When it comes to hotel and resort development, it should be very straightforward: Identify a need, find a location or a property, invest the funds and hire the necessary people, and build, renovate, or acquire the hotel or resort.

As with most things in a well-developed society, hotel development isn’t nearly this simple and straightforward, often resulting in the necessity of bringing in a hotel and resort consultant to assist.  What many people don’t realize is that these consultants have roles to play in both the development and operational phases of the business.

Development

Hotel and resort consultants can assist with the development and conceptual phases of any hotel or resort project by:

• Analyzing the market to identify locations that will be well-served with the addition of a hotel or resort, or identifying existing properties that could be acquired and upgraded.
• Preparing recommendations on size, target guest, amenities, design, and other aspects of the proposed hotel.
• Assisting in pricing and identifying contractors for the construction and operation of the hotel.

Operation

While many assume the role of the hotel and resort consultant ends when the ribbon is cut on a new hotel property, in fact such consultants have plenty to offer existing businesses, and are often hired to:

• Analyze the ”big picture”in order to make recommendations on how to refine service policies, employment policies, menu design, inventory control, profit management, and occupancy efficiencies.
• Project the growth and evolution of surrounding neighborhood to predict changes in traffic patterns and costs over time, as well as potential changes to the hotel or resort’s target guest.

A hotel or resort project is not a “one and done”project – it is open-ended and always evolving, and consultants can always help.