Operational Performance Management Experience

Demonstrated success in the efficient and profitable management of operations with an excellent handle on a wide variety of cross-functional business concepts, practices and procedures. Experienced in systematically delivering business value through monitoring, measuring and managing business operations and processes for improved efficiency, increased revenues and reduced costs. Effective problem-solving and decision-making leveraging best practices, talents, and lessons learned.

Marketing Coordinator, 1999-2000

One Price Clothing Stores, Duncan, SC.

Challenge:

Identify ways to decrease departmental expenses for this 640-store retail chain with sales of $330 million.

Actions:

• Researched expense lines where savings could be achieved.
• Identified advertising placement costs as the highest contributor to cost.
• Sourced for pricing, production quality, account servicing and turnaround of Multi-Million dollar projects ensuring the best fit with overall corporate culture and strategy.
• Identified expenses not incurred by the department were continuously being charged to the department.
• Implemented expense tracking.

Results:

• Improved budgeting and forecasting.
• Reduced variances to budget.
• Reduced direct mail advertising lead times from 5 weeks to 3 weeks.
• Reduced advertising and placement costs by 25% while simultaneously achieving higher quality print jobs of newspaper inserts and mail pieces.

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General Manager, 1997-1998

Comfort Suites, Greenville, SC.
Full P&L responsibility plus forecasting for budget of $1.3 million.

Challenge:

Increase revenues of this 60-room all-suite limited service hotel located off the highway. While visible from the highway, access to the property was not. The property had been recently removed from the state highway signs because a newly built property was considered closer to the exit ramp. These two facts greatly hindered the hotel's ability generate additional revenues from walk-in business. Addressed the challenge from both operational performance and marketing perspective.

Actions:

• Identified that there was no process in place to efficiently manage rooms inventory allocated to central reservations or to guide demand pricing. This resulted in under-allocation of inventory and unnecessary denials as well as discounted selling on high-demand situations.
• Implemented Rooms Inventory / Yield Management techniques based supply and demand to drive sales strategies.
• Aggressively managed rates and inventory in central reservations system.

Results:

• Speficic action contributed to increase in rooms revenues of 16%.

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Rooms Division Director, 1996-1997

Factory Mutual Conference Center, Norwood, MA.
Full P&L responsibility plus forecasting for budget of $1.7 million.

Challenge:

Improve room revenues of this 150-room hotel with 25,000 sq.ft. of meeting space. Although affilitated to Best Western, the hotel was built to accommodate the housing needs of this company's world-wide staff and conference attendees. Increasing revenues through sales to the general public had to be managed around the company's research and engineering activities. Addressed the challenge from both operational performance and marketing perspective.

Actions:

• Identified that while inventory was appropriately managed, there was no process in place to efficiently guide demand pricing. This resulted in discounted selling on high-demand situations.
• Implemented Rooms Inventory / Yield Management techniques based supply and demand to drive pricing strategies.

Results:

• Speficic action contributed to increase in room revenues of 10%.

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Rooms Division Director, 1995-1996

Wyndham Rose Hall Resort, Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Full P&L responsibility plus forecasting for budget of $7.5 million.

Challenge:

Improve the profit margins of the Rooms Division of this award-winning, all-inclusive, 500-room Caribbean golf resort with 20,500 sq.ft. of meeting space. The resort depended on central reservations for its rooms revenue and its Housekeeping costs were continuously over budget.

Actions:

• Identfied that the hotel had no process in place to efficiently manage peak-season package offerings.
• Instituted guidelines to aggressively managed packages in central reservations system.
• Implemented cost accounting to manage labor and material costs.
• Developed inventory controls and accountability measures with emphasis on waste and loss.
• Restructured lines of responsibility and balanced shift workloads for improved efficiency.

Results:

• Recouped more than $500,000 of misplaced and unaccounted uniforms inventory.
• Reduced operating expenses by 5%.
• Increased room revenues by 4%.
  

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Executive Housekeeper, 1993 - 1995

The Copley Plaza Hotel, Boston, MA (under Wyndham Hotels & Resorts flag).
Full P&L responsibility plus forecasting for budget of $1 million.

Challenge:

Reduce departmental operating expenses to improve on the profit margin of the Rooms Division without sacrificing service or quality.

Actions:

• Implemented cost accounting to manage labor and material costs.
• Developed inventory controls and accountability measures with emphasis on waste and loss.
• Restructured lines of responsibility and balanced shift workloads for improved efficiency.
• Implemented and executed operating policies, procedures, quality standards, and training in the areas of Product Quality and Inventory Management.

Results:

• Decreased operating supplies cost by 4%.
• Decreased labor hours per occupied room by 3% resulting in reduced Labor Costs of $40,000.
• Improved hotel rooms quality from 78% to 97% standards compliance.
• Improved hotel Customer Service Satisfaction Index by 8% to 94%.
  

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Reservations Manager, 1990 - 1993

The Copley Plaza Hotel, Boston, MA.
Full P&L responsibility plus forecasting for budget of $6 million.

Challenge:

Increase revenues and reduce departmental operating expenses to improve the profit margin of the Rooms Division of The Grande Dame of Boston, a 373-room 4-star, 4-diamond luxury hotel, with 20,500 sq.ft. of meeting space. The economic boom of "New England Miracle" had ended and the area had entered into a severe recession. The hotel, along with all others throughout the city, was practicing deep rate discounting and margins were being squeezed. Addressed the challenge from both operational performance and marketing perspective.

Actions:

• Identfied that the hotel had no process in place to efficiently manage rooms inventory and guide demand pricing. In addition, scheduling had not been considered as a factor impacting profitability.
• Implemented Rooms Inventory / Yield Management techniques based on booking history, existing and forecasted supply and demand to drive pricing strategies.
• Tracked and analyzed amount call volumes.
• Identified that a large amount of sales calls were being lost due to traffic volumes.
• Implemented lost-call-reduction approaches to include: automated attendants, additional reservations options, extended operating hours, and additional staffing during peak periods.
• Implemented cost accounting to manage labor and material costs.

Results:

• Speficic action contributed to decrease in lost calls due to traffic volume by 65%.
• Speficic action contributed to increase in room revenues of 9%.
• Speficic action contributed to decrease in operating expenses of 11%.

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General Manager, 1987 - 1988

Park Inn International, Salisbury, NC.
Full P&L responsibility plus forecasting for budget of $1.7 million.

Challenge:

Increase revenues of this 125-room hotel located off the highway in a small town. Though strategically located off a busy interstate, between two major cities, and 2 miles from the headquarters of a regional grocery chain, the hotel was failing to achieve its room revenue goals. Addressed the challenge from both operational performance and marketing perspective.

Actions:

• Analyzed booking sources, sales process and booking activity for reasons for lost sales and missed revenue opportunities.
• Identified that while the hotel depended greatly on central reservations for its rooms revenue, there was no process in place to efficiently manage allocated rooms inventory and guide demand pricing. This resulted in under-allocation of inventory and unnecessary denials as well as discounted selling on high-demand situations.
• Implemented Rooms Inventory / Yield Management techniques to drive inventory allocation and pricing decisions.
• Instituted aggressive management of inventory in central reservations system to drastically reducing unnecessary denials of bookings.

Results:

• Speficic action contributed to increase in room revenues of 25%.

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