2014 HFTP Compensation & Benefits Survey Report The Ritz Carlton Club & Residences, Jupiter Jupiter,...

THE JOURNAL OF HOSPITALITY FINANCIAL AND TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

Summer 2014Volume 29, Number 3

2014 HFTPCompensation

& Benefits Survey Report

Also inside: Essential Skills for the Hospitality School Graduate; Five Ways Leaders Support Change; Financial Planning for Club Capital Projects; Clubs and Mobile Apps, Part 2; Barry Shuler, 2014 Inductee to the HFTP International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame

The Bottomline 3

THE JOURNAL OFHOSPITALITY FINANCIAL AND

TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

Volume 29, Number 3

14 5 Ways Leaders Support ChangeMake a significant impact on your team’s ability to accept and adapt to change.By Jennifer Mounce

16 Designs for Capital FundingClub CFOs Advise on Financial Dos and Don'ts For Planning Capital Projects

18 Clubs and Mobile Apps in the Year 2014Part II: Making InroadsBy Agnes DeFranco CHAE, Ed.D. and Cristian Morosan, Ph.D.

23 2012 HFTP Compensation and Benefits Survey ReportBy Tanya Venegas

A summary of the results including data on:• Respondent Profile, p. 24 • Demographic Information, p. 25• Employer Profile, p. 27 • Annual Revenues and Tax Status, p. 30• Job Responsibilities, p. 31 • Compensation, p. 33• Club Profile and Staff Salaries, p. 36 • Lodging Profile and Staff Salaries, p. 38• Benefits, p. 41

5 Between the LinesSummer is Sizzling — A tour of some of the industry's hottest events have brought forth many thought-provoking discussions

8 HFTP News & NotesCongratulations: Barry Shuler 2014 Inductee to the HFTP International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame

10 Q&A from the Research InstitutePrepping for a Hospitality Finance Profession — A roundtable discussion with industry execu-tives gives insight on the type of skills that would best serve graduates entering the workforce

12 Business Across the Globe Focus on Costa Rica

HFTP® and HITEC® are registered service marks of Hospitality Financial and Technol-ogy Professionals. GUESTROOM 20X is a service mark of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals.

Submissions and InquiriesIndividuals interested in submitting an article for publication should contact the editor. The Bottomline is a peer review journal. All materials submitted for publication are reviewed by members of the editorial review board or recognized experts in the field.

The Bottomline (ISSN 0279-1889), the jour-nal of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals, Inc., is published bimonthly with two special editions by HFTP®. Copy-right © by Hospitality Financial and Technol-ogy Professionals. All rights are reserved. All opinions expressed herein represent the views of the authors. The Bottomline and HFTP disclaim any responsibility for views expressed or statements made in any articles published. HFTP disclaims any liability with respect to the use of or reliance on any such information. The information contained in this publication is in no way to be construed as a recommendation by HFTP or any industry standard, or as a recommendation of any kind to be adopted or binding upon any member of the hospitality industry. Written consent must be obtained from HFTP before reprinting articles. Subscription fee of $30 for HFTP members is included in the membership fee. HFTP is headquartered at 11709 Boulder Lane, Suite 110, Austin, Texas 78726. Periodicals Postage Paid at Austin, Texas. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Bottomline, 11709 Boulder Lane, Suite 110, Austin, Texas 78726, (512) 249-5333.

CONTENTS

F E A T u R E S

D E P A R T M E N T S

S u m m e r • 2 0 1 4

4 Summer 2014

THE BOTTOMLINE STAFF

Frank Wolfe, CAE Executive Vice President/CEO

[email protected]

Eliza R. Selig Editor/Director of Communications

[email protected]

Jennifer Lee Advertising Sales / Director of Marketing

[email protected]

2013–2014 HFTP OFFICERSPresident

Jerry Trieber, CPA, CHAE, CFE, CFF, CGMA Crescent Hotels and Resorts

Fairfax, Va.

Vice PresidentDaniel Conti Jr., CHAE, CAM

The Ritz Carlton Club & Residences, JupiterJupiter, Fla.

TreasurerIan Millar, CHTP

Ecole Hoteliere De LausanneLausanne, Switzerland

SecretaryArlene Ramirez, CHE, CHAEADR Hospitality Consulting

The Woodlands, Texas

Immediate Past PresidentRaman P. Rama, CHA, CHTP, CHAE

JHM HotelsGreenville, SC

2013–2014 EDITORIAL ADVISORY COUNCIL

ChairMehmet Erdem, Ph.D., CHTP

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Vice ChairFranklin John P. Sikich, CHAE, CPA

Franklin John Patrick Sikich, CPA

Council:

John D. Burns, CHAHospitality Technology Consulting

John D. Daum, CPACondon O'Meara McGinty & Donnelly, LLP

Agnes L. DeFranco, CHAE, Ed.D.University of Houston

Sal C. Galioto, CHAEHyatt Hotels Corporation

Christopher HartmannIDS Softwares Pvt Ltd

Shelley Hooey-JonesPomeroy Lodging

Heung Michael Kwag, CHA, CHAEBoston University School of Hosp Admin

Raman P. Rama, CHA, CHAE, CHTPJHM Hotels

Prakash Vinodrai ShuklaHarvard University

Peter William Smith, CHTPAnalytical & Information Services, Inc.

David Vega, CHAEWillow Ridge Country Club

Tanya VenegasUniversity of Houston

11709 Boulder Lane, Suite 110 • Austin, TX 78726–1832+1 (512) 249-5333 • (800) 646-4387 • Fax +1 (512) 249-1533

www.hftp.org • www.hitec.org

ProLinksProLinksWebinars

HFTP

ProLinks Webinars offer participants a chance to engage and connect virtually with innova-tive thought leaders on the most relevant topics to the hospitality industry. Enjoy presentations from the comfort of your own computer while interacting not only with the speaker, but other attendees from all over the globe.

Get Started

Visit the Membership/ProLinks section of the HFTP web site at www.hftp.org to view the upcoming webinar schedule.

Archived Sessions

ProLinks Webinars are recorded and available to members for viewing on demand. Archived topics include e-commerce, millennial learn-ers, green IT, Wi-Fi and more.

The Bottomline 5

SummeR iS SizzlingA tour of some of the industry's hottest events have brought forth many thought-provoking discussions

Jerry Trieber, CPA, CHAE, CFE, CFF, CGMA is vice president of finance at Crescent Hotels & Resorts based in Fairfax, Va.

❘❙ Between the lines ❙❚A Letter from the HFTP President

This summer is sizzling for HFTP as my tour representing our as-sociation has led me from one

hot topic to another. Since June, I have joined thousands of hospitality profes-sionals at numerous industry events to cover the issues at the forefront of hos-pitality finance and technology today.

At the top of my summer tour was HITEC 2014 in Los Angeles. This was one of the highest-attended HITECs on record, with 5,745 attendees from 57 countries and more than 760 ex-hibit booths. While I represent the “F” contingent in HFTP, there is no doubt that I gain exceptional value from the tactile technology displayed on the HITEC show floor and the phenome-nal education presented by world-class practitioners at this four-day, awesome technology event.

Some of the newest tactile tech-nology displayed at HITEC in Los Angeles this year was Google Glass: I had the opportunity to wear and try Google Glass; it is incredible to think that our guests could check in to our hotels using this amazing technology. Technology use within our industry touches everyone, be they finance or technology professional, so if you have not yet attended HITEC, you are missing an incredible learning event and should plan to attend HITEC 2015 next June in Austin, Texas. I have been attending HITEC since 2006; my eyes

were opened wide at that event and have not closed since: as technology contin-ues to change our personal and professional lives, it is great to be with HFTP, hosting the world’s premiere hospitality technology exposition and conference. However, if you were not able to attend HITEC this year, the HFTP/HITEC web site contains numerous resources including speaker presentations, a HITEC Buyer’s Guide, the HITEC 2014 Special Report showcasing Women in Technol-ogy and more. Also on the HFTP Connect blog are posts from the HITEC guest bloggers, offering a wide-range, first-hand view of their experiences at this event.

Speaking of changes in technology, in my last column, I mentioned that a task force was assigned to work on a makeover of the Certified Hospitality Technol-ogy Professional (CHTP) certification. This past spring, the task force made efforts toward changing the exam structure and questions, devising a new list of competency areas to reflect modern times, revising the study material based on those exam changes, and creating a maintenance plan to keep the designation current. Many of these revisions were presented at HITEC, gaining the CHTP certification a great deal of traction. Another reason why HITEC was so HOT.

Co-located with HITEC, were two always HOT finance-focused events: The second Financial Executives Exchange and the annual HFTP Club and Hotel Controllers Conference. The Financial Executives Exchange is a fairly new, invitation-only event which gathered 31 C-level hospitality finance executives for a one-day meeting to discuss HOT issues facing them on a daily basis, includ-ing the just-released Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry, 11th Revised Edition, ethics, PCI compliance, healthcare reform and HFTP’s Global Hospitality Accounting Common Practices Project. The Club and Hotel Control-lers Conference covered topics such as fraud, KPIs and dashboards, revenue management and more. More than 170 people attended these co-located events, which also included entrance to the HITEC Opening Keynote with former

I have been attending HITEC since 2006; my eyes were opened wide at that event and have not closed since: as technology continues to change our personal and professional lives, it is great to be with HFTP, hosting the world’s premiere hospitality technology exposition and conference.

6 Summer 2014

❘❙ HFTP news & notes ❙❚

technology knowledge. In April, I presented "Letter From America: Technology Issues Having the Biggest Impact in America" at the inaugural Technology Summit held in part-nership with HOSPA and in conjunction with Hotelympia in London. In May, I provided a fraud update, “It’s a Fraud World,” to the HFTP Greater Philadelphia Chapter. Also in May, I helped present scholarships and gave a global HFTP association update at the HFTP Jamaica Chapter’s 10th An-nual Education Conference in Montego Bay.

In July, I had the pleasure to meet with our allied part-ners at NABHOOD's 18th Annual International African American Hotel Ownership & Investment Summit & Trade Show in Miami — a very HOT city. And while there, I went to one of the HOTTEST locales in the area: South Beach, where I made new friends and renewed old friendships. I also attended the 21st Annual HFTP Florida Regional Con-ference, hosted by the HFTP Florida Gulf Coast Chapter, at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort in Bonita Springs, Fla. A record attendance of 214 people heard CPAs discuss 100 years of best practices, received economic and eth-ics updates, and learned the “Rules and Tools of Food & Beverage Controls.”

And now I think it is time to turn on the A.C. because this summer has been absolutely steamy! But, rest assured, HFTP continues to be HOT, presenting HOT education, showcasing the HOTTEST technology, and HEATING at-tendance records at its events. I look forward to seeing you at another HOT HFTP event soon!

Apply now to be a guest blogger for the 2014 HFTP Annual Conven-tion & Tradeshow in New Orleans.

Details available at HFTp ConneCT.

Google CIO, Douglas Merrill; the Opening Party at the his-toric Belasco Theater in Downtown Los Angeles and passes to the HITEC show floor. If you want to get a perspective of what attending the Club and Hotel Controllers Conference was like, make your way to the HFTP Connect blog, where guest blogger Monica Henegar wrote about her experience as a first-time attendee.

Outside of L.A., my other travels have given me tremen-dous opportunity to represent HFTP on a global scale while allowing me to build on my own hospitality finance and

Trieber (left) poses with Kenny Anthony, prime minister of St. Lucia (center) and Immediate Past President R.P. Rama (right) at the NABHOOD annual conference in Miami.

8 Summer 2014

After a long career as a technology strategist for Marriott International, Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and International Hotels Group, he is currently CIO and IT consulting principal with Design Management Associates, Inc.

“I have many friends in HFTP, a number of whom have already been inducted into the Hall of Fame,” said Shuler. “I honestly never dreamed that someday I might be honored in this way. I am humbled by the selection and truly excited to join this illustrious group.”

He is an expert on enterprise architecture, business process reengineering, IT-enabled change, IT metrics, technology convergence and strategic planning for IT. He has been featured in numerous computing and hotel industry articles, and has made contributions to many books on IT. He is also the author of the book, Virtual Travel – Embrace or Expire.

