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1. COST CUTTING
& LEAN
PRACTICES
CUTTING COSTS, RUNNING LEAN AND LOOKING
FORWARD.
HOW TO SURVIVE THE COVID19 CRISIS AND SET
YOURSELF UP TO THRIVE IN THE FUTURE.
Ben Wolff
CEO
ProTripper &
Blink Hospitality
ben@protripper.comApril 2020

2. Overview
Major cost drivers
• Rent roll
• Vendors & suppliers
• Staff
Cash is king!
Future opportunities

3. Cost Driver - Rent roll
Propose revenue split instead of rent
• 80% of revenue goes to your landlord / owner / mgmt. company
• 20% goes to you for managing
Negotiate rent reductions
• If you can afford it, negotiate rent reductions with landlords you’d like to stay on
good terms with
• This allows for lower cost structure now and higher probability to cover rent from a
long-term tenant instead of delaying payments and having burdensome debt to
climb out of later

4. Cost Driver - Rent roll (cont'd)
Delay payments
• Landlords must accept delayed payments given eviction moratoriums
• At minimum ask for zero penalties / late fees on delayed payments
• Many lenders are offering forbearance on mortgages as well (contact your lender)
Shed least profitable units
• Negotiate lease breaks – often lease break provisions in leases, force majeure
clauses, make sure landlords are aware of the alternative
• Sell, donate or store furniture (use other properties / garages for free storage)

5. Cost Driver - Vendors
Negotiate price breaks
• PMS & channel managers
• Pricing software
• Data providers
• Security services & noise monitoring devices
• Utilities
• Laundry
• Cleaners

6. Cost Driver – Vendors (cont'd)
How to negotiate with vendors
• Express need for discount while demonstrating ability to
survive the crisis
• Vendors only want to give discounts to companies they
believe will survive and continue to be a paying customer
in the future

7. Cost Driver – Staff
Reduce cost while retaining top people
• Unemployment benefits at all-time high, feds offering an extra $600 / wk
• Make sure laying yourself off won’t disallow PPP loan forgiveness
Consider laying yourself off…but consult your accountant
first!
• Consider cutting hours more broadly in lieu of laying off quality employees
• Repurpose capable staff members on new higher priority initiatives and forward
looking opportunities
Shift fixed costs to variable
• Services offered for a percentage of booking revenue
• You don’t pay a dime unless you get bookings!

8. Switch from fixed-cost staff to a variable-cost service
If you're not booking, you're not paying!
Sign up by May 31st to get
50% off your first 6 months!
ProReception
6% 3% of bookings
ProPricing
6% 3% of bookings
 24/7 communications from pre-booking through
post check-out
 Strong English proficiency
 Focused on guest satisfaction and refund
minimization
 Fast, personalized responses with minimal input
from our clients
 Automated, dynamic pricing to maximize
revenue
 Dedicated team of pricing experts providing
human oversight
 On-call pricing support seven days a week
 Robust reporting for client oversight

9. Position yourself for future success
Cash is King! – Raise Capital
• Government assistance – PPP, EIDL, Unemployment
• Traditional debt - credit lines & loans
Retain your best employees
• Cut all staff members hours you’d like to retain instead of laying off a few
Focus on low cost activities with future upside
• Automation, processes, manuals, training, and team development
• Data analysis, market research, and strategy
Capitalize on opportunities that emerge from the crisis
• Fire sale deals on assets
• Industry consolidation and reduced supply of listings

10. Ben Wolff
Founder & CEO
ben@protripper.com
Sign up at protripper.com
Sign up by May 31st to get
50% off your first 6 months!