1. Fortune 500 Risk/Revenue Management
Simplifying the Management of Multiple
Brands
KV Management www.Business-Cost-Recovery.com

2. Foreword
The intended audiences for this whitepaper are financial executives and senior managers in the
Hospitality, Lodging, and Leisure industry including Chief Financial Officers, Controllers, Vice President of
Accounting, Asset Managers, and others who are responsible for ensuring costs are as low as possible.
You are on the front line of economic and industry changes, the first ones to see their affect on the
business and are responsible for managing the impact to the bottom line. Depending on the size of your
company and budget, your staff is most likely sized and capable of handling those projects that have the
biggest impact to the company’s financials; acquisition, budgets, . Unless you are a Fortune 500 firm,
you do not have the budget or expertise to manage other areas that, collectively, deplete profits.
One of the most complex, and therefore least addressed sources of increased cost is credit card
processing. This report discusses the industry, its trends, hidden costs, and why it is so difficult to
manage. After reading this you will see there is a way to manage these rising costs, reduce your risk and
improve profits while not changing your current operations. You will understand this is all possible
without changing your current merchant processor(s), gateway(s), or property management system(s).
Read on to see how you can extend your staff and add dollars to your bottom line without involving
marketing, increasing RevPAR, or increasing your budget; all with zero capital outlay.
KV Management www.Business-Cost-Recovery.com

3. Introduction
The hospitality industry is feeling the effects of the economic decline driving the demand for more ways
to either drive new revenue or reduce the cost of doing business. In 2008, merchants paid over $42B in
credit card fees, but only $5.4B went to cover the actual cost of those transactions.
How did it get that bad? Well credit card processors know you can’t afford Fortune 500 experts.
Managing the costs associated with credit card processing is very complex and involves a multitude of
factors. These include:
• Multiple Hotel Brands
• Various Gateway Providers
• Different Merchant Processors
• Hotel Specific Property Management Systems
• Complex Rules and Charges Associated with the Interchange
Each brand has its own set of rules and regulations to follow. They work only with certain merchant
processors, gateways and have their own property management systems. You don’t know whether you
can competitively bid the brand’s processing or whether you have to stay with only one provider. Your
operations staff must understand the nuances of the various software systems and their interfaces, or it
can negatively impact cost. Properties can change flags creating yet more confusion.
KV Management www.Business-Cost-Recovery.com

4. Merchant processors are in business to make money. They have multiple billing arrangements, different
fees and assessments, and other hidden, unnecessary fees that can go undetected and cost you more.
They discuss their “rate” but not the other elements of processing credit cards which have a far greater
impact to cost.
The Interchange, the costs associated with processing Visa and Mastercard is extremely complex.
Without an expert on staff who not only understands the Interchange’s rules and fee structures, but also
has the time to manage them for each and every property, merchant processor, gateway, and property
management system, once again, costs increase. The problem in the credit card industry has become so
acute; the federal government is passing legislation to protect consumers. The legislation, known as the
Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act of 2009, places new restrictions on credit
card lending and eliminates some fees -- including the over-the-limit fee -- which banks have
traditionally charged consumers who break through spending limits.
The bulk of the legislation will take effect in February, but portions of it are set to come into play in the
coming weeks.
But while advocates say the legislation does offer consumers some protection, it has led banks to get
creative in finding new revenue streams to replace those put in jeopardy.
"The issuers are finding new ways to secure income before the February deadline when their hands
will be somewhat tied," said Gail Cunningham, Vice President of Public Relations at the National
Foundation for Credit Counseling.
Every April and October, Visa and Mastercard modify the rules and change the fees associated with
merchants accepting and processing credit cards. With this most recent legislation, costs will likely
increase yet again to prepare for the revenue shortfall they will experience in February 2010.
The following questions are ones you are probably asking yourselves or have been asked to answer:
• What can you do about it?
• How can you reduce your risk and manage your revenue flow to maintain your bottom line?
• How can you manage all these sources of increased cost?
• How will you know you have the best contract with your current providers?
• How can you ensure you are taking full advantage of the Interchange rules and regulations?
• How do you know where the hidden costs are with so many different providers?
Fortune 500 companies have a staff of people who do nothing but manage their merchant processors,
gateway providers, point of sale solutions, and who have expert knowledge of the Interchange. Fortune
500 companies know there is no incentive for their current providers to offer this service.
If you could have Fortune 500 services available to you, on retainer, as an extension to your staff, but
only pay them when you use them, would you take advantage of it? If you could have these services on
a pay-after-performance basis, with no capital outlay, and without having to change your existing
providers would you want to reduce your costs?
Read on to see how you can take advantage of this solution.
KV Management www.Business-Cost-Recovery.com

5. High Level Solution
KV Management partners with a unique, independent consulting service… the only one of its kind. This
partner has Fortune 500 expertise on staff to support its clients. We specialize in the Hospitality,
Lodging, and Leisure industries, as well as other specific vertical markets. KV MANAGEMENT provides
expertise gained from decades in the acquiring business and understands how merchant processors
operate. Armed with the knowledge of how these contracts are constructed, the multitude of billing
strategies employed and where to find the hidden fees, we are able to maximize cost reductions for our
clients, you the merchant.
We provide consulting services for businesses managing Multiple Brands that include:
Best Western Hyatt Place
Comfort Inn/Comfort Suites Microtel
Courtyard by Marriott Residence Inn
Days Inn Sheraton
Fairfield Inn Springhill Suites
Hampton Inn/Hampton Inn & Suites Staybridge Suites
Hilton Super 8
Holiday Inn/Holiday Inn Express TownePlace Suites
We have experience with Many Gateways and Property Management Systems that include:
CC Direct Settlement GCS
Shift 4 FOSSE
Micros Fidelio Nitevision
OnQ Opera/Opera Express
PB Admin (SDC) Profit Manager
StayOnline WinPM (MSI)
We have Interchange expertise on staff. We manage the Interchange for our clients, day in and day out,
month in and month out. Our Interchange Specialists track all changes to the Interchange that are
published periodically (usually April and October) for you to ensure any negative impact to your business
is as small as possible and to take advantage of any changes that could further reduce your cost.
It’s like having a Fortune 500 service as an extension to your staff without having to hire any additional
personnel. The time required from you or any of your staff is minimal, 30 minutes per month. The
figures used for calculating your savings are your numbers. They come directly from your merchant
statements and merchant processor. We charge no initial fees, there is no capital outlay. Our business
model is pay after performance which means you don’t pay any consulting fee until you see the savings.
KV Management www.Business-Cost-Recovery.com

