MD&A  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  > 

Restructuring Costs and Other Charges
During the latter part of 2008, we experienced a significant decline in demand for hotel rooms both domestically and internationally as a result, in part, of the recent failures and near failures of a number of large financial service companies in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the dramatic downturn in the economy. Our capital-intensive Timeshare business was also hurt both domestically and internationally by the downturn in market conditions and, particularly the significant deterioration in the credit markets, which resulted in our decision not to complete a note sale in the fourth quarter of 2008. These declines resulted in reduced management and franchise fees, cancellation of development projects, reduced timeshare contract sales, and anticipated losses under guarantees and loans. We responded by implementing certain companywide cost saving measures, with individual company segments and corporate departments implementing further cost-saving measures. Upper-level management responsible for the Timeshare segment, hotel operations, development, and above-property level management of the various corporate departments and brand teams individually led these decentralized management initiatives. The various initiatives resulted in aggregate restructuring costs of $55 million that we recorded in the fourth quarter of 2008. We also incurred other charges, including charges for guarantees and reserves for loan losses, and inventory write-downs on Timeshare inventory, reserves on accounts receivable, contract cancellation allowances, a charge related to the valuation of Timeshare residual interests, a charge associated with hedge ineffectiveness related to Timeshare note sale hedges, and asset impairments and other charges, detailed further in "Other Charges."

As part of the restructuring efforts in our Timeshare segment, we reduced and consolidated sales channels in the United States and closed down certain operations in Europe. We recorded Timeshare restructuring costs of $28 million in the 2008 fourth quarter, including: (1) $14 million in severance costs; (2) $5 million in facilities exit costs, primarily associated with noncancelable lease costs in excess of estimated sublease income arising from the reduction in personnel; and (3) $9 million related to the write-off of capitalized costs relating to development projects no longer deemed viable. We expect to complete this restructuring by year-end 2009. We are projecting $55 million to $65 million ($35 million to $42 million after-tax) of annual cost savings beginning in 2009 as a result of the restructuring. These savings will likely be reflected in the "Timeshare-direct" and the "General, administrative, and other expenses" captions in our Consolidated Statements of Income.

As part of the hotel development restructuring efforts across several of our Lodging segments, we discontinued certain development projects that required our investment. We recorded restructuring costs in the 2008 fourth quarter of $24 million, including: (1) $2 million in severance costs; and (2) $22 million related to the write-off of capitalized costs relating to development projects that we discontinued, including capitalized costs related to owned development of Renaissance ClubSport. We expect to complete this restructuring by year-end 2009. We are projecting up to $6 million ($4 million after-tax) of annual cost savings beginning in 2009 as a result of the restructuring. These savings will likely be reflected in the "General, administrative, and other expenses" caption in our Consolidated Statements of Income.

We also implemented restructuring initiatives by reducing above-property level lodging management personnel and corporate overhead. We incurred 2008 fourth quarter restructuring costs of $3 million primarily reflecting severance costs. We expect to complete this restructuring by year-end 2009. We are projecting up to $4 million ($3 million after-tax) of annual cost savings beginning in 2009 as a result of the restructuring. These savings will likely be reflected in the "General, administrative, and other expenses" caption in our Consolidated Statements of Income.

We have provided detailed information related to these restructuring costs and other charges below.

Restructuring Costs
Severance
These various restructuring initiatives resulted in an overall reduction of 1,021 employees (the majority of whom were terminated by January 2, 2009) across the Company. We recorded a total workforce reduction charge of $19 million related primarily to severance and fringe benefits, which consisted of $14 million for the Timeshare segment, $2 million related to hotel development, and $3 million related to above-property level lodging management and corporate overhead. The charge does not reflect amounts billed out separately to owners for property level severance costs. We also delayed filling vacant positions and reduced staff hours. In connection with these initiatives, we expect to incur an additional $3 million to $4 million related to severance and fringe benefits in 2009 for the Timeshare segment.

Facilities Exit Costs
As a result of workforce reductions and delays in filling vacant positions that were part of the Timeshare segment restructuring, we ceased using certain leased facilities. We recorded a restructuring charge of approximately $5 million associated with these facilities, primarily related to noncancelable lease costs in excess of estimated sublease income. In connection with these initiatives, in 2009, we expect to incur an additional $2 million to $3 million related to ceasing use of additional noncancelable leases.

Development Cancellations
We sometimes incur certain costs associated with the development of hotel and timeshare properties, including legal costs, the cost of land, and planning and design costs. We capitalize these costs as incurred and they become part of the cost basis of the property once it is developed. As a result of the sharp downturn in the economy, we decided to discontinue certain development projects that required our investment, including our Renaissance ClubSport real estate development activities. These cancellations do not impact the two Renaissance ClubSport properties that are currently open. As a result of these development cancellations, we expensed $31 million of previously capitalized costs, which consisted of $9 million of costs for the Timeshare segment and $22 million of costs related to hotel development. We do not currently expect to expense any additional capitalized costs in 2009 in connection with these restructuring initiatives.

> Back to top of page

> Go to next page