The Cumberland

London Hilton Gatwick

Grosvenor House

Driving Cash Flow

Through its state of the art best practice model Vision is helping a renowned owner/operator to drive a more than £6m per annum increase in EBITDA.

The model measures over 20 cost lines within the operation and compares a hotel’s actual performance with a defined benchmark group. The degree of detail within the model allows the operator to achieve “quick wins” as well as long term improvements.

Strategic Advice

When financial difficulties hit tenant operators our clients can turn to us to advise them on the difficult choices ahead. One such client was left with three choices when a major tenant operator had financial problems; to agree to a reduced rental obligation, support a financial restructuring or take vacant possession of the hotels and seek new operators.

We evaluated the options and advised our client that the best route forward in this instance was to take vacant possession and seek alternative operators. Through a competitive operator appointment programme Vision was able to consider all the bids and negotiate on behalf of the client to secure the best possible deals.

The resultant cash flows and robust covenants led to a 15% increase in the capital value of the hotels.

Hotel Disposal

Following the major restructure of a major European luxury brand, Vision advised the owners on the disposal of a world famous iconic hotel in one of Europe’s capital cities. This advice involved assisting the purchasers to understand the contractual relationship with the operator and continuing to project manage the restoration programme. Following the completion of the sale, by Vision’s original client, Vision was then engaged by the purchaser to help to restructure the contractual arrangements with the operator and to complete the capital expenditure programme.

HMA Negotiation

Vision was instructed to assist in the negotiation of several management contracts for hotels located in prime cities within the gulf region. On behalf of our client Vision structured a number of different relationships between investor and operator, tailor made to suit the differing properties involved. Vision led the negotiation of the detailed commercial terms of the respective agreements.

Property Repositioning

Repositioning a property can be a complicated business, but Vision’s experience and expertise ensures that it will be a success.

When asked to help reposition a mid-tier 900 room hotel in a central-city location Vision planned, organised and managed a complete refurbishment of the property, resulting in a design-led 1,019 room hotel. The hotel is now regarded as a leading deluxe hotel and includes a 1 Michelin Star Restaurant and a bar that is popular with celebrities.

Vision worked closely with the owner and operator to deliver this successful repositioning and continues to asset manage the property.

Determining and Ensuring Forecast Accuracy

Through the management of many hospitality assets Vision has a unique overview of the sector which allowed us to identify that the level of forecasting accuracy was particularly poor in one of our managed portfolios. A robust forecasting system is an imperative for any business if it is to control its costs and thereby maximise profits and cash flows.

Vision developed a bespoke forecasting tool that enabled this portfolio to improve the level of accuracy of its forecasting, resulting in a pro-active response to cost control and, subsequently, a greater investor confidence in the portfolio.

Benchmarking and Revenue Performance

Vision holds a unique position within the hospitality sector. The breadth of the properties we manage gives us an insight into the market that no other company has access to.

Benchmarking a range of criteria has enabled us to review revenue and performance of many of the assets we manage. One asset in particular was able to benefit from a 10% increase in cash flow due to improving efficiencies we were able to identify through benchmarking.