Help To Move On

[lyndylou]

Hi I have a hotel that's for sale no one has come to view in three years. The business is very good and we do everything we can to keep it so.We have a lot of forward bookings. Our success is our problem we are not old but its time to go....the work is making us ill and we are very tired.
We are considering putting a manager in, it would be a live in position and we would buy a small house for us. This would be an arrangement until we could sell.
I would like all the help I can get please in making this contract water tight. How much would this kind of position pay/be worth? Pit falls pls plusses and minuses. How can I stop a person or family from ripping us off etc. This would be a big step for us since the right person would be left to look after our livelyhood......
Any help much appreciated Thank you

[buildersmate]

Separate the operational elements of running the hotel from the financial aspects. Maintain control, initially at least, of the financial ledgers yourself. Perhaps you already use an accountant for this anyway.
Can't help with salary levels - not my area of expertise, other than to comment that the number of hours worked, especially individual hours, is very high. Perhaps this is why a sale is proving hard to achieve.
The well-established method at a managerial level of driving performance is through some linkage to reward systems, but use measures that are simple to establish and record. The classic ones are financial, however in customer-driven industries, satisfaction are at least as important, if somewhat more administrative to collect and hold.
Frankly I would focus on why the hotel isn't selling. Everything has a price point.

[woofgang]

Are the people marketing your hotel for sale doing a good job? Had you thought about changing agent?

[woofgang]

...also you say that the business is good but what is the profit margin like?

[lyndylou]

Thanks folks yes profit margins are good that's why we are considering putting in a manager we have had the hotel up for sale with three different agents one a business sales specialist ha. 18months later we put it up with a local business agent where it stayed for around 2 years then this February we had damage through the storms and had some insurance work done. In August we put it up for sale with another business sales specialist who valued it (actually lower than the others dispute the work done ) and promised us viewers. None to date so now I am at a loss as to what to do!! Thanks for the feed back though.
Are there any links to web sites that would be of interest to me??

[lyndylou]

What for methyl? I want to stop work at the hotel not invite more I am very tired and although I love the programme I couldn't think of anything worst than a very public slating! Have you never noticed there is always a format of meet , pull apart, make the contestant feel worthless then sprinkle a little TV magic on a make over , gather some false friends and hail it now a success! My business is good I know my market and I know funnily enough what I should improve on. As I have said I am now too tired to do these things, it needs new blood. So thanks for the advice.
Does anyone have any suggestions to my original question please?

[William_R]

One of us here asked about how you are marketing your business, or how the agents are doing it for you. I think it is important that as you decide to let your business go, you also find the right venue for selling it. It may be the perfect venture for someone out there who thinks it is worth his investment. The trick is to advertise it well (spotlight current sales, profitability, location, etc.) until a serious buyers sees it.

You can check out http://www.globalbx.com/post.asp and advertise your business for sale for free.

[William_R]

One of us here asked about how you are marketing your business, or how the agents are doing it for you. I think it is important that as you decide to let your business go, you also find the right venue for selling it. It may be the perfect venture for someone out there who thinks it is worth his investment. The trick is to advertise it well (spotlight current sales, profitability, location, etc.) until a serious buyers sees it.

You can check out http://www.globalbx.com/post.asp and advertise your business for sale for free.

[lyndylou]

Thank you William I will look at the link

[lyndylou]

Hey William globalbx looks really interesting! Have you used it? is it really totally free? ....l must investigate futher. I have a couple of days off soon. The business is up for sale with an agent, if I market it with this free site would I inform the agent if I get a offer so that they process the sale for me or do people really sell their businesses themselves? Its a big thing to get wrong???????