Highpointe
Hotel Corporation
When Darryl Lapointe's band broke up back in the ' 60s because the piano
player's wife refused to get on an airplane to their next gig in Australia,
Lapointe, out of boredom, started working at the front desk of the Holiday
Inn where they were staying. Instead of reorganizing the band, the
professional musician and entertainer became an InnKeeper within two years
during the go-go days of Holiday Inn. He went on to become the VP of real
estate for a regional insurance company building Holiday Inns on the Gulf of Mexico ten years later and - today - head of
a full service hotel management and development company with 13 properties
and annual sales of $50 million.
"I
have to give credit to our faith as individuals and as a company,"
said Lapointe, president of Highpointe Hotel Corporation based in Gulf
Breeze, Florida.
"We have terrific general managers. We don't have much turnover in our
management ranks because we give our people the best possible support we
can through technology."
Lapointe
noted that Highpointe has completely upgraded its payroll system with a
"time and attendance" application that allows the staff to clock
in and out using their handprint. This interfaces to a Web-enabled
centralized accounting system, and business intelligence software --both
from Aptech Computer Systems, Inc.-- they installed in the past year. The
accounting software also has a full interface with Hilton and Marriott PMS
systems used by Highpointe. Thanks to the new technology double data entry
is eliminated. "We have been able to move ahead of many of our
competitors who are saddled with systems that require expensive, labor
intensive support mechanisms."
Highpointe's
president acknowledged that a somewhat delayed decision in upgrading
financial software actually worked to their advantage. "As fate would
have it, our timing allowed us to latch onto a new system that will let us
leapfrog ahead." Key features of Aptech's back office and Execuvue(
business intelligence solutions that support Highpointe's ability to
efficiently add properties include:
* The
systems are developed by accountants who know the hotel business, providing
richer functionality and eliminating the need for customization;
*
Applications enable general managers, owners, and partners to query their
hotels 7x24 for real-time information such as budget versus actual
financials, and budgeting and forecasting via the Internet;
* Every
property is linked to ExecuvueÒ and ProfitvueÒ, Aptech's Web-based
accounting system, via a URL on Highpointe's web site.
* System
flexibility provides accounting and statistical information to all the
stakeholders in Highpointe's business, primarily the banking community, in
the form in which they want to receive it.
"Financing
is hard to get today, but we are taking advantage of the excellent interest
rate climate and moving forward with the only new hotel we know of in
Pensacola, Florida," said Lapointe. "We believe recovery will
happen by January '03." Lapointe observed that the funding they found
is relationship financing. "Banks are looking more to the individual
owners rather than the hotels." Being able to provide banks with chart
of accounts and other data in the bank's preferred format is also a plus
for the relationship.
New
Construction Anticipates January '03 Recovery
Highpointe's
13 properties, including eight in Louisiana, seven in Florida, and two in
Massachusetts, total 1779 rooms and are described by Lapointe as
"mostly all out-of-the-box Hampton Inns, Hampton Inn & Suites,
Residence Inns, and Homewood Suites." However, the firm has
established a strong niche of higher ADR limited feature hotels including
historic renovations in downtown New Orleans and two beachfront hotels.
Highpointe
will break ground in January 2002 on a Homewood Suites by Hilton, adjacent
to its Hampton Inn at the Pensacola Regional Airport. This 107-room all
suite property will be patterned closely after the chain's latest
prototype. New construction also includes a SpringHill Suites by Marriott
that Highpointe will operate on Pensacola Beach, the company's strongest
market since September 11. Already under construction for three and a half
months before the tragedy, the property will open next summer.
Florida
"Pensacola is primarily a 'drive-in town,' and the gateway to the
Sunshine State," explained Lapointe. "In September and October we
beat last year's numbers and budget at both the Marriott Residence Inn and
Hampton Inn at Pensacola Airport. Both are award-winning properties. There
was a down tick in air travel and, fortunately, a corresponding up tick in
car travel. Pensacola doesn't normally have peaks or valleys in business,
and its fabulous beaches are an ideal alternative to traditional fly-in
resort destinations."
Louisiana
Lapointe described the engine that drives the hospitality train in New
Orleans as being the convention segment, followed by leisure with business
a distant third. Highpointe, at a $115 average rate this year, enjoys a
higher ADR in that area than regular Hampton Inns. "Post September 11,
I believe the last STAR report I saw said the city was running down 15% to
20%. Our products are running better than that. We are down 10% to 15% but
up 14% over last year. We use Hilton's software and Aptech's Execuvue(,
which give us accurate and timely Smith Travel and financial
information."
The
company's hotels include a downtown project close to the French Quarter,
another boutique property in the Garden District on St. Charles Avenue, and
a 288 room Hampton Inn & Suites across from the New Orleans Convention
Center which is a $30 million project, compared to the typical Hampton Inn
which ranges between $4 and $5 million for 80 rooms.
Massachusetts
In the Massachusetts market where clientele is primarily business related,
Highpointe's two managed properties are down about 10% year to date, a
trend that developed in the last 10 months. "We are focusing on cost
containment and relationship selling with our sales people in that
area," said Lapointe.
When
asked to predict Highpointe's annual revenue for the next one and five years
Lapointe said, "Given the events of September 11, I would be very
happy if, a year from now, our revenue from same store sales was
flat." He added, "I think for our size, Highpointe is as
sophisticated a hotel management company as you could find in this country
given our focus on our accounting, front office and back office software
programs."
About
Highpointe Hotel Corporation
Highpointe Hotel Corporation is a full-service hotel management and
development company whose core management team has been in place since the
firm's beginning in 1982. Based in Gulf Breeze, Florida, the company
operates 13 hotels and has two other properties currently under
construction. Highpointe has completed, in the past seven years, over $100
million in new hotel development for its own portfolio, and has assisted in
another $30 million for third party clients. Highpointe's Hilton and
Marriott flags include Hampton Inn, Residence Inn, Homewood Suites, and
SpringHill Suites.
