Asset Manager s Report to the DRA Board

Asset Manager s Report to the DRA Board March 2013

HILTON VANCOUVER WASHINGTON DASHBOARD SUMMARY MARCH 2013 1 PERFORMANCE RELATIVE TO THE COMPETITIVE SET The following table summarizes the Hotel s revenue per available room ( RevPAR ) performance, relative to the competitive set, for the 12-month period of March 2012 through February 2013. RevPAR Performance Comparison to Competitive Set as of February 2013 Hilton Comp Set Yield Index March 2012 $71.44 $60.59 117.9% April 2012 $76.95 $65.36 117.7% May 2012 $83.97 $68.43 122.7% June 2012 $92.58 $73.50 126.0% July 2012 $100.75 $79.20 127.2% August 2012 $99.94 $84.49 118.3% September 2012 $78.75 $70.72 111.4% October 2012 $82.50 $71.76 115.0% November 2012 $69.43 $54.95 126.4% December 2012 $49.98 $44.18 113.1% January 2013 $63.43 $50.58 125.4% February 2013 $74.14 $59.24 125.1% Previous 12 Months $78.69 $65.29 120.5% Source: Smith Travel Research Indicator Explanation: RevPAR is calculated by multiplying the occupancy percentage times the average room rate. RevPAR helps management identify the optimal mix of occupancy and average rate. The RevPAR yield index measures the performance of an individual hotel against its competitive set. A yield index of 100 percent means a hotel is operating at the average of the competitive set. 2 FUTURE GROUP BOOKINGS The following graph summarizes future group business booked during the past 12 months. Indicator Explanation: Group business is one of the most important market segments for the Hotel because it fills the meeting rooms and generates banquet, as well as room revenue. There were 2,485 group room nights added to the books in March. Future group booking activity exceeded the 12-month average by 739 room nights. The Hotel experienced group wash and room nights booked in the month for the month of March declined (- 142). There were 171 group room nights booked for the next three months and there was future group booking activity for 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. It is encouraging that the Hotel is building a backlog of group business in future years; this will allow the sales team be more aggressive in quoting rates. The Hotel s February RevPAR exhibited robust growth relative to results achieved in December and January. Strong transient demand offset weakness in the group market segment. The Hotel continues to experience large RevPAR premiums compared to the competitive set (125.1 percent yield index in February).

HILTON VANCOUVER WASHINGTON DASHBOARD SUMMARY MARCH 2013 3 MONTHLY FINANCIAL RESULTS The following graph summarizes financial results for March 2013. 4 YEAR-TO-DATE FINANCIAL RESULTS The following graph summarizes financial results year-to-date through March 2013. Indicator Explanation: Rooms and food and beverage ( F&B ) are the primary sources of hotel revenue. Expenses are impacted by the large amount of meeting space in relation to a relatively small number of guest rooms. Payroll is the largest individual expense. March revenues and profits exceeded the budget and, for the first time in calendar 2013, revenues broke the $1 million mark. Short-term transient demand weakened as we moved into March. The Hotel experienced wash in group room blocks. F&B revenues offset weakness in occupancy; the improvement was in the banquet operation. Cost reductions, to budget, were realized in the overhead departments; most of the savings were in sales and marketing. Variable costs generally flexed with business levels. Unexpected costs were experienced in linen purchases and in front office training costs. Revenues and profits increased over the prior year. RevPAR grew 5.6 percent. Indicator Explanation: Year-to-date financial results give a better picture of the progression in business than any one month of operation. Revenues and profits are up to the budget and the prior year for the first quarter of 2013. Consistent support from the transient market segment and strong F&B performance were the most important factors influencing financial metrics. While the group backlog remains weak, by historical standards, the Hotel got off to a relatively strong start (given seasonal business patterns) in the first quarter with a combination of price-sensitive SMERF groups (without banquet functions) and other high-value groups that did host banquet functions. In general, average room rates are trending towards pre-recession levels, though they are not quite there yet.