“I know of no individual that I believe is more deserving of this award than Barry,” writes Wendell Fox, retired senior vice president for Marriott Intl. “The list of his contributions to the advancement of the use of technology in the hotel industry both from the guest and the hotels perspective is outstanding. Barry has the ability to look beyond the obvious and see what can be or maybe ‘what will be’ in respect to the use of technology for the consumer and for business.”

In 1996, Shuler made his entrée to the hospitality industry when he joined Marriott as senior vice president of information resources, strategy and planning and CTO, reporting to the corporate CIO. This was a new position at Marriott Intl., created with the goal of institutionalizing a long range IT planning process. He was responsible for strategic plans and an enterprise architecture that would guide the efforts of an information systems and technology community of over 1,200 IT practitioners; a Marriott annual IT budget in excess of $400 million, and direct influence over hotel owner IT capital and operational expenditure annual budgets of an additional $400 million.

Shuler remained with Marriott Intl. through to December 2008, with numerous key accomplishments. During his tenure, he led an extensive effort to document an enterprise architecture baseline assessment for all Marriott business units; to formulate a set of architecture principles and a strategic vision for processes, ap-plication systems, information and technology. Based on the outcome of this study, a long range transition plan was made to move steadily toward the target architec-ture, and the strategy still guides Marriott’s IT processes and investments today.

Over his last four years at Marriott, Shuler was the driving force behind Mar-riott’s strategy of moving toward converged IP networks in all of its hotels, to enable cutting edge services to be delivered to associates and guests. This was a strategy to interconnect non-integrated devices, such as smart phones, TVs, telephones, kiosks and environmental controls, yielding significant efficiencies on the cost side and major new revenue opportunities through exposing applications for self service. As a key part of this effort, he worked with major commercial flat

panel HDTV providers to design and implement expanded capabilities in these devices to enable them to more effectively be integrated with the hotel infrastructure as an IP-enabled device, and to allow guest mobile devices to connect to the TV for high fidelity and resolution playback of content.

Shuler not only led within Mar-riott, but also was a recognized and respected leader in the hospitality and travel industry as a whole. From 2004 through 2008 he served on the board of directors and in executive positions, including president, of Hotel Technol-ogy Next Generation (HTNG). HTNG is an organization made up of hoteliers and hospitality technology vendors that promotes the emergence of specifi-cations for interoperability among commercially available and custom developed hotel systems.

Currently, Shuler oversees his own firm Design Management Consultants, where he takes on short-term consult-ing engagements. He also serves as an executive advisor to HTNG; gives advice and guidance to new ventures; and leads ongoing development, deployment and operations of systems and technology. ■

2014 Inducteeinternational Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame

BARRy SHuleRShuler was selected for his role in developing a model for hotel industry enterprise architecture and IT strategic planning.

A complete list of Hall of Fame inductees and details about this honor are available at www.hftp.org. Nominations for the 2015 Hall of Fame selection are due April 13, 2015.

10 Summer 2014

A roundtable discussion with industry executives gives insight on the type of skills that would best serve graduates entering the workforce

PRePPing FoR A HoSPiTAliTy FinAnCe PRoFeSSion

By Tanya Venegas

in October 2013, HFTP sponsored a roundtable with hospitality industry financial executives at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management at

the University of Houston. The purpose of the roundtable was to gauge how prepared university graduates were to assume hospitality industry managerial positions, as well as accounting/finance positions. Even though the roundtable was hosted at the University of Houston, the comments are generic and not geared towards any specific university or program.

The roundtable was attended by industry executives from several of the major lodging brands, industry consul-tants and professors from the University of Houston. All of these individuals actively recruit young talent from univer-sities around the world and have an interest in developing the managers of tomorrow.

The following questions were asked of the participants and the corresponding responses are provided. This infor-mation gives a great starting point for educational establish-ments to tweak their programs and make them the best in the industry.

What skills do you want hospitality graduates to possess when entering the workforce?

First of all, roundtable participants indicated that there is a big difference between students that

graduate with a hospitality degree versus those with busi-ness or accounting degrees. Students who graduate from a hospitality program tend to be well-versed in service man-agement and know how to best handle the customer. These programs touch on a wide variety of business topics such as marketing, accounting, finance and human resources, but don't offer students a depth of knowledge on any specific

topic. The same is also true of general business graduates. These degrees provide a basic overview of many different areas of business management unless the student picks a specialty area or minor. On the other hand, students with an accounting degree have a perfect understanding of ac-counting (debits vs. credits, etc.), but lack knowledge of the hospitality industry which is so unique. The roundtable at-tendees concluded that there is not any one “perfect” degree for students wanting to work in the hospitality industry, but indicated that it is more about the mentality and determina-tion of the student.

The majority of the roundtable focused on programs with a hospitality degree. In general, roundtable respon-dents indicated that they would like hospitality graduates to not only know how to produce operational reports, but also know how to interpret these reports (bookkeeping vs. op-erational analysis). Graduates should understand the basic income statement, departmental reports, labor scheduling, etc. and how these impact overall hotel finances. In addi-tion, it is important for them to know how their managerial decisions will impact the bottom line. So, recent graduates should not only be able to read the reports and drill down, but also realize how their managerial decisions will impact the entire operation.

What additional training could universities offer their hospitality students?

Presentation and communication skills were the skills the roundtable participants felt were most im-

portant. In order to move up through the ranks and become a department manager, hospitality employees must know how to communicate. They need to be able to communicate to their employees and provide presentations as a depart-

Q.A. Q.

A.

The Bottomline 11

❘❙ Q&A from the HFTP Research institute ❙❚

ment head. A suggestion was made that students should be required to give more presentations to help hone their skills and remove the fear of presenting in front of a crowd.

When it came to specific accounting and finance knowledge, roundtable participants had a few suggestions on skills that should be highlighted. First of all, the fear needs to be taken away from accounting. Many students struggle with the simplest accounting basics such as debits vs. credit. (This is probably true of most individuals outside of the accounting profession.) The suggestion was made that accounting needs to be introduced early in a student’s college experience and woven into other classes so that they do not have a chance to forget the knowledge. Also, terminology specific to the hospitality industry needs to be introduced such as guest ledger, city ledger, etc.

Roundtable participants stressed, no matter what department you work in, managers need to have a basic knowledge of accounting/finance and how to tie everything together. For example, a catering manager needs to have an understanding of menu costing, purchasing, kitchen terminology, and excellent communication skills to talk to clients and other department managers. Students can be given actual case studies/data sets to work with that will give them real world examples and language. In order to do this, universities need cooperation from the industry to provide these examples. With industry specific case studies, professors can assist their students in honing their critical thinking skills. These skills are invaluable in any industry, but especially in the hospitality industry.

What projects could be incorporated into account-ing, finance and technology courses?

Again, roundtable participants mentioned real world examples. Most textbooks offer clear-cut examples

with round numbers and easy answers. A capstone course was suggested to tie the knowledge they gained through their college experience into a classroom negotiation. Students could be split into teams to “argue” for their side. Then, industry professionals would be invited to be “judg-es” and to determine which team presented the best case. This sort of class would tie together students’ knowledge of operations, finance, presentation, and negotiation skills.

Technology courses, as well as technology skills students need when entering the workforce were briefly dis-cussed. Across the board, roundtable participants stated that students need a good working knowledge of Excel. Most of the larger hotels use a specific accounting system, so it is difficult to train students to be proficient in all of these sys-tems. Ideally, the more exposure students get with account-ing and other systems (simulations) the more comfortable they will be when entering the workforce.

Should all students be required to take a course on revenue management?

All the roundtable participants felt that revenue management is an important skill for hospitality

managers, especially financial managers, and that stu-dents should be required to complete a course on revenue management. It was discussed that this course should cover not only rooms revenue management, but also how rev-enue management impacts other departments such as spa, golf, catering, restaurant, etc. Other revenue management topics discussed which should be incorporated into this class included: distribution channels, market segmenta-tion, inventory control, and revenue strategies vs. revenue management.

Every conversation during the roundtable came back to the suggestion that students need real world examples. That is difficult to accomplish in a classroom setting; so, it will take the cooperation of industry leaders working with universities to have the best outcome. By guest speaking, offering case studies and offering internships; industry lead-ers can assist the leaders of tomorrow to be better prepared when they enter the workforce. ■

Q.A.

Q.A.

Skills for the Hospitality graduate

❍ Know how to produce operational reports, as well as how to interpret the reports.

❍ Have good communication skills that enable you to give presentations and talk to guests, colleagues and managers.

❍ Have a basic understanding of accounting/finance, achieved by being introduced to the subject early in the curriculum and continue on through the advanced courses.

❍ Have some exposure to the type of accounting systems used by hotels and good working knowledge of Excel.

❍ Understand the concept of revenue management, including revenue from the rooms, spa, golf, restaurant and catering departments.

❍ Be prepared for the job by practicing with real-world scenarios during your course of study.

12 Summer 2014

❘❙ HFTP Research institute ❙❚

As HFTP expands and adds chapters throughout the world, it is interesting to learn about different cultures and conducting business in other countries. HFTP currently has chapters in the following locations outside the United States: Asia, Canada, Caribbean, Hong Kong, India and Switzerland. The following short report gives a basic introduction to the country, business climate and state of the hospitality industry.

The land of Costa Rica was inhabited by indigenous people when Christopher Columbus

discovered it in 1502. During his time there, Columbus was greeted with the native peoples’ warm hospitality and an introduction to the land’s mineral wealth. As word travelled about this mysterious rich coast, the name Costa Rica eventually stuck. Later, when the Spanish tried to colonize the coast in 1506, they found that their efforts were futile as unfortunate occurrences such as tropical diseases, inhospitable climate and resistance of the natives prevented any success. The city of Cartago became the first established city, colonized by the Spanish. Even-tually, it was because of the country’s physical, political and commercial isolation that allowed them to be self-governing in the 19th century (Any-where Costa Rica 2014).

Since then, the country has not stopped advancing economically. The economy is heavily dependent on the agricultural trade of bananas, sugar, beef, and most importantly, coffee. The country has a high standard of living and the poverty rate is lower than most other Latin American countries. The government is stable and the country has universal healthcare, clean water and other social benefits. Costa Rica also demolished their army system in 1948. Because of these and many other

BuSineSS ACRoSS THe gloBeFocus on Costa Rica

reasons, immigration from other countries is high. And it is no surprise that Costa Rica has been consistently dubbed “The Happiest Country in the World.”

ClimateThe country is located between Nicaragua and Panama. Despite its small 51,060 square kilometers of landmass, the country holds 5 percent of the existing biodi-

By Kathy Zheng

Kathy Zheng is the 2014 general manager of Hospitality Hall of Honor and a student at the Conrad N. Hilton College, University of Houston. She can be reached at [email protected].

The Bottomline 13

❘❙ HFTP Research institute ❙❚

versity of the world. The climate is tropical to subtropical with a wet season from May to November and a dry season from December to April. The land is encompassed by coastal plains, mountains, and over 100 volcano cones (CIA 2014). The average temperature is 76 degrees.

Hospitality industryCosta Rica has long earned the reputation as one of the most visited travel destinations of Central America. In 2012, the tourism board estimated that 2.3 million people visited the country annually. From relaxing at a pristine beach to ziplining in one of the many rainforests, Costa Rica has an abundance of activities for the curious tourist. In the 1930s, the government created the National Tourism Board which is now known as the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) to regulate the tourism industry in Costa Rica (Visit Costa Rica 2014).

Over the years, Costa Rica has been able to set them-selves apart through sustainable tourism and ecotourism. Even early on, the country had made efforts to preserve biodiversity and encourage the tourism brought in from its natural attractions. In 1970, they created a national park system which brought people from all over the world to vis-it the country. Today, about 25 percent of the country’s land is protected by the government as a national park or reserve (Anywhere Costa Rica 2014). As a result, over 40 percent of international tourists who spend their time in Costa Rica visit outdoor, nature-based attractions.

