In difficult economic times, falling occupancies and average room rates can exert heavy pressures on hotel and resort owners’ abilities to pay their debt service. To further complicate matters, as term loans become due, tighter underwriting standards and higher lender requirements often make it impossible for the full amount of a loan to be rolled over. Over the years, Cayuga consultants have experienced multiple down cycles, have had their “hands on” the various complex issues involved, and are able to quickly and effectively deal with these challenges. They are available to assist owners and lenders who are already in trouble, as well as those who see clouds gathering on their horizons. Experts at asset management, operations, branding and marketing can help formulate the best strategies and assist with or direct their implementation. A host of specialized disciplines can be drawn upon as needed, depending on the hotel or resort situation.
Cayuga’s services extend to restaurants, clubs, casinos and spas as well.
Cayuga’s Distressed Properties Assistance Services include:
- Financial review, operational review, benchmarking and diagnostics
- Property condition assessment
- Market potentials and hotel competitive position review
- Development of “next steps” strategies for owners or lenders
- Action plans to immediately reduce losses
- Identification of opportunities to add value
- Review of brand contribution
- Evaluation of management performance
Supplemental services may include:
- Appointment as receiver or asset manager
- Interim and ongoing property management
- Reorganization / restructuring
- Marketing reviews; advertising and public relations campaigns
- Maintenance department performance audits and improvements
- Food & Beverage Department restructuring
- Branding / rebranding
- Executive search
- Debt and equity financing / refinancing
- Property tax appeals
- Asset acquisition / disposition
Advisory Members
The following members are available through Cayuga to provide a full range of consulting services.
John Capone (Austin, TX)
President and Founder of Brookestone Hospitality Resources, LLC, offering full-service, limited-service and resort property management, as well as consulting, asset management and owner support services to a wide variety of owners and lenders. Brookestone has directed operations, asset management, acquisitions and openings for over 100 hotels throughout the U.S. With more than 28 years of industry experience, John has overseen operations and sales/marketing for over $1 Billion worth of hotel assets, from numerous Marriott, Hilton, and Starwood hotels, to independent upscale hotels, such as the Coconut Grove Hotel, Hotel Royal Plaza, The Madison Hotel and the Newport Beachside Hotel and Resort. Prior to founding Brookestone, he was Senior VP of Richfield Hospitality, Inc., where he: directed all operations of Sceptre Hospitality Resources, a hotel revenue and connectivity company: and, launched The Elise Group, a revenue consulting firm which complemented the existing companies. Before joining Richfield, John was Senior VP of Operations for Prime Hospitality, where he directed all operations for the proprietary brands, built a team-oriented culture and developed six future VPs and Regional VPs. A Certified Hospitality Sales Professional, he has been recognized by Sales & Marketing Management.Cayuga’s Group Leader for Distressed Properties Assistance.
Rick Antosh (Edgewater, NJ)
Highly qualified financial executive and CPA with broad experience in varied hospitality industry environments. VP-Finance for Compass Group's entrance into the North American market for Airport F&B concessions, opening 50+ units in five airports in 18 months. Director of Development - Finance for Ian Schrager Hotels in New York City, established a new section of the Finance division to handle the company's $500 million simultaneous developmental endeavors. Director of Finance for the Westin Rio Mar Beach Resort & Casino, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. Vice President Finance for the Grand Traverse Resort, Michigan.
John Banta (Kanagawa, Japan)
Currently based in Japan, John has spent thirty years in leadership positions with Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Kintetsu and independent hotels, mostly dealing with troubled assets in need of repositioning. He has a unique and unparalleled record of consistent success in difficult markets, and has developed some of the strongest managers in the business. Capable of integrating modern western ideas into conservative Japanese business culture, John orchestrated the only successful repositioning of a Japanese hotel (500-room) by a foreigner in the history of Japanese hotels. Through Cayuga, John's consultancy, Post Hotels Company, offers expertise in the areas of: strategic planning, leadership training, high performance team building, operational management, hotel development and pre-opening planning, capital planning, event planning and marketing and sales.
