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What is Hotel Asset Management?

At its core, hotel asset management is the bridge between hotel real estate and its operational execution. This layer of oversite provides security for an owner's investment by aligning their goals with the operator’s actions to benefit all stakeholders.

 

Woodworth Core Group's Principals and senior staff have deep and tenured experience on all sides of the table - as owners, operators, and asset managers - bringing exceptional insight and creative solutions to maximize returns. We have a proven track record of representing public owners, private owners, and institutional owners, delivering exceptional value to our trusted clients. No hotel is the same, and we bring a tailored and hands-on approach to our asset management services.

The Benefits of Hotel Asset Management

Key Benefits for Owners
 

Owners are primarily concerned with the return on investment and the long-term health of their capital. Acting as their trusted advisor, fiduciary partner, and collaborator, an asset manager takes operational oversite and strategy execution off the owner's plate, allowing them to dedicate their time to other projects:
 

  • Operational Accountability: They act as a watchdog, ensuring the management company is hitting performance benchmarks and managing expenses effectively.

  • Value Enhancement: They identify "highest and best use" opportunities such as branding or rebranding the property, renovating underutilized or underperforming areas (ROI-driven CapEx), or repositioning the hotel in the market to drive an improved ongoing cash flows and enhancing the exit sale price.

  • Contract Negotiations: Asset managers provide oversight and strategic insight to drive favorable agreements (operational and external) in addition to sourcing the right senior operational leadership.

  • Risk Mitigation: By monitoring market trends and legal compliance, asset managers protect the owner from sudden market shifts or operational negligence.

  • Strategic Capital Planning: They ensure that the owner’s capital is deployed thoughtfully and strategically on upgrades that drive value or reduce costs, not just on cosmetic lifts or mechanical replacements.

 

Key Benefits for Operators
 

While it might seem like asset managers just "check the homework" of the operator, a good relationship provides significant advantages to the management team in addition to the owner:
 

  • Aligned Resources: Asset managers help understand and secure the budget and capital approvals the operator needs to maintain the brand standards and improve the guest experience.

  • Market Intelligence: Operators are often focused on the day-to-day "trench work." Asset managers provide a high-level view of regional trends and competitive benchmarking, providing additional resources that operations might miss or may not have the bandwidth to analyze.

  • Clear Communication: They serve as a single point of contact for the owner, streamlining the approval process for major decisions and reducing "owner interference" in daily operations.

  • Dispute Resolution: When there is a mismatch between brand compliance requirements and owner budgets, especially in the post-pandemic era of deferred PIPs, the asset manager negotiates a middle ground that protects hotel profitability while keeping all parties satisfied.

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​Adding Confidence to Our Clients' Decisions

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  • Pre-Onboarding & Underwriting Review: Our firm is unmatched in development and feasibility market studies and can analyze and evaluate a hotel's economic health before ever stepping foot on property, before a single rendering has been completed for a project, or before a sale has even been inked. This can include, but is not limited to, reviewing operating statements, benchmarking, franchise and management agreements, public image and reviews, and overall health of cash flows.

    • Our firm's "data-first" approach in analyzing a market and real estate is the foundation of our approach.

    • By layering predictive modeling (supported by next generation data tools) on top of historical performance, we can focus on proactive value creation and not solely on reactive troubleshooting.
       

  • Field Work & Operational Audit: Once an asset has been onboarded to Woodworth Core's exceptional team, we dive "under the hood" into the daily machinery of the hotel, such as physical property audits, departmental interviews, internal control assessments, and commercial strategy reviews. This initial assessment immediately provides value, as we quickly learn of any market positioning challenges, operational bottlenecks, labor inefficiencies, revenue strategy weaknesses, and/or guest enhancement opportunities.
     

  • Strategic Advisory & Accountability: Once there is a shared understanding of the exact nature of the hotel or lodging asset, specific goals will be set for monthly and annual performance, capital planning, termination/exit targets, and other areas involved in the long-term health of your investment. By nature, hotels are not a set-and-forget business, they are operationally demanding and require constant course correction based on real time data. We provide an additional layer of data-driven strategy and precision that may not be present in the day-to-day hotel operations.
     

  • Value Realization/Enhancement: The final stage of any hotel ownership roadmap includes preparing the asset for sale or refinancing. Realizing the highest value on an asset begins early. An asset manager can assist aligning the owner’s exit strategy with through the operational approach and capital deployment of the hotel from the beginning of investment, preparing the hotel to achieve the highest returns upon sale.


 

​Owner needs can vary considerably, and Woodworth Core Group specializes in tailored  investment strategies for all challenges both present and future. Examples include lifestyle hotel repositioning, labor cost optimization, AI in revenue management, mixed-use optimization, brand compliance, PIP management, and hotel data ecosystems.

 

Reach out today to chat with us about your goals.

 

The Woodworth Difference

Relevant Case Study: The Hotel Eleo at the University of Florida
Gainesville, FL

Client

The University of Florida
UF Health Shands Hospital

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Scope of Work​

  • Senior management of our firm (initially during their tenure with CBRE) worked with the University of Florida and UF Health Shands Hospital in the design and development of a new $48-million hotel adjacent to the Hospital complex.

  • In addition to providing general advisory services to senior leadership, our team completed a market study for the project.

  • Our team was then engaged to provide advisory services during construction and pre-opening, as well as asset management after opening.

  • In addition to oversight of the development, our team conducted a formal RFQ and RFP process to identify and select a management company, after which we negotiated the management agreement between the Hospital and the operator.

  • Since opening in July 2020, we have overseen the management company in the ongoing operation of the hotel. ​

Non-Exhaustive List of Asset Management Services Provided

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  • Represent the owner and assist in achieving investment objectives.

  • Monitor the hotel’s daily operations and assets as a whole.

  • Supervise management.

  • Monitor RevPAR penetration.

  • Benchmark operating results versus competitive set.

  • Manage renovation and capital expenditures.

  • Review and monitor operator compliance with hotel management agreement.

  • Review and monitor compliance with franchise agreement.

  • Review and approval of the operating budget for the hotel.

  • Coordinate monthly review meetings among hotel management team and owner’s representative.

  • Perform monthly scheduled and unscheduled property visits and inspections.

  • Monitor the bank accounts of the the hotel.

  • Review and monthly commentary on accounting and bookkeeping.

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  • ​Monitor financial statements, including balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements.

  • Calculate the fair market value of the hotel asset on a quarterly basis.​

  • Advise owner of macro conditions and exit strategy options.

  • Cost containment.

  • Internal controls.

  • Staffing, wages, turnover, and governmental compliance.

  • Yield management.

  • Sales & marketing and revenue management strategies and plans.

  • Sales pace and bookings.

  • Guest satisfaction.

  • Social media review.

  • Rebranding opportunities.

  • Insurance, both property and liability.

  • Leases and taxes.

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