In June 2004, following a rigorous RFP process, CHM was selected as the asset manager by the Denver Convention Center Authority for the tax exempt financed, 1,100-room Hyatt Denver Convention Center Hotel in Denver, Colorado. This $285 million hotel project broke ground on June 25, 2003 and opened in December 2005 in support of the recently expanded Colorado Convention Center. Ownership investment objectives are to maximize cash flow to cover debt service, pay all taxes, support the needs of the Colorado Convention Center, enhance the marketability of Denver as a major group and leisure destination, as well as eventually provide an incremental revenue stream to the City of Denver.

With these goals in mind during the development phase, CHM focused on pre-opening sales, marketing and yield management, paying close attention to whole hotel yielding to ensure group booking goals were met. The concept of whole hotel yielding was implemented by establishing sales goals not only for rooms, but also for group food and beverage, including banquet sales as part of the overall staff incentive plan. Critical to a successful property opening and operational ramp-up, particularly for a convention hotel, are advanced bookings; not only ensuring that volume targets are achieved, but also achieving rate goals. CHM worked closely with the Hyatt sales team to analyze bookings and develop tools to track how they were performing against proforma expectations. Based on this effort, CHM was able to bring a strategic vision to the pre-opening sales process, garnering Hyatt corporate support, creating alliances with the local Convention & Visitors Bureau and aligning the sales team to these goals.

As a result of closely monitoring pre-opening sales and fostering collaborative efforts between the asset management and property operating teams, the Hyatt Denver opened with more than $100 million of business on the books, marking the most successful pre-opening sales campaign ever achieved in the history of the Hyatt brand. First year actual NOI exceeded proforma profit and budget expectations by a significant margin.