Sample Case for Video Storyboarding Exercise Backgrounder

The background information relating to the Case Examination (Backgrounder) is provided to candidates in advance of the examination date. The Backgrounder contains information about both the company and the industry involved in the case. Candidates are expected to familiarize themselves with this information in preparation for the analysis that will be required during the Case Examination. Candidates should note that they will not be allowed to bring any written material, including the advance copy of this Backgrounder, into the examination centre. A new copy of this Backgrounder, together with additional information about the company and a supplement of formulae and tables, will be provided at the writing centre for the Case Examination. Only the following models of calculators are authorized for use on the Case Examination: 1. Texas Instruments 2. Hewlett Packard 3. Sharp TI BA II Plus (including the professional model) HP 10bII (or HP 10Bii) EL-738C (or EL-738)

Candidates are reminded that no outside research on the industry related to this case is required. Examination responses will be evaluated on the basis of the industry information provided in the Backgrounder and the question paper (Additional Information).

2013 The Society of Management Accountants of Canada. All rights reserved. / Registered Trade-Marks/Trade-Marks are owned by The Society of Management Accountants of Canada. No part of this document may be reproduced in any form without the permission of the copyright holder.

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Sample Case for Video Storyboarding Exercise

GR Hotels Corporation (GR) Backgrounder

Company History (1991 to 2007)
GR Hotels Corporation (GR) is a privately-owned corporation that operates two large mid-scale hotels, one in Montreal and one in Toronto. The corporation was founded by the Gemron family in the late 1980s. The companys first hotel was built near the Toronto international airport and opened in early 1991. GR expanded quickly, opening a hotel in downtown Montreal in 1992. The hotels are branded as GR Hotels, e.g. GR Toronto Hotel. Each hotel has 280 or more guest rooms and three banquet rooms. The banquet rooms are used for special events with 50-300 attendees, such as conferences, wedding receptions, and seminars. Small meetings can be accommodated by removing bedroom furniture from a guest room and adding tables and chairs. Until 1997, Arthur Gemron managed the company. Satisfied with the operations of the hotels, Gemron retired and Andrew Mayd was hired in 1997 to manage GR. The hotels developed a good reputation for service and have been reasonably successful for the past 10 years. The GR Montreal Hotel has benefited from the popularity of Montreal as a conference and tourist centre. Montreal is close to several major U.S. cities and costs are reasonable. As well, travellers regard Montreal as a little foreign and exotic, but safer than many other major cities. In 2004, the Montreal Tourist Magazine bestowed the best mid-scale independent hotel award to the GR Montreal Hotel. Toronto, which is Canadas most populous city and Ontarios economic centre, has seen significant growth since 1990. GRs head office and central booking centre is located in the Toronto hotel building. In 2003, business at the Toronto hotel suffered significantly as a result of the SARS outbreak in Toronto. Over the past four years, business has returned to previous levels.

The Industry
The accommodation industry thrives on strategically located and efficiently managed establishments, as well as the tourism industry in general. Worldwide, the industry is huge, with estimated annual revenues in excess of $124 billion. In Canada, many municipal and provincial tourism agencies promote Canadian cities as attractive travel destinations and thus provide business to the local accommodation industry. World events (e.g. terrorist attacks, SARS outbreak) caused the Canadian tourism industry to decline from 2001 to 2003, and the occupancy rate of hotels in

