Straight answers for owners.

ABOUT HOTELS AND OPERATORS

How do I know if my hotel operator is underperforming? Warning signs: you're losing share to competing hotels, profit margins shrink while revenue grows, budget misses get explained away every month, more bookings come through Expedia and Booking.com, and staff turnover is high. Two or more, and it's time for an independent review.

Can I replace my hotel management company? Often, yes. It depends on the performance tests and termination clauses in your management agreement. Many owners have more leverage than they realize. We'll read the contract and tell you plainly.

Should my hotel be branded or independent? It depends on where your guests come from. A brand brings its booking system and loyalty members, at a cost. Independence saves fees and keeps you flexible. The answer comes from your asset's numbers, not a sales pitch.

What is key money? Cash a brand or operator pays the owner to win the contract. It's negotiable, and it always comes with strings, usually a longer term or tougher exit terms.

What is a PIP? A Property Improvement Plan: the renovations a brand requires before your hotel can carry its name. A badly negotiated PIP can cost more than the key money you received.

ABOUT ADDING HOSPITALITY TO REAL ESTATE

Can a multifamily or mixed-use project include a hotel or extended-stay component? Yes, and done well it can lift returns. The questions are who the guest is, how long they stay, who runs it, and whether it works next to your residents. That's what a feasibility study answers.

How long does a hospitality feasibility study take? Usually 4 to 6 weeks, at a fixed fee agreed up front.

ABOUT WORKING WITH US

What is a hotel owner's representative? Someone who protects the owner's interests against the operator: reviewing performance, approving budgets and capital spending, and making sure the hotel delivers the returns it should.

Do I need a full-time hotel asset manager? Usually not for one to five hotels. Fractional asset management gives you senior hotel expertise for less than a full-time salary.

What does your monthly reporting include? An institutional-grade asset management report: variance analysis against budget and prior year, GOP and NOI flow-through, RevPAR index against your competitive set, 90-day pace, capital plan status and the action items we're pressing the operator on. For lenders, DSCR and covenant tracking.

Do you work with lenders and asset managers? Yes. We act as the hospitality expert for asset managers and lenders with a hotel inside a mixed-use deal and no hotel specialist on the team. One side per asset: we never represent both the owner and the lender on the same property.

How do you charge? A monthly retainer for ongoing work, plus an incentive tied to results we agree on up front. Feasibility studies and Hotel Performance Reviews are fixed fee.

Do operators or brands pay you? No. No operator or brand pays us any fee, referral or commission.

Where do you work? California and the West Coast first, with engagements across the U.S. and internationally.

Who is Santosh Kuruvilla? The founder of BOC Hospitality Advisory, based in Orange County, California. 25 years in luxury hotels, including opening teams at Atlantis Dubai and Marina Bay Sands; opening general manager of Irvine Company's Villas Fashion Island; and COO of TMC Hospitality (Bode & Drift Hotels).