Eric Bettelheim (Las Vegas)
President of The Ascona Group, with more than 30 years operations and consulting experience, primarily in the deluxe category of hotels and resorts worldwide. The Ascona Group specializes in project consulting, development, condominium hotel/resort development, pre-opening project management, executive search, operator selection, management contract negotiation, operations analysis, and asset and interim management of hotels and resorts in the US and abroad.Visit his site at www.asconagroup.com.
Scott Brush (Miami)
President, Brush & Company, providing a variety of services to all facets of the hospitality industry, with a focus on hotel and resort operations. With more than 35 years experience, both in operations and consultancy, Scott has the education and recognized expertise to provide high-quality, principal-involved consulting services, including hotel market surveys, operational diagnostics, comprehensive property reviews, litigation support, independent impact surveys, and asset management.
James E. Burr, CHA (Chicago)
President of Burr Company, offering services
in hotel asset management, strategy development, due diligence and troubled hotel
workouts. Jim has more than 40 years of industry experience, including asset
management of more than $900 million of hotels, single and multi-unit hotel management,
franchise operations and strategies, organizational development, planning and
control systems development and installation, and consulting at the Principal
level.
Bill Callnin, CHA (Virginia Beach)
Cayuga Chairman and Managing Director, specializing in development and operations analyses of casinos; Group Leader of Cayuga’s Casino Gaming Group, an international, full-service gaming consultancy providing casino design, development of full operating procedures, operations analyses, casino marketing improvements, management-performance reviews, regulatory compliance audits, casino lease / management contract negotiations, asset management.
George Carmona (Collingswood, NJ)
Forty plus years in executive and senior positions in hotels and casinos. Consultant to casino developers and operators. Broad operational, financial, budget, organizational and audit responsibilities with hotels and casinos in the U.S. and in the Caribbean. Extensive experience and broad responsibilities in development of hotel and casino polices and procedures including internal control systems through regulatory approval as well as the implementation of systems subsequent to approval. Director of Internal Audit at large hotel/casino in New Jersey, reporting directly to Audit Committee of the Board. Responsible for developing risk assessment for audit plans, audit programs, audit reports and testing for compliance with procedures. Consultant to casinos in the former Yugoslavia, the Bahamas, the Caribbean and to Indian tribal casino operations in the Western U.S.
Tim Cole (Santa Rosa Beach, FL)
President of Excelsior Restaurant Holding, Inc. Over the course of his hospitality industry career, Tim has served in corporate, property-level, academic and consulting roles in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Equally comfortable in operations and asset management settings, his strengths lie in the areas of food and beverage and financial management. Tim’s comprehensive background includes administering large resort communities anchored by upscale branded hotels and directing international and domestic operations for properties operated under long-term management agreements. His permanent and interim management experience at the property level includes positions with hotels, country clubs and restaurants. Tim is also a licensed real estate salesperson with significant experience in master community association management.
Cheki Dev (Ithaca)
Dr. Chekitan S. Dev is an associate professor of marketing and brand management at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration. An active consultant, seminar leader, keynote speaker and expert witness, he has worked with hotel, restaurant and destination brands in over 35 countries on five continents including Disney, Ritz Paris, Marriott, Hilton, Four Seasons Mumbai, Ritz-Carlton Bali, Jumeirah, Rosewood, Peninsula, ACCOR, Taj, InterContinental, Westin, Holiday Inn, Moevenpick, Posadas, DeVere, Chandris, HOTUSA, Crystal Cruises, YUM, Select Restaurants, Jamaica, Aruba, Austria, Ireland, Greece, Jordan and many others. Dr. Dev has presented at events organized by several international organizations and been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, TIME, USA Today, on NBC Nightly News and National Public Radio. A prolific scholar and thought leader, Dr. Dev has published over 60 research papers on strategic marketing and brand management in leading peer-reviewed journals including The Harvard Business Review, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Service Research, Journal of Retailing, Journal of International Business Studies, and The Cornell Quarterly.
