M&R’s friends and family recently gathered to celebrate the first “birthday” of the Hilton Garden Inn New York Times Square South on West 37^th Street in New York. The celebration recalled the exciting and harried first days of opening the hotel one year ago. That event was an unforgettable achievement for the company’s associates and management team.

The bonding and sense of camaraderie that emerged from those first days and weeks among members of the opening team—from the front desk to housekeeping to the engineering staff—will hold the hotel in good stead going forward. A feeling of pride comes with being part of the original team. Even guests pick up on the vibe when interacting with these associates.

The good cheer notwithstanding, I was reminded what an important marker a first anniversary is for any hotel from a planning and forecasting perspective. Because it’s only with a full year under your belt that members of the business team can really begin to get a handle on how successful they’ve been and the challenges that lie ahead.

It’s all about what we call the “year-over-year comps” – an analysis of performance that compares the previous to current years. Now that the team has crossed that first-year line, managers can project next year’s holiday season, for example, against this year’s and make assumptions accordingly. The same applies to the hotel’s performance in January and February, typically two quietest months of the year.

Much has to do with seasonal variations, notably high season and shoulder season. Group nights are another element to factor in. So is the practice of allotting excess inventory to online travel agencies. How much is too much?

Lastly, at a time when dynamic pricing is the order of the day as it is today and rates can vary by the day if not the hour, the year-over-year comps give the revenue management team more data to ponder. All with the goal of generating additional revenue, which can translate into increased profitability.