Challenges for the Hospitality industryDespite its successful marketing efforts, the country still has some obstacles to overcome when it comes to staying competitive. There is a lack of basic infrastructure to help support the growing tourist industry such as additional highways, airports and flights. Within the hotel industry, there is a limited number of hotel rooms and a lack of other niche markets such as convention services. The bottleneck effect, which is a dramatic reduction of land mass and population due to natural disasters, is also impacting some parts of Costa Rica. Because of these reasons, the tour-ism industry in surrounding countries such as Brazil and Panama has been able to flourish.

opportunities/outlook for the Hospitality industryAlthough Costa Rica is one of the most developed countries in Central America, The Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) is still formulating ways to make the tourism industry more competitive in the international market. Its main focus lies in execution of tourism development planning, strategic development of marketing and tourist favorability (Visit Costa Rica 2014). The ICT has plans to attract more airlines and cruise ships to the area as well. As of the begin-ning of 2014, many airlines have increased the number of flights travelling to Costa Rica’s two major airports. In ad-dition, the ICT plans to work with other governmental and

local institutions to improve the infrastructure of the coun-try and create more opportunity for entrepreneurs to flour-ish as well. The country also has noted plans to increase the number of hotels and beach rentals (PRWeb 2014). Cur-rently, seven new hotel projects are undergoing construction in Costa Rica and are set to be completed in 2014. Over the next two years, $945 million dollars will be invested towards building new hotels. Not only will this create over 4,000 additional hotel rooms, it will generate employment for Costa Ricans (Near Shore America 2014). ■

Sources• Ammachchi, Narayan. (June 25 2013). Costa Rica’s

Tourism Industry Attracts New Investment. NearSho-reAmericas. Retrieved on June 13 2014 from www.nearshoreamericas.com/costa-ricas-tourism-industry-attracts-new-investment/

• Anywhere Costa Rica. (2014). Retrieved on June 13 2014 from www.anywherecostarica.com/

• Central Intelligence Agency. (May 29 2014). Central America and Caribean: Costa Rica. Retrieved June 13, 2014 from www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cs.html

• PR Web. (March 11, 2013). Costa Rica Tourism Institute Anticipates 1,309 Hotel Rooms By 2014. PRWEB. Re-trieved on June 13 2014 from www.prweb.com/releases/escapevillas/costaricatourismgrowth/prweb10511754.htm.

• Vargas, Tracy. (August 18, 2013). Costa Rica’s Hotel Industry Seeks to Innovate to Stay Competitve. The Costa Rica News. Retrieved on June 15, 2014 from thecostaricanews.com/costa-ricas-hotel-industry-seeks-to-innovate-to-stay-competitive/16399.

14 Summer 2014

We hear from all around that the only thing that is constant is change. If that is true,

why do so many people find it so very difficult? One would think that if it is so common we would all be change agent experts… chameleons if you will; but such is not the case. The majority of humans tend toward things that are routine in nature. From cradle to cubicle we look for routine. In school it was the sound of the bell ushering us from one class to another. At work it’s the sound of our meet-ing reminders ushering us from one meeting to the next. It is easy to move throughout our day without giving much thought to where it’s going or what exactly we’re doing until change comes along. Like a slap in the face it can hit hard. Whether it’s a new software system at work or deciding to no longer smoke, the behavioral changes that need to happen can seem staggering.

As a leader you can make a sig-nificant impact on your team’s ability to accept or decline change. If your organization needs to make changes, no matter what those changes are, here are five ways you can support your team in accepting and adapting to the change.

Support the organization’s DirectionDuring times of change your team will keep a

watchful eye on your words and ac-

WAyS leADeRS SuPPoRT CHAnge

Jennifer Mounce is head of learning and development at ThoughtWorks, Inc. a software company and a community of passionate, purpose-led individuals. She can be reached at [email protected].

By Jennifer Mounce

tions. They will be looking to see if you are supporting the change taking place. Don’t expect your team to accept the change if you are showing signs of doubt or concern.

Communicate as much as you Know as often as PossibleAn area for improvement I find when coaching leaders during change efforts is the amount of time spent communicating to the team. You cannot over communicate during a time of change. Once

you communicate a message, plan on communicate at least two more times. You can be fairly certain that the whole message was not received the first time

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❘❙ Business ethics ❙❚

through. The old adage I say to leaders is, “communicate, communicate, communicate, and just when you think they’ve got it, communicate it again!”

Ask the Team for Their input and listen to Their ConcernsSupport the change process by getting input from your team. Solicit feedback, ask for

input, and listen to concerns. Teams are typically filled with questions during times of change. If you stay open and approachable they may “let you in” on what they are thinking and ask questions to gain clarity. If you appear to be stressed or too busy you may never realize how many questions they have or the kind of valuable input they are refraining from sharing with you.

Celebrate the Small SuccessesDuring a change process it’s important to set milestones and celebrate the accomplishments along the way. What one person sees as “a

piece of cake” someone else may see as insurmountable. Either way, do not let accomplishments pass by unnoticed. Recognize the team for the progress and change that has already transpired each step of the way.

There are two common misperceptions in this area: first, leaders think they have to wait until there is a “large enough” accomplishment to warrant a celebration. Second, leaders think that “celebration” automatically means they

must spend money. Each accomplishment, no matter how big or small, is worth recognizing. If you wait to recognize a small success until three or four more happen, you could delay the celebration until it holds no meaning. In order to “celebrate” the small successes you may have to redefine the word “celebrate.” To celebrate something is to honor, to hold up or play up for public notice, or to observe a notable occasion with festivities (www.merriam-webster.com). A small success can be honored or played up in a team meet-ing with no additional dollars needed.

Coach People Through the Change ProcessTimes of change provide ample opportunity to flex your coaching skill muscles. The key is to connect with your employees and fully support

them in reaching their goals. Part of the support may be in helping them see how they can overcome obstacles. Sup-port can take many shapes and sizes. It may be listening or questioning. It may be recommending something or strategizing together. It may be motivating or challenging them. Coaching, a process of learning and growth, fits ap-propriately with times of change which are usually full of chances to learn and grow.

These are just five examples of how you can work to support your team through change in your organization. The next time there is change taking place, make it an opportu-nity to practice being a great change agent. Help your team navigate through the change in a positive way. ■

16 Summer 2014

The backbone to any major design project is the finan-cial planning; which can make or break the successful outcome of a project. We asked three experienced

club CFOs to talk about the finance and budget process that works best when approaching and overseeing such changes at their clubs. Overall the consensus was strong financial planning. Here are the details from their experience.

Daniel Conti, Jr., CHAe, CAmHFTP Global Vice PresidentDirector of FinanceWyndham Grand Jupiter at Harbourside PlaceJupiter, Fla.Financial planning normally seems to be the end step once a board decides that they want to do a project. Then they start to try to figure out how they will pay for it (exist-ing capital funds, assessment to the membership, financing from an outside source, etc.). In the clubs that I have had the best success at for renovations, there has been a long term capital plan that encompasses the entire campus in-cluding every building and asset. That plan includes in it an extensive finance plan and how those funds will be accumu-lated over time and be designated for specific projects.

I see the planning for large and small projects to be essentially the same. The only difference is the time frame needed to prepare depending on the scope of the project: bidding, financing, approvals, etc. Overall the steps leading to any project, large or small, should all be consistent in order for them to be transparent to the membership.

When looking at the ROI in the club world, we look at it as something that is not a financial benefit, but rather an emotional ROI. It can be driven by the urge to “keep up with the Joneses,” a pet project of a board member or the president, or an emotional item driven from a powerful group. Very often these projects actually have a negative ROI and drive costs up.

DeSignS FoR CAPiTAl FunDingClub CFOs Advise on Financial Dos and Don'ts For Planning Capital Projects

The Bottomline 17

Chris Koepper, CPACFOCliffs Club PartnersGreenville, S.C.From the CFO perspective managing cash is the highest of priorities, so understanding how the project may impact the company cash flows is critical. When we are presented with a proposal for a design project, I usually ask how it fits into the club’s strategic plan, which you can refer to for guid-ance when approving projects. If a project is presented that does not further being able to reach the goals in your strategic plan, then you end up evaluating a project with a limited perspective.

We find that it is helpful to maintain a list of possible and scheduled capital projects that go out three to five years. When a capital project is approved for consideration, having been reviewed by appropriate management, we begin with creating a simple financial model that allows us to forecast the required capital. This model presents: any increases in revenues (if applicable); costs that will include the required initial investment and any increases to G&A/operating/personnel; and cost of capital. This allows us to understand what the payback period is and if there is a ROI.

This process was developed as a direct result of projects undertaken that did not have appropriate financial planning. With this simple spreadsheet I can now see what may be coming, and have educated our managers on their respon-sibility to “pre-inform” us of potential needs. The model is one page, simple enough that after a five or 10 minute discussion with a manager, he/she can complete it, return so we can review it together, make updates and then finalize it. This tool has allowed us to understand what exactly is being asked of us with a project and the capital commitment.

The return on a new design project depends upon the goals presented with the project. You can very easily ap-prove a project with a high return, i.e. 25 percent ROI, but that does not always indicate the best measurement. My ultimate “return” that helps me give a project the green light is: will it help me achieve long-term capital growth, will it help me create value and enhance the experience for my members and will it improve my bottom line?

To illustrate the outcome of a project with poor planning, in the Spring of 2013 we had a capital project undertaken where there was no significant financial planning, just esti-mates provided. This project was estimated to cost $205K and ended up costing $375K because all costs were not considered and the project was not managed with a budget and forecast. Had there been financial planning performed that reflected a $375K investment, we may have deferred the decision to proceed.

Alternatively, we recently completed a $50,000 rede-sign capital project at one of our clubs where we converted our Pro Shop to what we call our “Storehouse.” This new/updated venue caters beyond the golfer and encourages

members with all interests to come into the shop. Because we had taken the time to create a budget and forecast the process, we were able to stay within budget and open to rave reviews. We had involved some designers early in the project, and had we not provided the financial tools to man-age the project, we would have overspent by 200 percent.

David manglosCFOAustin Country ClubAustin, TexasWhen working on a potential design project, I would recommend getting a CFO/controller involved in every step so they get all the information as things are developed and can ask pertinent questions along the way. Boards/committees start asking about funding and assessment dollars early, so a financial funding model should be made early on. In this model, sources of funds would be current excess cash, one time member assessments, portion of new members initiation fees, monthly assessments and bank debt (to cover shortfall). For most clubs, assessments are a major source and the model will need to be built to be able to calculate funds generated for numerous scenarios. Club leaders appreciate being able to quickly run thru variables to determine what funding mechanisms to recommend to the membership.

Costs to consider as you look to develop a project are: design (both architect and interior), furniture and fixtures, equipment (kitchen, bars etc.), landscaping and the cost of shutting down operations where necessary. Contingency amounts vary, but in the beginning use higher estimates of 15 percent or more, which can be lowered as more and more gets determined.

Also consider staging for large projects by getting advice from architects on how to most efficiently split up the entire project into phases that can be completed in series as funds become available. Finally, once numbers get pretty close to being realistic, cash flow forecasts need to be completed with monthly breakdowns in order to see where there may be funding gaps or where bank financing may be needed.

For example, I arrived at my first club shortly after they found that they had run out of cash as a construction con-tract was being signed and had to scramble to obtain short term financing. In this situation, I instituted monthly cash flow forecasts. I’ve also created modeling spreadsheets that really help determine the best funding formula for assess-ments and other capital funding mechanisms.

In my experience, there are few renovation projects that have any kind of ROI. The focus is on whether the change improves member services and/or experience. The finance committee usually does not have the role to decide if a project is worthwhile, but they will insist that the funding model be achievable. ■

❘❙ Club Finance ❙❚

18 Summer 2014

CluBS AnD moBile APPS in THe yeAR 2014 | PART ii: mAKing inRoADSBy Agnes DeFranco CHAE, Ed.D. and Cristian Morosan, Ph.D.

The use of smartphones, tablets and apps is increasing in the club industry and the proper adop-

tion of mobile commerce can bring a number of benefits to both clubs, and more importantly, the members (DeFranco and Morosan, 2014; Venegas, Howton and Abrams, 2011). Analysts have also predicted that the use of IT will increase, especially in the area of social networking (Gillis, 2010) and mobile technology (Boothe, 2012). However, before the “shot gun” approach is used to implement mobile commerce or m-commerce to everyone in all types of clubs, perhaps a quick look at which groups are using mobile apps more often than others would be beneficial. With a clearer un-derstanding of the profile of these app users, the rollout of m-commerce can be more targeted and thus more effec-tive. Therefore, seven specific areas or subgroup analyses are performed to gauge the potential of m-commerce in clubs: age of members, gender of members, income level of members, member spending level, education level of members, types of clubs and club membership size.