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Canada reached an all-time low. In 2004, the industry rebounded and tourism grew at a faster rate than the rest of the economy. By the end of 2007, there were more than 15,000 travel accommodation establishments in Canada, generating in excess of $13 billion in operating revenues (see Exhibit 1). Airport hotels experienced the largest gains in demand, followed closely by downtown hotels. The average occupancy rate for large hotels (i.e. those with more than 200 guest rooms) reached 70% in 2007 and the average daily room rate for these hotels reached $138 (see Exhibit 2). A four-scale system is used to classify hotels: 1. Economy Basic accommodation provided with few or no amenities and guest services, and the only facility provided is usually a swimming pool. 2. Mid-scale Basic accommodation provided with some amenities, but limited guest services and facilities (e.g. breakfast service, selected business services, fitness centre). 3. Upscale More comfortable and attractive accommodations provided with a broad range of facilities, amenities, and services (e.g. spa, business centre, concierge, recreational facilities). 4. Luxury Highest standard of accommodation that offers an extensive range of amenities, guest services, and facilities (e.g. first-class restaurant, extensive entertainment facilities). In general, business travellers tend to stay at upscale and luxury hotels, as well as the better mid-scale hotels. Leisure travellers tend to stay mainly at mid-scale and economy hotels. The Internets increased popularity has had a major impact on the tourism and accommodation industry over a relatively short period of time. Major on-line travel sites (e.g. Expedia.com, Travelocity.com) offer Internet-savvy consumers booking options that go beyond simple transactions such as point-to-point air and hotel reservations. The book-it-yourself traveller is becoming more prevalent. Consumers are taking greater control over their travel plans by using the Internet to not only gather information, but also to compare prices and options to locate the best deals available, make reservations directly, and arrange for payment directly. Another industry trend is the increase in hotels that are associated with a brand name chain (e.g. franchises). Industry reports show that these hotels perform better than hotels that are not part of a chain. Associated hotel chains generally have more rooms, charge higher daily room rates, and have higher occupancy rates than independently owned hotels. A major contributing factor for this superior performance is the use of a central reservation system (i.e. a guest booking system using a centralized computer and/or telephone answering service). As well, many hotel chains of all sizes offer frequent guest or other points programs to generate repeat business.
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Certain government regulations impact hotels in Canada. These regulations cover such areas as real estate zoning, food preparation, liquor licensing, elevator safety, and property taxes.

GR Hotels Corporation 2007

Management and Organizational Structure The companys current summarized organizational chart is found in Exhibit 3. The structure involves a head office management group and the management of each hotel. The President and CEO of GR is Andrew Mayd. He was hired in 1997 by the board of directors to replace Arthur Gemron after an extensive search by a well known executive recruitment firm. Mayd is a hotel industry veteran. After graduating from college with a major in hospitality management 29 years ago, he gained experience working for three major hotel chains and one independent hotel, beginning at the front desk and working his way up to his current position with GR. Walter Rames is the companys Vice-President, Bookings and Promotion. He worked in sales and marketing with several different organizations before joining GR last year. His responsibilities include promotion and advertising for all GR hotels, as well as the central booking system. Caly Leblanc is the Vice-President, Services and People. She holds an MBA from a prestigious university and has worked her entire career in the hotel industry. Leblanc is responsible for overseeing the service levels at both hotels, focussing on generating and implementing new ideas for improvement. She also provides overall human resource management. Matt Gleeson is the Vice-President, Facilities. He held positions with a number of property management companies before joining GR in 1991. Gleeson is in charge of maintenance and improvements of the two hotel buildings, properties, and facilities. As well, he is responsible for the purchasing function for both hotels. Manny Bluenose, Vice-President, Finance, joined GR in 2001 as the controller and was promoted to the vice-president position in 2006. He has a B.Comm. with an accounting major. Prior to joining GR, Bluenose worked for four years as a senior financial analyst with a community college. His current responsibilities at GR include overseeing both the finance and information technology functions. Each of the vice-presidents is paid a base salary of $100,000 plus a bonus if corporate pre-tax income exceeds $2 million. They also receive other incentive benefits if personal objectives for the year are met. The other key people in GRs management structure are the two hotel general managers: Luc Lavioli Montreal hotel; and Sue Sutton Toronto hotel. The hotel general managers are responsible for all hotel operations, including the front desk,
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housekeeping services, banquet services, restaurant, gift shop, and facilities. Lavioli started working at the GR Montreal Hotel in 1993 as a general labourer in the restaurant while he was attending college. After graduating with a three-year business administration diploma, he worked his way up through almost every department of the hotel until he was promoted to his current position in 2007. Sutton is a hotel industry veteran who joined GR in 1999. Each hotel general manager receives the same base salary of $85,000, plus a bonus equal to 0.3% of the pre-tax income of their respective hotel. Central functions, such as purchasing and bookings, require the hotel general managers and their staff to work closely with the head office staff. For example, the hotel general managers work together with the booking department staff to set the hotel rates for their individual hotels. At each hotel, all hotel staff report directly to the hotel general manager for on-site accountability and indirectly to the respective functional vice-president at the head office. For example, the head chef at the Toronto hotel restaurant reports directly to Sutton and indirectly to Leblanc, and the facilities manager reports indirectly to Gleeson. Promotion and Booking GR advertises in the Montreal and Toronto telephone directory yellow pages and airports, as well as in certain national tourist magazines. GR also purchases pop-up advertising on the Internet with google.com at a cost of pennies per view, where the GR advertisement pops up when a person uses the GoogleTM search engine to find a hotel in Montreal or Toronto. These advertisements are capped, so that once the authorized limit for the month is reached, GR advertisements stop. Some billboard advertising is used within two kilometres of the hotels, each of which has good highway access. The company maintains a simple, user-friendly website, which allows online bookings at a small discount, as well as a central booking phone line at the head office. Table 1 describes the various modes that guests at GR hotels use to make bookings: Table 1 Mode of Booking Directly through the GR website Directly through the GR 1-888 central booking phone line Indirectly through travel agents who receive a small commission Directly at the hotel front desk, i.e. walk-ins with no prior reservation Indirectly through third party websites Indirectly through third party convention organizers % of Bookings 37% 24% 22% 8% 4% 5%

