# Excelsior Asset Management & Advisory

> Owner-side hotel asset management and advisory from New Delhi and Jaipur, India. Founded by hotelier Vikram Aditya Singh. Seven practices, each a free school: asset management, development, revenue management, hotel operations, quality assurance, F&B and restaurants, and careers. Tools run in the browser; example figures are illustrative.

Contact: vikram.singh@excelsiorassetmanagement.com · +91 98733 42567

## Pages

- [Excelsior Asset Management & Advisory](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/): Owner-side hotel asset management and advisory from New Delhi and Jaipur: asset management, valuation, development, revenue, operations and F&B, with free tools and courses.
- [Asset Management · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/asset-management): Owner-side hotel asset management: what we do for owners, a free twelve-module course, a valuation snapshot and fee and flow-through checks.
- [Development · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/development): Development: From the destination and the site to the opening night: what to build, how big, for whom, at what cost, and who should run it. We keep every decision tied to the numbers that justified the project.
- [Revenue Management · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/revenue-management): Revenue Management: Forecasting, pricing, inventory controls, overbooking, groups, distribution and the weekly rhythm that holds them together, for hotels and restaurants.
- [Hotel Operations · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/hotel-operations): Hotel Operations: How a luxury hotel is run: the guest journey, service design, standard operating procedures, and the habits that make department heads and general managers excellent.
- [Quality Assurance · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/quality-assurance): Quality Assurance: Brand and service standards, audits against the leading luxury benchmarks, mystery guests, engineering and fire and life safety, and the discipline of closing every finding.
- [F&B and Restaurants · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/food-and-beverage): F&B and Restaurants: Concepts, design, kitchens and back of house, recipes, menus, wine and the arithmetic of the table, from a principal who has created more than 67 restaurant concepts.
- [Careers · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/careers): Careers: Advice for students, young managers, department heads and general managers: where to train, which jobs to take, when to move, and how to cross from running hotels to owning and advising them.
- [Journal · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal): The Excelsior Journal: Vikram Aditya Singh on hotel ownership, valuation, revenue, restaurants, luxury and service. Seventy-six notes and counting.
- [Answers · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/answers): Plain answers to the questions hotel owners ask most.
- [Apps · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/apps): Excelsior’s apps for hotels and restaurants: VASREV for revenue, VAS POMEC for engineering and energy, ViC Floor for operations.
- [Beverage and Wine Pricing · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/beverage-pricing): Pour cost, bottle-to-glass arithmetic and a tiered wine pricing grid.
- [The Breakfast Compendium · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/breakfast-compendium): Healthy breakfast plates, green juices and cold-pressed combinations, each with measures and method.
- [The Hospitality Business Model Canvas · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/business-model-canvas): Osterwalder’s nine building blocks, worked for a luxury hospitality platform.
- [Catering and Banquet Standards · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/catering-and-banquets): Function files, room geometry, controls and pours for banqueting that earns its space.
- [Audits and Checklists · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/checklists): Six self-scoring audits that remember your ticks on this device.
- [The Claridges, New Delhi · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/claridges-case-study): A storied house rebuilt after 2020: the commercial engine, five F&B concepts, wellness and the redevelopment master plan.
- [The Claridges Redevelopment · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/claridges-redevelopment): Concept, approvals strategy, asset plan and business case for the next iconic luxury hotel of New Delhi.
- [Contact · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/contact): Start a conversation with Excelsior Asset Management & Advisory in New Delhi and Jaipur.
- [Curriculum Vitae · Vikram Aditya Singh](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/cv): Curriculum vitae of Vikram Aditya Singh: 28 years in luxury hotels and restaurants across four continents, as general manager, vice president and chief executive.
- [The Departments · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/departments): Sixteen departments of a luxury hotel: purpose, measures and standards.
- [The Development Manual · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/development-manual): From site to opening: gates, the area programme and benchmarks by tier, with calculators.
- [Digital Marketing for Hotels · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/digital-marketing): The booking journey, channel cost, funnel arithmetic and a launch checklist.