The 737 participants ranked their mobile app usage as presented in the table at right. These uses are grouped into four areas: sports, leisure, access and communication. Reservations for tee times, tennis court, wellness and sporting equipment are grouped under Sports. Reservations for dining, events and lodging are grouped under Leisure. Access includes accessing

Top uses for mobile Apps in the Club environment

Sports Access

Reservations for tee times Make online payment/ Manage club account

Reservations for tennis court Access club’s web site

Reservations for individual wellness Access club’s social media

Reservations for sporting equipment

Leisure Communication

Reservations for dining Communicate with club staff

Reservations for events Communicate with other members

Reservations for lodging

Reservations for meeting rooms

Agnes DeFranco, Ed.D., CHAE is a professor at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel & Restaurant Management, University of Houston. She is also an HFTP Global Past President, a member of the HFTP Communication Editorial Advisory Council and a recipient of the HFTP Paragon Award. Cristian Morosan, Ph.D. is an assistant professor at the University of Houston and past speaker at the HFTP Annual Convention & Tradeshow.

The Bottomline 19

the membership account, club’s web site and club’s social media. And finally, Communication includes both com-municating with the club staff and also amongst the club membership.

Apps Are not only for the youngWhen the over 700 participants in the study are grouped by age, on one end, the under 30 group only has a bit over 80 participants and on the other end, the 61–70 and over 70 groups together have a bit over 90 participants. The big-gest group is the 31–40 age group with over 250 members responding, followed closely by the 41–50 age group with 171 members, and the 51–60 age group with 115 mem-bers. The participants were given a scale range from 1–5 to choose from, with 1 being never used the mobile device for that purpose and 5 being always use a mobile device for that purpose. An illustration of the Age analysis is shown at right, detailing the average scores of the different age groups and their use of mobile apps in sports, leisure, ac-cess and communication.

In general, the 31–40 group is the heavy user of mobile devices, leading in all four usage categories with all scores above 3.56. The 41–50 group and the under 30 group are also very similar in their access and communication usage, though the under 30 group, reporting a score of 3.26, uses mobile media more than the 41–40 group (2.93) in sports reservations. Even though one may think mobile devices are for the younger members, those who are over 60 do use their mobile devices for accessing club information and communicating with other club members and staff, more than for making sports or leisure reservations. Therefore, knowing how members are currently using mobile in what specific areas more or less can provide clubs with opportu-nities to improve current services or look into introducing new services that certain member groups value.

Battle of the SexesSo, who uses mobile apps more? Men? Women? In this study, over 57 percent of the respondents are male and about 43 percent are female. The charts to the right show that men use mobile apps more frequently than their female counterparts. And, statistically, there is a difference be-tween the sexes in sports reservations, leisure reservations and communications. The bar chart shows the difference in these three areas. Although men reported a 3.29 average for accessing the web site, account information and social media, while women reported a lower average at 3.16, sta-tistically this difference is not significant. Thus in terms of

mobile Device usage by Age

Age usage

Sports Leisure Access Comm.

Under 30 3.26 3.41 3.47 3.29

31 – 40 3.56 3.62 3.74 3.64

41 – 50 2.93 3.07 3.30 3.22

51 – 60 2.13 2.36 2.66 2.55

61 – 70 1.73 2.04 2.46 2.33

Over 70 1.21 1.36 1.58 1.68

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0

Under 30

31 – 40

41 – 50

51 – 60

61 – 70

Over 70

SportsLeisureAccess Communication

mobile Device usage by gender

Gender usage


Male 2.98 3.12 3.29 3.23

Female 2.78 2.92 3.16 2.99

Male Female

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5


mobile usage Subgroup AnalysesTo gauge the use of m-commerce in clubs, seven specific areas or subgroup analyses were performed. The over 700 participants were given a scale range from 1–5 with “1”being never use mobile devices to “5” being always use mobile devices. The following illustrations show the results for each subgroup.

❘❙ Club Technology ❙❚

20 Summer 2014

access, both genders use their mobile apps in a very similar fashion. Since female members are using mobile apps, the opportunity therefore is to perhaps tailor the apps more to the female members to increase their usage in the other three areas.

Does usage increase with one’s income level?Obviously, one reason this study is conducted is to look for ways to bring more services to club members. When members are satisfied, their loyalty to the club increases, usage of all club services and facilities follows, and thus the revenues for the club increase as well. Therefore, if the more affluent members are using the apps, they are the ones who will have more disposable income to frequent the club and spend more.

When the respondents are grouped into five income levels, the good news is that indeed, as the income level increases, generally the usage also increases with the $300,001–$500,000 income group being the heavy mobile app users. Although it drops ever so slightly for the over $500,000 group, these two high-income groups reported statistically significant different usage scores than the other three groups. In addition, the score of 3.96, 3.81 and 3.79 are the highest thus far being reported. As with age and gender, members still ranked “access” as the highest usage. Undoubtedly, the access to membership accounts and web site perhaps are the two very first functions that members are familiar with for a while. Therefore, while clubs need to be sure they meet and even exceed the needs and wishes of their members, they may also want to conduct some focus groups with their members and see what other mobile application services their members may enjoy. And, since access is an important component, clubs need to always make sure that the clubs' web sites are updated with correct information and that the account information and balance are always accurate.

The Big SpendersWhile is it good to know that members who are in the higher income brackets are using mobile apps, their spend-ing patterns are still unknown. Thus, clubs may also want to know if their top spenders are or are not heavy users of mobile apps. With that knowledge, they can cater to these members or increase their spending via apps. The charts at right categorize the usage scores by averaging the spending level of the members per visit at the clubs. These demon-strate some very encouraging results. As seen in the table, in every usage group, from sports to communication, as the spending level increases, the usage increases; and the scores of 3.92, 4.00, 4.03 and 4.07 are the highest reported usage scores in this entire study. This suggests that there is a correlation between using mobile apps and spending. The bar chart characterizes this phenomenon graphically. It may very well be that members are used to e-commerce and now m-commerce is opening another method for members to

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0

<$100K

$100K– $200K

$200K– $300K

$300K– $500K

>$500K

SportsLeisureAccess Comm.

mobile Device usage by Spending level

Spending usage


None 1.57 1.68 1.97 1.62

$1 – $50 1.85 2.00 2.39 2.29

$51 – $100 2.97 3.08 3.34 3.29

$101 – $200 3.27 3.42 3.60 3.44

$201 – $500 3.76 3.91 3.91 3.90

>$500 3.92 4.07 4.03 4.00

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0

None

$1–$50

$51– $100

$101–$200

$201–$500

>$500

mobile Device usage by income level

Income usage


< $100K 2.64 2.69 3.11 2.80

$100K – $200K 2.52 2.70 2.96 2.83

$200K – $300K 3.03 3.19 3.31 3.32

$300K – $500K 3.79 3.81 3.96 3.79

> $500K 3.69 3.72 3.78 3.72


The Bottomline 21

expend their disposable income to enjoy quality time with friends and family. If making a luncheon reservation or tee time is as easy as clicking a couple of buttons on one’s mo-bile device, members may be more apt to commit to more events, play more rounds of golf, get together with friends for a card game, etc. This means clubs may want to market more via mobile devices in addition to the normal channels such as a monthly newsletter via mail or e-mail. Rather, e-mail or e-newsletters with links for members to make reservations and such provide easier methods to connect members to club activities and services.

Technology and educationSince members need to learn how to use technology before actually using this technology, some may posit that educa-tion level correlates to mobile app usage in that members who are more educated will use mobile apps more often. This cannot be further away from the truth — education does not correlate to m-commerce or mobile app usage.

The 700 plus respondents reported very similar scores when they are grouped into various level of education. The only group that behaves differently from all others is the one that has doctoral, medical, law or other professional degrees. It is perhaps that the professions they are in that are more prone to the use of mobile devices. Yet there are many corporate executives and managers who have other degrees who are also expected to be linked to their mobile devices at all times. Thus, the conclusion of technology and education does not shed much light on the club industry.

golf and Country Clubs — The Biggest users?Of the different types of clubs in this study, golf and coun-try clubs make up about 47 percent of the respondents, with city/athletic clubs in second at about 32 percent. An initial assumption would be since these two types of clubs make up almost 80 percent of the study, then they must also be frequent users of mobile apps, especially when it comes to making reservations for tee time or sports court. The big-gest or the most frequent user of mobile apps, however, are members of gated or community clubs. While this group only represents 13 percent of the sample, their usage scores are the highest in sports, leisure and access, and are only second to the yacht club members in communication. Per-haps in a gated community, members feel activities in such clubs are more a part of the fabric of their lives and thus are more connected with the club via mobile apps and other means. Of all the subgroup analyses, this is the one that can drive home a clear message to the specific type of clubs. For golf and country clubs, while usage is above the aver-age of 3, access and communications are what members are using their mobile apps for. The scores of 3.03 to 3.36 leave a lot of room for clubs to look into ways for improve-ments. As mobile technology is here to stay, for clubs who want to be in the forefront, they will capture more of the members’ resources. Target marketing is important. A quick

mobile Device usage by education level

Education usage


High School 2.39 2.63 2.89 2.78

Bachelor's 2.64 2.78 3.04 2.90

Master's 2.91 3.06 3.20 3.19

Doctoral or Equivalent 3.60 3.66 3.80 3.66

Others 2.25 2.72 3.15 2.63

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0

High School

Bachelor's

Master's

Doctoral or Equivalent

Others

mobile Device usage by Club Type

Club usage


Golf/Country 3.03 3.18 3.36 3.30

Gated Community 3.19 3.20 3.38 3.32

City/Athletic 2.68 2.83 3.08 2.85

Yacht 2.90 2.97 3.32 3.50

Others 1.79 2.46 2.52 2.06

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5

Golf/Country

Gated Community

City/Athletic

Yacht

Others

SportsLeisureAccess Comm.


22 Summer 2014


and short e-mail message to members with an embedded link for them to simply click and make a reservation for a July 4 party with their family and friends is a lot easier that members need to wait till they receive the monthly newslet-ter via snail mail, then having to call and e-mail someone at the club in order to make a reservation. Mobile apps developed specifically for a club is even better and can be programmed to be as target specific and convenient as pos-sible. We all need to use technology to our advantage.

Bigger Clubs = more Technology = more usage?Another assumption in general business is that the bigger the business, the more technology will be used, and thus more mobile app usage will be recorded. Well, again, this is a fallacy. The club industry is a business, but it is a business about a special group of people — your members, people who are like family members, who are set in their ways, who like to be catered to and be taken care of, and your club is an extension of their home. Club members, like all people are also learning all the new technologies that were not available to them even five years ago, let alone when they were teenagers growing up. Thus, the size of clubs is not correlated to the use of mobile apps of the members. The 31–40 age group, as seen before, is leading the pack in usage; so are the professionals, and so is the male gender. But, again, how about the size of the clubs?

It can be said that the smaller clubs (less than 300 mem-bers) and the larger clubs (over 1,000 members) behave similarly. The same can be said for clubs that have 301–650 members and those that have 651–1,000 members. Thus, it seems when size is of the matter, there are two distinct groups. One strategy perhaps is for the small and mega clubs to see why mobile apps are not used more frequently, as these apps do help save time, resources and definitely provide an alternative venue for members to do business and interact with the club.

mobile Apps, good investment?From many research and opinion pieces shared by club executives, consultants and academicians, one thing is for certain. Club members do have the intention to increase their usage of mobile devices to complete transactions and search for information. Ease of use and access, together with security and operational knowledge, are some key factors for the increase of using mobile apps in the future.

Even in a business where personal service is key, personal service delivered via technology is the key to the future. Our future is not the age 50+ members, our future is in the 31–50 group. The young professionals in the below 30 age group are also joining more city and athletic clubs close to their work and eventually may become or change to country and golf club members. This age group has grown up with technology. Some are born with a mouse in one hand and a mobile phone in the other. Thus, the club industry, like its hotel and airline counterparts, is looking more into technol-ogy to keep in touch with their members. Mobile apps is the future. Let us make it our present. ■Acknowledgement: This study is partially supported by HFTP.