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Sample Case for Video Storyboarding Exercise

In 2007, GR polled all guests with regard to their purpose of travelling and staying at GR hotels. The poll revealed that approximately 65% of guests were staying at the hotel for pleasure and 35% for business. Of the business guests, 3% were attending conferences held in the hotel. The poll also revealed that the average length of stay of all guests was three days. Board of Directors and Shareholders The board of directors of GR is comprised of five individuals. Three are Gemron family members: Arthur (who founded the company), his eldest son Arthur Jr., and his eldest daughter Genevieve. The other two members of the board are Mark Welly and Julie Saab. Arthur Gemron is a wealthy individual who owns a number of commercial and residential real estate properties through various corporations, in addition to the GR hotels. He serves on the boards of directors of the companies but is no longer directly involved in their operations. Both Arthur Jr. and Genevieve Gemron were active in running GR from its inception until 1997, when they retired at the same time as their father. Arthur Jr. currently enjoys a life of leisure and Genevieve is a philanthropist in the area of childrens learning disabilities. Mark Welly, who retired in 1999, was the first general manager for the GR Toronto Hotel. Julie Saab is a long-time friend of the Gemron family and a lawyer. The board meets at least every second month to review progress reports, financial results, and major proposals presented by Mayd and selected members of the management group. In early 2007, the board prepared the following formal vision and mission statements: Vision: GR Hotels are the hotels of choice for travellers in Canadian cities. Mission: GR Hotels provide clean, comfortable rooms and good quality services to business and pleasure travellers in Toronto and Montreal at competitive prices. Table 2 provides a list of the shareholders, who are all members or friends of the Gemron family:

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Table 2 Shareholder Arthur Gemron Arthur Gemron, Jr. Gemron family trust J.E.C.B. Gemron Genevieve Gemron Julie Saab Eileen Poltski Total Less issue costs Recorded on financial statements Description of Operations The company has a December 31 fiscal year end. The first quarter of the year is the weakest and the third quarter is the strongest. GR hotels strive to provide guests with as many small customer touches that a midscale hotel can afford. Although valet parking is not provided, each hotel has ample guest parking and bell staff are available to help carry luggage. Upon checking in at the front desk, each guest is asked for their preferences in terms of such things as room location relative to elevators and floor, room dcor, and smoking versus non-smoking (smoking is permitted on a few designated floors in each hotel). When possible, such preferences are accommodated. In addition to standard hotel room furnishings (bed, desk, chairs, television, clock-radio, etc.), each guest room has a coffee maker, free coffee and related supplies, a hair dryer, an iron, and an ironing board. In each bathroom, complimentary soap, shampoo, and hair conditioner are provided. Each evening, two complimentary fresh cookies from the hotels restaurant are placed in each occupied guest room. GR hotels do not have a concierge, but special inquiries (e.g. recommendations for nearby restaurants, shows, etc.) can be made at the front desk. Although dry cleaning services are not offered by GR hotels, guests who require dry cleaning are directed to a local dry cleaning depot located within two blocks of the hotel. Express checkout service is provided, whereby the guests invoice/receipt is placed under the guest room door at 2 a.m. on the last day of the guests stay. The total invoiced amount is automatically charged to the guests credit card, removing the need for the guest to check out at the busy front desk in the morning. If the guest does not Number of Common Shares 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 35,000 Price Paid per Share $4.00 $4.00 $4.00 $4.00 $4.00 $4.00 $4.00 Total $ 20,000 20,000 20,000 20,000 20,000 20,000 20,000 140,000 5,890 $134,110