- [Expertise · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/expertise): Seven practices, each a school with services, courses, tools and films: asset management, development, revenue, operations, quality, F&B and careers.
- [Food and Beverage 101 · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/fb-101): How a hotel’s restaurants and bars should be run and measured.
- [F&B Concepts and Advisory · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/fb-concepts): How Excelsior conceives, designs and opens restaurants and bars, and the record behind it.
- [Food Safety and Hygiene · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/food-safety): The standards, temperatures and records that keep a kitchen safe, with an audit.
- [Glossary · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/glossary): The terms of hotel ownership, operation and revenue, defined.
- [Hotel Agreements 101 · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/hotel-agreements-101): Management, lease, franchise and hybrid agreements explained for owners.
- [Kitchen and BOH Design · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/kitchen-design): Flow, areas and equipment logic for kitchens and back of house, with a capacity tool.
- [The Leela Palace Udaipur · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/leela-palace-udaipur): A repositioning thesis written during the shutdown for the world’s highest-ranked hotel.
- [Terms and Privacy · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/legal): Terms of use and privacy for the Excelsior website and its tools.
- [Library · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/library): Every course, paper, case study, tool and recipe collection published by Excelsior, free to read.
- [The Lodhi, New Delhi · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/lodhi-case-study): Good to great: how The Lodhi grew revenue 3.5 times and RevPAR five times between 2016 and 2020.
- [Market Segmentation · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/market-segmentation): Segments, sources and channels: the mix that sets a hotel’s rate.
- [Menu Engineering · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/menu-engineering): Cost the plate, set the price and run the menu matrix on your own dishes.
- [The Menu Engineering Playbook · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/menu-engineering-playbook): Stars, plowhorses, puzzles and dogs: what to do with each, and how to run the matrix every month.
- [The Mixology Compendium · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/mixology): 383 cocktails in 25 chapters, from the martini to the wine cocktail, each with measures and method.
- [MKT, New Delhi · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/mkt-new-delhi): Four kitchens and a bar under one roof, planned as one business.
- [The Monthly Review · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/monthly-review): How an owner reads the month: the one-page report and the questions to ask.
- [Hotel Operations 101 · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/operations-101): How a hotel is run day to day, and what good looks like in each department.
- [Operator Fee Structures 101 · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/operator-fees-101): Base fee, incentive fee, owner’s priority and how the fee stack moves with performance.
- [Otium · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/otium): Otium, the lounge of the Excelsior house: cocktails, breakfast, wine, bars and restaurants, and the long essays.
- [The Owner’s Desk · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/owners-desk): Seventeen calculators for owners and managers: flow-through, fees, value, pricing, overbooking and more.
- [Ozumo · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/ozumo-concept): A contemporary Japanese restaurant concept, from name to napkin.
- [The Library of the Practice · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/practice-library): The contents of the Excelsior Compendium, three volumes on owner-side hotel asset management.
- [Vikram Aditya Singh · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/principal): Vikram Aditya Singh, principal of Excelsior: third-generation hotelier with 28 years in luxury hotels, from Four Seasons and Taj to The Lodhi and the Claridges Collection.
- [Restaurant Revenue Management · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/restaurant-revenue): RevPASH, table mix, meal duration and demand periods, with a calculator.
- [Revenue Management 101 · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/rm-101): Forecasting, pricing, protection, overbooking and displacement, with calculators.
- [Rooms Division · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/rooms): Front office, housekeeping and the 30-point room inspection.
- [The Safari Lounge Beverage List · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/safari-lounge-list): A complete bar list from The Lodhi, with its pricing logic.
- [Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, Maldives · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/taj-exotica-maldives): The island, repositioned: product, table and the twelve months on the record.
- [The Wine Programme · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/wine-programme): How to run a cellar and a list: bins, the list, by the glass, formats and the pricing system.
- [Selected Work · Excelsior](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/work): Case studies: The Lodhi, Taj Exotica Maldives, The Leela Palace Udaipur, The Claridges and its redevelopment, MKT and Ozumo.