References• Boothe, B. (2012). The Times They are A-changin’, The

Boardroom, 1, 84–85.• DeFranco, A., & Morosan C. (2014). Clubs and Mobile

Apps in the Year 2014. The Bottomline, 29(2), 30–34.• Gillis, B. (2010). Social Net: Cornerstone of the Club

Industry. Club Director, Summer 2010, 22-25.• Venegas, T., Howton, J., & Abrams, J. (2011). Club

Technology Resources Needs. The Bottomline, 26(6), 10–16.

mobile Device usage by Club Size

Members usage


<300 2.69 2.85 3.04 3.09

301–650 3.04 3.19 3.37 3.25

651–1,000 2.95 3.01 3.31 3.12

Over 1,000 2.44 2.66 2.85 2.72

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5

<300

301–650

651–1,000

Over 1,000

Clubs and mobile Apps: Three-part SeriesThis is a three-part report based on a study conducted by the authors. Look for the first report, "Part 1: Today's Technologies" in The Bottomline Spring issue, Volume 29, Issue 2; and final report in the forthcoming issue of The Bottomline. Part 3 will look at how the club and hotel industries are using mobile apps.

HFTP's Biannual

Compensation & Benefits

Survey Report

The 2014 HFTP Compensation and Benefits Survey was developed to provide information on salaries and benefits, and to provide a profile of accounting/finance and technology professionals in the hospitality industry. The information in this survey is intended for several purposes including salary comparisons, budgeting processes, staff-ing guidelines, contract negotiation and benefits standards.

The 2014 survey was distributed in February 2014 to the HFTP membership and nonmembers affiliated with HFTP. Many segments of the HFTP membership received the survey including princi-

pal, agent, education, allied, industry, apprentice, student, retired and complimentary members who have agreed to receive electronic communication. The nonmembers receiving the survey held hotel, club and casino positions in Asia and Europe. In total, 300 individuals accessed the survey and 252 respondents completed the entire survey.

In the pages that follow, a summary of the survey results is provided in charts and tables with supplemental text explanation. Sub-group analysis is also presented by job title and industry segment. If you have any comments or questions please contact the HFTP Research Institute.

By Tanya Venegas

Tanya Venegas is executive director and HFTP Fellow at the HFTP Research Institute based at the Conrad N. Hilton College, University of Houston. She can be reached [email protected].

24 Summer 2014

Respondent Profile

In the 2014 HFTP Compensation and Benefits Survey, respondents were asked a series of questions pertaining to the property/company for which they work in addition to job-related information. For the purposes of this survey, it is important to gather information such as hospitality industry segment, job title and prior positions to properly analyze the data and make accurate comparisons.

Hospitality industry SegmentRespondents were first asked to provide information about the segment of the hospitality industry in which they work. Just over half (50.7 percent) of those responding to this sur-vey worked for a club or club management company. The second largest group of responses came from those work-ing at lodging properties (39.9 percent). This was a slightly lower response rate from the lodging segment than received in the past (45 percent in 2012). The types of properties which made up the lodging segment included: casinos/riverboat casinos, conference/convention centers, hotels, hotel management companies, resorts and hotel franchisors. Combined together, the club and lodging segments account-ed for 90.6 percent of all responses to the 2014 Survey. The types of establishments which made up the other 9.4 percent of responses included: consulting firms, CPA firms, educational establishments, restaurants, suppliers, tour operators and IT solution providers.

Job TitleIndividuals with the title of controller/comptroller made up the largest group of respondents (37 percent) to the survey followed by those with the following titles: director of finance (10.7 percent), chief financial officer (7.7 percent) and assistant controller (6.7 percent). In addition, the great-est number of responses came from those with account-ing and finance positions (78.7 percent). It is interesting to note, that the number of responses from those with the title of controller/comptroller has been trending downward through the years while the title of chief financial officer has been trending upward, especially in the club arena. At a distant second, responses from those with technology posi-tions accounted for 10 percent of responses. These posi-tions included such titles as IT director (4.3 percent), direc-tor of finance/IT (0.7 percent) and vice president of infor-mation systems (0.7 percent). These numbers are consistent with the 2012 survey when 10.3 percent of responses came from individuals with technology positions. The number of job titles that currently fall under the category of “Other” account for nearly 15 percent of all responses. These titles included positions such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, assistant IT director, chief information officer, human resources manager, IT consultant, project manager and staff accountant. There is likely a two-fold reason for the increase in respondents with such diverse titles. First of

Hospitality Industry Segment

Consulting Firm, 1.7%Education, 1.7%

Club Mgmt Co, 1.3%

Club, 49%

Hotel, 18.3%

Hotel Mgmt Co, 10%

Resort, 7.3%

Other, 8.3%

Casino / River Boat Casino, 2.3%

Job Title

all, HFTP as an organization continues to expand and in-clude individuals outside the constraints of just the primary accounting, finance or technology professional. Now, the membership includes individuals holding positions such as accounts payable clerks, accounts receivable clerks, staff accountants, as well as many other entry or mid-level staff positions. The second possible reason is likely due to the specialization of many positions such as director of hu-man resources and compensation, director of planning and analysis, and technology relationship manager.

Asst. Controller, 6.7%

IT Director, 4.3%

Accounting Mgr, 4%

Note: Job titles with less than a 2 percent response rate were categorized as Other.

Controller/Comptroller,

37%

Other, 25%

Dir of Finance,

10.7% CFO, 7.7%

Corp Controller, 2.7%VP Finance, 2%

❘❙ 2014 Compensation & Benefits Survey Report ❙❚

The Bottomline 25

Prior PositionsAs expected, most of the responses came from those who held prior positions in the accounting and finance areas (82.6 percent). The greatest number of responses came from those holding the prior position of controller comptroller (28.3 percent), followed by assistant controller (17 per-cent) and director of finance (11.7 percent). These statistics provide a promising trend. The number of those holding the prior position of assistant controller decreased from 17 percent to only 6.7 percent in current positions (10.3 percent

decrease). These individuals moved into higher level posi-tions such as controller/comptroller and director of finance. Respondents holding prior positions in technology account-ed for 7.3 percent of responses. This number increased to 10 percent in current positions, so there were several individu-als that moved from other types of positions into the tech-nology arena. Other prior positions included: auditor (2.4 percent), corporate controller (4 percent), general manager (1.6 percent) and IT director (4 percent).

Demographic information

The survey was distributed to both members and nonmembers affiliated with HFTP. Many of these individuals are members of organizations allied with HFTP. In total, 96 percent of responses (242 respondents) to the 2014 Survey were from HFTP members leaving only 4 percent of responses from nonmembers. These statistics were nearly the same as in 2012 when 96.9 percent of responses came from the HFTP membership.

genderOften, it is interesting to analyze compensation data by gen-der to determine if there are any major differences between the groups. For this reason, respondents to the survey were asked to provide this information. Overall, slightly more females (51.4 percent, 127 responses) responded to the sur-vey than males (48.6 percent, 120 responses). This differs from surveys in the past where there were typically more male respondents. In the three most recent surveys, men accounted for 56.1 percent (2012), 58.2 percent (2010) and 56 percent (2008) of the responses. It is interesting to note, that when broken out by industry, there were more female respondents in the club industry (63.2 percent female) than the lodging industry (37.2 percent female). In addition, there was a far greater number of male respondents (78.9 percent) in the technology field than female respondents (21.1 percent).

Age RangeAge, by itself, is not necessarily a factor when it comes to compensation, but it can often be associated with work experience which may have an impact. When analyzed by age, the greatest number of responses came from those who fall in the 45 – 54 age range (39 percent, 97 responses). Most of the age ranges have remained nearly unchanged from 2012. There was a slight decrease in the number of responses in the 45 – 54 age range (2012: 42 percent, 2014: 39 percent). Increases were seen in the responses in the under 25 age group (2012: 0 percent, 2014: 1.2 percent) and 25 – 34 age group (2012: 7 percent, 2014: 10.4 percent). By having an increase in responses from the younger age groups, it helps to better understand compensation levels at that stage in a hospitality financial/technology profes-sional’s career.

Gender

Age Range

Female, 51%

Male, 49%

Over 64, 3.6%Under 25, 1.2%45 – 54, 39%

55 – 64, 24.5%

35 – 44, 21.3%

25 to 34, 10.4%


26 Summer 2014

geographic locationOverall, 94.6 percent of responses came from individuals working in North America (Canada: 4.7 percent, United States: 89.9 percent). This number is slightly lower than in 2012 when 97.6 percent of all responses came from North America. As HFTP reaches out to new international markets and establishes chapters around the world, the trend towards more international respondents will be expected to increase dramatically. Responses were also received from individu-als in the following countries: Australia, Bonaire, China, Georgia, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Ke-nya, Mexico, Thailand, The Netherlands, and Trinidad and Tobago. For respondents from the United States, responses have been categorized into regions for analysis purposes. Regional breakdown is provided for club and hotel respon-dents. For the regions with more than 10 responses, spe-cialized reports can be requested by contacting the HFTP Research Institute.

Region Clubs Lodging

New England 7.5% 4%

Middle Atlantic 12.2% 7.9%

South Atlantic 36.1% 18.8%

East North Central 10.9% 8.9%

East South Central 3.4% 6.9%

West North Central 4.1% 3%

West South Central 6.8% 15.8%

Mountain 3.4% 7.9%

Pacific 15.6% 26.7%

Demographic information continued.


The Bottomline 27

employer Profile

number of Full-Time equivalents (FTes)The size and complexity of an operation can often be determined by the number of employees it takes to operate the business on a daily basis. Respondents working for organizations with 51–100 FTEs made up the largest group of responses (26.6 percent), followed by 101–200 employees (21.8 percent) and 201–500 employees (21.4 percent). As to be expected, a very small portion of responses came from respondents with less than 10 employees (2.4 percent) and more than 1,000 employees (6.7 percent).

IndustryLess

than 10 10–25 26–50 51–100 101–200 201–500501–1,000

Morethan 1000

Overall 2.4% 4.8% 10.7% 26.6% 21.8% 21.4% 5.6% 6.7%

Casino / Riverboat Casino 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 17% 0% 83%

Club 4% 4% 17% 41% 23% 11% 0% 0%

Club Management Co. 0% 0% 0% 50% 50% 0% 0% 0%

Conference / Convention Center 0% 0% 0% 0% 67% 33% 0% 0%

Hotel 0% 11% 4% 4% 24% 43% 9% 4%

Hotel Management Co. 3% 7% 3% 7% 10% 24% 17% 28%

Resorts 0% 0% 0% 10% 19% 43% 24% 5%

number of employees SupervisedOver 50 percent of responses came from individuals that supervised between two and five employees. Those individuals supervising three to five employees accounted for 31.7 percent of the responses and 21 per-cent of responses came from those supervising two employees. It is interesting to analyze the distribution by industry segment. Club respondents tended to supervise fewer employees, averaging between two and five employees (65.7 percent). On average, managers at lodging properties/companies supervised three to five employees (hotel: 34.1 percent, hotel management company: 20.7 percent). Resorts averaged slightly higher, with 57.1 percent of resort respondents supervising between three and 10 staff members.

Industry 0 1 2 3–5 6–10 11–15 16–20 21–30More

than 30

Overall 13.9% 10.3% 21% 31.7% 13.1% 5.6% 1.6% 0.4% 2.4%

Casino / Riverboat Casino 50% 0% 0% 16.7% 0% 16.7% 0% 0% 16.7%

Club 8.4% 15.4% 30.1% 35.7% 8.4% 1.4% 0% 0.7% 0%

Club Management Co. 0% 25% 25% 25% 25% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Conference / Convention Center 0% 0% 0% 0% 33.3% 66.7% 0% 0% 0%

Hotel 18.2% 0% 11.4% 34.1% 18.2% 11.4% 2.3% 0% 4.5%

Hotel Management Co. 31% 3.4% 6.9% 20.7% 17.2% 10.3% 3.4% 0% 6.9%

Resorts 4.8% 9.5% 9.5% 28.6% 28.6% 4.8% 9.5% 0% 4.8%


28 Summer 2014

employer Profile continued.

number of employees in the Accounting/Finance DepartmentIn the accounting/finance department, the greatest num-ber of responses came from those with between three and five employees (42.2 percent). When added together, most respondents worked at a property or for an organization that had between two and 10 accounting/finance employees (78.9 percent). When analyzed by industry segment, clubs tended to have three to five accounting/finance employ-ees (52.1 percent), while conference/convention centers (66.7 percent) and hotels (45.7 percent) had slightly larger staff sizes averaging between six and 10 employees. Even though most respondents (72.3 percent) indicated being responsible for the employees in the accounting finance department; the number of staff in the accounting/finance department averaged higher than the number of employees supervised. For example, the greatest number of responses from those working at hotel properties stated there were six to 10 employees in the accounting/finance department, but the majority of hotel respondents indicated that they only supervised three to five employees. The same phenomenon happened in the club segment. Overall, 52.1 percent of club respondents indicated there were three to five employees in the accounting/finance department and 35.7 percent oversee three to five employees.

