Hotel labor is a BIG deal. You need tools to understand what's happening. The mantra we use - "you can't manage what you can't measure". Learn how to manage productivity & incorporate EFTE's in your reporting. It's a complex endeavor, but it's not complicated.

In the dynamic and often unpredictable world of hotel management, maintaining a firm grip on departmental expenses is not just a matter of financial prudence;it's the cornerstone of sustained profitability and long-term financial health.

A few years ago, finding the three words “hospitality financial leadership” together in one sentence was not possible. I know because I tried to Google them in 2014 and came up with a grab-bag of ideas on leadership, consulting, courses and more. Even the words “financial leadership” revealed surprisingly little – some tidbits about CEOs and their roles, but nothing any broader.

Yet, in my opinion, financial leadership is the cornerstone of any manager, executive or leader’s business acumen. It enables an individual to see the importance of being plugged into the strategy of the business, regardless of their given vocation or the industry they are in.

It's about getting the entire leadership team on board!

Cash is King. That’s an old expression but it’s also one that still rings true today. Everyone likes cash even if we don’t carry so much with us personally anymore. It’s important to recognize that some people will help themselves to your cash if you let them. That might sound extremely clinical and you’re right it is, but it’s also a fact. The only way to minimize your risk is to have a set of controls in place to keep honest people honest and the less than trusty, on their back foot.

That’s what this piece is all about – keeping more of what’s yours and making sure it’s properly controlled. Cash controls are not complicated, but they need heightened awareness and a constant effort to be effective.

“AR” as we commonly refer to the sub department of the accounting function is a mainstay in any larger group-based hotel. In these juggernauts the importance of efficiently collecting your money is mission critical. Not only do we take the chance that the group will come and stay after we hold all those rooms, but we also roll the dice and give them credit.

In today’s business world it would shock many to realize that credit is a common element in these group hotels. It’s common because we need to be competitive; that other hotel around the corner offers a master account and we need to as well. But be warned. Offering credit comes with risk and when we have these risks a tight set of controls that we follow will help keep us safe.

The first thing you need to know about reading a hotel financial statement is there are basically two different statements you will want to get comfortable with. The two are the income statement—some call it the P&L or profit and loss statement—and the second is the balance sheet.

Now I know what you are thinking, balance sheets are for the accounting types and they are complicated. Nothing could be further from the truth and I am going to give you a new understanding and share a secret about the balance sheet and the relationship to the P&L.

The dreaded credit card reconciliation need not be such a big deal if we bite-size it. That is what this piece is all about: How and why you should balance your hotel credit cards daily. That is right – every day – and I mean you need to know the cards are balanced to three separate and connected points. and.

Some super helpful tips to get your team into the Hospitality Financial Leadership Game!

In the hotel business, we have three equal pillars. The guest, the colleague and the money. We need to realize that the third pillar—the money, the owner, the P&L, the paperwork, whatever you want to call it—needs a proper voice. The right voice, a voice that speaks to the leadership and the highest purpose that a cornerstone of our business warrants. Far too often the voice of the money is scary stingy or downright mean. If the paper is going to have a voice, we want to ensure it’s the proper one. The voice that will get and give equity to all our constituents.