- [A simple take on hotel and restaurant branding · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-a-simple-take-on-hotel-and-restaurant-branding): It’s a vast subject and is a very progressive discussion and much deliberation in the evolution of brands, please read this short post as “THOUGHT STARTERS” and not “ABSOLUTE TRUTHS” If you had 4…
- [ADR, net ADR and triple net ADR · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-adr-net-adr-and-triple-net-adr): Measuring ADR or ARR should always come with a line of sight on NETADR & TRIPLE NET ADR. So in simple terms: ADR = Room Revenue divided by number of rooms nights sold. NET ADR = (Room Revenue LESS…
- [Berkus valuation for hospitality: proof over prophecy · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-berkus-valuation-for-hospitality-proof-over-prophecy): Most early-stage hotel & restaurant valuations fail for one reason: they try to value tomorrow’s cashflows before the business has earned the right to predict them. That’s why I like the Berkus…
- [CAGR for asset managers · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-cagr-for-asset-managers): What is CAGR? Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) represents the mean annual growth rate of an investment over a specified period longer than one year. Unlike simple averages, CAGR accounts for…
- [CAPM as a hurdle rate for capex · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-capm-as-a-hurdle-rate-for-capex): The Foundation of Modern Portfolio Theory The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) remains one of the most fundamental concepts in finance, helping investors understand the relationship between risk…
- [Care is not a cost centre. It is the business model · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-care-is-not-a-cost-centre-it-is-the-business-model): Two posts ago I argued hospitality always meant care. Last post, I described the new luxe — secluded, private, frictionless, untamed; authentic, localised, restoring; the quest that nourishes the…
- [Care is what you do. Grace is how you move · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-care-is-what-you-do-grace-is-how-you-move): We spoke of Care. Now the harder half. Grace is the most elusive thing in hospitality. You cannot write it into a standard, audit it, or install it in a morning briefing. Yet you feel its absence in…
- [Champagne bottle sizes, quarter to Melchizedek · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-champagne-bottle-sizes-quarter-to-melchizedek): Many moons ago in the pre-google era (late 1990's), I was quizzed in an interview about Champagne Bottle sizes, and to their surprise, I knew the answer. For those interested, here are the…
- [China has eight great cuisines. Chicken Manchurian isn't one of them · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-china-has-eight-great-cuisines-chicken-manchurian-isn-t-one-of-them): Most of us in India grew up with one idea of Chinese food. Chilli chicken, Hakka noodles, a plate of Manchurian. I like that food. I was born in Calcutta, and Chinese has been a core cuisine in many…
- [China's eight cuisines, written down · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-china-s-eight-cuisines-written-down): I grew up in Oberoi hotels and my first serious kitchen was Cantonese. For years after that I was a patron of the Chinatowns of Seattle, Vancouver, New York and San Francisco. Thirty years on I still…
- [Dysfunctional teams do not fail quietly · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-dysfunctional-teams-do-not-fail-quietly): The Most Expensive Lesson: Dysfunctional Teams Do Not Fail Quietly Twenty-eight years. Sixty-five restaurants and bars. Seventeen hotels and resorts. A portfolio of asset management and advisory…
- [Economic value added in hospitality · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-economic-value-added-in-hospitality): EVA reveals whether your hotel operations truly create wealth or merely generate accounting profits, representing one of the most sophisticated performance measurement tools. What is EVA? EVA…
- [Five productivity rules, applied to asset management · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-five-productivity-rules-applied-to-asset-management): I came across a list of five productivity rules this week. I've used most of them for years without knowing their names. At Excelsior we've built them into how we run asset management. Here's each…
- [FLOW and FLEX: beyond operating leverage · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-flow-and-flex-beyond-operating-leverage): Building on Operating Leverage, FLEX and FLOW are essential metrics measuring profit efficiency during revenue fluctuations. Definitions: FLOW = Change in GOP ÷ Change in Revenue (revenue increases)…
- [Food allergens: the new standard of service · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-food-allergens-the-new-standard-of-service): Food allergies and intolerances aren’t dietary trends—they’re medical truths. The Culinary & hospitality professional of tomorrow must master not just flavor—but also food safety. The Big 8 Allergens…