Industry 1 2 3 to 5 6 to 10 11 to 15 16 to 20 21 to 30More

than 30

Overall 7.6% 20.3% 42.2% 16.3% 6.0% 2.8% 0.8% 4%

Casino/Riverboat Casino 0% 0% 0% 0% 16.7% 16.7% 0% 66.7%

Club 11.4% 28.6% 52.1% 6.4% 0.7% 0.7% 0% 0%

Club Management Company 25% 0% 50% 25% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Conference/Convention Center 0% 0% 33.3% 66.7% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Hotel 4.3% 13% 26.1% 45.7% 4.3% 0% 2.2% 4.3%

Hotel Management Company 0% 10.3% 37.9% 6.9% 24.1% 6.9% 3.4% 10.3%

Resort 0% 9.5% 28.6% 28.6% 19% 14.3% 0% 0%

Employees in Finance/Accounting Department

Over 20 Employees, 5%

1 Employee, 8%

2 Employees, 20%

3 – 5 Employees, 42%




The Bottomline 29

number of employees in the iT DepartmentOverall, 35.7 percent of respondents stated being re-sponsible for employees in the IT department. The trend remains that most club properties do not employ an IT person at the property level (50.3 percent). Lodging properties are slightly ahead of their club counterparts with 34.5 percent employing at least one IT person at the property level. Overall, 35 percent of respondents indicated that their property/company does not employ an IT person and 33.9 percent of respondents have one person responsible for all IT requirements.

Employees in Technology Department

6–10 Employees, 4%

Over 10 Employees, 6%

0 Employees, 35%

1 Employee, 34%

2 Employees, 12%

3 –5 Employees, 9%

Industry 0 1 2 3 to 5 6 to 10More

than 10

Overall 35% 33.9% 12.2% 9.1% 4.3% 5.5%

Casino/Riverboat Casino 0% 0% 0% 16.7% 0% 83.3%

Club 51% 35.7% 7.7% 3.5% 2.1% 0%

Club Management Company 25% 25% 0% 0% 50% 0%

Conference/Convention Center 0% 33.3% 33.3% 0% 0% 33.3%

Hotel 23.9% 39.1% 19.6% 13% 4.3% 0%

Hotel Management Company 3.4% 34.5% 20.7% 20.7% 3.4% 17.2%

Resort 14.3% 23.8% 19% 19% 14.3% 9.5%


30 Summer 2014

Average annual company/property revenues are often an indicator of the size and complexity of an organization. Since the 2014 Survey was distributed to individuals around the world, it was important to distinguish in what currencies each respondent was reporting. As expected, the greatest majority reported revenues and salary information in U.S. Dollars (92.3 percent). Other currencies included Canadian Dollars (4.7 percent), Euros (1 percent), Australian Dollars, Chinese Yuan, Indian Rupee, Indonesian Rupiah, Jamaican Dollar and Thai Bhat.

Annual Revenues and

Tax Status

Respondents to the 2014 Survey are divided into two major revenue categories. Clubs tended to fall between $1 million and $10 million in revenues, while their larger lodging counterparts ranged from $10 million to more than $25 mil-lion. Resorts are interesting because they are separated into two groups. Twenty percent earned between $2.5 million and $5 million and then 26.7 percent earned greater than $25 million. Obviously, the complexity and potential earn-ings of a resort can vary greatly depending on the size and offerings at the property.

Respondents were also asked to provide information on the tax status for their company. Tax status can have an im-

pact on the company, how it operates and how employees are compensated. Overall, 41.9 percent of responses came from individuals at for profit organizations; followed by not-for-profit, taxable (37.6 percent); and not-for-profit, tax exempt organizations (20.5 percent). These numbers mean much more when analyzed by industry segment. When looking solely at the lodging segment, 89.2 percent of re-sponses came from for profit organizations, while the exact opposite was true of clubs. Eighty-six percent of responses from clubs came from not-for-profit organizations (not-for-profit, tax exempt: 57.3 percent; not-for-profit, taxable: 28.7 percent).

Annual Revenues

Industry Less

than

$5

00,0

00

$500

,000

to

$1,0

00,0

00

$1,0

00,0

01 to

$2

,500

,000

$2,5

00,0

01 to

$5

,000

,000

$5,0

00,0

01 to

$7

,500

,000

$7,5

00,0

01 to

$1

0,00

0,00

0

$10,

000,

001

to

$15,

000,

000

$15,

000,

001

to

$20,

000,

000

$20,

000,

001

to

$25,

000,

000

Mor

e th

an

$25,

000,

000

Overall 0.4% 0.4% 3.5% 17.7% 16.9% 12.6% 9.8% 9.4% 5.5% 23.6%

Casino/Riverboat Casino 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 100%

Club 1.4% 5.1% 20.3% 31.9% 11.6% 21.7% 4.3% 2.2% 0.7% 0.7%

Club Management Company 0% 0% 25% 0% 25% 25% 0% 0% 0% 25%

Conference/Convention Center 0% 0% 0% 0% 66.7% 0% 33.3% 0% 0% 0%

Hotel 7.3% 4.9% 4.9% 2.4% 2.4% 14.6% 17.1% 17.1% 12.2% 17.1%

Hotel Management Company 0% 0% 0% 3.7% 7.4% 14.8% 14.8% 7.4% 3.7% 48.1%

Resort 0% 0% 0% 20% 6.7% 13.3% 13.3% 13.3% 6.7% 26.7%

0 20 40 60 80 100

For Profit

Not-for-profit, Tax Exempt

Not-for-profit, Taxable

Tax Status

Overall

Lodging

Club

41.9% 37.6% 20.5%

14% 57.3% 28.7%

89.2%

3.6% 7.2%


The Bottomline 31

Job Responsibilities

Departments Supervised by RespondentsOften, a job title alone does not necessarily indicate the complexity of job responsibilities. It is expected that the controller/comptroller would be responsible for the ac-counting/finance department, but sometimes this individual is responsible for other areas such as IT, administrative/office staff, human resources, etc. For this reason, survey participants were asked to indicate which departments they supervised. Overall, the majority (72.3 percent) indicated they are in charge of the accounting/finance department, 35.7 percent indicated they are in charge of the technology department, 29 percent have oversight in human resources, and 23 percent of respondents are in charge of the adminis-trative and clerical staff. To better understand the breakdown of responsibilities by industry segment, the data was broken out for those working at club and lodging properties. It is interesting to note that responsibilities differ by industry with those holding positions at clubs responsible for mul-tiple departments, while their lodging counterparts are more focused on accounting/finance (64.5 percent), purchasing (28.1 percent) and IT (31.4 percent) functions. At club prop-erties, respondents supervised the following departments: accounting/finance (92.1 percent), administrative/office staff (35.1 percent), human resources (50.3 percent) and IT (45.7 percent). Other departments supervised included: front office/rooms, internal audit, membership, revenue manage-ment, risk management and telecommunications.

executive Committee Participation and Purchasing DecisionThe survey also included questions pertaining to participa-tion on the executive committee and the respondent’s role in the buying decision process at their property/company. The number of respondents participating on the execu-tive committee has slowly trended downward. In the 2012 survey, 50 percent of respondents participated on the execu-tive committee and in 2014 that number shifted downward to only 44.6 percent. When analyzed by industry, lodging properties have the greatest amount of individuals on the executive committee. Sixty-six percent of respondents from hotels sit on the executive committee followed by 55 percent working for resort properties. Participation of respondents at resort properties has fluctuated through the years. In 2010, 78.6 percent of resort respondents partici-pated on the executive committee. In 2012, this number dropped to only 45 percent and now it has rebounded to 55

Survey participants were asked a series of questions related to their job responsibilities such as departments supervised, executive committee participation, role in the buying decision and number of hours worked per week.

Club Lodging Overall

Accounting/Finance 92.1% 64.5% 72.3%

Admin/Office Staff 35.1% 12.4% 23%

Human Resources 50.3% 9.1% 29%

Purchasing 15.2% 28.1% 19%

Security 6.6% 3.3% 4.7%

Technology 45.7% 31.4% 35.7%

Departments Supervised by Respondents

By Industry By Job Title

Clubs 36.3% CFO 65.2%

Hotels 65.9% Controller 44.3%

Hotel Mgmt Co 46.4% Corp Controller 50%

Resorts 55% Dir of Finance 83.3%

IT Director 30%

Sit on Executive Committee

Role in the Buying Decision

Not Involved, 17.2%

Final Decision-Maker, 6.9%

Financial Advice, 20.7%

First Level of Approval,

20.7%

Research & Recommend, 5.5%

Team Management, 14.5%

Technical & Financial Advice, 0.7%

Technical Advice, 13.8%


32 Summer 2014

percent. Executive committee participation analysis was also conducted by job title. The number of controllers on the executive committee has remained consistent since the last compensation and benefits survey in 2012 (2012: 45.2 percent, 2014: 44.3 percent). The position with the highest number of respondents participating on the executive com-mittee remains to be the director of finance (2012: 94.3 per-cent, 2014: 83.3 percent). Information technology directors have gained some ground with an increase from 20 percent participation rate in 2012 to 30 percent in 2014.

Survey participants were also asked to provide informa-tion on their role in the buying decision process. Overall, 82.8 percent of respondents participated in the buying decision process. This is a 10 percent drop from 2012 when 92.9 percent of respondents played a role in the buying process. Continuing the trend from previous surveys, the largest groups of responses came from those with the first level of approval (20.7 percent) and those that provided both technical and financial advice (20.7 percent).

Hours Worked per Week The average work week for respondents in the 2014 Survey was 50.45 hours per week. This is slightly lower than the 51.5 hours reported in 2012. The minimum work week reported in 2014 was eight hours and the longest average work week was 80 hours.

When analyzed by job title, those with the longest work week were educators (56.67 hours) and IT directors (55.56 hours). The shortest work weeks reported were for the positions of assistant controller (47.85 hours) and general manager (46.67 hours). When analyzed by industry, those working for a hotel management company had the longest average work week at 53.85 hours, which is just slightly higher than the next longest work week reported by those at club management companies (53.75 hours). The short-est work weeks were for those at clubs (48.86 hours) and casinos (48.07 hours). Overall, the majority of positions experienced a decrease in the average work week from previous surveys.

Time Working at the office, Home and TravelingRespondents were also asked to provide the percentage of time they spent working at the office, at home, traveling and other. Overall, 75.2 percent of the respondents’ time is spent working at the office, 14.4 percent at home, 7.3 percent spent traveling and 3.3 percent working in other places. When analyzed by industry, clubs and resorts both spent a similar amount of time in the office (club: 82.1 percent, resort: 82.6 percent), working from home (club: 11.4 percent, resort: 10.5 percent) and traveling (club: 5.1 percent, resort: 6.8 percent). Those working for hotel management companies spent the greatest amount of time working away from the office (home: 16.4 percent, travel: 9.4 percent), which totaled 32.5 percent of their time. Hotel respondents were close behind with 29.6 percent of their work week spent away from the office.

Job Title Average No. of Hours

Accounting Manager 50.56

Assistant Controller 47.85

CFO 50.98

Controller/Comptroller 49.54

Corporate Controller 50.63

Director of Finance 51.83

Educator 56.67

General Manager 46.67

IT Director 55.56

Regional Controller 48.75

VP Finance 53.40

Hours Worked per Week by Job Title

Hours Worked per Week by Industry

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Casino/ Riverboat Casino

Club

Club Mgmt Co

Education

Hotel

Hotel Mgmt Co

Resort

48.07

48.86

53.75

52.50

53.49

53.85

49.94

Time Working at the Office, Home and Traveling

0 20 40 60 80 100

Resorts

Hotel Mgmt Co

Hotels

Clubs

Home Office Travel Other

10.5% 82.6% 6.8%

16.4% 67.5% 9.4%

16.6% 70.4% 8.6%

11.4% 82.1%

5.1% 1.4%

4.4%

6.7%


The Bottomline 33

Average Compensation 2012 – 2014On average, individuals responding to this survey projected that they will earn $95,996 in 2014. Respondent salaries nearly grew $7,000 over the three year time span reported. It is interesting to note that the majority of the increase was from 2012 – 2013 when salaries expanded $6,548. From 2013 to 2014, respondents only projected an increase of $291 in their base salary. Increases in deferred compensation averaged $1,061 from 2012 – 2013 and are projected to increase $605 from 2013 – 2014. Seventy-five percent of respondents specified they received an annual bonus which was an increase from the 73 percent reported in the 2012 Survey. From 2012 – 2013 bonuses increased $3,468 from $11,017 in 2012 to $14,485 in 2014. When added together, total compensation (salary, deferred and bonus) increased $11,973 from 2012 – 2014 yielding an overall compensation of $121,806 in 2014.

