How We Approach Budget Season at HVMG: Data,
Discipline, and a Culture of Collaboration
By Maggie Rosa
Budget season in hospitality is often described as a marathon, and that's exactly how it feels! But at HVMG, we don't treat this time of year as a grueling exercise we have to survive. We see it as one of our most critical strategic opportunities of the year. When handled with clarity, transparency, and collaboration, the budgeting process becomes a decisive moment to align our teams, accelerate our performance, and strengthen trust with our owners.
Clarity and Alignment
Before anyone builds a model, inputs a forecast, or
debates a number, we begin with alignment. Our teams must understand the year's
strategic priorities: HVMG's priorities, the property's realities, and each
ownership group's goals.
Some owners are focused on long-term asset value. Others
are centered on near-term cash flow. Some are preparing for refinancing. Others
are facing brand-mandated PIPs. Every situation is different, and we ensure our
teams understand the "why" behind the plan before we jump into the "what."
This alignment provides a shared foundation for every
conversation. We are not just piecing together a budget; we are designing a
roadmap with purpose.
Non-Negotiable Transparency
Budget season can be contentious in any company. Owners
often come to the table with a fixed number they want or need to hit,
regardless of what the market indicates.
Our differentiator is not that this tension doesn't exist;
it's that we manage it openly and honestly.
We document everything, from assumptions to risks to the
exact conversations we have with owners. We quantify the risk, put it in
writing, and make sure everyone acknowledges the reality. That transparency
protects our teams, strengthens trust with our partners, and ensures
accountability is fair and grounded.
Customized and Disciplined
With more than 50 hotels and a wide range of ownership
structures, "one-size-fits-all" budgeting is not realistic.
We tailor our approach to each owner's priorities,
timelines, and investment strategy while still holding ourselves to HVMG's
standards in performance, process, and integrity.
Whether an owner cares most about cash flow, long-term
value, brand positioning, or upcoming renovations, our budget reflects:
· Ownership's
strategic objectives
· The
hotel's competitive realities
· Our
commitment to strong, defensible performance
Grounded in Localized Data
Every management company claims to be data-driven. We
are.
Our budgeting conversations are rooted in:
· Market
performance trends
· Comp
set movements
· Group
and corporate pace
· Demand
drivers and pipeline activity
· Historical
patterns and booking behavior
· Cross-hotel
benchmarking through HVMG's BI platform
Our business intelligence tools allow us to compare like
hotels across our portfolio line by line, highlighting margin
opportunities and performance gaps. Rather than guesswork, we offer pattern
recognition at scale.
When unrealistic narratives take over the industry, like
the widely overestimated impact of major events like the FIFA World Cup, we
return to the data. And because we manage across all major brands, we also have
access to brand-level intel that gives our owners a comprehensive, realistic
picture of what to expect.
This level of rigor isn't standard everywhere.
Collaboration Across Disciplines
A budget is never created in a vacuum at HVMG.
Operations, revenue, sales, finance, and property leadership all
contribute—early and often.
One of my favorite examples:
At a property with a low-rated but high-volume account, ownership's
immediate reaction was to eliminate it. Instead, our cross-functional team
analyzed displacement risk, booking patterns, market conditions, and renovation
timing. Together, we renegotiated the account, secured a 10% rate increase,
retained the business, and set the hotel up for stronger performance.
This is what happens when everyone has a voice,
and the culture encourages curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving.
Using Empathy and Evidence
Owners understandably want yesterday's margins in today's
environment. But expenses are rising faster than revenue in many markets
nationwide.
Instead of saying, "That's impossible," we say:
"Here's how we can get close, and here's the reality
behind the numbers."
Our teams find creative ancillary revenue opportunities,
from parking to F&B optimization to partnerships like ResortPass. We
balance cost discipline with guest experience. And we show owners how each
lever influences actual outcomes.
Maintaining Team Morale
There's a lot of commentary that 2026 will be an
"operator's year," meaning the only way to win is to out-manage the
competition.
Our teams deserve our honesty. I also remind them:
· They
are not navigating uncertainty alone.
· Small
wins matter, and we celebrate them.
· Creative
thinking is encouraged, not judged.
· No
idea is "too crazy." In fact, we expect bold thinking.
When people feel supported and recognized, they take
bigger, smarter swings. They lean into solutions. They believe they can win.
That mindset is a competitive advantage.
Looking Ahead: A Creative, Opportunistic 2026
I'm energized by the opportunities ahead. Our teams are
getting stronger, more agile, and more innovative every year.
In 2026, I'm especially excited about:
· Creative
operational efficiencies that develop talent rather than burden it
· New
revenue streams, from parking to ancillary partnerships to F&B innovation
· Better
cross-discipline collaboration than ever before
· A
culture where people feel safe trying new ideas
Growth will not come from ease. It will come from resilience, curiosity, and the willingness to lead differently. And that is precisely what we're built for.
What truly sets our budgeting process apart is not the spreadsheets or the tools. It's our culture.
My goal is always to make budget season feel like a strategic opportunity, not a dreaded obligation. When people know their insights matter, when owners see that data and integrity back our guidance, and when collaboration is genuine, the entire process transforms.