Jean G.J. Keijdener (Seoul)
General Manager of the Somerset Palace, Seoul and Country General Manager for South Korea for The Ascot Ltd., “JK” is a multi-lingual global hospitality professional with over thirty years spent in hospitality leadership positions for Hyatt America & Hyatt International, Conrad-Hilton, Renaissance-Ramada, Sedona Hotels International & The Ascot Ltd. His expertise is in hotels, resort and serviced residences ranging from luxury through limited-service, as well as hospitality real estate and asset management, covering five continents: Europe, the U.S., the South Pacific, the Middle East and Asia. JK specializes in real estate development and pre-opening planning, operational management, strategic planning, government affairs and community relations, event planning and operations, and more. Fluent in Dutch, English and German; conversant in French, Indonesian and Spanish.
Ralph Miller (Calgary, Alberta, and North Vancouver)
A Chartered Accountant, Chartered Business Valuator, Certified Hotel Administrator, and Certified Hospitality Accounting Executive with over 25 years of operations and consulting experience in the hospitality industry. Prior to graduating from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Accounting and Management Information Systems, and subsequently joining Coopers & Lybrand, Ralph spent nine years in the hotel and restaurant industry. After obtaining his designation as a Chartered Accountant, he went on to lead the Western Canada Hospitality Industry Practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Additionally, he has provided expert witness testimony in both the Supreme Court of British Columbia and the Court of Queens Bench in Alberta on valuation issues for businesses in the hospitality and tourism industry. In 1997 Ralph co-founded Inntegrated Hospitality Management Ltd. and since that time has been providing third party management and consulting services for clients with interests in accommodation, food and beverage, gaming and destination resort/vacation club development.
Shelly La Motte (Frederick, MD)
Over 20 years diverse hospitality experience, including positions with two international CPA firms, expertise includes: development and acquisition-related market and financial analysis; valuation; strategic planning; operations analysis; impact analysis; quality assurance evaluation; litigation support; hotel operator selection; management contract/franchise negotiations; financial analysis including market repositioning and other value enhancement strategies; acquisitions and dispositions; financing; and asset management. Shelly’s experience includes assignments in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, the Caribbean, Bermuda and Australia, as well as throughout the U.S. She has provided expert testimony with regard to major lodging and mixed-use projects.
Tom Lattin (Houston)
CPA and Managing Director of his consultancy, Lattin & Associates, and
a Professor at the Conrad N. Hilton College in Houston, teaching finance
and advanced lodging management courses. Background includes launching the
Patriot American Hospitality IPO as its president and COO; serving as Sr.
VP in Paine Webber’s REIT group; partner positions with: PricewaterhouseCoopers,
Coopers & Lybrand and Laventhol & Horwath. Specializing in: mergers,
acquisitions and corporate preparation for an IPO; hotel asset management
involving the major brands and management companies; litigation support and
expert witness testimony dealing with hospitality industry financial issues
and management contracts; procurement of debt and equity and other investment
banking services; operational studies and reviews, management audits and
profit improvement services. Cayuga Regional Director for South
Central U.S.
Mike Lukianoff (NYC & Tampa)
With more than twenty years of hospitality industry experience and a Masters Degree from Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration, Mike’s experience includes a decade of consulting to dozens of the world’s largest chain restaurant companies, and more than a decade of food service operations. His expertise in pricing, revenue management and promotional analysis has been effective in creating strategies to maximize cash flow for his clients during good times and bad. A primary focuses with his new venture, Czar Capital, is matching investors seeking alternative investments with business owners with short term liquidity challenges.