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agree with any of the itemized charges on the invoice, the guest must visit the front desk where hotel staff will make the appropriate inquiries and adjustments. Each hotel has one restaurant and a very small gift shop. Approximately 80% of the revenues generated at the restaurants and stores are from hotel guests and 20% from local walk-in customers. The restaurants, like the hotel, are value-oriented, providing basic family-style meals of good quality from 6:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. at reasonable prices. Although they do not provide room service for the guest rooms, the restaurants offer catering services for the events held in the banquet rooms. The purchasing department negotiates bulk purchases of supplies (e.g. hotel furnishings, linens, towels, toiletries, stationery, room card keys, maintenance, food, and other supplies) for both hotels and the head office. Occasionally, mutually beneficial special arrangements are made with suppliers. For example, in early 2007, an arrangement was made with a foreign consumer products manufacturer that was introducing its inexpensive products in the Canadian market. The foreign company would supply GR with free soap, shampoo, and hair conditioner for the guest rooms and, in return, GR hotels would provide free advertising for these products by placing a flyer in the guest rooms that would indicate where these items could be purchased (e.g. Wal-Mart) and their retail prices. This arrangement worked successfully in 2007 and negotiations are taking place for a similar arrangement for 2008. Competition The Canadian and international hotel industries are very competitive. Competition within each of the four classes is based on numerous factors, such as ease of booking, room rates, location, room quality, housekeeping services, food and beverage quality and service, availability of additional facilities and services, and attitude of the hotel staff. The first quarter of the calendar year is generally the weakest across the industry in North America. Toronto and Montreal have a plethora of competing accommodation alternatives in all four hotel classes. Some of the mid-range hotel chains that compete directly with GR are Wonderful Inns, Budget Hotels, and Home-Away-From-Home Hotels. Human Resources GR has at total of 221 full-time equivalent employees. Many are long-term, loyal staff and the average length of service is 12 years. GR management has always followed the philosophy that keeping employees happy will result in their providing better service to guests. One practice used is to automatically give employees raises of 2.5% to 3% per year. Another is to use mainly full-time staff and limited part-time staff. As a result of these factors, employee turnover is lower than the industry norm. Total salaries and benefits in 2007 are approximately $7.3 million, by far the largest operating cost. Employees have various backgrounds, with those in higher positions holding diplomas in hospitality disciplines from community colleges. Salaries are higher

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in Toronto than Montreal due to market factors and the cost of living. All staff, including the executives, take vacations only during the slow periods of the year. The breakdown of the number of full-time equivalent employees in the two hotels is set out in Table 3: Table 3 Function Executives and head office Restaurant Front desk, including bell staff Housekeeping Gift shop Facilities Banquet services Other Total employees Number of Employees 33 60 34 39 6 12 20 17 221

Gratuities are an important part of the remuneration of many hotel employees, such as the restaurant, housekeeping, and bell staff. Consistent with industry practice, wages of employees who receive gratuities are lower than wages of other employees in the hotels. Finance, Information Technology, and Financial Reporting Manny Bluenose directs the finance, accounting, and information technology functions of GR. The company uses the ENN accounting system and processes payroll inhouse using the payroll module of that system. All cheque processing and accounting are performed in the Toronto head office. The companys financial statements are audited each year and have always been unqualified. Exhibit 4 provides summary financial information for 2005, 2006, and 2007. For simplicity, the amortization rates used by the company for accounting purposes are the same as the capital cost allowance (CCA) rates used for tax purposes. Consequently, GR has no timing differences between accounting and taxable income. The CCA rates used by GR are as follows:

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Sample Case for Video Storyboarding Exercise

Hotel buildings Furniture, fixtures, and equipment Vehicles Computer application software, tools, tableware, kitchen utensils, and other small assets Computer hardware and systems software Parking lots Leasehold improvements

4% 20% 30% 100% 45% 8% straight-line

Historically, the company has paid out most of its profits in the form of dividends to the shareholders, shortly after the year end. A detailed line-by-line operating budget is prepared annually. Historically, the forecasted revenues and expenses used in the budgets have been fairly accurate in relation to the actual revenues and expenses. The budgeted amounts are entered into the accounting system and reports showing favourable and unfavourable variances are generated for management review each period. Banking GR has two chequing accounts and all its property mortgages with the Bank of Newfoundland. Over the past 16 years, GR has developed a good relationship with the bank. Currently, the bank has only one restrictive covenant on the financial arrangements with GR the companys operating profit (i.e. earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization) must be at least 11% of revenues each year.

