Mr. Roedel, III

Development & Construction

Streamlining Renovations: Six Important Best Practices

By Fred B. Roedel, III, Partner & Managing Member, Roedel Companies, LLC

Renovation projects are successful only when a host of elements come together. The processes and systems that companies develop over time to improve their overall operating performance are often times referred to as Best Practices. Whether you think the term ‘Best Practices’ is a fad or not, successful companies are often that because they do certain things very well. We have been in the business of owning, operating and renovating hotels for over 40 years and the following is our list of best practices when it comes to successfully renovating hotel properties in an operating property.

1. Establishing the right team
2. Developing a clear vision and objective for the project
3. Defining standards for the time, cost and quality of the project
4. Developing the correct and complete scope of work
5. Well coordinated construction process
6. Involvement and communication

#1 – Establishing the Right Team

The first step, and possibly the most difficult, is to establish the best group of people to be involved in the renovation. One of the best ways hotel owners and investors can ensure that projects are completed within a defined budget is to pull together the right team of people who have the right hotel experience and will work together to oversee the entire renovation process. We have done this for years and the base team members we include are the operators, designers and contractors. For us, not including some level of construction expertise early on in the process, has historically lowered the reliability of meeting the time, cost and quality projections of a project.

#2 - Objective / Vision

Developing a clear vision and objective for a particular project is critical to keeping a renovation project on track. We spend a great deal of time and energy making sure we truly understand our market, our customer and the brand we are involved with when undertaking a renovation project. From there, we develop and agree on the project objective and vision. If you don’t invest the effort to clarify and agree on an objective and vision, you may well find yourself off on tangents that consume valuable resources of time and money.

#3 - Performance Standards

Once the team has developed and agreed on the project’s vision and objective, take the time to outline the standards that must be developed regarding time, cost and quality. This may seem like a simple step, but when you spend some time reviewing these elements against the typically long list of tasks that must get accomplished in a renovation project; you come to realize that establishing parameters and objectives in each of these areas can be very valuable.

A) Time:

• Time standards include the time allotted for assessing a property, designing the renovation, bidding the work and completing the work.
• Time includes the actual hours construction will occur, e.g. 9AM – 3PM.
• Staying focused on time standards is critical to a renovation project since customers will be staying at the property and the operations staff must be able to do their jobs. Not considering guests and operations during a project is disastrous.

B) Cost:

• Clearly define the investment limits for the project and break it down into the most relevant factors, i.e. design costs, construction costs and operating costs.
• Prior to defining investment limits, do the necessary evaluation to be confident that the market will provide an economic return on the invested capital.

C) Quality:

• Be clear and committed to the end product. If working within a brand, this standard is most likely outlined. If the standard is not well defined, then it will be incumbent upon the owner and/or operator to establish this quality standard.
• Quality considerations include the level of construction drawings to be completed, the level of accountability, outlining current conditions; identifying the type of contractors needed and the methods of qualifying them prior to bidding; and detailing the condition and appearance of the property that must be maintained during construction.

#4 – Developing the correct Scope of Work

We look at a renovation project as the right time to not only improve the overall appearance of a hotel, but also the time to address any and all major maintenance issues. Any issue that negatively impacts the operations of a property must be identified and rectified if you expect to meet or exceed return on investment objectives. So when we develop the scope of work for a renovation project we always take the time to fully inspect and address all building and operating issues.

Once the standards of the renovation project are established, the exact condition of the property must be determined. An accurate building engineering and status report serves two purposes. The first is to identify existing conditions, which enables the designers and constructor to address and mitigate potential impact on the project. The second is to identify outstanding building code issues that may require action.

If a building engineering and status report is not prepared prior to starting the design phase, it is unlikely that the final design will work, a very common occurrence during renovations.

The Project Team needs to be actively involved in the design process. Design consultants should present progress reports at regular intervals to its members so the project is evaluated on an ongoing basis against time, cost and quality parameters.

#5 – Well coordinated construction process

The actual work phase can be very involved and daunting for some and that is why a lot of people do not get involved in this area. I personally believe the following three areas are very important to focus on and develop best practices.

A) Bidding:

• Take the time to qualify all bidders. Renovating a hotel property requires people who are very good at their trade, can handle unexpected surprises efficiently and effectively, are able to work with people and maintain a clean organized process.
• Never risk your property to an inexperienced contractor. Doing so will result in dissatisfied paying guests and a tainted reputation.

B) Schedule:

• well thought out renovation timeline that accounts for the entire scope of a project is critical because it will minimize the impact on guests and operations. It is crucial to incorporate the operations tasks within it. Operations must remove certain operating elements from rooms before work begins and then re-organize all rooms before they are put back into inventory.
• Whenever possible, renovate one typical room before starting the entire renovation process. Doing this will answer 90% of potential questions and provide all contractors with a chance to fine-tune their processes.

C) The Work:

• Despite qualifying contractors and completing a one-room test, there will always be questions and issues to resolve, especially at the front-end of a project. Make sure you have a team of experienced professionals in place that can quickly answer and address issues during the initial days of a project. Doing so will help ensure that your project will not come to a screeching halt.
• Make sure the process for ordering and receiving materials is clear and all necessary materials are readily available prior to starting work. Failure to do so will bring work to a stop and unfinished rooms will be unrentable while everyone waits for the materials to arrive.
• Finally, have a clear and agreed upon process for reviewing and accepting completed rooms. The more actively involved either the owner and/or manager are, the more efficiently issues can be resolved and rooms put back into service.

#6 – Involvement & Communication

In order to keep a renovation project on time and within budget, it is important to be involved.

• Work hard on communications:
  The property manager must have a reliable contact with the construction workforce. The project manager must be prepared to address issues. Proactive communication between operations and construction will bring reliability to the time it takes to renovate and re-activate guestrooms. It is also important to communicate to guests all the positive aspects that a renovation will translate into for them through appropriate signage and by keeping operations’ staff in the loop so they can inform curious guests of the wonderful changes.

• Adhere to the Schedule:
  Ensure that neither too few nor to many rooms are out of service at any one time. Work crews must be methodical and organized in their work. They cannot be going back to address issues, this will only hinder the entire process. Continually review the schedule, the required tasks and seek opportunities to bring reliability to the time, cost and/or quality of a project.

• Keep the work zone and guest areas separate and distinct:
  Design all work processes to avoid interaction between guests and operations. Never allow guests in a work zone or contractors in guest areas.

• Maintain clean work and staging areas:
  Work and staging areas, inside and outside, must be cleaned daily. If the potential exists for guests and/or operations to be around a work area, be certain to use that proper signage and barriers to protect everyone. At the same time, take advantage of the opportunity to market the improvements you are making to the property. All workers need to maintain a clean and orderly presence. They are a reflection on your property.

While renovating a hotel can be challenging, proper planning and being prepared for the unexpected makes the process smoother and helps maintain positive guest relations.

Mr. Fred Roedel is a Manager of Roedel Companies, LLC along with his brother David. He shares the responsibility of developing and implementing the annual strategic plan of Roedel Companies. He also shares the responsibility of approving the final design, budget and timeline of any asset developed. Mr. Roedel is President of ROK Builders, LLC, the wholly-owned Construction Management subsidiary of Roedel Companies. In this capacity he is responsible for developing the strategic and annual plans of ROK Builders. Mr. Roedel, III can be contacted at 603-654-2040 ext. 105 or FredRoedel@roedelcompanies.com Extended Bio...

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