HILTON VANCOUVER WASHINGTON ASSET MANAGER S REPORT TO THE DRA BOARD MARCH 2013 The following represents the Asset Manager s Report for the Hilton Vancouver Washington (the Hotel ) for March 2013. Asset Manager s Focus in March As in recent months, Warnick + Company remains focused on Hilton s strategies to maximize revenues and manage expenses in a slowly recovering economy. Transient rate strategies are deployed to maximize rates in high demand periods and to maximize occupancy (by offering strategic discounts) during periods of lower demand. March results are influenced by when Easter falls, as schools usually schedule their spring breaks around the holiday. Since Easter fell on the last day of the month, the Hotel experienced a limited amount of negative impact attributable to the holiday. Occupancy did trail off the last four days of the month; however three of those days were weekend days when occupancy is typically lower anyway. The Hotel experienced a short-term weakening in transient demand during March and experienced wash in group room blocks. When the Hotel had the opportunity to sell-out it did; sell-out efficiency was 100 percent in March. Rate positioning strategies in place allowed management to maximize rates during high demand and offer more competitive rates when demand was softer. The Hotel has gotten off to a strong start in the first quarter, given seasonal business patterns. Profits are up 17 percent to the budget and are up 58 percent to the prior year. The most recent forecast indicates revenues and profits will continue to exceed expectations for calendar year 2013. The sales team is making progress in re-building the future base of group business. Significant progress is being made in future years, with bookings occurring as far out as 2017. The 2013 backlog is also improving; however, since the in-the-year booking window is narrowing it is getting more difficult to attract larger groups and high value groups with significant food and beverage. Further, groups continue to hold pricing power, which is making it difficult to raise rates to prerecession levels. Page 1

ASSET MANAGER S REPORT TO THE DRA BOARD March 2013 Market Conditions The table to the right summarizes the performance of the competitive set for February (the most current information available). The competitive set experienced healthy growth in occupancy (+7.1 percent) and in the average rate (+ 4.2 percent). The competitive set s RevPAR grew 11.6 percent year-over-year. The Hotel s RevPAR exhibited seasonal growth in February. Hotel RevPAR grew 13.7 percent as compared to the 11.6 percent growth rate achieved by the competitive set. As a result, the yield index increased 1.9 percent year-over-year. The Hotel s RevPAR yield index was 125.1 percent; in three of the past four months the yield index has been above 125 percent. Performance of the Competitive Set 1 February 2013 Average Occupancy Rate RevPAR February Competitive Set 63.1% $93.84 $59.24 % Chg. from Prior Year +7.1% +4.2% +11.6% 12 Months Ending Feb. Competitive Set 69.2% $94.40 $65.29 % Chg. from Prior Year +9.5% +0.5% +10.1% Source: Smith Travel Research During the 12 months ending in February, the competitive set experienced occupancy, rate and RevPAR growth compared to the same period the prior year; however, the rate growth remains modest (+0.5 percent). During the previous 12 months, the Hotel experienced a RevPAR of $78.69 and a RevPAR yield index of 120.5 percent. The Hotel s year-over-year growth in RevPAR was 10.6 percent, compared to a 10.1 percent growth rate experienced by the competitive set. The graph above illustrates the trend in the Hotel s RevPAR yield index over the past 12 months (March 2012 through February 2013). Group Booking Pace Through March 2013, the Hilton sales team produced the results shown in the table below. Hilton Vancouver Washington Group Booking Pace Room Nights as of March 2013 2013 Variance to Last Month 2014 Budget 20,711 N/A N/A N/A Definite 15,056 +886 6,880 +278 Tentative 1,267-67 1,081 +22 Source: Hilton Hotels Variance to Last Month 1 The competitive set consists of the Phoenix Inn, Heathman Lodge, Homewood Suites Vancouver-Portland, Residence Inn North Vancouver, and Red Lion Hotel Vancouver at the Quay. The Hilton Vancouver Washington is excluded from the monthly results. Page 2