- [Four hotel valuation techniques · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-four-hotel-valuation-techniques): Hotel valuation combines art and science, requiring multiple methodologies to arrive at accurate asset pricing. Understanding these four core techniques enables sophisticated investment decisions and…
- [Four Seasons Vancouver and the Richey Report · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-four-seasons-vancouver-and-the-richey-report): An incredible Memory from 22 years ago ! My First Role as a Department Head in the "fabulous Four Seasons Vancouver" FS VCR as we called it back in the day ! Thank you David Richey for your famous…
- [Generative engine optimisation: hotels against the OTAs · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-generative-engine-optimisation-hotels-against-the-otas): From OTAs to AI: The New Battle for Hotel Visibility For more than two decades, Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) have dominated the digital battlefield. Hotels watched as Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda,…
- [Hospitality never meant abundance. It always meant care · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-hospitality-never-meant-abundance-it-always-meant-care): Go back to the word itself. The Latin hospes means host, guest, and stranger all at once — one root, one relationship, one obligation: to care for the person at your door. The Greeks called it xenia…
- [How the three statements connect: a worked example · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-how-the-three-statements-connect-a-worked-example): Following up on my previous post of INCOME STATEMENT | CASH FLOW & BALANCE SHEET. - let me give you an example to illustrate the connection between the three financial statements. Let's say we have a…
- [Hushpitality: designed silence · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-hushpitality-designed-silence): Designed silence &. calm The advent of “Hush”pitality Silence is no longer accidental; it is designed, protected, and sought after. From deserts and rainforests to sound-aware retreats, hushpitality…
- [Income statement, balance sheet and cash flow · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-income-statement-balance-sheet-and-cash-flow): Perhaps a little more complex ... but very important for people starting out in the management field of anything to be aware of. This is as simplified as I could put it ! The income statement, cash…
- [IRR and XIRR for hotel investments · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-irr-and-xirr-for-hotel-investments): IRR stands as the most intuitive investment metric, answering: “What return does this project actually generate?” Understanding both IRR and XIRR elevates your investment analysis capabilities. What…
- [Kitchen exhaust hoods: BTU and CFM for F&B people · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-kitchen-exhaust-hoods-btu-and-cfm-for-f-b-people): I’ve conceptualized, designed, and operated kitchens and back-of-house systems across luxury hotels and restaurants for almost 3 decades. One thing I’ve noticed: F&B professionals feel inadequate…
- [Laal maas ala Khatipura · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-laal-maas-ala-khatipura): Ingredients: 1 Kg Goat on the bone I prefer pieces from the goat’s leg and a little bit of the shoulder. 20 long dry Maithania Red Chillies. if Maithania is not available then try other dry red…
- [Linear programming in the hotel bakery · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-linear-programming-in-the-hotel-bakery): 🏨 HOTEL MANAGERS: Stop leaving money on the table! Linear Programming can revolutionize your resource allocation and boost profits by 15-25%. Here’s how using a simple bakery example 🧁 THE REAL…
- [Liquidity ratios: the hotel's pulse · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-liquidity-ratios-the-hotel-s-pulse): Hospitality faces unique cash challenges - seasonal swings, high fixed costs, immediate service delivery. These ratios reveal your ability to meet obligations without asset liquidation. The Four…
- [Money multiple, payback and profitability index · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-money-multiple-payback-and-profitability-index): Building on our WACC, NPV, IRR discussions, these three metrics provide crucial risk insights that complete your investment analysis toolkit. What Are These Metrics? Money Multiple: Total cash…
- [Nested protection levels for hotel rates, in one Excel function · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-nested-protection-levels-for-hotel-rates-in-one-excel-function): One of the business hotels I asset manage had an ad hoc rate structure. Levels set by feel, closed by instinct. When I asked how protection levels were being calculated, the honest answer was that…
- [Nine out of ten restaurants do not know what their dishes cost · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-nine-out-of-ten-restaurants-do-not-know-what-their-dishes-cost): Not approximately wrong. Genuinely unknown. Recipes costed once at opening, suppliers changed, portions drifted, and nobody went back. I have spent years in food and beverage and I have come to think…