John
Meeske (Bellaire, MI)
CEO of Resorts & Clubs, Inc, a consulting, investment banking and marketing firm focused on repositioning, refinancing and reengineering destination resorts, country clubs, leisure and primary real estate projects. The primary focus of Resorts and Clubs, Inc. is raising capitol in order to reposition resort and country club properties in financial trouble into successful “Resort Country Clubs” –– a new financial model which works in today’s economic environment. With more than 35 years of direct experience in the industry, John’s professional career has largely been focused on the ownership, management, marketing, financing and repositioning of troubled destination resorts, country clubs, sports facilities and leisure real estate projects. He is particularly skilled in repositioning properties to attract a broader market by creating a destination resort atmosphere. His areas of concentration have included golf, ski, tennis, conference and marina resorts, resort clubs, resort development projects, sports facilities, athletic clubs and destination restaurants at a variety of market levels. John is the former Director of the Center for Resort & Club Business, which he helped create for the Reeves School of Business at Methodist College, and is presently serving as the school’s Executive in Residence.
Phil Miller (Ithaca)
Managing Director, Philippus Miller
III & Associates LLC, a full service executive search firm serving hospitality entities worldwide with researching and identifying, negotiating with and assisting clients in retaining highly qualified managers and executives. Phil’s 20-plus years of international hospitality industry experience gives him a comprehensive understanding of, and unparalleled connections within, the industry. He served as Director of Alumni Affairs for Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration (and Secretary of its alumni association, the Cornell Hotel Society) from 1993-2004.
Mike Pleninger (Williamsburg, VA)
President, Newport Hospitality Group (NHG), a premier hotel management company dedicated to improving hotel performance through cost-effective operations, national marketing and purchasing programs, comprehensive training, and sales development at the local level. NHG also offers hotel planning, franchising and development services. Mike founded NHG in 1990 following 20 years experience in the hospitality industry, which included ten years as Senior VP and part owner of Victor Management Company of Newport News, VA (now a part of Lane Hospitality). Prior, he held operations positions with Holiday Inns, Sonesta International Hotels, Omni Hotels and Registry Hotels. NHG prides itself on its ability to outperform the markets in which their hotels compete. Over the past three years, NHG hotels have increased their Hotels' RevPARs by 20.5 %, while their markets have increased only 11.0 %.
Robin Ricketts (Naples, FL and Anguilla)
A native of England and raised in China, Robin is a classically trained hotelier with 35 years of experience in the hospitality industry. With his wife, Sue, he founded Ricketts and Associates Ltd. in 1978. Registered in Anguilla, British West Indies, they offer services in: product concept development; pre-opening project management; hotel and villa construction management; hotel and villa management; food and beverage management; public relations and sales and marketing in the US, UK, Europe and South America; and, interior design and planning. Ricketts & Associates have advised governments, developers, hoteliers and villas throughout the Caribbean. Amongst Robin’s most important accomplishments include the development of the exclusive five star hotels of Cap Juluca and Malliouhana in Anguilla, for which he acted as co-developer. Both properties have continued to rank in the top ten list of Caribbean hotels since their openings. Robin was also the mastermind behind the conversion of the Grace Bay Club, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands from a failing condominium development in the early 1990's to one of the most highly regarded hotels of the region. Robin’s hotel background includes stints at the Dorchester and the Inn on the Park - Four Seasons in London, the Meurice in Paris, and the Mandarin in Hong Kong. His Caribbean experience, of well over 25 years, encompasses several operational positions in Aruba, Bonaire, Martinique and the Bahamas, as well as Anguilla and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Thomas Riegelman (Nashville)
Offering an extraordinary range of expertise in asset and facility management, with over 30 years managing corporate level hotel and resort operations. His 19 years with Hyatt Hotels Corporation as VP of Technical Services, and then VP of Engineering provided him with broad experience in all phases of hotel and resort planning, construction, engineering, and facility operations. Tom also served as a General Manager with the Prudential Realty Group, asset managing their $900 million Northeast hotel portfolio. After graduating from the Cornell Hotel School with a concentration in hotel planning and design, he earned an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago.
