Next Hospitality Advisors

The COVID-19 pandemic was devastating for the hospitality industry, and even though the pandemic is in the rearview window for most, that impact could linger for years to come. The number of people seeking jobs in this sector continues to trend downward. To succeed, hotels and restaurants must get more work done with fewer employees while unlocking higher efficiencies.

A leading hospitality consulting and asset management company, Next Hospitality Advisors helps restaurants, hotels, and resorts worldwide boost operational efficiencies, expand their properties, and develop new ones.

It helps clients re-tool operating procedures so they can complete tasks more efficiently and cost-effectively, with fewer full-time employees and, at the same time, without compromising quality or the level of services offered.

“Our team looks at everything from how food can be produced more efficiently to how bars can operate with fewer bartenders. We also look at the procurement process so we can understand if the Client is buying raw materials in the most cost-effective manner while, at the same time, using the correctly specified ingredients for the needed application(s),” says Paul Fiala, Chief Operating Officer at Next Hospitality Advisors.

With bespoke consulting services, Next Hospitality Advisors is primarily focused on helping clients unlock wider profit margins. On the asset management side, it identifies areas of opportunity and develops customized strategies that address clients’ distinct needs and goals when it comes to optimizing the layout, design, and equipment specifications needed for new or re-engineered restaurants, bars, and MICE spaces. Its asset and project management services have been successfully delivered to individual owners, financial institutions, and institutional investors over the past 18 years.

From a single asset to portfolios of over 100 properties, Next Hospitality’s team of experts follows an industry-dedicated ‘team’ approach to each project. It is a fact-based approach backed by exhaustive hospitality research that leads the industry in econometric-based national and local market forecasting. The company looks at publicly available data and builds regression studies to predict and validate the future condition of the economy. The data is used in every part of the business, whether designing a new restaurant concept or selecting sites.

For example, population growth statistics and trends in local transportation, hiring, and housing are used to help clients determine if a location is right for expansion or development. Next Hospitality works with clients to assist in their growth and expansion strategies by advising them on what kind of market is best for their projects and providing the information that drives business success and also what fits best in those markets, following a “hit it where they ain’t” strategy.

“We don’t just visit the property, write a report, and leave. Instead, we work with clients long-term and help them implement the suggested changes to ensure positive outcomes,” says Fiala. “When the property management teams buy in, we have taken low, single-digit F&B GOP margins and moved them up into the 25-30 percentage range, enhancing the property’s potential valuation upon exit for some owners. And, we do this without using what might be perceived as cost-cutting techniques.”

The team also uses this fact-based approach for creating or re-creating restaurant and bar concepts. It surveys the local and global market to determine opportunities for new and appealing concepts by considering all aspects, including the menu development, circulation and flow, and table size needed to optimize the capacity of a dining room. It then works collaboratively with clients to design and build these concepts.

Next Hospitality has helped numerous clients achieve their goals. In one instance, it partnered with a client to help them with their new acquisition—a large luxury golf resort in Dallas, Texas. The team focused on improving labor and production efficiencies, purchasing strategies, sales tactics, menus and prices, and suggested fundamental changes to the selling strategy to increase the resort’s gross operating profit from 4.6 to 32 percent over a 12-month period. The three main restaurants and bars on the property were also redesigned to entice guests to remain on the property, rather than leave to go to local restaurants and bars.

With customer-centricity at the core, Next Hospitality has been witnessing high client retention rates. Behind this impressive feat is the ability of Fiala and Doug Zeif, Principal of Next Hospitality Advisors, to be present in every client meeting and continue to work closely with them. The team focuses on building long-standing partnerships with growth-oriented clients, realizing that successful business is based on the foundation of people and strong relationships.

Steering ahead, Next Hospitality continues to be the name that resonates with excellence, offering unmatched asset management and consulting services.