Raymond S. Schmidgall

Operations budgeting practices of lodging firms in the United states and Scandinavia

Abstract Operations budgeting practices of lodging firms in the United States are compared with those of lodging firms in Scandinavia. Practices compared include approaches to preparing the budgets at both the corporate and hotel levels. A majority of hotel chains in both the U. S. and Scandinavia use a bottom-up approach to budgeting. Reasons are reported for varying preparation approaches. Budget revision approaches are reported, the point at which the revision starts, and what management level is responsible. Finally, budgetary control is studied including the different levels of variance toleration for various expenses. Lodging firms in the United States have lower tolerance levels over food and beverage costs than their Scandinavian counterparts while the reverse appears to be the case for other costs.

Hospitality management accounting: Current problems and future opportunities

This paper discusses areas for future research opportunities by addressing accounting issues faced by management accountants practicing in hospitality organizations. Specifically, the article focuses on the use of the uniform system of accounts by operating properties, the usefulness of allocating support costs to operated departments, extending our understanding of operating costs and performance measurement systems and the certification of practicing accountants.

Budgeting practices in lodging and food service chains: an analysis and comparison

Abstract Chain-affiliated lodging and food service organizations dominate their segments of the hospitality industry and yet little is written about the multi-unit budgeting procedures which they use. Executives from 30 hotels and 31 food service firms with annual sales ranging from less than

The hotel controller revisited

1 million dollars (U.S.) to more than S1 billion dollars (U.S.) provided input about current budgeting practices. While some differences were noted, there were more similarities in the budget issues which were studied. Most firms use the ‘bottom—up’ approach which provides a ‘feeling of ownership’ for budget developers. Firms typlcally develop a primary financial goal—often involving net income—before establishing the budget. Chain operations use historical operating data as a benchmark and generally require 4–5 months for the budget calendar. Many firms re-forecast their budgets and utilize them as control tools. Important differences between budget development processes undertaken by multi- and single-unit firms suggest that more attention be given to the former in order to better understand how units in predominant market segments manage financial resources.

Hospitality's most influential scholars: fifteen years of citation analyses (1989-2004).

Its arguable that theres no such thing as a “typical” hotel controller. Nevertheless, this profile of hotel controllers and their properties is insightful and provides data beneficial to controllers and their employers alike

Hotel General Managers

Abstract This article is the third in a longitudinal study of the most influential scholars in hospitality management education. The first study, published in 1995, included scholarly works published from 1989-1994. The second article, published in 2000, covered the ten-year period 1989-1999. This article reports on scholarly influence over the fifteen-year period 1989-2004. Citation analysis was used to assess the influence of hospitality scholars in each study. Data used in this and previous citation analyses were drawn from five major hospitality management education journals: Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, FIU Hospitality Review, the International Journal of Hospitality Management, the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education, and the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research. Citation analysis is a widely accepted method of assessing scholarly influence. The method has been used in virtually every academic field as a measure of scholarly influence.

Rating of Publishing Channels By Hospitality Faculty

General managers of large hotels believe the hotel business has changed the GMs career track—with a fading importance for F&B management.

Hotel General Managers Focused on the Core Business

A survey of CHRIE members at four-year programs revealed that those members ranked those hospitality education journals that refereed articles as first in importance for publishing research. The next three important channels of publication were nonhospitality educational journals that referee articles, books (one author), books (coauthors), and presentations of published papers. Differences among respondents and the implications are discussed.

A comparison of hospitality executives', educators', and students' views on the importance of accounting skills

A survey of 77 general managers in large hotels (over 500 rooms) in the United States shows that the general manager is primarily focused on basic business considerations, most particularly revenue measures. The study also indicates that the career track to reach general manager has changed as a result of what appears to be a flattening of the hotel organization (fewer middle managers) and the diminishing importance of food and beverage management. Asked what topics should be added to hospitality-education programs, the respondents suggested that personnel-related topics (e.g., human-resources management, leadership) should be emphasized, along with the more general need for additional hands-on learning. The study also unearthed an intriguing undercurrent of distrust for currently popular management theories. The GMs in this study reported a dim view of the effectiveness of total quality management, even though they consider it important that GMs master TQM-related techniques, such as benchmarking and empowerment.

Financial Analysis Using the Statement of Cash Flows

Abstract The results of a survey of executives, educators, and students in the hospitality field are presented. All three groups were asked to rate the importance of a list of 31 accounting skills to lodging managers who are starting their careers and the same three groups were also asked to rate the importance of the 31 skills to lodging managers who have been employed in the industry for three years. This paper reports the skills considered to be important by the three groups and indicates the extent of agreement among the three groups as to the most important skills. This research supports the conclusion that all three groups consider certain accounting skills to be important to lodging managers and that there is good agreement among the three groups as to the top 15 skills that ought to be emphasized in hospitality and accounting courses.