- [Nobody in the building had read Dickens · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-nobody-in-the-building-had-read-dickens): That was The Claridges when I walked in. Rooms at 3,000 rupees a night in Lutyens Delhi. Menus with spelling mistakes. A 130-key hotel with nowhere sensible to serve breakfast. A lounge nobody sat…
- [NPV for hospitality professionals · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-npv-for-hospitality-professionals): NPV stands as one of the most reliable quantitative tools for investment appraisal, providing objective analysis for complex financial decisions. What is NPV? NPV measures the difference between…
- [On the quiet return of the good life · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-on-the-quiet-return-of-the-good-life): People are beginning to tire of cities. Not literally — the great metropolises will endure. But the gilded urban hotel, however accomplished, increasingly fails to deliver what the discerning…
- [Operating leverage for non-finance managers · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-operating-leverage-for-non-finance-managers): I was asked by a few hospitality colleagues to explain Operating Leverage to non finance managers. I have attempted to put together a simple overview of this concept. It is of importance for managers…
- [Operating leverage: the profit multiplier · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-operating-leverage-the-profit-multiplier): Degree of Operating Leverage (DOL) quantifies how operating income responds to revenue changes - critical for understanding profit volatility and valuation impact. DOL Formulas: 1. Standard: DOL = (%…
- [Org structures and the span of eight · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-org-structures-and-the-span-of-eight): Most hotels use outdated structures. Here’s what works: 🔹 ORG STRUCTURES: Functional: Departments by specialty (housekeeping, F&B, front office) ✅ Clear expertise ✅ Efficient resources 🎯 *Best for:…
- [P/E, PEG and PEGY: useful, not scripture · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-p-e-peg-and-pegy-useful-not-scripture): As part of my work, I do hotel project valuations — and lately I’ve been building the mother of all hotel valuation + feasibility sheets. In the process, I’ve sat in boardrooms where EV/EBITDA and…
- [Porter's five forces for hospitality · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-porter-s-five-forces-for-hospitality): Porter’s Five Forces isn’t just an academic model. In hospitality, it’s a real-time radar for understanding pressure, power, and where profitability is quietly won or lost. Here’s a contemporary take…
- [Porter's value chain for hospitality · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-porter-s-value-chain-for-hospitality): Most people treat Porter’s Value Chain like a textbook model. But in hospitality, travel, wellness, and restaurants, it’s actually a diagnostic tool for understanding where value is truly created —…
- [Reading a balance sheet, for hotel managers · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-reading-a-balance-sheet-for-hotel-managers): Most hotel managers can read a guest in seconds. Far fewer can read a balance sheet. That gap costs money, and it usually shows up quietly. I've put together a short deck for department heads who…
- [Restaurant revenue management, by the seat-hour · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-restaurant-revenue-management-by-the-seat-hour): Most restaurants still judge a night on covers and average check. Both numbers hide where the money is made. A table at 20:00 on a Saturday and the same table at 16:00 on a Tuesday are different…
- [Revenue management for hotel owners · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-revenue-management-for-hotel-owners): Many owners still see their hotel's revenue once a month, in a pack that leads with occupancy. By then the month is gone. Revenue management decides, room night by room night, which guest to accept,…
- [Seclusion can be bought. Care must be meant · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-seclusion-can-be-bought-care-must-be-meant): In my last post I argued that hospitality never meant abundance — it always meant care. So what does the new luxury actually look like? It begins with the setting. Four words: Secluded. Private.…
- [Segments, rate categories and channels on one page · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-segments-rate-categories-and-channels-on-one-page): Most owner reviews I sit in open with occupancy and ADR. Very few open with segmentation, and that's usually where the real story is. I've put the room revenue framework on one page. Every room night…
- [SEO, PPC and AI search, as a lemonade stand · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-seo-ppc-and-ai-search-as-a-lemonade-stand): Too many meetings lately where SEO, PPC and "AI search" fly around the table and nobody asks what anything actually means. So here is the whole game as a lemonade story. You run a lemonade stand…
