Hospitality and Leisure

Hospitality is one of the world’s largest industries, with travel and tourism accounting for 9% of Global GDP.
According to the Tourism Industry Association of America (2003), most (75%) U.S. adult travelers attended a cultural activity or event while on a trip in 2002. This translates to an estimated 109.8 million U.S. adults. In addition, one fifth of all U.S. travelers attend a fair, festival, or other special event during their vacation Tourism Industry Association of America, 1999). Millions of individuals attend events throughout North America ranging from the Super Bowl to small town festivals and parades.
These events have been described by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as “soft targets” because they enable terrorists to quickly make a powerful statement during a vulnerable and easily penetrable event. Research conducted in the National Laboratory for Tourism and eCommerce (NLTeC) at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania seeks to reduce these possibilities through the development of an online knowledge-based system called eSAFE (electronic Safe Festivals and Events) System based on knowledge management concepts.

Article about Las Vegas

Prior to the recent global economic crisis, many believed the Las Vegas gaming industry was recession-proof, quoting performance from the last two economic downturns (2001–2002 and 1990–1991) as evidence of the city’s invincibility. However, Las Vegas in 2009 may have suffered the most serious decline of any market. Each of the key metrics, including the number of travelers, gaming revenues, business conventions, hotel occupancy, room rates, airline traffic, and vehicle traffic have all fallen sharply. In the past, significant growth in the market came from both gaming and non-gaming revenues, such as room revenues, restaurant revenues and show revenues – but these revenue streams have all been impacted by the recession.
As a result of steep price discounting, the city’s revPAR through November 2009 had plummeted 32% from the first 11 months of 2008. RevPAR declined for 17 consecutive months through November, with June down a staggering 46%, making it the worst month of the year. Due to the city’s difficult housing market and the drop in tourists, unemployment in the state of Nevada reached record levels in 2009. The city is also experiencing increased competition from states that have recently been passing laws allowing various types of gaming activities. As a result, gaming revenues in Las Vegas have been declining for nearly two years, according to the gaming commission.

Project Monitoring

There are always a number of ways of achieving the desired results, but seldom is there more than one best way. Cambridge Consulting can audit the decision making process and ensure that the methodologies in place will result in the adoption of best practice for the specific circumstances. We work on behalf of the owner, investor or funder to assist all parties to realize best value in terms of Cost, Time and Quality. Also identify those risks that are of relevance to the Client.

Product Repositioning

With the increasing segmentation in hotel quality ratings and service provision, many marketers are rethinking their brand’s positioning because competitive pressures, new channels ,and changing customer needs have eroded their brands’ positions of strength which these values relationship will enhance and ensure continued success. Successful repositioning of existing properties by way of refurbishment, enlargement or additions, requires careful evaluation of space standards, planning, costs and product imagery.
Cambridge Consulting can help it’s clients to achieve their needs by ensuring relevance to a customer’s frame of references and secure the customer’s permission for the repositioning and finally deliver on the brand’s new promise.

Standards Manuals

With consistency being the essence of branding, ensuring all properties deliver to the same uncompromising standard is essential.Detailed and comprehensive Standards Manuals for all elements of the product are the first step towards achieving brand recognition.
Cambridge Consulting has the ability to provide the Owner of the organization with the required minimum standards, procedures, rules, regulations, policies and techniques

Budgets & Cost Repositioning

For most development projects, budgets and subsequent cost progress reports are prepared for the benefit of the contractor comparing actual costs incurred against tender estimates. Although that is fine for the contractor, the owner really needs better, or perhaps different information.

Cambridge Consulting will specify and tailor budgets and cost reports to it’s client actual requirements, using their Chart of Accounts and providing analysis which will enable maximization of Capital Allowances, minimization of consequent taxation and enhancement of the project cash flow.

Asset Management

Asset Management has come of age because of changes in the transportation environment, changes in public expectations, and extraordinary advances in technology Probably the most valuable asset of any hospitality business is its property. Over time, needs change, efficiency drops and habitual use takes over. Converting storerooms into bedrooms, basements into leisure centers, garden patios into food and beverage outlets, under utilized lounges into business centers are just some of the examples of optimizing the space utilization of older buildings.
Cambridge Consulting can identify these inefficiencies and make practical recommendations to enhance the revenue earning capacity and overall contribution the property makes to the business.

Making smarter risk decisions

Globalization and connectivity have ensured that risk is no longer confined to one company, country or continent. The sub-prime mortgage crisis is just one instance of how risk can spread. The regulatory burden is also growing as new laws are introduced and older laws—like the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act—are more rigorously enforced throughout the world.
But some of the risk management systems that have been put in place have actually made companies more vulnerable; they have been designed to address what went wrong yesterday, not what might go wrong tomorrow. Many companies have also adopted a piecemeal approach to risk management.

Cambridge Consulting can define almost all kinds of risk and amount of risk the client willing to tolerate, Link your risk passion to your business strategy and operations, so that you can choose the risks which offer the greatest commercial potential without adversely affecting the level of compliance you have set for your organization, and make the changes required to ensure that every business unit and function in your organization consistently makes decisions about risk that conform to your risk passion.

Managing people

The human resource function is one of the world work that makes HR leaders are under more pressure than ever to demonstrate results from their workforce practices and policies. Business leaders recognize the link between business performance and the people within their organization. And they understand that people-related issues need to be at the heart of the boardroom agenda. As a consequence, HR managers are being encouraged to implement people strategies that support the organization’s business objectives and increase accountability and transparency around people management and reporting.

Cambridge Consulting enables meeting a wide range of HR challenges, Attracting, motivating, and retaining employees, HR benchmarking and measurement, Employee benefits and compensation programs including pensions, Executive compensation and HR governance, Global work force mobility and expatriate planning. Transaction-related human resource issues, HR function effectiveness and service delivery.

Operating globally

In an increasingly competitive global marketplace, your ability to operate profitably in diverse geographic markets, and to shift operations flexibly between countries may be essential to the success of your business. But operating globally generates a wide variety of practical, legal, HR and finance issues. Multinational firms must comply with host countries’ laws on tax, pensions, business practices and human resources. One country’s entrepreneur may be another’s antitrust violator.
Cambridge Consulting helps companies navigate the intricacies of statutory reporting and tax compliance, advise on the training and development of local staff, help forge cultural and political alliances in local communities, and create operational strategies to protect new market entrants from financial risk. It’s all part of our commitment to helping you address your company’s business challenges around the corner, or around the world.

Market analysis

including the identification of the subject property’s competitive market, analysis of the property’s performance versus its market, identification of the subject’s position within the competitive market, evaluation of the subject’s potential in that market, and estimating future potential operating statistics for the facility.

Feasibility analysis

It is estimated that only one in fifty business ideas are actually commercially viable. therefore, a business feasibility study is an effective way to safeguard against wastage for further investment of resources.
Cambridge Consulting can afford a feasibility study for hotel, resort and conference center properties to determine a project’s viability within the market and to secure construction and/or permanent financing.