Hospitality and New Business Ventures

CEO asked Elliott Davis to answer: “What can I expect operationally and financially if we build this? Will people come? What’s the expected return?”

Context

Hospitality owner was looking to diversify existing recreational offerings “on property” by building a new attraction outside of their core business model. This investment would diversify the core business by protecting against seasonality and appealing to a new customer segment, but it also presented significant financial and operational risks.

Customer was looking to understand best practices, lessons learned, and success criteria from other operators in this space.

Visitation models and financial projections were also needed to support initial discussions with capital partners.

Our Approach

Elliott Davis broke the questions into workstreams:

Interviews and benchmarking of target business

• Ongoing operating economics
• Visitation
• Lessons learned
• Operational risks
• Start-up costs

Target customer surveys and focus groups

• Likelihood of visiting
• Attractiveness of concept’s attributes
• Willingness to pay

Pro forma financial statements

• EBITDA contribution / payback
• Capital partner presentations

Customer Results

Delivered robust, 360-degree view of the investment’s risks and potential rewards

• Direct feedback from ~200 potential customers on opportunity via Elliott Davis survey
• Insights from operators of similar concepts via Elliott Davis phone interviews

Provided customer with pro forma financials on the proposed business venture that were informed by competitive benchmarking, market survey, and operations.

We Can Help

For more information on this and other topics, contact a member of our team.

The information provided in this communication is of a general nature and should not be considered professional advice. You should not act upon the information provided without obtaining specific professional advice. The information above is subject to change.