hotel bookkeeping
Hospitality Financial Leadership: Managing F&B Expenses and How to Record Them on Your P&L
David Lund | September 30, 2024
As I have said in many of my earlier posts, Food and Beverage is special. And I mean that with all sincerity because it's an integral part of our business especially with a full service offering. However, there are challenges that we need to overcome and one big one is how to report the profit and loss activity so that it is as meaningful as possible. I say “possible” because there are no absolute methods to get 100% of the picture that really work. Many try to get and stay on top of their costs and payroll and that’s the right thing to do. The reality is that it’s never going to be perfect. It’s not going to be perfect because w...
Hospitality Financial Leadership: Why You Want to Use a Rolling Forecast
David Lund | September 9, 2024
Rolling forecasts are nothing new but I must point out that most hotels don’t use them, and they really should. It’s an incredibly useful tool that is literally worth its weight in gold. That being said, it doesn’t weigh much but once you start to use one it’s an indispensable tool that you must have each month, and its impact and importance usually gains weight and momentum into the final few months of the year. Like the plot in a good mystery, it can take a sudden turn and produce an unexpected ending. To start out we need to define how we produce a rolling forecast and point out the best practices around its creation. Then, we w...
USALI 12th Revised Edition, Deep Dive: Other Reporting Guidance
USALI | September 3, 2024
Just released, the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI) 12th Revised Edition has been meticulously updated by the Global Finance Committee (GFC) with guiding principles to enhance transparency in reporting, broaden data sets to better inform decision-making, and align with contemporary practices. To support its release, GFC members are also presenting a series of monthly “USALI 12th Revised Edition, Deep Dive” webinars. Accompanying the webinars are correlating blog posts, including this one for the webinar “USALI 12th Revised Edition Deep Dive: Other Reporting Guidance.” Learn more and register to a...
Hospitality Financial Leadership The Number 1 Financial Mistake Hoteliers Make
David Lund | August 12, 2024
Now that’s a big statement to put out there, but I’m very confident that I’m pretty close to 100% correct with my observations. The reason why I’m so sure is that I know most hoteliers are not financial people and they are oblivious to the issue I am going to explain. On top of that – I see this all the time. It’s also pretty clear that most hoteliers don’t have an accounting background and knowing this fact prompts me to write this piece and hopefully clear up the picture for others. The catalyst for my article is the many discussions I've had with my clients over the years around this topic. Here is the...
Hotel Owners/Operators Beware: You May Be Responsible for More Than 25 Tax Types Paid Regularly to Multiple Jurisdictions
Sam Guevara | August 6, 2024
By: Sam Guevara, Principal, Practice Leader of Tax Technology at Ryan Operators of hotels face a daunting challenge in keeping up and complying with the myriad of tax types, rates, and rules in the locations in which they operate. Failure to comply with local and state taxes can result in liens, loss of licenses, or portions of your operations being temporarily shut down, all potentially impacting revenue, sales of properties, or refinancing. A Typical Weekend Stay Take for example a typical weekend visit by a couple at one of your properties. This couple used an online travel agency (OTA) to book a room and rented a car upon arriving a...
How Dashboards Put Your Finance Team in the Driver’s Seat
Jill Wilder | July 30, 2024
By: Jill Wilder, President of Aptech I recently heard an interesting metaphor about a specific hotel accounting system feature: Having a dashboard moves you from driving with your eyes in the rearview mirror to facing forward. You wouldn't drive a car solely using the rearview mirror, you would want to look forward and have a full, clear picture of what is in front of you. It's the same with your hotel's accounting software; just like the driver of a car, a hotel's finance team needs a dashboard right in front of them to make quick, educated decisions. The hotel and resort industry market size worldwide reached 1.5 trillion USD last ye...
HFTP, AHLA and GFC Unveil Groundbreaking 12th Revised Edition of the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI™)
AHLA | July 11, 2024
The USALI is the worldwide, authoritative standard for lodging financial and operating reporting. The adoption date for this newest edition is January 1, 2026. AUSTIN, TEXAS (July 11, 2024) – A newly-revised edition of the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI™) is now available, published by Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®). The publication is available for purchase and download here. The revision process for the 12th Revised Edition has been overseen by the Global Finance Committee (GFC), jointly sponsored by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and HFTP. The G...
USALI 12th Revised Edition, Deep Dive: Highlights of Major Changes, Increased Transparency
HFTP | May 20, 2024
In the very near future, the lodging industry will have a brand-new edition of the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI) — the 12th Revised Edition. This latest release has been meticulously updated with guiding principles to enhance transparency in reporting, broaden data sets to better inform decision-making, and align with contemporary practices. The revisions were written by the Global Finance Committee (GFC), a joint forum sponsored by Hospitality Finance and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) and the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA). Members of the GFC consist of representatives from ownershi...