ASSET MANAGER S REPORT TO THE DRA BOARD March 2013 The following are some booking highlights for March. There were 2,485 group room nights added to the books in March; the number of future group room nights placed on the books exceeded the 12-month average by 739 room nights. Group bookings declined by 142 room nights in the month, for the month of March. Group booking activity increased for the next three months (+171 room nights). There were 886 group rooms added to the books for 2013, 278 group room nights added to the books for 2014, 633 room nights booked for 2015, 243 room nights booked for 2016, and 445 room nights booked for 2017. It is encouraging that the Hotel is rebuilding its group backlog in all future years. Hotel Operations Revenues and profits exceeded the budget and prior year performance in March. The graph to the right illustrates revenues and expenses for March. The following are some brief comments regarding March performance. Revenues exceeded the $1 million mark in March, the first time in calendar 2013 that they hit this mark. The short-term booking pace weakened in March and the Hotel experienced wash in group room blocks. Easter was at the very end of March, which helped to limit the impact of spring break travel on transient occupancy. The mix of transient demand and discounting needed to gain market share during periods of low demand limited the growth potential in the average room rate; although, the rate still increased to the budget (+0.5 percent) and the prior year (+4.4 percent). Banquet revenues offset weakness in the restaurant and caused F&B revenues to increase to the budget (+12.2 percent); most of the increase was group related. Local catering revenues were about flat to expectations. Costs declined relative to the budget and pushed the flow through in profits at gross operating profit above 100 percent. Variable expenses generally moved in tandem with changes in revenue. The Hotel did experience some unexpected expenses for certain supplies and for training at the front desk. Savings in expenses were in the overhead departments and were concentrated in sales and marketing. Page 3

ASSET MANAGER S REPORT TO THE DRA BOARD March 2013 Revenues and profits increased to the prior year. RevPAR grew 5.6 percent over March 2012 with the increase coming in both occupancy and the average rate. F&B revenues and profits increased relative to prior year performance. Prime costs (cost of sales and payroll) increased in tandem with revenue. Undistributed expenses declined relative to the prior year. While most of the savings were in sales and marketing some savings were also in administrative and general. The following graphs illustrate the trend in revenues, expenses, and gross operating profit for the trailing 12 months. Page 4

ASSET MANAGER S REPORT TO THE DRA BOARD March 2013 DEFINITIONS Competitive Set A sample of hotels in the Vancouver market. The RevPAR for the Vancouver Hilton are measured against these hotels using what is called a yield index. A yield index that is greater than 100 percent means that a hotel is performing at a level that is above the average for its competitive set. A yield index that is below 100 means that performance trails the average for the competitive set. Departmental Expenses Expenses that are incurred in relation to the operation of each distinct operating department. Generally, departmental expenses include costs of goods sold, payroll, and other expenses. Fixed Costs Expenses are costs of occupancy that cannot be influenced by property management. These include business taxes, insurance expenses, Hilton management fees, and other miscellaneous expenses. F&E Reserve - The F&E reserve is a fund for the future replacement of fixtures and equipment. The intent of the F&E Reserve is to accumulate monies over a period of time to spend on periodic hotel renovations. Periodic renovations are needed to keep the Hotel in good physical condition so that it can maintain its competitive position against other hotels in the market. Gross Operating Profit Calculated by deducting departmental expenses and undistributed expenses from total revenues. Gross Operating Profit (referred to as GOP) measures the profit that is under the control of hotel management. Hilton uses the term Income Before Fixed Charges and the HVS study used the term House Profit rather than GOP. We use the term GOP because that is the term used in the Bond Documents. Group Booking Pace A measure of the future group business that is on the books. Usually, the pace is broken into three classifications: 1) definite bookings, for which a signed contract has been received; 2) tentative bookings for which a contract has been issued but not signed; and 3) prospects, which represent groups that have been contacted but for which a contract has not yet been issued. Booking pace information is used to track performance relative to the budget, to prepare and update forecasts, to quote rates for future business and to track the productivity of sales personnel. Hotel Payroll Hotel payroll represents the salaries and wages, payroll taxes, and employee benefits for all Hotel employees. Payroll is the largest single operating expense in a hotel. RevPAR or Revenue Per Available Room Calculated by multiplying the occupancy percentage times the average room rate. The occupancy percentage can be managed, to a certain degree, by manipulating room rates. For example, hotel operators may choose to lower (or discount) room rates during certain periods in an effort to maximize occupancy. RevPAR helps management identify the optimal mix of occupancy and average rate. Total Revenue The revenues generated by all departments in the Hotel, net of allowances. Undistributed Expenses Expenses that apply to the hotel as a whole and cannot be assigned to an individual operating department (such as rooms). Undistributed expenses are further classified as Administrative and General, Sales and Marketing, Property Operations and Energy. Page 5