Pain Points solved with Level Five Certification
as a AHTP Enterprise
Agile Hospitality Transformation Program™
Organized List of the most urgent and serious Pain Points: Solved with full Agile Hospitality Tranformation, with a framework for simplicity, engagement and sustainable execution.
Research Findings from Hotel Insiders (Top 6 Purple Bold, eased or eliminated in first 60 Days with AHTP):
An organized list of pain points for Independent Hotel Management Companies (IHMC), their Employees/Managers, and the Ownership Groups that contract with them.
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Financial and Operational Challenges
Fixed Costs Increasing: Interest rates, property insurance, taxes are on the rise.
Franchise PIPs Delayed: Increasing costs of construction, procurement, and supply chain issues.
IHMC Overhead at Peak: Growth-oriented bandwidth is stretched to its limits.
Labor Budgets Maxed: Wages up by 20%, with 20% fewer hours available, still 500,000 fewer workers than pre-pandemic.
Systems Overload: Numerous potentially redundant SaaS products for property operators to know, learn, and teach with limited time to delegate.
Budgeting & Forecasting Cash Flows: Conducted at low frequency or upon request/urgent for existing properties/owners.
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Management and Strategy
Limited Options Exit/Career ROI for Succession and Legacy Planning: For IHMC majority owners due to tax issues and low next-gen interests.
Trust Between IHMC & Owner: Challenges in merging with other IHMC versus capital partner growth.
Management Contracts Archaic: Incentives lack alignment, with a lack of guarantees or risk-sharing partnerships.
Lack of Bandwidth for Thoughtful Study: To identify pain points and create internal solutions, such as reducing costs, waste, increasing leader engagement, and team building between properties and corporate.
Hotel Real Estate Transactional Culture: IHMC loses property contracts due to sale without much notice or control, affecting job/income security for current leadership.
Pitching USP to New Owners/Capital Partners: Difficult when all IHMC claim the same USP, leading to commoditization.
Diversification and Perception of Conflict: With multiple ownership groups, the average IHMC manages 40 hotels with 8 or more ownership groups or investor syndicates.
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Human Resources and Leadership
Disconnected Knowledge Bases: Corporate-level analysts lack operational knowledge. Experts in business intelligence, financial & market analysis, revenue & demand processes, and systems are disconnected from the local realities of operating.
Salary Managers Tied to Property: Working hourly shifts with no end in sight, leading to burnout 4 years after Covid.
Team Immobility/Gravity: GM property leaders and regional directors are "stuck" to the property, unable to work on special projects or transition into new markets.
High Value Placed on Property Oversight In-Person: Prevents GM/leaders from taking on new projects away from the property.
Lack of Bench Strength: Creates a ceiling on personal growth for individuals and the company.
Failure to Compete with Brand Management Culture: Employer loyalty, leadership engagement, and future prospects are stronger in brand management groups like Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, etc.
Transparency of Job Opportunities/Growth: IHMC do not post transparent salary bands like brand managers do.
Old SOPs: New generation not interested or inspired, with limited operational bandwidth to implement changes.
Ownership Reporting: Lacks thoughtful analysis, property/local level narrative, strategic outlook, emphasizing timeliness over quality.
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Market Expansion and Competitive Position
Entering/Growing Properties in New Markets Over 1000 Miles from HQ: Challenges with expansion and maintaining brand awareness.
Relatively No Brand Awareness: Compared to brand management groups, there's no choice for the emerging workforce but to go with known and trusted brands like Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Kimpton.
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Lacking Infrastructure to Support Mobility, Company Growth, and Employer Loyalty
Slow & High Barriers to New Market Entry: Challenges in quickly mobilizing and deploying leadership or operational teams to new markets.
Reduced Competitive Edge: Struggles to adapt services, operations, or products to local market needs due to a lack of infrastructure support.
Strained Resource Management: Difficulties in efficiently allocating and managing resources for expansion or existing operations.
Challenges in Sustaining Operations: Issues in managing long-term operations and growth in new markets without robust support.
Limited Innovation and Local Adaptation: A lack of flexibility hinders innovation and adaptation to market demands.
Impact on Brand Perception: Slow or poorly executed market entries can negatively affect the company's brand image.