6. Solution Details
When KV MANAGEMENT evaluates merchants as potential clients, they look at three critical drivers:
• The Value They Bring: Their benchmark is between 8%-20% total cost reduction.
• The Speed of Implementation: 90-120 days for optimization.
• Sustainability: "Processor level" programmatic changes that are invisible to their clients and
sustainable month after month.
Because of their "pay after performance" model, they cannot afford to accept clients who lack in any of
these areas.
To take advantage of the services provided by KV Management is actually quite simple. The process is
best understood with the acronym TIME. We will:
Tell you what you can save and how they can save it
Implement the savings strategy
Measure the effects
Ensure ongoing success
The specific steps necessary to receive your savings plan and reveal your savings strategy are:
1. Retain our services by signing the Consulting Trial Agreement which allows our Interchange
Experts to obtain, review and analyze (confidentially) your most recent merchant statements for
your properties.
2. Our Interchange Experts review and analyze the merchant statements and prepare a report. If
a minimum savings cannot be obtained, we will notify you of the results and the agreement
terminates. If there is sufficient savings, you proceed to the next step.
3. Our Interchange Experts and the merchant meet to review the projected savings and savings
strategy.
4. Our Interchange Experts and you agree on an established baseline from which to measure
savings progress. You go back to work and we start our work.
5. Our Interchange Experts proceed with implementation of the savings strategy engaging the
merchant processor(s), gateway(s), and property management system(s). If appropriate, our
Interchange Experts will engage directly with the General Managers for each property to
address specific operational issues or can notify corporate management of these issues enabling
them to contact their GMS.
6. Our Interchange Experts measure and report on the savings progress monthly after the
merchant statements are sent from the merchant processor(s). This is conducted through a 30
minute online meeting.
7. KV MANAGEMENT continues implementing the savings strategy, conducting monthly reviews
until optimum savings is reached.
KV Management www.Business-Cost-Recovery.com

7. Business Benefits
Business demands in the finance department are sometimes overwhelming. Being responsible for
financial and fiscal management, as well as overseeing investment activities, acquiring and divesting
properties, and managing budgets put a strain on schedules. Your time is valuable and it must be spent
on those projects that have the biggest impact. Some things go unattended due to the lack of either
time or funding.
The ability to out-task some functions is the best way to address some areas of the business that can
contribute positively to the bottom line. Analyzing and reviewing credit card processing financials is one
function that lends itself to being out-tasked. Providing this service in house requires expertise which
either has to be hired or spending money on training existing staff. It also requires time that either
requires new personnel or takes existing personnel away from other duties. It is a function that is best
addressed both financially and administratively by extending your staff through engaging an
independent, highly specialized consulting firm.
KV Management provides a unique, one of a kind consulting service. Clients who retain their services
receive the following benefits:
• No capital outlay
• Fortune 500 expertise
• Fortune 500 service
• Extension to the finance staff
• More time available to focus on high value projects
• Overall cost reduction of 8% - 20%
• Savings realized quickly
• Savings sustained month after month
• Savings without change
• Savings without risk
• Savings without effort
KV Management www.Business-Cost-Recovery.com

8. Summary
The current economy is driving the need to reduce costs wherever possible. The complexity of different
hotel brands, a multitude of software systems, and providers’ whose revenue objectives are directly at
odds with your savings objectives make this difficult to sort out. Credit card processing costs continue to
rise unabated exacerbating the burden.
Finance departments are being asked to find ways to positively impact the bottom line with no increase
in staff or budgets, and in some cases, diminishing staff and budgets. Understanding all the pieces
contributing to these costs requires time, expertise, and resources. Being able to find solutions to these
problems or coming up short can mean the difference between persevering and navigating these
difficult times or result in further reducing head count and assets.
Out tasking is an accepted and cost effective way to gain access these solutions without hiring new staff
or spending on training for existing staff. Moreover, be able to find a solution that requires no capital
outlay and seeks as its fee only to share in the cost savings, is ideal.
Retaining KV Management affords you Fortune 500 expertise and services at no additional cost while
contributing income to your bottom line. KV MANAGEMENT has experience with multiple brands,
different software systems and their programmatic idiosyncrasies, and onerous merchant processing
contracts enabling them to uncover the hidden costs. KV MANAGEMENT reduces costs 8% - 20%,
quickly, while providing sustainable savings going forward.
Engaging KV MANAGEMENT is a risk- free approach to either verifying your financials are in line with
industry norms or you may just uncover savings you never knew you had. Either way you come out
ahead.
************* WE WORK WITH ALL RETAIL MERCHANTS ******************
For a No obligation review…Contact Jeff Hardesty
800- 590-1296 x87
jeff.hardesty@kvmanagement.com
KV Management www.Business-Cost-Recovery.com

9. KV Management www.Business-Cost-Recovery.com