In April l988, Dan Cohrs, vice president of project finance at the Marriott Corporation was preparing his annual recommendations for the hurdle rates at each of the firm’s three divisions. Investment projects at Marriott were selected by discounting the appropriate cash flows by the appropriate hurdle rate for each division.
In 1987,Marriott's sales grew by 24% and its return on equity (ROE)Stood at 22% .Sales and earnings per share had doubled over the previous 4 years, and the operating strategy was aimed at continuing this trend. Marriott’s 1987 annual report stated:
We intend to remain a premier growth company-This means aggressively developing appropriate opportunities within our chosen lines of business—lodging，contract services, and related businesses. In each of these areas, our goal is to be the preferred employer-the preferred provider, and the most profitable company.
Cohrs recognized that the divisional hurdle rates at Marriott would have a significant impact on the firm's financial and operating strategies. As a rule of thumb, increasing the hurdle rate by 1%(for example, from 12% t0 12.12%) decreased the present value of project inflows by l%. Because costs remained roughly fixed, these changes in the value of inflows translated into changes in the net present value of projects. Figure A shows the substantial impact of hurdle rates on the anticipated net present value of projects. If hurdle rates increased, Marriott's growth would be reduce, as once profitable projects would no longer meet the hurdle rates. Conversely, if hurdle rates decreased, Marriott's growth would accelerate.
Marriott also considered using the hurdle rates to determine incentive compensation. Annual incentive compensation constituted a significant portion of total compensation, ranging from 30% to 50%of base pay. Criteria for bonus awards depended on specific job responsibi1ities but often included the earnings level, the ability of managers to meet budgets, and overall corporate performance. There was some interest,
however，in basing the incentive compensation ,in part, on a comparison of the divisional return on net assets and the market-based divisional hurdle rate, making managers more sensitive to Marriott’s financial strategy and capital market conditions.
Company Background
Marriott Corporation began in 1927with J. WillardMarriott's root beer stand. Over the next 6O years, the business grew into one of the leading lodging and food service companies in the United States. Marriott's l987 profits were $223million on sales of 56.5binion.See Exhibit l for a summary of Marriott's financial history.
Marriott had three major lines of business: lodging, contract services, and restaurants. Exhibit 2 summarizes its line-of-business data.
One look at the common-size income statements for these companies can tell a story. While Jones Apparel Group was lagging at year ended 1998, even with a restructuring charge on Liz Claiborne’s income statement, 1999 was a different story. Huge growth at Jones lead to revenues double of that one year ago while Liz, while increasing, was quickly falling behind. The growth for both of these companies continued into the year ended 2000, but Jones Apparel Grou...
47% of Marriott’s rooms are in North American Limited Service, 30% are classified as North American Full Service, and the remaining 23% of its rooms are in the international segment (Marriott, 2015). Recognizing that travelers have a range of budgetary and amenities needs, Marriott operates its properties under a variety of different brand names, 19 in total, each of which has its own “price and service points” (Marriott, 2015). Most of Marriott’s brands are at the high end of the market, which includes such widely recognized luxury brands as the Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, Renaissance Hotels, Bulgari Hotels, Marriott Executive Apartments, Marriott Vacation Club, Edition Hotels, Autograph Collection Hotels, Gaylord Hotels, and Marriott Hotels (Marriott, 2015). These properties often command nightly rental rates that can run several hundred dollars a night and offer a wide range of amenities well suited for both business and pleasure travelers. These properties are classified as “Full-Service.” Marriott also offers a range of “Limited-Service” brands that do not contain as many amenities and tend to be much cheaper than the Full-Service line. Examples of these properties include Courtyard, Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites, and Fairfield Inn & Suites (Marriott, 2015). Even though these properties are considered Limited-Service, they do offer considerably nicer accommodations and more amenities than other types of budget motels and hotels. In contrast to many of the other hotel brands, Marriott International does not operate any midscale, economy, or budget
The hospitality industry in the United States is large, complex and intensely competitive. Within this industry is a segment comprised of hotels and motels, which will be the relevant sector for this marketing plan. To note, the hotel and motel industry in the United States had an estimated value of $137.5 billion as of the end of 2012 (MarketLine, 2012). The industry is forecasted to experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.5% from 2011 to 2016, to attain a value of $179.5 billion (MarketLine, 2012). In this industry, the most lucrative segment is leisure which has a market share of 71.1% (MarketLine, 2012). Sunshine Inn (fictional) is a small independent hotel that operates within the leisure segment of the hotel and motel industry in the United States. It is an adventure-themed hotel situated along the California-Nevada border in order to capture the tourist market for Lake Tahoe. Sunshine Inn has 30 bedrooms and 15 suites and offers specialty home-cooked type meals to guests for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It must be emphasized that the hotel and motel industry is one of the most fiercely competitive in the United States, and in fact, in the world (Johanson & Cho, 2009; Kosarkoska, 2010). Therefore, in order to compete with large hotel chains with five-star hotel rankings, Sunshine Inn will have to depend on strategic approaches, such as effectively targeting and positioning itself in the appropriate market, as well as developing a marketing plan that will promote the unique value propositions that only small, personalized hotels can provide: excellent customer service, customized adventure packages as well as a total customer experience that revolves around enjoyment, fun and discovery. As this marketing plan wi...
