Hotel accounting glossary

Rooms revenue divided by rooms sold. Measures pricing; pairs with occupancy to produce RevPAR.

Money received before a stay or event; a liability until the stay occurs or the deposit is forfeited.

A guest card dispute debited from the merchant settlement; carries a fee and a response deadline.

Receivables owed after checkout by companies, groups and agents (direct bill), plus OTA and card receivables in some PMSs.

A department's cost divided by rooms sold; used for labor and variable expenses.

The morning report of yesterday's occupancy, ADR, RevPAR, revenue, labor and GOP against budget and last year.

Charges invoiced to a company or group after checkout rather than settled at the desk.

Intercompany payable and receivable balances between entities in a portfolio.

OTA payment models: the OTA collects from the guest and pays the hotel net (Expedia Collect), or the hotel collects and pays commission (Hotel Collect).

A restricted fund, usually 3 to 5 percent of revenue, set aside for furniture, fixtures and equipment replacement.

Incremental GOP divided by incremental revenue versus budget or last year.

The guest's account of charges and payments in the PMS.

Total revenue less departmental and undistributed operating expenses, before management fees and non-operating items.

Gross operating profit per available room.

PMS charges and payments for guests currently in house.

The contract between an owner and a management company defining fees, reporting and reserves.

Cash held at the property for operations; counted and reconciled daily.

A management fee tied to GOP or NOI above a threshold.

The daily journal posting revenue, taxes, ledgers and payments from the night audit to the general ledger.

Card network fees deducted from merchant settlements.

A group of card transactions closed and submitted for settlement, usually at the night audit.

The PMS end-of-day process that posts charges, balances ledgers and rolls the business date.

GOP less management fees and non-operating expenses such as property taxes and insurance, before debt service.

Third-party booking channels such as Expedia and Booking.com that earn commission on bookings.

Per available room / per occupied room; ratios that normalize revenue and expense lines.

Brand-mandated renovation requirements, usually at franchise renewal or sale.

Rooms revenue per available room; occupancy times ADR.

Occupancy, ADR and RevPAR indexes versus a comp set from STR.

Total revenue per available room.

The night audit report listing every transaction code's activity and ledger balances.

Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry; the standard hotel chart of accounts and operating statement, now in its 12th edition.

A single-use card number an OTA uses to pay the hotel for a booking.

A close in which reconciliation is continuous, so month-end adds zero days of catch-up; review and sign-off remain.