IN ASSOCIATION WITH
USALI: THE FUTURE AND FACTS
Hospa chief executive Carl Weldon
The hotel industry is unusual in that it has a world-wide accounting standard called the Uniform system – or, to use its full name, the Uniform System for Accounting in the Lodging Industry (USALI). USALI is important to the industry and the ecosystem of hotel accounting and reporting for two main reasons. This standard is now on its 11th edition (blue book), which came out about 18 months ago. The previous 10th edition (green book) came out in November 2006 and is still selling. Whenever the new
debits. Now we’re pulling that information, and information from different systems, into things like performance management solu- tions or business intelligence, and from that we can make decisions that are really right for the business. We can get a real, holistic view from these solutions.”
This can all be done incredibly quickly too, improving efficiency, stresses Wellingham. “Integration to all systems is an absolute must,” he says. “This means that all the infor- mation required is pulled together, allowing the finance team to easily – we’re talking min- utes here – produce business reports. Plus, opening the system up to a wider audience will reduce the reliance on the finance team for gathering information and re-keying data.”
Partnering up – the key to success Every hospitality business is unique, making it advisable for operators to work closely both with independent consultants who can help them pick the right solution for their business and their chosen software provider, who will inevitably need to tweak their system slightly to match each operation.
standard comes out, it can send the hotel accounting fraternity into somewhat of a frenzy – and rightly so, as it will change the format of: ●●The chart of accounts
●●The various hotel departmental reports ●●The main front sheet hotel profit and loss ●●Definitions of statistics and key performance indicators.
This means that data such
as histories and any upcoming budgets or forecasts, plus potentially any management fees, will need to be re-set to the new format. The trouble is that re- setting any accounting system – plus the associated budget systems and spreadsheets – is not a simple thing for one hotel, let alone a group or international set. In technology terms, any
supplier of repute providing hotel accounting systems should be able to provide a pre-set accounting system and chart that matches the new USALI profit and loss. Transferring and adjusting from old to new is a more
“All the information required is pulled together, allowing the finance team to easily – we’re talking minutes here – produce business reports” Paul Wellingham, NAV People
“As an operator, this is not part of your skillset. You don’t have the time or resources to keep abreast of market trends. A software partner, particularly an independent vendor, can advise on these trends and the potential benefits to your business,” Jelley notes, adding that once a software provider has been chosen, collaboration is equally key. “Although all should be working to the same statutory requirements, the operational report-
MAXIMISING COMMUNICATION FOR CONFERENCES
Not only can hospitality operators use state-of-the-art technologies to boost efficiencies within their own management teams, they can also help other companies do the same by investing in the latest conferencing software. As Martin Large, chief executive of technology provider Steljes explains: “Technology has an impact on all types of businesses. The hotel industry is a highly
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competitive space and as a result, there’s a move to find ways to boost income that are not room-related.” One area is business travellers.
“Not only do hotels generate revenue from room hire, but they can also make themselves attractive venues for conferences and meetings,” Large says. “And it’s here that the latest interactive and collaboration technologies can
be used to support that offering and help create an effective, five- star venue that meets the needs of time-pressed business people.” A case in point is the NH Hotel
Group, which owns 400 hotels in 29 countries. “The group focuses on providing high-impact communication settings for their meeting customers,” says Large. “As such, NH Hotel Group has installed the SMART Room
System for Microsoft Lyn® online videoconferencing system at the NH Collection Eurobuilding in Spain. The system enables 250 users to join the meeting via video call from remote locations, and these participants can actively engage with the content being presented in real time. The visual collaboration system promotes creativity, faster decision-making and improved productivity.”
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complex challenge but, at the end of the day, is only moving data. Any hotelier should really be using USALI to present its accounts – it will only make it easier when it may come to selling the business. At Hospa we have been discussing and reviewing the changes for two years, through presentations and reviews, articles, courses and discussions. In May we had three companies (Jumeirah, Hyatt and Langham) discussing their current journeys to the new standard. We are selling the USALI
books from the Hospa bookshop (one of only two places to acquire it) – and for the first time it also includes some electronic downloads.
Find the Hospa bookshop at
www.hospa.org/en/ resources/books or call 020 3418 8196
ing needs of each business are unique. These requirements should be properly scoped and discussed with the vendor so they can buy into the vision. The key word is partner. Too many vendors sell and run.” “We don’t push our suppliers hard enough,”
Reid adds. “We need to make sure they under- stand exactly what we’re looking for because a lot of suppliers work in other sectors too.” Accounting systems have come a long way
from the complex collection of Excel spread- sheets many continue to rely on. As Jelley concludes, not only can the latest systems give businesses the complete picture (at least from the revenue point of view) of yesterday’s business for the start of the next business day, they offer one definitive version of the truth, and – if managed on the cloud – can scale and grow with a business, no matter how many properties it includes.
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