- [Sixty-five restaurants: some hard truths · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-sixty-five-restaurants-some-hard-truths): 65 + Restaurants across the world some hard truths. Yes it’s satisfying to run / own a restaurant but those who own it realise it’s a labour of love and sometimes an expensive hobby. It helps if one…
- [Standards are the floor, not the ceiling · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-standards-are-the-floor-not-the-ceiling): There’s a Quiet Shift I’ve Seen in Luxury Hospitality. Not in the marble and the thread count. In the moments between—where the guest decides whether they felt served... or genuinely understood. I’m…
- [Strategic asset management · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-strategic-asset-management): In today’s hospitality landscape, sophisticated asset management transcends traditional property oversight—it demands strategic orchestration of stakeholder alignment, capital optimization, and…
- [Strategy 101: thought starters · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-strategy-101-thought-starters): We still cling to the idea that strategy should deliver certainty. As if the right model, the right deck, or the right consultant will produce a perfect plan. But in hospitality, travel, wellness,…
- [Taj Exotica Maldives: my first GM role · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-taj-exotica-maldives-my-first-gm-role): Found an old document that encapsulates my first GM Role at Taj Exotica Resort and Spa, Maldives. I was stressed out in early 2006 but the hardwork put in by all of us we not only completed the…
- [The 100-crore year at The Claridges · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-the-100-crore-year-at-the-claridges): Weitzel and Jonsson‘s model is a great way to plan a resurrection from organizational decline. Using this framework as a uguideline and blue ocean framework I have yet again managed to salvage a…
- [The architects of time · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-the-architects-of-time): Hospitality is moving from servicing lifestyle to supporting human emotions and biology. This is not a “wellness trend.” It is the next operating system for luxury. We live in continuous stimulation…
- [The break-even point · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-the-break-even-point): By popular demand a simple explanation of the BEP - something every operating manager should be aware of and track daily. The break-even point is the level of sales at which the total revenue equals…
- [The cash conversion cycle in Indian hotels · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-the-cash-conversion-cycle-in-indian-hotels): What is CCC? Time it takes for your hotel to convert inventory investments into cash receipts. Measures how long cash is “trapped” in operations. Formula: CCC = DIO + DSO - DPO • DIO: Days Inventory…
- [The core five of service · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-the-core-five-of-service): In the age of automation there will be a premium on genuine human to human interactions 28 years in luxury hospitality across brands here is what my secret sauce is and it’s brand agnostic because it…
- [The Gordon growth model in hotel valuation · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-the-gordon-growth-model-in-hotel-valuation): “valuation arguments” are really arguments about two things: 1. What cash flow is truly sustainable 2. What perpetuity assumptions you’re willing to defend One compact framework that connects the…
- [The Greiner growth model in hospitality · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-the-greiner-growth-model-in-hospitality): Organizational evolution follows a predictable pattern of growth phases interrupted by transformative crises. Larry Greiner's model illuminates this journey through six stages, each with distinctive…
- [The hotel investment landscape: choose the structure before the brand · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-the-hotel-investment-landscape-choose-the-structure-before-the-brand): Some Thought Starters not absolute truths:- The flag on the roof is not the investment thesis. India’s hotel development landscape now offers six distinct structures — HMA, Franchise, Third Party…
- [The Lodhi, from good to great · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-the-lodhi-from-good-to-great): De-mystifying Magic..... I wanted to share a document that chronicles the "Good to Great" Journey of The Lodhi New Delhi. (This is hot on the heels of my previous post where I showcased some of the…
- [The new luxury of quiet hospitality · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-the-new-luxury-of-quiet-hospitality): In a world of constant noise and endless notifications, luxury has been repurposed. The ultimate indulgence now? Spaces that allow us to think deeply, sleep soundly, move slowly, and live quietly.…
- [The new status symbols of ultra-luxury travel · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-the-new-status-symbols-of-ultra-luxury-travel): In 2026, the world’s most discerning travellers aren’t buying access anymore — they’re buying absence. Absence of noise. Of validation. Of the need to be seen. Because when everything is attainable,…