Compensation

0 20 40 60 80 100

Salary Deferred Bonus

2014

2013

2012

$14,485

$95,996

$11,325

$12,654

$95,705

$10,720

$11,017

$89,157

$9,659

Club: Salary and Compensation

Job TitleBase

SalaryDeferred

Comp Bonus

2014Accounting Mgr $85,115

Assistant Controller $64,174 $5,640

CFO $126,618 $4,209 $21,535

Controller / Comptroller $90,285 $7,831 $8,544

Dir of Finance $110,289 $13,393



CFO $120,237 $4,086 $19,592


Dir of Finance $108,058 $13,679



CFO $114,252 $3,858 $14,272


Dir of Finance $104,176 $12,071

*Gray shaded boxes indicate categories with less than 3 responses.


Job TitleBase

SalaryDeferred

Comp Bonus

2014

Accounting Mgr $61,625



Corporate Controller $100,000 $17,250

Dir of Finance $111,253 $22,509 $24,911

IT Director $94,357 $6,000

2013





Dir of Finance $108,108 $21,594 $24,944

IT Director $89,000 $5,340

2012





Dir of Finance $101,837 $19,345 $20,731

IT Director $81,857 $3,875

Lodging: Salary and Compensation

34 Summer 2014


Salaries for Certification HoldersIt is often speculated that individuals holding industry certifications earn more than their counterparts without certifications. An argument is often posed whether it is the certification that allows the individual to earn a higher salary or that the type of person who strives for industry certifications is simply a higher achiever. Either way, this survey proves that those with financial, accounting and technology certifications in the 2014 Survey earned more than their non-certified counterparts.

Respondents to the survey held various industry related designations such as the Certified Hospitality Accoun-tant Executive (CHAE), Certified Hospitality Technology Professional (CHTP) and the Certified Public Accoun-tant (CPA). Overall, the number of respondents holding professional designations decreased from 48.3 percent in 2012 to 30.7 percent in 2014. Of those responding to the 2014 Survey, 28.2 percent indicated they have the Certified Hospitality Accountant Executive (CHAE) designation. This was an increase from 2012 when 22.7 percent of the total respondents held the CHAE designation. The positions with the greatest percentage of respondents holding the CHAE designation included: auditors (33.3 percent), chief financial officers (47.8 percent), consultants (40 percent), directors of finance (34.4 percent), educators (75 percent) and regional controllers (75 percent).

The other major designation provided by HFTP is the CHTP. Overall, 8.3 percent of respondents held the CHTP designation which was higher than in the 2012 survey (6.4 percent). Those individuals with the CHTP designation have the following job titles: assistant controller, chief financial officer, consultant, controller/comptroller, director of finance, educator, general manager and IT director. The number of respondents with the CPA designation increased from 16 per-cent in 2012 to 19.8 percent in 2014. Upper-level accounting professionals such as chief financial officers (65.2 percent), controller/comptrollers (18.9 percent), corporate controllers (25 percent), regional controllers (50.0 percent) and vice presidents of finance (33.3 percent) tended to have the great-est percentage of respondents holding the CPA designation. Other designations noted in the survey included the Certi-fied Management Accountant (CMA), Certified Hospitality Administrator (CHA), Certified Hospitality Educator (CHE) and Community Association Manager (CAM).

Respondents with a professional designation earned more than their counterparts without certifications. Over-all, the highest paid group included those with the CHAE and the CHTP designations who were projected to earn $136,447 in 2014. The second highest paid group were those with both the CHAE and CPA designations who indicated they will earn $113,746 in 2014. Respondents with the CHAE and CHTP designations averaged a $20,000 higher salary than those with any other combination of cer-tifications. This trend is very positive for those with HFTP certifications.

Salaries for Certification Holders

2014 2013 2012

All Respondents

None $87,712 $90,823 $80,318

CHAE $103,375 $100,523 $95,742

CPA $105,798 $99,746 $95,639

CHAE & CPA $113,746 $109,625 $105,976

CHTP $103,686 $100,729 $97,357

CHAE & CHTP $136,447 $132,054 $131,929

Controller/Comptroller

None $92,001 $88,250 $85,692

CHAE $101,885 $98,209 $94,300

CPA $94,065 $89,033 $82,820

CHAE &CPA $103,600 $99,500 $95,533

CHAE & CHTP $123,316 $123,087 $120,687

IT Salaries

None $87,410 $81,210 $74,750

CHTP $103,686 $100,729 $97,357

When analyzing individual positions, the combination of the CHAE and CHTP certifications made the greatest impact on controller/comptroller salaries with those holding these designations earning $123,316. This salary is over $30,000 more than their counterparts without designations ($92,001). In addition, those with only the CPA designation earned less than their counterparts with a CHAE, CHTP or a combination of the two. That seems to be an indica-tion that the hospitality industry holds the CPA in high esteem, but that the CHAE and CHTP provide a special-ization which sets those with these designations apart. In the past, IT director salaries were compared. In the 2014 Survey, there were not enough responses from IT directors with and without certifications to make a comparison. A general comparison was done for all respondents holding IT positions. Again, those with certifications tended to aver-age a higher annual salary than their counterparts without certifications.

The Bottomline 35

Bonus DeterminationIndividuals responding to this survey were asked a series of questions on bonuses. Nearly the same number of respon-dents to the 2014 Survey received bonuses as in the 2012 Survey (2014: 73.5 percent, 2012: 73.2 percent). In general, bonuses for those responding to this survey were based on subjective criteria (55.7 percent) versus objective criteria (44.3 percent). This is a break from previous surveys where bonuses were primarily based on objective criteria (2012: 70.7 percent, 2010: 52 percent). Respondents were also asked to provide the specific sources (or basis) for their bonuses. The greatest number of respondents indicated that their bonus was based on board/executive committee deci-sion (39.7 percent), followed by meeting budgeted goals (31.7 percent) and meeting personal goals (23.0 percent). This is a departure from the 2012 Survey when meeting budgeted goals, profit, board/executive committee decision and meeting personal goals were all evenly matched at ap-proximately 17 percent. Other sources of bonus determina-tion included: employee satisfaction, meeting deadlines and staff surveys.

Performance evaluationMany organizations use performance evaluations in com-pensation determination. Therefore, they are included in the compensation section of this report. Overall, 182 of the 253 respondents indicated that they receive a performance evaluation (71.9 percent). This number is slightly lower than in 2012 when 73.6 percent of respondents received a performance evaluation. The majority of these evaluations were conducted on an annual basis (89.6 percent), followed by semiannually (7.7 percent), biannually (1.6 percent) and quarterly (1.1 percent).

Receive a Bonus

Yes, 73%

No, 27%

Yes, 72%

No, 28%

Biannually, 1.6%

Quarterly, 1.1%

Semiannually, 7.7%

Annually, 89.6%

Receive a Performance Evaluation Frequency of Evaluation

Bonus Criteria

Objective 44.3%

Subjective 55.7%

Source of Bonus

Board / Executive Committee 39.7%

Guest Satisfaction 11.7%

Holiday Fund 10.0%

Increased Sales 4.3%

Meeting Budget Goals 31.7%

Meeting Personal Goals 23.0%

Other 3.7%

Profit 19.0%


36 Summer 2014

Classification of Club FacilitiesIn the 2014 Survey, the majority of responses from club respondents came from those at full service country clubs (68.9 percent). Other types of clubs included golf course/club (7.3 percent), yacht club (5.3 percent), city/athletic club (9.9 percent) and CIRA/community association (6 percent). Fewer than 2 percent of respondents indicated that they worked at another type of club such as a dining club or tennis/racquet club. This is the first year that CIRA/commu-nity associations have been mentioned in the Compensation and Benefits Survey. In addition, the majority of responses came from private member or investor owned clubs (95.4 percent) with the remaining responses coming from public/daily fee/municipal (0.7 percent) or semi-private facilities (4 percent).

Club membershipWhen analyzing club membership size the largest group included clubs with 250 – 500 members (30.6 percent), which is lower than in the 2012 survey (38.5 percent). The next largest group of clubs had 501 – 750 members (27.2 percent), followed by more than 1,000 members (23.1 percent), 751 – 1,000 members (15 percent) and less than 250 members (4.1 percent). In general, the size of clubs responding to the HFTP Compensation and Benefits Survey has trended upwards. In the 2012 Survey, clubs with less than 250 members accounted for 13 percent of the responses and in 2014 that group only represented 4.1 percent. When averaged together, the membership mean is 1,109 members, but there are several very large clubs with over 15,000 members who pull the mean upwards. A better representation of the size of most clubs would be the median: 625 members.

Club Staff SalariesThe tables on page 37 provide information on club staff salaries for 2014. In addition to their own salaries, respon-dents were asked to provide information on staff salaries at their properties. Although this information may not be directly beneficial for the respondents to determine their individual salaries, it is provided to assist in developing budgets, hiring new employees or considering employee merit raises. Annual salary and hourly wages are provided where information was available.

Club Profile and Staff Salaries

Clubs (clubs and club management companies) accounted for 50.7 percent (151 responses)

of all responses to the 2014 Survey. The following section will provide profile information on

club respondents as well as salary information.

Classification of Club Facilities

Membership Size

Ownership Structure

City/Athletic, 9.9%

Country Club (full service),

68.9%

Golf Course or Golf Club (golf only), 7.3%

CIRA/Community Association, 6%

Yacht, 5.3%

Other, 2.6%

More than 1,000 Members,

23.1%

Less than 250, 4.1%

250 – 500 Members,

30.6%

501 – 750 Members,

27.2%

751 – 1,000 Members,

15%

Semi-private, 4%

Private (member owned or investor

owned), 95.4%Public, Daily Fee or

Municipal, 0.7%


The Bottomline 37

Club Accounting, Finance and Technology Staff Salaries and Hourly Wages

PositionAverage Salary

25th Percentile

50th Percentile

75th Percentile Bonus

Accountant / Controller $87,881 $70,500 $85,000 $103,750 $8,391

Accounts Payable Clerk

Salary $41,816 $33,038 $40,900 $50,500 $1,929

Hourly Rate $18.15 $16.00 $17.63 $19.89

Accounts Receivable Clerk

Salary $38,514 $35,313 $39,760 $44,415 $1,389

Hourly Rate $18.56 $15.45 $18.00 $21.00

Assistant Controller $54,415 $45,000 $53,689 $63,850 $3,302

Assistant IT Manager $51,183 $33,210 $51,910 $67,750

Director of Information Systems/Technology $78,705 $59,880 $78,500 $87,500 $15,457

Information Systems/Technology Manager $52,313 $25,500 $62,250 $70,000 $3,925

Staff Accountant

Salary $46,579 $36,955 $46,350 $54,275 $2,203

Hourly Rate $18.87 $15.00 $18.94 $23.30

Club Staff Salaries and Hourly Wages


25th Percentile

50th Percentile


Chief Staff Executive / General Manager $187,185 $138,300 $170,000 $210,650 $33,314

Assistant General Manager / Clubhouse Mgr $92,835 $70,000 $81,750 $108,750 $10,835

Executive / Head Chef $95,713 $74,625 $94,750 $112,281 $8,764

Catering Manager $67,905 $46,743 $55,892 $65,000 $6,992

Food & Beverage Director $67,223 $47,813 $70,000 $82,000 $5,156

Head Golf Professional $103,256 $75,000 $95,000 $122,600 $11,483

Head Superintendent $124,198 $88,202 $118,411 $148,705 $13,808

Health & Fitness Director $51,352 $38,000 $50,000 $60,000 $8,530

Human Resources Manager

Salary $70,784 $50,000 $71,000 $80,750 $6,532

Hourly Rate $22 $19 $22 $25

Membership Director $70,519 $44,775 $61,350 $75,000 $12,554

Head Tennis Professional $62,672 $40,500 $55,000 $77,700 $11,985


38 Summer 2014

Classification of lodging FacilitiesAt both the property level (65.2 percent) and regional/cor-porate level (60.6 percent), the majority of responses came from individuals overseeing full service lodging proper-ties. At the property level, the second highest response rate was for those working at resort properties (28.8 percent), followed by individuals working at convention/conference/executive centers (21.2 percent). At the regional/corporate level, the second largest group after full service was lim-ited service (42.4 percent), followed by all suite properties (27.3 percent) and convention/conference/executive centers (15.2 percent).