You would not buy a home, car or other large purchases without researching what product offered you the most for your money. The same is true when investing in a company. Investors do avid research on multiple companies to find what company matches the investors' criteria. In this paper Team C will research both AT&T and Verizon's financial documents. Team C will compare selected ratios, cash flow and make recommendations how both companies can manage cash flow for the future.
The hotel industry performs within a saturated market, driven by customer loyalty and competitive pricing to stand-out. This competitive nature makes it extremely important to capitalise on strengths while improving on
They are committed to making a difference every day; continually improving. better to keep us the best. The guiding principles Delighting their guests They will strive to understand our client and guest needs by listening. to their requirements and respond in a competent, accurate and. in a timely fashion.
Johnson, Sam T. "Plan your organization’s reward strategy through pay for performance dynamics: Compensation & Benefits Review 30, Number 3: (May/June 1998): 67-72
Reichelstein, S. (2000). Providing Managerial Incentives: Cash Flows versus Accrual Accounting. Journal of Accounting Research, 38(2), 243.
This is our road to sustainable, profitable growth, creating long-term value for our shareholders, our people, and our business partners”
The Wyndham Hotel Corporation was founded in 1981 by Trammell Crow in Dallas, Tx. Its first hotel was opened in 1982 and by 1985 they had successfully held 14 upscale properties in their portfolio. Wyndham continued to grow throughout the years until in 1997 they agreed to be acquired by Patriot American Hospitality Inc., under a Real Estate Investment Trust or REIT. After the acquisition, they began an aggressive campaign to purchase several smaller companies to increase their holdings. Some of those companies included Williams Hospitality, Carefree Hospitality, and Summerfield Suites. Due to these major acquisitions, Wyndham experience an eruption in growth and profit, but that would become short lived. The REIT structure was going under increased pressure federal regulators as well as several of Wyndham’s competitors. They claimed that under the REIT structure, companies were receiving an unfair advantage over premiums for both lodging properties and real estate. In light of this information, their stock value began to decrease significantly and had lost over 80% of its value. For several years Wyndham struggled to pay down its debt and was forced to lose it REIT status and turn into a C-Corporation under the new title Wyndham International Corporation. The next several years involved major changes and IT incorporation in a process to restructure the company.
During the last few years, Harry Davis Industries has been too constrained by the high cost of capital to make many capital investments. Recently, though, capital costs have been declining, and the company has decided to look seriously at a major expansion program that had been proposed by the marketing department. Assume that you are an assistant to Leigh Jones, the financial vice president. Your first task is to estimate Harry Davis’s cost of capital. Jones has provided you with the following data, which she believes may be relevant to your task.
A compensation package includes salary but also includes other non-salary benefits such as: health-care benefits, 401(k) plans, PTO (paid time off) and other perks. Businesses often utilize experienced Human Resources professionals to review, update and create salary scales and compensation packages for new hires. The total compensation package is often used as means of attracting employees who will complement the organization and should be consistently reviewed, acting as an incentive for retaining qualified staff. “Organizations that are not able to develop competitive pay scales along with strong compensation packages, face the risk of a competitor offering a more attractive package, which can result in employee turnover” (Dias, 2011, pg.
...y has truly impacted the travel and tourism industry as well. Casino resorts are constantly uprising even after recent recessions because of the popularity of gambling, and the ability to experience many other enticing activities within the vicinity. As the gaming entertainment industry becomes more competitive, demand for higher service quality will increase to give the competitive advantage for success and market leadership (Walker, 2013). With competition increasing, the bigger and better casino resorts offering gaming, lodging, newer entertainment projects, modern and detailed architecture, and improved technology will start to increase in the market. Even with expected increases of these facilities, development companies are expected to practice sustainable initiatives while implementing and constructing these large profit centers of the hospitality industry.
“The objective of this phase is to identify events and or future trends that will affect the hotel industry over the next five years. Also, the impact that those events and trends will have on your business in terms of cost and revenue changes and the timing of the impact.” (Fedele, 2010) For each of the external environment, it is also to identify what will affect the performance of the business.
Never have I ever climbed a mountain peak. As a child, I imagined myself conducting expeditions in deep-frozen pathways, leading amateur explorers to the top of the world, and instructing rookies in surviving harsh blizzards. Even though slightly altered, my childhood dream has been achieved. I led a team of fellow classmates, in my Strategic Management course, to the success summit of a financial competition. Over the course of a semester, I and my teammates were supposed to create and manage a company of the IT industry, in a computer-simulated environment, along with other four rival teams. I dealt with strategy and financial matters of our virtual enterprise, while my colleagues were working on marketing and manufacturing. During the four months of the exercise, I have experienced finance from various aspects: capital budgeting, through selecting favorable investment for upcoming quarters; debt management, by assessing the necessary amount and efficiency of loans; profitability analysis and dividend policy, which had been used to compile the company’s general performance index. Working in a multinational team, which included an American, a Norwegian and a Moldovan, strengthen my negotiations skills, as well as flexibility and cooperation. But above all, this experience intensified my passion for finance. Of course, a pleasant bonus was the fact that, in the end, our company’s financial performance was six times the performance of second-best team.