RHR took over management of the Lake Placid Lodge, a 30-room Adirondack-inspired, luxury resort affiliated with Relais & Chateaux, in May 2010. The property was in a unique and troubling situation after cost overruns, associated with rebuilding the main lodge after a devastating fire, and the economic downturn financially crippled the property. RHR installed its luxury boutique management system to turn the property around. Industry best practices were implemented to drive revenues and manage expenses.
Operational improvements earned numerous awards and accolades for the property including:
2011 Andrew Harper Grand Award
Four stars by Forbes
2012 Relais & Chateaux Rising Chef Award
RHR successfully increased the value of the property by 50% in a three year period. During RHR’s management, the property’s RevPAR increased by 53.7% to $509 and NOI increased over ten-fold from $155K to $1.7 million.
Revenue Growth
RHR increased property revenues through the following initiatives:
Shifted strategy from ADR-focused to RevPAR-centric and implemented a revenue management system.
Revamped marketing plan and developed new business partnerships to increase exposure to key target markets.
Created food & wine culture at property by recruiting new F&B team, building a teaching kitchen and chef’s garden, and hosting special culinary event weekends.
Redeveloped digital commerce and marketing platform including website redesign, search engine optimization, monthly email blasts , social media engagement, flash sales (both third party and in-house), and creating data tracking systems with measurable results to increase accountability of staff.
Results
Room revenue increased 59.9% since RHR took ownership of the property.
F&B revenues increased 58.0%, driven by increased room occupancy and growth in local F&B following.
Since data tracking was implemented in February 2011, website traffic increased by 50.9% as of TTM 3/13 to 281K visitors, and new visitor traffic has increased by 90.1% to 174K. Online booking revenue increased by 35.5% over the same time period to $699K.
Expense Savings
RHR reduced operating expenses through the following initiatives:
Invested capital to create on-site laundry facility and reduce laundry expenses.
Improved labor efficiency through time-motion studies and increased monitoring.
Instituted a preventative maintenance program to perform deep cleanings and minor repairs.
Conducted ROI analysis for capital expenditures and implemented capex program accordingly.
Reduced wine inventory and adjusted wine purchasing program to shifting consumer tastes.
Aligned management interest with ownership through incentive compensation tied to profits.
Appealed property taxes.
Results
NOI Margin increased from 3.2% to 22.2% with year over year NOI flow-through in excess of 200% since RHR took over management.
Reduced laundry expenses by over $140K annually with only a $25K capital investment.
Reduced housekeeping labor expenses by $17K while occupancy increased by 4.2 percentage points in 2011.
Prolonged life of usable equipment and fixtures through preventative maintenance and prevented cost overruns in capex spend.
Decreased beverage costs by 4.6% in 2011 even with a 4.2% increase in beverage sales.
Lowered assessed value of the property by $5.7 MM resulting in annual tax savings of $61K.
Lake Placid, NY
Lake Placid Lodge
Project Summary
Management Assignment of a 30-Room Luxury Resort
RHR took over management of the Lake Placid Lodge, a 30-room Adirondack-inspired, luxury resort affiliated with Relais & Chateaux, in May 2010. The property was in a unique and troubling situation after cost overruns, associated with rebuilding the main lodge after a devastating fire, and the economic downturn financially crippled the property. RHR installed its luxury boutique management system to turn the property around. Industry best practices were implemented to drive revenues and manage expenses.
Operational improvements earned numerous awards and accolades for the property including:
RHR successfully increased the value of the property by 50% in a three year period. During RHR’s management, the property’s RevPAR increased by 53.7% to $509 and NOI increased over ten-fold from $155K to $1.7 million.
Revenue Growth
RHR increased property revenues through the following initiatives:- Shifted strategy from ADR-focused to RevPAR-centric and implemented a revenue management system.
- Revamped marketing plan and developed new business partnerships to increase exposure to key target markets.
- Created food & wine culture at property by recruiting new F&B team, building a teaching kitchen and chef’s garden, and hosting special culinary event weekends.
- Redeveloped digital commerce and marketing platform including website redesign, search engine optimization, monthly email blasts , social media engagement, flash sales (both third party and in-house), and creating data tracking systems with measurable results to increase accountability of staff.
ResultsExpense Savings
RHR reduced operating expenses through the following initiatives:- Invested capital to create on-site laundry facility and reduce laundry expenses.
- Improved labor efficiency through time-motion studies and increased monitoring.
- Instituted a preventative maintenance program to perform deep cleanings and minor repairs.
- Conducted ROI analysis for capital expenditures and implemented capex program accordingly.
- Reduced wine inventory and adjusted wine purchasing program to shifting consumer tastes.
- Aligned management interest with ownership through incentive compensation tied to profits.
- Appealed property taxes.
Results