Latest news with #hotelowners
Hospitality Net
28-05-2025
- Business
- Hospitality Net
Actabl Launches ProfitOwner: Real-Time Business Intelligence for Hotel Ownership Groups
Atlanta, Georgia, USA –Actabl, the leading hospitality software company dedicated to empowering hotels with actionable insights to drive profit, today announced the launch of ProfitOwner, a business intelligence platform purpose-built for hotel ownership groups. Designed to provide real-time, standardized data across all properties—regardless of brand or management company—ProfitOwner gives ownership groups direct access to the insights they need to make faster, smarter decisions and take control of portfolio performance. Hotel owners traditionally rely on third-party management companies for performance data, which can lead to reporting delays and inconsistent formats, making it hard to understand insights in real time. ProfitOwner solves this by consolidating data into a single dashboard that provides clear, consistent, and structured reporting across different brands and management companies. This not only empowers ownership groups with direct access to their data but also supports management companies by streamlining reporting requests, preserving workflows, and strengthening trust and transparency between both parties. For example, a hotel ownership group with properties across multiple brands or management companies might wait days—or even weeks—to receive performance reports from each group. These reports are often in different formats with inconsistent metrics, leading to an additional lag in understanding when owners want to consolidate their data. With ProfitOwner, the same group can log into a single dashboard to see standardized, up-to-date performance data across all properties. They can immediately compare ADR, RevPAR, or labor costs at one location in one city and an independent boutique in another city. From there, they can quickly identify underperformance or operational inconsistencies and make data-informed decisions without the need to wait for a custom report. Now more than ever, a property's profitability hinges on its ability to respond quickly to changing conditions. With ProfitOwner, we're enabling owners to take control of their data by giving direct, real-time visibility with standardized data across their entire portfolio. By eliminating the reporting burdens they've traditionally relied on, we're empowering owners with the tools they need to make more informed decisions quickly, shifting from reactive to proactive. This level of transparency and speed is what modern hotel ownership demands. Lindsey Goedeker, Actabl's SVP of sales ProfitOwner integrates seamlessly with ProfitSword, Actabl's business intelligence solution for hotels, enabling fast implementation and immediate access to standardized data across an entire portfolio. While any ownership group can use ProfitOwner, regardless of whether their management companies use ProfitSword, the integration offers added advantages to groups already leveraging ProfitSword. For these users, ProfitOwner seamlessly connects to existing data sources, accelerating setup and delivering real-time insights with minimal effort. Actabl also provides admin services to ensure data is always mapped correctly and accurately, so ownership groups can begin using ProfitOwner with confidence from day one. Self-service dashboards make it easy for ownership teams to monitor financial performance, compare properties side-by-side, and act quickly on trends or emerging issues. By limiting access to transactional systems, ProfitOwner also improves data security while reducing reporting lag and empowering faster, more confident decision-making powered by daily insights. The new solution also benefits management companies. By directing owners to a centralized dashboard, it reduces the need for ad hoc reporting and helps protect sensitive operational data. Finance and operations teams gain back time, while ownership groups receive a consistent, up-to-date view of portfolio performance while preserving internal workflows and strengthening transparency between parties. Learn more about ProfitOwner here. About Actabl Actabl is a leader in hospitality business intelligence, labor management, and hotel operations management software that provides actionable insights to above-property leaders and on-property leaders. Actabl brings together four powerful hospitality tech solutions to maximize profits for hotel operators. Actabl's integrated solutions include ProfitSword's business intelligence technology, Hotel Effectiveness' complete labor optimization, Alice's hotel operations management platform, and Transcendent's advanced asset management and CapEx. With a global team of 300+ employees boasting over 1,000 years of combined hospitality experience, Actabl serves the technology needs of more than 12,000 properties in hospitality markets around the world.
Hospitality Net
06-05-2025
- Business
- Hospitality Net
Do Hotel Management Agreements Now Include Too Many Guarantees?
