quality financial services and information, which is a vital tool required to drive financial returns.


Sear Hospitality focuses on generating financial reports to help operations run your property effectively. Our services and optional reports are listed below:

 

  • Implementation of accounting and cost control systems.
  • Oversee and processing of all Accounts Payable.
  • Produce Capital, Cash Flow & Operational Budgets.
  • Produce Monthly P&L reports.
  • Maintain Balance Sheet & General Ledger.
  • Conduct property financial audits.
  • Payroll processing and required reporting and payments.
  • Daily financial audits of trading results, the PMS on a daily basis.
  • Supervision and monitoring of Debtors, Guest Ledger & Deposits Ledger.
  • Posting daily revenue files into bookkeeping system.
  • Daily balance checks of the Ledgers.
  • Daily reconciliation of Credit Card Receipts, Cash Receipts and Direct Bank Deposits.
  • Enter approved invoices into the General Ledger via Receipt Bank.
  • Prepare weekly and monthly Supplier Payments, with supporting information for the approval of the owners.
  • Forward Remittance Advices to Suppliers following payment.
  • Reconcile monthly Supplier Statements and action any missing invoices.
  • Post Month End prepayments and Accruals Journals.
  • Reconcile General Ledger.
  • Reconcile Balance Sheet with supporting information.
  • Prepare and reconcile GST accounts for BAS Lodgement.
  • Monthly P&L report with comments on cost variances to budget.
  • Process Superannuation via the payroll system.
  • Supply Payroll tax calculations, if required.

Hotel Operator Selection

Hotel operator selection is a major factor in the overall success of an investment, not only in terms of selecting the right partner but also in setting the right terms and conditions.

Hotel brands make up a large part of the market value of many successful hotels and restaurants. Relying on an expert in hotel branding, management contracts and negotiations, can be the difference between constant struggles in owner/operator/investor relationships and successful long-term relationships that build value and guest loyalty.

If developing a new property, wading through the sea of brands and standards required by each is daunting. Engaging an expert is valuable to analyse the market, competition, and opportunities to capitalise on a particular brand (or soft-brand). Understanding the process of design, procurement and delivery logistics can make a considerable difference in project costs and timing to opening.

The brand can define your property’s image and enhance sales, marketing, and loyalty, they bring robust reservations systems and other technology, but implementing brand standards and systems can be costly to establish and maintain. Sear Hospitality have the knowledge and experience to help you to define your goals, analyse the cost/benefit of each option, help select the right brand for your property and guide you through contract negotiations.

Equally essential is management of the operation. Will you be choosing a brand that requires brand management of the property? Will you be bringing in a 3rd party franchise or management group to operate? Will you be self-operating? Each come with advantages and disadvantages. Greg Sear’s expertise in hotel management companies and negotiating agreements helps owners to make this vitally important decision.

We work closely with our clients and their legal teams during the process of searching for operators, candidate screening and contract negotiation. We assist to create agreements that are balanced, to ensure that operators are able to perform whilst allowing owners to also oversee their investments. Together with our client, and our detailed understanding of commercial terms, we negotiate to deliver the best commercial terms with the operator to ensure a win-win financially viable result for the property.

Hotel Property Refurbishment

The hotel industry involves a lot of commercial pressure and requires equally as much practical understanding and expert knowledge from a consultant. Sear Hospitality keeps up to date with current trends in hotel design as well as furniture, fittings, and equipment. As a result, clients come to us because they trust that we will be able to bring profitable projects to life, they trust us to manage their FF & E budget, regardless of how challenging the project may be.

We have helped develop projects in the hospitality industry for many clients, throughout Australia and understand customer satisfaction is at a premium and return on investment has to be certain. We understand that one size never fits all, and our job is to adapt our services, processes, and approach in order to accommodate your needs. We can also work with your architects to deliver the very standard you envisage.

Sear Hospitality can arrange delivery of prototype hotel rooms, catering to all accommodation projects, from large scale hotel/resorts to boutique hotels.

Our specialists are experts in their field, they keep up to date with modern trends, but they keep in mind the owner and guest expectations.

Sear Hospitality will begin the process by gaining an understanding of the environment, discussing your vision, and working with design elements to create a detailed work plan for you. At each stage of the implementation, you will have insight into all activities, as well as the impact on how your hotel will finally be presented.

Hotel Strategic Planning & Organisational Restructuring

Whether you are restructuring a failing business, restructuring to support expansion into a new revenue stream, restructuring to create an opportunity to sell or for personal reasons, change takes time, and the restructuring process includes many different processes. Unprepared, a restructure can be a lengthy process.

Preliminary Research

The most important part of restructuring lies in defining the problem and postulating the solution. It requires a careful study of all company processes and a comparison with industry norms. The first step in this process is to study relationships with customers, their product acceptance and expectations of benefits from your restructuring. Examine employee expectations and potential for damage to morale. Review all supplier and customer contracts, revenue performance, expenses and liabilities, including responsibilities to investors.

Decision Making

You can start forming decisions during your research phase because it will reveal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats throughout your enterprise. It may also affect your understanding of the problems you seek to solve as well as change your proposed solutions. During this process, major decisions should be made, and your plan should be ready for implementation. Involving all levels of the company and outside stakeholders in your research and planning process will speed decisions and result in easier implementation.

Implementation

Implementation is the process of managing problems that arise. It involves selling the idea to all stakeholders, which include employees as well as investors, suppliers and customers. It also involves a timetable or series of action benchmarks that trigger the next steps in implementation. The first challenge is to move employees that are needed in a different function and terminate those employees no longer needed. These are sensitive tasks and should be handled as such. The next challenge is training existing employees in new procedures, software and functional tasks. Negotiation of new contracts and re-negotiation of old contracts and credit facilities should also take place during this phase.

Review

Reviewing the results of implementation and revising as needed, is imperative. To ensure the successful completion of your restructuring, it is vital to plug gaps, stick to the schedule and to reorganise false starts as quickly as they become evident. No plan is perfect, and a reorganisation plan has numerous key points that must be ready for the changeover. A restructuring that that is not professionally implemented and where the schedule does not meet the launch date, will erode employee and outside stakeholder enthusiasm and result in some aspects of the plan (even the most important ones) failing to become reality.

Having Sear Hospitality manage this process for you, is a strategic move that will help ensure the successful restructure of your business.
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