- [The nightlife revolution · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-the-nightlife-revolution): The empirical evidence is unequivocal – we’re witnessing a paradigmatic transformation in social consumption patterns, and the most astute operators are already orchestrating their competitive…
- [The twenty-five commandments of The Lodhi · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-the-twenty-five-commandments-of-the-lodhi): In July 2016, I wrote twenty-five commandments for the colleagues of The Lodhi, New Delhi. They carried a turnaround: revenues 3.5x, RevPAR five-fold, the World's No. 2 Hotel. Today I am publishing…
- [Three doors before competence · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-three-doors-before-competence): In 2026, leadership has a new sequence. Not because competence stopped mattering— but because competence is no longer the first filter. In a world of distributed teams, AI-augmented output, low…
- [Turning a breakfast problem into an advantage · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-turning-a-breakfast-problem-into-an-advantage): Folks happy to share an example of how to turn constraints into competitive advantage using a “Blue Ocean” thought process. Breakfast was distinctly a substandard and scattered experience at The…
- [Two extra parties an hour shouldn't break a dining room · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-two-extra-parties-an-hour-shouldn-t-break-a-dining-room): Most managers feel the cliff. Few can show it. So let me solve a real room, stage by stage, with the exact formula every call centre on earth uses to size its staff — Erlang C. THE ROOM 10 tables. A…
- [Two hotels, the same 14% return · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-two-hotels-the-same-14-return): Names changed. Numbers not. The first — call it the Palace — is 118 keys of eighteenth-century sandstone above a lake in Rajasthan. A stepwell in the second courtyard. Peacocks that wake the guests…
- [Uniquely unparalleled · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-uniquely-unparalleled): The second of my Three U’s is Uniquely Unparalleled. In a world drowning in abundance, sameness is the greatest sin. Guests don’t want “amenities for all.” They crave singularity: the one gesture…
- [Unseen and unheard · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-unseen-and-unheard): My lifelong pursuit of the Three U’s begins with the first: Unseen & Unheard. True hospitality lives not in spectacle, but in silence. The gestures that whisper become the ones guests carry with them…
- [Upsize before you downsize: Ansoff's matrix · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-upsize-before-you-downsize-ansoff-s-matrix): Downsizing is usually tragic - I believe in upsizing the business and applying Ansoff’s Matrix to see how the business can be expanded by utilising the excess existing capacity / capability ! 1) New…
- [USALI 12th edition: market segments · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-usali-12th-edition-market-segments): Excited to share insights inspired by the new USALI 12th Edition on Market Segments! Having engaged with industry experts in Sales, Marketing, and Distribution, aligning terminology is key for data…
- [VAS design: a bar, before and after · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-vas-design-a-bar-before-and-after): Here’s another before after ...... VAS Design is not about putting insane money into something but reimagining the space with a creative story and spin...... so proud of this bar it has won numerous…
- [WACC for hotel professionals · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-wacc-for-hotel-professionals): Understanding your Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) isn’t academic—it’s the cornerstone of strategic financial management for hospitality leaders. What is WACC? WACC represents the blended…
- [We romanticise the smile and forget the scaffolding · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-we-romanticise-the-smile-and-forget-the-scaffolding): The line doing the rounds — that luxury hospitality is no longer about marble or thread count but the warmth of welcome — is correct, but only half-said. The other half is harder. And it is the half…
- [Why revenue missed budget: price, volume and their interaction · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-why-revenue-missed-budget-price-volume-and-their-interaction): Most hotel managers panic when they see revenue variances but don’t understand what’s driving them. Smart managers use three-component analysis to find the real story. Example: Hotel with 200 Cr Room…
- [You can trademark a logo. You cannot trademark a feeling · Excelsior Journal](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/journal-you-can-trademark-a-logo-you-cannot-trademark-a-feeling): That, in one line, is the strangest thing about branding, and I say this as someone who has spent his working life inside luxury hotels watching it play out at the front door. Every brand lives…

## Full text

- [llms-full.txt](https://excelsiorassetmanagement.com/llms-full.txt)