In addition to traditional key money, or those offered in 'reverse' management contracts, guarantees are becoming increasingly common in hotel management agreements (HMAs). But are they all beneficial? And if so, how should they be negotiated? 1. The common practice of guaranteeing remuneration Hotel owners are increasingly demanding that operators invest financially to demonstrate their commitment to the hotel management agreement1. Operators who choose to accept generally find it in their interest to do so - they stand out from the competition, may gain negotiating power on strategic clauses, and reduce the risk of the owner terminating the agreement. Hotel operators offer several main guarantees based on operating performance to secure hotel management agreements. These generally include: Performance testing: these performance clauses can lead to early termination of the HMA or payment of compensation to the owner if the operator fails to meet its performance expectations. The operator may also provide a guarantee relating to Adjusted Gross Operating Profit (AGOP)2. Minimum Guarantee: here, the operator has to pay compensation to the owner if it fails to meet the minimum guarantee (i.e. a certain GOP amount, often capped, set in the management agreement). On this occasion, the operator may also provide a warranty that covers the minimum guarantee and, in return, claim the right to reclaim any repayment if the hotel's operating results allow (i.e. if performance exceeds pre-defined minimum thresholds). Owner's Priority: the operator will only receive incentive fees if the hotel achieves a certain performance threshold. 2. Key money: a financial commitment from the operator Key money is a sum paid by the operator to the owner when the hotel opens. Often calculated as a percentage of the operator's capital or fees, key money may be guaranteed by the operator, and is used to help develop the hotel or cover renovation costs. However, negotiating key money may involve certain compromises, such as higher fees or a longer contract term. Key money is generally amortised by the owner on a straight-line pro rata basis over the life of the agreement. In the event of early termination, the owner undertakes to repay the unamortised portion. Indeed, the operator will often impose a clause guaranteeing repayment by the owner in the event of early termination of the agreement3. 3. The specific case of 'reverse' hotel management agreements In a 'reverse' hotel management agreement, the operator is the sole employer of staff, and passes on salary costs to the owner. This model is less common, but can be negotiated when the hotel is a strategic asset for the operator. We believe that it is justified and indeed common for the operator to request, in return, a specific guarantee covering the owner's reimbursement of social security expenses and other costs that it (the operator) advances. However, this guarantee must be both quantifiable and capped, in order to ensure its validity – the subject is not always treated with the rigour it deserves4. 4. Common guarantee practices in hotel management agreements Independent bank guarantees are often preferred, but guarantees from parent or affiliated companies are also common (as they are less costly). The parties must ensure that these guarantees are legally valid and effective, particularly when foreign companies are involved. As the guarantees and the management agreement form a contractual whole which is in principle inseparable and indivisible, care must be taken as to the applicable law, language and jurisdiction. Some management agreements even go as far as to include reciprocal guarantees of joint and several liability of parent or affiliated companies on both the owner and operator sides, to ensure that the parties' contractual obligations are met. While these increase confidence between the parties, each party must ensure that there is a clear cap on its guaranteed commitments. Consideration should also be given to the increasing prevalence of guarantee insurance taken out by the owner or operator - where the indemnity mechanism is transferred to the insurer rather than the parties. Before underwriting, the insurer will review both the management agreement and the representations and warranties made by the parties. Benefits to the owner and operator: each party can sign the HMA without financial exposure for the duration of the contract and can improve liquidity while benefiting from the necessary financial security. 5. The relative usefulness of certain guarantees negotiated in management agreements We could also mull over the many layers and practicality of certain guarantees that do not appear entirely rational when the owner or operator has the necessary financial capacity to enter into a contractual commitment (although it is still necessary for each party to prove this effectively and diligently with the help of advisers and auditors). Finally, the inflation of guarantees can affect the assignability or transferability of hotel management agreements which can run for up to 20 or even 30 years. We must also take into account the guarantees already given by the owner in connection with the financing of the hotel, as well as the compatibility with financial arrangements such as property finance leasing or overseas tax relief (e.g. in the French West Indies). 6. Practical advice on negotiating guarantees in hotel management contracts, especially for first-time owners5: Prioritise guarantees: focus on the necessary ones first and then enforce them. Clarify guarantee expectations and caps: make sure all parties understand the implications of each guarantee. Maintain open communication: transparency helps resolve disagreements more quickly. Manage the pace: follow a structured timetable for dealing with guarantees and avoid slippage. Following these steps can help make the negotiation process smoother and more efficient. 1 See our article on hotel management agreements on Hospitality Net : Hotel management agreements offer flexibility for hotel investment in France 2 See our article on hotel performance tests on Hospitality Net: Hotel performance test clauses in France – simple wording for maximum success 3 See our article on the subject on Hospitality Net : The practice of key money in hotel management agreements in France 4 See our article on the subject on Hospitality Net : Successfully negotiating a 'reverse' hotel management agreement in France 5 See our article on the subject on Hospitality Net : Recommended governing law and jurisdiction clauses in French hotel management agreements Christopher Boinet FR - IE Paris - Avocats In Extenso Avocats
