Highgate Hotels

Highgate is a leading real estate investment and hospitality management company widely recognized as an innovator in the industry. Highgate is the dominant player in major U.S. gateway cities including New York, Boston, Miami, San Francisco and Honolulu, with a growing Caribbean and Latin America footprint. The hospitality forward company provides expert guidance through all stages of the property cycle, from planning and development through recapitalization or disposition. Highgate has a proven record of developing its diverse portfolio of bespoke lifestyle hotel brands, legacy brands, and independent hotels and resorts with contemporary programming and digital acumen. The company utilizes industry-leading revenue management tools that efficiently identify and predict evolving market dynamics to drive outperformance and maximize asset value. With an executive team consisting of some of the most experienced hotel management leaders, the company is a trusted partner for top ownership groups and major hotel brands. Highgate maintains corporate offices in New York, Chicago, Dallas, London, Miami, and Seattle. www.highgate.com.

Location

Overview

The Controller is responsible for providing consistent leadership in the financial area for the M Social Hotel by supplying management with guidance and training. He/she is also responsible for focusing on the profitability of the business, maintaining accurate and timely financial reporting, ensuring acceptable levels on internal control, ensuring compliance with all federal, state, and local regulations, and safeguarding owners/investors assets.

Responsibilities

• Maintain a warm and friendly demeanor at all times.
• Must be able to effectively communicate both verbally and written, with all level of employees, vendors, and guests in an attentive, courteous and service oriented manner.
• Must be effective at listening to, understanding, and clarifying concerns raised by employees, vendors, and guests.
• Must be able to multitask and prioritize departmental functions to meet deadlines.
• Attend all hotel required meetings, stand-ups, and trainings.
• Maintain regular attendance in compliance with Highgate Hotels Standards, as required by scheduling, which may vary according to the needs of the hotel.
• Maintain high standards of personal appearance and grooming, which include wearing nametags.
• Comply with Highgate Hotels Standards and regulations to encourage safe and efficient hotel operations.
• Assist in maximizing efforts towards productivity, identify problem areas and assist in implementing solutions.
• Must be effective in handling problems, including anticipating, preventing, identifying and solving problems as necessary.
• Must be able to understand and evaluate complex information, data, etc. from various sources to meet appropriate objectives.
• Must be able to maintain confidentiality of information.

Fundamental Requirements:

• Effectively manage and communicate cash flow related issues. This includes the accurate and timely preparation of cash flow statements, management of receivables, payables, cash balances, control mechanisms and timely deposits of all funds.
• Monitor hotel revenues and expenses and ensure the accurate recording in accordance with Highgate Hotels’ established guidelines, GAAP, and the 11th Edition of USALI. Investigate and critique variances to budget or to prior year and offer practical improvement methodologies to management.
• Communicate, train, and enforce Highgate Hotels SOPs and initiatives including the related processes to ensure understanding and compliance
• Monitor the capital planning process by assisting management with the calculation of return on capital improvements, gathering support and monitoring the bid process, and ensuring proper upkeep of the property by evaluating scope of work and specifications.
• Ensure compliance on all regulatory licenses and permits, leases, contracts, legal agreements, and the proper execution of operational taxes. Assist and act on enforcing compliance on these items.
• Analyze financial data and operations in order to assist and advise management in maintaining the hotels’ financial objectives.
• Ensure that all balance sheet accounts, including bank reconciliations are reconciled on a timely basis.
• Uphold and audit internal financial controls including revenue recognition, purchasing, cash handling, disbursements, inventories, hotel assets, master keys, payroll, and employee records.
• Cultivate a continuous growth environment by actively assisting in training, succession planning, recruiting, recommending and sustaining a stabilized accounting environment
• Hire, train, supervise and develop staff, including coaching, counseling and discipline.
• Maintain compliance with Highgate Hotels’ standards and regulations to ensure safe and efficient operation of the hotel.
• Ensure the proper utilization, maintenance and periodic upgrades of all equipment and respective software applications
• Assists or prepares required financial reporting in accordance with Highgate Hotels’ requirements meeting various due dates and deadlines including but not limited to:

Weekly: A/R & A/P Aging Daily DMS Reports Payroll Reports

Monthly: Financial Statements Forecasting Key Statistics Report Cash Flow

Annual: Budgets 5-Year Plans 5-Year Capital Plans

• Conduct and/or attend and contribute to periodic meetings to maintain favorable working relationships among employees and promote maximum morale, productivity, and efficiency.

Executive Committee Sales and Service Financial Review Departmental 

Budget & Forecast Credit & Collection Highgate Hotels Business Review

• Ensure compliance in meeting required reporting deadlines and due dates as communicated by Highgate Hotels and the Hotel Management Agreement(s) [HMAs] respectively
• Perform other duties as requested by management and Vice President of Finance

Qualifications

• A minimum of 5 years of related progressive experience in hotel Accounting or related field; or a 4-year college degree with an Accounting/ Finance concentration and a minimum of 2 years of related progressive experience; or a 2-year college degree and a minimum of 4 years of related progressive experience.
• Must supervise 2 or more employees
• Must be proficient in Windows, Oracle ERP, Company approved spreadsheets and word processing and in the operation of all hotel-specific systems.