HotStats BlogA shared commitment to standardization, education, and profitability intelligence for the global hospitality industry.
“Without a standard, there is no logical basis for making a decision or taking action.”
– Joseph Juran
Questions are commonplace in any hotel business. Who hasn't been in a budget meeting or financial review when someone has asked if the food and beverage margins are competitive, or if the spa department should be generating more revenue, or how labor efficiencies compare to other properties of the same size? Transforming these questions into actionable insights is what hotel benchmarking can do—creating concrete, data-backed comparisons.
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. 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.
By relying on USALI-compliant data, these platforms ensure that comparisons are valid and actionable. For example, a hotel can benchmark its Spa Department profitability against similar properties, knowing that revenue and expenses are classified consistently. Properties can compare their distribution channel performance to identify over-reliance on third-party channels and capture more direct bookings. Labor ratios and departmental margins can be compared across regions, brands, or asset types with confidence. Market segmentation data reveals whether a hotel is capturing its fair share of business travel or if leisure rates are competitive.
The widespread adoption of the USALI 12th Revised Edition framework enables better budgeting, forecasting, and strategic planning, turning hotel data into actionable profitability insights. Hotels that adopt USALI standards and integrate benchmarking tools gain improved operational transparency, enhanced comparability with industry peers, data-driven decision-making for staffing, pricing, and expense management, and a clearer understanding of revenue sources and channel effectiveness.
Building a Coherent Story
The USALI 12th Revised Edition is more than a reporting guideline—it’s a foundation for strategic benchmarking and hotel performance improvement. By aligning financial data across departments, revenue sources, and market segments it creates a common financial language that enables meaningful comparisons and multi-dimensional performance analysis.
As data visualization expert Stephen Few noted, “Numbers have an important story to tell…” Hotels that embrace USALI-based benchmarking can view their performance from different angles with confidence that their data is comparable—driving more informed decisions and providing greater clarity to the story their numbers are telling.
Looking Ahead
As part of our continued commitment to standardized and meaningful data analysis, HotStats will implement the USALI 12th Revised Edition framework in January 2026, with benchmarking reports published under the new standard for February reporting. This update will ensure even greater alignment with global reporting standards—enhancing the accuracy, comparability, and strategic value of the benchmarking insights HotStats delivers. Stay tuned for more updates as we roll out this important step forward in profitability intelligence.
About the USALI 12th Revised Edition
To purchase the book or subscriptions, please visit https://usali.hftp.org/. HFTP offers courses to help further understand the USALI framework. For more information, visit https://academy.hftp.org/.
About the Author
Arlene Ramirez, Ed.D., Senior Vice President of Learning for HFTP, brings over 25 years of hospitality finance and operations experience. Her corporate and property-level expertise informs the design of educational programs for HFTP’s global community of finance and technology professionals. A former faculty member at the Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership, Dr. Ramirez bridges theory and practice in hospitality education. She holds a doctorate in Instructional Systems Design and Technology, an MBA from Sam Houston State University, and a BBA in Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin, along with certifications including CHAE, CHE, CHIA, and CAHTA. A frequent author and industry speaker, she is recognized for advancing financial education in hospitality.
About HFTP
Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), established in 1952, is a global hospitality finance and technology association headquartered in Austin, Texas, USA, with offices in the EU. HFTP supports the finance and technology segments of the hospitality industry with an international network of members and stakeholders. HFTP offers expert networks, educational resources, career development programs, and industry research, and produces international events including the world’s largest hospitality technology tradeshow, HITEC.
HFTP also oversees Pineapplesearch.com®, Hotel-Online, Hospitality Upgrade Magazine, and the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI). For more information about HFTP, visit www.hftp.org.
