Benchmarking is more than a reporting exercise; it’s a strategic tool for hotel management that helps hospitality finance teams compare performance, identify opportunities, and drive operational improvement. But effective benchmarking depends on one critical factor: consistent and standardized financial data.
NB: This is an article from HotStats
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That’s where a framework like the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI) 12th Revised Edition, a service of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP), plays a central role in hotel financial reporting.
A Framework for Structure and Clarity
Hotel benchmarking analysis allows properties to measure performance against peers, market segments, and historical trends. Key metrics such as Gross Operating Profit (GOP), Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR), and Total Revenue per Available Room (TRevPAR) are used to assess efficiency, profitability, and competitiveness.
However, without a standardized framework, these comparisons can be misleading. Differences in how hotels classify revenue, allocate expenses, or report departmental performance can distort results and hinder data-driven decision-making.
The USALI framework provides a consistent structure for financial reporting across the global lodging industry. The 12th Revised Edition introduces several enhancements that directly support better benchmarking and hotel performance analytics:
- Refined departmental classifications provide clear guidance on whether operations like mini-bars, retail outlets, or spa services should be reported under Food and Beverage, Other Operated Departments, or Minor Operated Departments.
- Enhanced distribution channel reporting offers detailed schedules that break down revenue by source, enabling hotels to benchmark the use of OTAs versus direct bookings, corporate contracts, and other channels. This comprehensive view helps hotels optimize their channel mix and improve distribution strategy performance.
- More detailed market segmentation tracking allows for more precise benchmarking of revenue per segment. Hotels can now compare their performance within transient and group with greater accuracy.
- Standardized allocation methodologies establish consistent approaches for distributing package revenue, shared costs, and bundled services across departments.
- Enhanced materiality recognizes that operational significance varies by market, allowing for context-sensitive classification while maintaining comparability.
These updates ensure that financial data is aligned across properties, enabling accurate, consistent, and meaningful hotel benchmarking across all revenue streams and guest segments.
The Power of Consistent Data
Many in the hospitality industry use hotel benchmarking platforms that compile financial data from thousands of hotels worldwide and provide detailed analysis across departments and metrics. Here is where the tangible value of USALI standards is most evident.