Hotel ownershipAt the property level, most responses came from those working at a property that was independently owned or owned by a partnership (51.5 percent). The remaining categories with a substantial amount of responses at the property level also included: chain-company owned (13.6 percent), chain-franchised (18.2 percent) and chain-leased/managed (13.6 percent). At the regional/corporate level, there were equal amounts of responses from properties that are chain-franchised (39.4 percent) or independent/partner-ships (39.4 percent). Chain-company owned properties also made up a significant amount of regional/corporate responses (30.3 percent).

location of Hotel PropertiesNearly 50 percent of property level respondents indicated they work at or supervise an urban located lodging property (47 percent). The second largest group of lodging proper-ties analyzed by location belongs to resort properties (34.8 percent). Overall, 81.8 percent of lodging property level re-spondents supervised resort and/or urban properties. At the regional/corporate level, the greatest number of responses came from individuals at the following location types: resort (60.6 percent), urban (57.6 percent) and suburban (42.4 percent).

lodging Profile and

Staff Salaries

Overall, 39.9 percent of responses to the 2014 Survey were from respondents associated with lodging properties. For the purpose of this survey the following industry segments were included under lodging properties: casino/riverboat casino, conference/convention center, hotel franchisor, hotel, hotel management company and resort. Given the fact that not all casinos and conference/convention centers have a lodging component, these segments where analyzed individually before adding them into this portion of the analysis. It was found that all of the properties incorporated a lodging component. In addition, the lodging profiles are divided into property level and regional/corporate office profiles. For this reason, while looking at the data, the reader must keep in mind that many managers oversee multiple types of properties; therefore, statistics will typically add up to greater than 100 percent.

Facilities: Property and Corporate/Regional Levels

Hotel Rating Property Corp./Reg

All Suite 9.1% 27.3%

Bed and Breakfast 1.5% 3.0%

Casino 4.5% 9.1%

Convention / Conference Executive Center 21.2% 15.2%

Full Service 65.2% 60.6%

Limited Service 3% 57.6%

Resort 28.8% 42.4%

Ownership: Property and Corporate/Regional Levels

Hotel Type Property Corp./Reg

Chain-company Owned 13.6% 30.3%

Chain-franchised 18.2% 39.4%

Chain-leased/ Managed 13.6% 18.2%

Independent/ Partnership 51.5% 39.4%

Member Owned 3.0% 21.2%

Affiliate 3%

Not Applicable 3%

Location: Property and Corporate/Regional Levels

Location Property Corp./Reg

Airport 1.5% 30.3%

Interstate 30.3%

Resort 34.8% 60.6%

Small Metro Town 7.6% 33.3%

Suburban 9.1% 42.4%

Urban 47% 57.6%


The Bottomline 39

market Price Segment for Hotel PropertiesHotels can also be analyzed by market price segment which categorizes lodging properties by their average room rate. The largest group of lodging property level responses came from those working at upscale properties (50.0 percent), followed by luxury (34.8 percent) and mid-price (25.8 percent) properties. Those at the regional/corporate level supervised the following market price segments: mid-price (72.7 percent), upscale (57.6 percent) and luxury (30.3 percent).

number of Hotel guest Rooms SupervisedAs to be expected, those working at the regional/corporate office tended to supervise a greater number of guest rooms than those at the property level. At the property level, nearly 80 percent of respondents stated they supervise under 500 rooms (78.5 percent). Only a small fraction supervised greater than 1,000 rooms (7.7 percent). On the other hand, at the regional/corporate level, 61.3 percent of responses were from those that supervised 1,000 rooms or more.

Market: Property and Corporate/Regional Levels

Market Segment Property Corp./Reg

Luxury 34.8% 30.3%

Upscale 50% 57.6%

Mid-price 25.8% 72.7%

Economy 3% 21.2%

Market: Property and Corporate/Regional Levels

Market Segment Property Corp./Reg

Under 500 Rooms 78.5% 19.4%

501 to 750 Rooms 10.8% 12.9%

751 to 1,000 Rooms 3.1% 6.5%

1,001 to 2,500 7.7% 51.6%

More than 2,500 9.7


Further Analysis

Additional insight from the 2014 SurveyThe HFTP Research Institute will continue to analyze the data from this year's survey to provide subgroup analysis, including by segment, gender or location. Look for additional reports in future issues of The Bottomline. To request analysis for a specific subgroup, contact the HFTP Research Institute at [email protected].

40 Summer 2014

Hotel Staff SalariesThe following tables provide information on hotel staff salaries. The information is presented in two tables: Account-ing, Finance and Technology Staff and Hotel Management Staff. Annual salary and hourly wages are provided where information was available, as well as percentiles for each position. A percentile provides a better view of the distribu-tion of the responses. For example, in the case of the hotel accountant/controller the salary at the 75th percentile is $110,00. This means that 75 percent of the responses lie below this value and 25 percent of the responses lie above the value. In addition, the 50th percentile would equal the median value.

Hotel Accounting, Finance and Technology Staff Salaries and Hourly Wages


25th Percentile

50th Percentile


Accountant / Controller $89,734 $69,250 $90,000 $110,000 $16,928

Accounts Payable Clerk

Salary $36,423 $30,000 $36,483 $45,000 $1,901

Hourly $14.90 $13.63 $15.00 $16.75

Accounts Receivable Clerk

Salary $34,061 $24,250 $32,750 $39,500 $3,070

Hourly $15.04 $13.25 $14.00 $16.88

Assistant Controller $56,941 $49,000 $60,000 $67,000 $4,136

Assistant Information Technology Manager $49,529 $40,800 $47,500 $63,022

Dir of Information Systems Technology $102,845 $76,250 $87,500 $118,750 $20,375

Information Systems/Technology Manager $65,150 $47,500.00 $60,000 $84,357 6234.0

Staff Accountant

Salary $42,922 $38,500 $41,000 $50,000 $3,469

Hourly $16.62 $13.50 $15.00 $19.00

Hotel Staff Salaries and Hourly Wages


25th Percentile

50th Percentile


Assistant Manager $64,697 $44,250 $47,500 $90,663 $12,760

Catering Manager $57,664 $46,750 $56,680 $66,250 $9,921

Executive / Head Chef $92,887 $72,500 $81,000 $112,500 $18,650

Food & Beverage Director $97,261 $77,500 $95,000 $125,000 $26,320

General Manager $178,456 $121,250 $147,500 $197,500 $93,407

Head of Maintenance $81,616 $55,000 $77,500 $95,000 $17,838

Revenue Manager $73,714 $51,625 $75,000 $90,000 $10,949

Sales & Marketing Manager $74,464 $52,500 $65,000 $90,000 $22,779


The Bottomline 41

Retirement PlansRetirement plans are an important part of an employee’s overall compensation package. The largest group of respon-dents stated that their employer offered a defined contribu-tion plan (69 percent). An example of a defined contribution plan is a 401K, which allows individuals to save money in a tax-deferred account and the employee can withdraw money for living expenses at retirement. Other retirement plans included: defined benefit plan (5.3 percent), SEP IRA or Simple IRA (4.7 percent) and a 457 plan (1.7 percent). In addition, 9.7 percent of all respondents indicated that their employer does not offer them a retirement plan.

HFTP Related expenses Paid by employerBenefits such as paid expenses are also an important part of an employee’s overall compensation package. Many re-spondents received benefits associated with their member-ship in HFTP. Overall, 76 percent of respondent employers paid for their HFTP annual membership dues. Other HFTP benefits covered by employers include: chapter meetings (54 percent), annual convention expenses for the employee (35 percent), professional development (30.7 percent) and certification expenses (24.3 percent). All of these figures increased from the 2012 Survey except HFTP Annual Con-vention expenses, which was reduced by 2.8 percent.

Benefits Paid by employerRespondents to the 2014 Survey were also asked to provide information on benefits paid by their employer which included general, automotive and out-of-pocket expenses. The benefits received by the greatest number of respon-dents included: meals at the facility for themselves (52.3 percent), mobile phone (46.7 percent) and business travel allowance (30.3 percent). Many categories have increased since the 2012 Survey. For example, in 2012 only 18.2 per-cent of respondents indicated they received meals at their workplace for themselves. This number increased to 34.1 percent in 2014.

Benefits

Type of Retirement Plan

457 1.7%

Defined Benefit Plan 5.3%

Defined Contribution Plan 69%

None 9.7%

Other 4.7%

SEP IRA or Simple IRA 4.7%

HFTP Expenses Paid

HFTP Dues 76.0%

Chapter Meetings 54.0%

Annual Convention Self 35.0%

Professional Development 30.7%

Certification Expenses 24.3%

Professional Publications, Media, and Videos 16.7%

HITEC Self 14.7%

Annual Convention Spouse 3.3%

Foundation Scholarship 1.3%

Chapter Scholarships 1.0%

HITEC Spouse 0.7%

Benefits Paid by Employer

100% Medical Reimbursement 20.7%

Business Travel Allowance 30.3%

Clothing Allowance 6.7%

Club Membership for Self 5.3%

Dining Out Expenses 5.7%

Dry Cleaning 18.7%

Employee Assistance Program 14.0%

Golf 17.7%

Health / Fitness Center Use 15.7%

Home Computer 8.7%

Home Internet Access 5.0%

Meals at Facility – Family 7.0%

Meals at Facility – Self 52.3%

Mobile Phone 46.7%

Parking 22.7%

Tuition Assistance 20.0%


42 Summer 2014

medical Plan expenses Paid by employerIn the 2014 Survey respondents were asked to provide information on the health care coverage provided by their employer. The categories with the highest full or partial employee coverage included: dental (71.3 percent), life insurance (69.3 percent), prescription drugs (61.7 percent) and vision care (55 percent). Respondents were also asked to indicate if their employer provided coverage for their spouse or family. Overall, 62.3 percent of respondents in-dicated that their employer provided full coverage for their family. Thirty-one percent provided partial family coverage and only 7 percent did not offer any family coverage.

Paid leavePaid leave is another form of benefits offered by employers which can come in the form of sick leave, vacation time and paid time off (PTO). Many employers (41.3 percent) offered their employees PTO days which can be used for sick leave or vacation time. This is an increase from 2012 when 40.9 percent of respondents received PTO. For those who received PTO days, employers provided an average of 17.7 days per year and 48 percent have to use all of their days within the year and cannot carry any forward. Those receiving vacation days averaged 20.45 days per year and 7.02 days of sick leave. Again, the majority of individu-als indicated that they cannot carry forward any sick days or vacation days from year to year (vacation days: 63.9 percent, sick days: 48.2 percent).

Medical Plan Expenses Paid by Employer

Employee

Item Full Partial None

Dental Program 24.3% 47.0% 28.7%

Disability – Long Term 31.7% 18.3% 50.0%

Disability – Short Term 29.3% 18.7% 52.0%

Health and Accident 19.3% 33.3% 47.3%

HMO 6.7% 27.7% 65.7%

Hospitalization 11.3% 39.7% 49.0%

Life Insurance 44.0% 25.3% 30.7%

Major Medical 12.3% 41.0% 46.7%

Medical Checkups 15.3% 35.0% 49.7%

PPO 11.7% 33.3% 55.0%

Prescription Drugs 13.3% 48.3% 38.3%

Vision Care 15.7% 39.3% 45.0%

Family Health Coverage

Yes (Partial Coverage), 31%

Yes (Full Coverage), 62%

None, 7%

Vacation Days Carried Forward Sick Days Carried Forward Paid Time Off Carried Forward

None, 64%

All, 15%

Some, 21% None, 48%

All, 19%

Some, 33%

None, 48%

All, 17%

Some, 35%


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