Key takeaways
- The 11th edition of USALI was published in 2014 and took effect on 1 January 2015.
- The 12th edition of USALI was published in July 2024 and takes effect on 1 January 2026. The 11th edition is therefore no longer the latest edition.
- The departmental structure remains the key foundation, but for reports from 2026 onwards you need to check which edition is used.
Hotel owners, operators, banks, investors and valuers need to communicate in the same language. That common language is the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry, or USALI, whose roots go back to 1926. This article explains the structure inherited from the 11th edition, together with the key changes in the 12th edition.
1. What is USALI?
USALI is an accounting and reporting standard specific to the hotel industry. It enables hotels of every size to prepare reports in the same structure and to be compared fairly.
Edition status: The 11th Revised Edition was published in 2014 and took effect on 1 January 2015. The 12th Revised Edition was published by HFTP in July 2024 under the Global Finance Committee, which HFTP and AHLA jointly support, and its effective date is 1 January 2026.
Developer
Updates are currently handled by the Global Finance Committee, jointly supported by HFTP and AHLA. Previously, hospitality industry bodies, including a New York hotel association, initiated and maintained it.
Main objectives
- Create a single standard for comparison across brands and countries
- Define a standard P&L structure
- Provide the basis for benchmarking against industry databases
- Serve as a common language between owners and operators, especially in the HMA
Importance for the Feasibility Study
Banks and investors generally expect hotel figures to be presented in USALI format. International operators commonly use it as the reporting format in management agreements, and hotel valuers use it as the basis for their analysis. The model should state which edition is used.
2. Core structure
Operating Statements
The core is the Summary Operating Statement and the departmental schedules: Rooms, Food & Beverage, Other Operated Departments, Miscellaneous Income, Administrative & General, Information & Telecommunications Systems, Sales & Marketing, Property Operation & Maintenance, Utilities, Management Fees, and Non-Operating Income & Expenses.
Financial Statements
Covers the statement of financial position, the statement of cash flows and the statement of comprehensive income, adapted to the hotel business.
Financial Ratios & Operating Metrics
Defines shared metrics such as RevPAR, ADR, Occupancy, GOPPAR, TRevPAR, flow-through and NOI margin.
Revenue & Expense Guide
A guide to account definitions and allocation approaches that the accounting team and the controller must refer to.
3. Rooms Department
Rooms is generally the department that generates the hotel's main revenue and profit. The content below is grouped for ease of understanding; line-number references should be checked against the USALI edition in use.
Rooms Revenue
- Transient: Retail/BAR, Discount, Negotiated, Qualified and Wholesale
- Group: Corporate Group, Convention, Association, Government, Tour Group and SMERF
- Contract: revenue from long-term contracts, such as airline crews or corporate accounts
- Other: No-Show, Cancellation Fees, Day-Use and adjustment items
Allowances & Adjustments
Adjustment items that must be recorded transparently, such as Rate Adjustments, Service Recovery, Loyalty Redemptions and Manager's Comps
Net Rooms Revenue
Net Rooms Revenue = Gross Rooms Revenue − Allowances
This figure is the basis for RevPAR and benchmarks.
Cost of Sales
A small proportion compared with F&B, mostly breakfast included in the room rate and welcome amenities.
Salaries, Wages & Benefits
Covers Front Office, Reservations, Bellman, Concierge, Housekeeping, Room Attendants, Laundry where it is not a separate department, Night Auditor and Guest Relations, including social security, provident fund, health insurance, bonuses, incentives and training costs.
Direct expenses and room distribution costs
Commission and distribution channel costs, such as OTA, channel manager and GDS, weigh heavily on Rooms department profit. They should be tracked separately by channel, and their classification checked against the USALI edition in use.
4. What changed in the 12th edition
| Issue | Change |
|---|---|
| Executive Lounge | Schedule 1-1 added to the Rooms department |
| Guest Loyalty | A loyalty expense category added to make the cost more visible |
| Staff | Schedule 15 added, reporting FTEs by department |
| Brand and operator | Schedule 16 added, consolidating the expenses that the brand and the operator charge to the owner |
| All-inclusive | Reporting guidance added for all-inclusive hotels |
| Utilities | Changed to Energy, Water & Waste to support ESG tracking |
Hotels using the 11th edition should plan to change their account codes, PMS chart and owner reports. If year-on-year comparison is needed, prepare the data on the same definitions.
5. Summary
USALI is not merely a chart of accounts but a shared language for hotel management and investment. The concepts of departmental separation, undistributed expenses and shared metrics remain the core. What needs to be done is to specify clearly which edition is used, check account classification, and avoid mixing figures from different editions without adjusting them to be comparable.