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Exhibit 1 Selected Statistics for Accommodation Industry in Canada 2007

Number of Establishments 425 220 571 487 2,965 4,302 664 831 1,569 3,277 167 99 37 Operating Revenue (millions) $ 164.7 84.6 327.9 221.8 2,346.2 3,986.9 647.8 489.6 2,214.4 2,591.1 73.1 53.4 32.6 Operating Expenses* (millions) $ 138.7 74.3 279.2 185.3 2,025.5 3,437.0 570.4 420.2 1,791.5 2,215.0 66.3 44.9 28.2 Operating Margin % of Sales** 15.8% 12.2% 14.9% 16.5% 13.7% 13.8% 11.9% 14.2% 19.1% 14.5% 9.3% 15.9% 13.5% 14.8%

Newfoundland Prince Edward Island Nova Scotia New Brunswick Quebec Ontario Manitoba Saskatchewan Alberta British Columbia Yukon Northwest Territories Nunavut

Canada 15,614 $13,234.1 $11,276.5 * Operating expenses exclude interest, amortization, and income taxes ** Operating margin percentage of sales = (Operating revenue - Operating expenses) / Operating revenue

Newfoundland Prince Edward Island Nova Scotia New Brunswick Quebec Ontario Manitoba Saskatchewan Alberta British Columbia Territories/Nunavut Canada

Distribution of Revenue by Type of Service Meals and Rooms Alcohol Merchandise Service 62% 29% 1% 8% 73% 22% 0% 5% 69% 22% 1% 8% 68% 27% 0% 5% 62% 29% 1% 8% 63% 25% 0% 12% 36% 52% 3% 9% 52% 39% 2% 7% 57% 33% 1% 9% 61% 30% 1% 8% 51% 39% 3% 7% 60% 30% 1% 9%

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Exhibit 2 Performance Metrics for Selected Hotel Groups in Canada for 2007
Average Number of Rooms 148 191 92 350 195 189 240 145 100 150 155 Average Occupancy Rate 66% 69% 62% 70% 70% 68% 73% 62% 54% 65% 64% Revenue per Available Room** $79 $86 $65 $97 $77 $88 $117 $65 $42 $59 $64

All hotels Associated chain hotels Independent hotels Large hotels (> 200 rooms) Airport hotels Downtown hotels Upscale hotels Mid-scale hotels Economy hotels Mid-scale hotels Montreal Mid-scale hotels Toronto *

Average Daily Room Rate* $120 $125 $105 $138 $110 $130 $160 $105 $78 $91 $100

Average daily room rate = Accommodation revenue per day divided by the total number of rooms sold ** Revenue per available room = Average occupancy rate x Average daily room rate

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Exhibit 3 GR Hotels Corporation Organizational Chart

Board of Directors

President and CEO Andrew Mayd

Vice-President, Services & People Caly Leblanc Human Resources Restaurants Service

Vice-President, Finance Manny Bluenose Finance and Accounting Information Technology

Vice-President, Bookings & Promotion Walter Rames

Vice-President, Facilities Matt Gleeson Repairs and Maintenance

Advertising

Booking Centre

Purchasing

General Manager, Montreal Hotel Luc Lavioli Front Desk Housekeeping Service Banquet Service Facilities Restaurant Gift Shop

General Manager, Toronto Hotel Sue Sutton Front Desk Housekeeping Service Banquet Service Facilities Restaurant Gift Shop

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Exhibit 4 GR Hotels Corporation Financial Statements (in 000s)

Balance Sheets as at December 31 Assets: Cash Accounts receivable Inventory Prepaid expenses Capital assets (net) Total assets Liabilities: Accounts payable Income taxes payable Current portion of long-term debt Mortgages payable Shareholders equity: Common shares Retained earnings Total liabilities and shareholders equity 2007 $ 1,101 440 52 59 1,552 9,849 $11,401 $ 2006 991 432 52 58 1,533 10,101 $ 2005 852 396 33 52 1,333 10,343

$11,634

$11,676

$ 1,127 54 342 1,523 8,556 134 1,188 1,322 $11,401

$ 1,074 46 342 1,462 8,898 134 1,140 1,274 $11,634

953 34 342 1,329 9,240 134 973 1,107

$11,676

Income Statements for the Years Ended Dec. 31 Revenues Expenses: Service delivery Promotion and booking General and administration Interest Amortization Income before taxes Income taxes Net income

2007 $21,993 15,967 1,124 2,268 586 430 20,375 1,618 647 $ 971

2006 $21,595 15,814 1,098 2,267 598 428 20,205 1,390 556 $ 834

2005 $19,798 15,123 710 1,932 610 418 18,793 1,005 402 $ 603

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