The Importance of Management Control in the Hotel Industry: The USALI Method

In a market increasingly focused on margins due to evolving external factors and growing competition, Management Control in the hospitality industry is becoming crucial for General Managers.

As consultants and developers of business management systems, we frequently address requests from the tourism sector related to cost control and the monitoring of productivity across various hotel departments.

In the tourism industry, there’s a specific accounting and management method known as USALI (Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industries). USALI provides consistent guidelines for managing costs and revenues within a hospitality setting.

Hotels can be viewed as a collection of distinct departments that generate both costs and revenues. USALI’s core principle is to allocate costs and revenues to their respective departments, allowing for more precise activity analysis.

This method helps identify which areas and departments need attention, whether for cost management or resource efficiency. Essentially, USALI forms the foundation of Management Control. The more detailed the information provided to the accounting system, the more comprehensive the analysis of the company’s performance can be.

To effectively implement Management Control and make timely, targeted decisions to improve hotel performance, it is crucial to use well-integrated IT systems that provide necessary accounting data. In this context, Business Central stands out as one of the leading software solutions for Management Control. As a Microsoft partner, Exigy has developed specific functionalities for the hospitality sector, enabling hotel managers (owners and General Managers) to conduct detailed analyses for individual hotels as well as aggregated data.

Compared to other software focused primarily on accounting, Microsoft Business Central excels in data analysis and overall Management Control. With Exigy’s implementation, hoteliers can:

• Set up an accounting plan tailored to hotel characteristics.
• Manage the hotel’s accounting while also having access to an analytical environment that doesn’t affect the general ledger.
• Automatically allocate appropriate cost and revenue centers for each department.
• Generate custom reports based on the Uniform System of Accounts.

Leveraging the Power of HOTELCUBE and Business Central

To further enhance these capabilities, integrating HOTELCUBE, a sophisticated Property Management System (PMS), with Microsoft Business Central creates a powerful synergy, boosting operational efficiency and providing deeper insights. Favored by many hoteliers for its robust management tools, the platform ensures smooth operations for front desk, reservations, housekeeping, and guest interactions.

When combined with Business Central, the integration offers several key benefits:

• Complete Data Synchronization: HOTELCUBE integrates all operational data, including guest services, room occupancy, and reservations, directly into Business Central, providing a comprehensive financial and operational overview.
• Advanced Reporting and Forecasting: Merging data from HOTELCUBE with Business Central’s financial reporting tools allows hotel managers to gain real-time insights into revenue trends, customer behavior, and departmental performance, all aligned with USALI standards.
• Streamlined Operations: The automatic data flow between HOTELCUBE and Business Central reduces manual data entry, minimizes errors, and accelerates decision-making, enabling quicker responses to operational challenges.
• Enhanced Guest Service: Operational data from HOTELCUBE feeding into Business Central’s analytics helps managers better align service offerings with financial performance, ensuring investments in guest services yield expected returns.

A Perfect Integration for Superior Control

The partnership between Exigy and HOTELCUBE has resulted in one of the most successful integrations available to hoteliers. Together, Microsoft Business Central and HOTELCUBE offer a fully integrated system that provides hoteliers with a holistic view of their operations, from the front desk to financial reporting. This enables more informed decision-making and helps hotels optimize both customer service and financial performance.

For more information on our integrated solutions, contact us or visit us at the TTG Rimini, the hospitality industry fair.