The Refinishing Touch Blog

As anyone in the industry will tell you, the financial crisis of 2008/2009 hit the hotel hard industry on two fronts. Firstly, custom took a sudden, steep dive. All of a sudden hotel owners had to cut rates to unprecedented levels just to keep up occupancy rates, and there weren’t enough customers to go round. And then, perhaps more seriously, capital all but dried up. All of a sudden financing for construction, refurbishments and overhauls was seriously hard to come by.

Fortunately, the hospitality industry finally seems to be getting a break. It’s early days, for sure, but there are signs that investors are returning and construction is beginning again. Growth is cautious, and concentrated on certain areas perceived as lower risk, but it’s a definite improvement on recent times. We’ve been seeing substantial activity across all our lines of business, and momentum is certainly growing.

So what can the industry expect? In the short term, higher service coverage ratios. Investors may be starting to return, but they’re understandably wary, and that translates into higher charges. Nevertheless, with some industry experts suggesting that RevRAR falls will bottom out in 2010 and then grow next year and beyond, investments look likely to return in force over time. Not to the levels of a decade ago, but enough that smart, customer-focused business owners can finance future growth and development. That’s something that we at The Refinishing Touch welcome along with others in our industry.

Labels: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, construction, hospitality industry

2010 budgets have been unveiled by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which outline goals and objectives for the upcoming fiscal year. These outline details that commit to a stronger economy with the promise of new 'green' jobs, and a better environment.

With a $38.7 billion budget, from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and an EPA budget of $10.5 million, there are varying responses to the different elements and line items within the budgets. We plan to offer some of our thoughts on specifics over the coming weeks.

At a more basic level, what about everyday sustainability within government departments? As departments of the federal government are planning spend for the coming year, do they find themselves thinking of everyday items that are within their offices, reach, and internal budgets?

From what we can see, yes. How do we know this? From the contacts within the government who we have worked with over the past three decades as well as those that we work with today, we know that there are a number of internal discussions taking place along these lines; and from feedback and interest in our analysis and findings which we published in a government-related whitepaper: "Government Employees with a Sustainable Future."

This whitepaper outlines how a more sustainable view of government furniture assets improves quality of life, cuts pollution and slashes expenditure by up to 80%. Interest has come from senators and government officials we have met both in Georgia and in D.C., as well as from a large number of government contacts that have downloaded it from our website.

As an organization that has prioritized smart spending and has modeled our business around environmentally sound practices, it's good to know that there’s a shared commitment on all levels to save money and the environment. In these economic times, everyone is struggling to meet the demands of agendas that aim to implement cut budgets with the ever important focus on green practices. There's an environmental groundswell, and it's building.

Labels: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, budget constraint, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency