Insights / Reference
Hotel chart of accounts
A complete sample account list for a hotel, built on the departmental structure the lodging industry reports in — so departmental profit, gross operating profit and EBITDA each fall out of the ledger instead of being assembled by hand every month.
Published by Back of House Accounting · Principal: Douglas Carpenter, CPA, CFA · Last updated 2 October 2026
Why a hotel chart is built differently
The department is the primary unit, not the expense type
A restaurant chart groups by cost behavior because one profit center earns all the revenue. A hotel runs several. Rooms, food and beverage, and each other operated department carry their own revenue and their own direct cost, and each reports its own departmental profit before a single overhead line is touched.
Overhead is undistributed on purpose
Administrative and general, information and telecommunications, sales and marketing, property operation and maintenance, and utilities are deliberately not allocated to departments. Allocating them buries the one number an owner, a brand and a lender all read first — gross operating profit — and makes a department look unprofitable because of a cost its manager never controlled.
Ownership costs sit below the operating line
Management fees, rent, property taxes, insurance and the FF&E reserve are consequences of the deal, not of the operation. Keeping them below gross operating profit is what lets you judge the operator and the asset separately — and it is the structure brand reporting and most loan covenants expect.
This is our own working structure, aligned to the departmental logic the lodging industry reports in. It is not a reproduction of the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry, which is published separately by HFTP and AHLA; if your brand or lender requires strict conformity, buy the current edition and map to it. For how those schedules assemble into a monthly pack, see our hotel reporting pack.
| Range | Account group |
|---|---|
| 4000 | Rooms revenue — transient, group, contract, resort fee, less allowances |
| 4500 | Food and beverage revenue — outlets, in-room dining, banquet, service charge |
| 4700 | Other operated departments — spa, parking, golf, retail, resort activities |
| 4900 | Miscellaneous income — space rental, concessions, antenna and rooftop, commissions |
| 5000 | Rooms expense — labor, guest supplies, laundry, commissions, reservation fees |
| 5400 | Food and beverage expense — cost of food, cost of beverage, labor, direct operating |
| 5700 | Other operated departments expense |
| — | Total departmental profit |
| 6000 | Administrative and general — salaries, credit card commissions, bad debt, professional fees |
| 6300 | Information and telecommunications systems |
| 6400 | Sales and marketing — salaries, digital, brand fees, loyalty charge-out |
| 6600 | Property operation and maintenance |
| 6800 | Utilities — electricity, gas, water and sewer, fuel |
| — | Gross operating profit (GOP) |
| 7000 | Management fees — base and incentive |
| 7200 | Non-operating income and expense — rent, property taxes, insurance |
| 8000 | Reserve for replacement (FF&E) |
| 9000 | Interest, depreciation, amortization, income taxes |
Travel agent commissions and online travel agency commissions belong in rooms expense, not in sales and marketing — a common misposting that flatters rooms profit and distorts every cost-per-occupied-room comparison you make afterwards.
Ungated, no email
Hotel chart of accounts template
The whole account list above as a file you can import instead of retype. The Excel workbook adds the account type, the statement each account belongs to, its normal balance and the USALI department it reports in, so it maps straight into QuickBooks, Xero, Sage or a property accounting system. No email, no sign-up, nothing gated.
What is in it. Three sheets. Chart of accounts lists all 187 postable accounts with account number, name, type, statement, normal balance and the department each one reports in, filterable, with the 19 section headings marked so you do not import them as accounts. How to use it covers importing, which departments to delete for a select-service property, and the five postings that cause the most trouble — online travel agency bookings recorded net, service charge treated as revenue, and occupancy tax sitting in revenue among them. USALI mapping shows which account range feeds every line of the statement, through departmental profit and gross operating profit, and which ranges build ADR, RevPAR, CPOR, TRevPAR, GOPPAR and flow-through.
The department column is the part that matters most and the part a generic chart of accounts never has. Without it you get one undifferentiated profit and loss statement; with it you get a departmental profit line for rooms, for food and beverage and for every other operated department, which is the level an owner, a brand and a lender all actually ask about. The eight contra accounts are flagged as contra rather than as ordinary income or expense: rebates and allowances, complimentary and house-use rooms and food and beverage comps reduce revenue, employee meals reduce food and beverage cost, utility rebates reduce utilities, and accumulated depreciation and amortization reduce fixed assets. The matching restaurant structure, for groups that run both, is the restaurant chart of accounts, and the reporting pack built on top of this one is the hotel reporting pack.
Every account, department and metric definition in the workbook is generated directly from the list published on this page, so the file and the page cannot disagree. It is a starting structure, not accounting advice for your property — brand, management agreement and lender reporting requirements vary, so confirm the treatment of management fees, the FF&E reserve and owner expenses against your own agreements. If you would rather this was set up, mapped and maintained for you, that is what our hotel accounting service does, and CFO and controller support covers the reporting built on top of it.
A full sample hotel chart of accounts
The structure above explains the reasoning. This is the account list itself — 187 numbered accounts across 19 groups, covering assets, liabilities, equity, rooms, food and beverage, other operated departments, undistributed overhead, management fees, ownership costs and the items below the line. It is published in full on this page, and the same list is available as a free, ungated Excel workbook or CSV if you would rather import it than retype it.
Treat it as a starting structure rather than a rule. Delete the departments you do not run — a select-service property will strike out most of the 4700 and 5700 ranges and half the food and beverage detail — and add sub-accounts only where you will actually act on the variance. Two things to check before you build it. The gaps between numbers are deliberate, so a new account can be inserted in the right place three years from now without renumbering the ledger. And property, brand and ownership entity belong in separate dimensions, not in the account number; one chart of accounts should serve every hotel in the group.
| Account | Description |
|---|---|
| 1000 | Assets |
| 1010 | Cash — operating account |
| 1020 | Cash — payroll account |
| 1030 | Cash — FF&E reserve / escrow account |
| 1040 | Cash — tax and insurance escrow |
| 1050 | House banks and front office cashier banks |
| 1100 | Undeposited funds / cash in transit |
| 1150 | Credit card receivable — clearing |
| 1200 | Guest ledger — in-house accounts |
| 1210 | City ledger — direct bill accounts |
| 1220 | Online travel agency receivable — clearing |
| 1230 | Group and contract receivable |
| 1250 | Allowance for doubtful accounts |
| 1300 | Inventory — food |
| 1310 | Inventory — beverage |
| 1320 | Inventory — guest supplies and amenities |
| 1330 | Inventory — cleaning and operating supplies |
| 1340 | Inventory — retail and gift shop |
| 1400 | Operating equipment — linen, china, glass, silver, uniforms |
| 1450 | Prepaid insurance |
| 1460 | Prepaid property taxes |
| 1470 | Prepaid licenses, subscriptions and brand fees |
| 1500 | Land |
| 1510 | Building and building improvements |
| 1520 | Furniture, fixtures and equipment |
| 1530 | Leasehold improvements |
| 1540 | Vehicles and grounds equipment |
| 1600 | Accumulated depreciation |
| 1700 | Franchise fee — capitalized initial fee |
| 1710 | Accumulated amortization — franchise fee |
| 1800 | Security deposits paid |
| 2000 | Liabilities |
| 2010 | Accounts payable — trade |
| 2050 | Accrued expenses |
| 2100 | Accrued payroll and vacation |
| 2110 | Payroll taxes payable |
| 2120 | Employee benefits and insurance payable |
| 2130 | Tips and service charge payable |
| 2200 | Advance deposits and prepaid reservations |
| 2210 | Gift certificates and vouchers outstanding |
| 2220 | Loyalty program liability |
| 2300 | Sales tax payable |
| 2310 | Occupancy / transient lodging tax payable |
| 2320 | Tourism, assessment and district fees payable |
| 2330 | Income taxes payable |
| 2400 | Due to management company |
| 2410 | Due to owner / affiliates |
| 2500 | Credit line and revolving debt |
| 2510 | Mortgage payable — current portion |
| 2520 | Mortgage payable — long term |
| 2530 | Equipment loans and capital leases |
| 2600 | FF&E reserve — funded but unspent |
| 2700 | Deferred rent and lease incentives |
| 3000 | Equity |
| 3010 | Owner capital contributed |
| 3020 | Owner distributions |
| 3100 | Retained earnings |
| 3200 | Current year net income |
| 4000 | Rooms revenue |
| 4010 | Transient — retail and best available rate |
| 4020 | Transient — discount, package and opaque |
| 4030 | Transient — loyalty redemption reimbursement |
| 4100 | Group — corporate |
| 4110 | Group — association and convention |
| 4120 | Group — social, military, educational, religious, fraternal |
| 4130 | Group — tour and wholesale |
| 4200 | Contract — airline and crew |
| 4210 | Contract — extended stay and corporate housing |
| 4300 | Resort, destination and amenity fee |
| 4310 | Cancellation, attrition and no-show revenue |
| 4320 | Early departure and late checkout fees |
| 4400 | Rebates, allowances and rate adjustments |
| 4410 | Complimentary and house-use rooms — contra |
| 4500 | Food and beverage revenue |
| 4510 | Restaurant — food |
| 4520 | Restaurant — beverage |
| 4530 | Bar and lounge — food |
| 4540 | Bar and lounge — beverage |
| 4550 | In-room dining |
| 4560 | Banquet and catering — food |
| 4570 | Banquet and catering — beverage |
| 4580 | Meeting room rental and audio visual |
| 4590 | Service charge — retained by the hotel |
| 4600 | Food and beverage allowances and comps — contra |
| 4700 | Other operated departments revenue |
| 4710 | Spa and wellness |
| 4720 | Parking and valet |
| 4730 | Golf, marina and recreation |
| 4740 | Retail and gift shop |
| 4750 | Resort activities and excursions |
| 4760 | Laundry, dry cleaning and guest services |
| 4790 | Other operated departments — miscellaneous |
| 4900 | Miscellaneous income |
| 4910 | Space rental and concessions |
| 4920 | Antenna, rooftop and billboard income |
| 4930 | Commission, interest and other income |
| 5000 | Rooms department expense |
| 5010 | Salaries and wages — front office |
| 5020 | Salaries and wages — housekeeping |
| 5030 | Salaries and wages — guest services and bell |
| 5040 | Payroll taxes — rooms |
| 5050 | Employee benefits — rooms |
| 5060 | Contract and agency labor — rooms |
| 5100 | Guest supplies and amenities |
| 5110 | Cleaning supplies |
| 5120 | Linen and terry — replacement |
| 5130 | Laundry and dry cleaning — contract |
| 5140 | Uniforms — rooms |
| 5200 | Travel agent commissions |
| 5210 | Online travel agency commissions |
| 5220 | Reservation and global distribution system fees |
| 5230 | Loyalty program charge-out |
| 5240 | Franchise royalty — rooms |
| 5300 | Guest transportation and shuttle |
| 5310 | Guest relocation and walk costs |
| 5320 | Complimentary breakfast and guest amenities |
| 5390 | Other rooms expense |
| 5400 | Food and beverage department expense |
| 5410 | Cost of food sold |
| 5420 | Cost of beverage sold |
| 5430 | Cost of food and beverage — employee meals — contra |
| 5440 | Salaries and wages — kitchen |
| 5450 | Salaries and wages — service and bar |
| 5460 | Salaries and wages — banquet |
| 5470 | Payroll taxes — food and beverage |
| 5480 | Employee benefits — food and beverage |
| 5490 | Contract and agency labor — food and beverage |
| 5500 | China, glass, silver and smallwares |
| 5510 | Kitchen and restaurant supplies |
| 5520 | Uniforms — food and beverage |
| 5530 | Banquet and audio visual direct costs |
| 5540 | Music, entertainment and licensing |
| 5590 | Other food and beverage expense |
| 5700 | Other operated departments expense |
| 5710 | Salaries, wages and related — other operated |
| 5720 | Cost of goods sold — retail |
| 5730 | Cost of goods and supplies — spa and recreation |
| 5740 | Parking and valet direct costs |
| 5790 | Other operated departments — other expense |
| — | Total departmental profit (revenue 4000–4790 less expense 5000–5790) |
| 6000 | Administrative and general |
| 6010 | Salaries, wages and related — administrative |
| 6100 | Credit card and payment processing commissions |
| 6110 | Bad debt and write-offs |
| 6120 | Bank charges and cash over/short |
| 6200 | Professional fees — accounting, audit and tax |
| 6210 | Professional fees — legal |
| 6220 | Human resources, recruiting and training |
| 6230 | Dues, subscriptions and licenses |
| 6240 | Travel, meals and entertainment — administrative |
| 6250 | Office supplies, printing and postage |
| 6260 | Security and loss prevention |
| 6290 | Other administrative and general |
| 6300 | Information and telecommunications systems |
| 6310 | Salaries, wages and related — systems |
| 6320 | Property management system and application licensing |
| 6330 | Guest internet and in-room technology |
| 6340 | Telephone, data and connectivity |
| 6350 | Hardware, support and maintenance contracts |
| 6400 | Sales and marketing |
| 6410 | Salaries, wages and related — sales and marketing |
| 6420 | Digital, search and metasearch advertising |
| 6430 | Print, outdoor and collateral |
| 6440 | Revenue management tools and services |
| 6450 | Brand marketing fee and program fee |
| 6460 | Trade shows, familiarization trips and client entertainment |
| 6470 | Photography, website and content production |
| 6490 | Other sales and marketing |
| 6600 | Property operation and maintenance |
| 6610 | Salaries, wages and related — engineering |
| 6620 | Building repairs and maintenance |
| 6630 | Guest room repairs and maintenance |
| 6640 | Electrical, mechanical and HVAC |
| 6650 | Elevator, life safety and service contracts |
| 6660 | Grounds, landscaping and snow removal |
| 6670 | Pool, spa plant and recreation maintenance |
| 6680 | Waste removal and recycling |
| 6690 | Operating supplies — engineering |
| 6800 | Utilities |
| 6810 | Electricity |
| 6820 | Natural gas and fuel oil |
| 6830 | Water and sewer |
| 6840 | Steam, chilled water and district energy |
| 6850 | Utility rebates and incentives — contra |
| — | Gross operating profit (GOP) |
| 7000 | Management fees |
| 7010 | Base management fee |
| 7020 | Incentive management fee |
| 7030 | Centralized services and accounting fee |
| 7200 | Non-operating income and expense |
| 7210 | Ground rent and building rent |
| 7220 | Equipment rent and operating leases |
| 7230 | Real estate and personal property taxes |
| 7240 | Business, occupancy and franchise taxes |
| 7250 | Property and liability insurance |
| 7260 | Owner expenses and asset management fee |
| — | EBITDA before reserve |
| 8000 | Reserve for replacement |
| 8010 | FF&E reserve — funded per management or loan agreement |
| 9000 | Below the line |
| 9010 | Interest expense — mortgage |
| 9020 | Interest expense — other debt |
| 9030 | Depreciation — building and improvements |
| 9040 | Depreciation — furniture, fixtures and equipment |
| 9050 | Amortization — franchise and loan costs |
| 9100 | Gain or loss on disposal of assets |
| 9200 | Pre-opening and renovation disruption costs |
| 9300 | Non-recurring and extraordinary items |
| 9500 | Income tax provision |
Three subtotals are shown in color because they are the report, not a calculation: departmental profit judges each profit center, gross operating profit judges the operator, and EBITDA before reserve judges the asset.
What this structure lets you measure
The reason to group a hotel ledger departmentally is that the industry's operating statistics then compute directly from it, with no rebuilding in a spreadsheet. Each of these is a ratio of accounts above to a volume driver — rooms sold, rooms available, or covers.
| Metric | Built from |
|---|---|
| ADR | Rooms revenue (4000–4320, net of 4400 and 4410) divided by rooms sold. Average daily rate. |
| RevPAR | The same rooms revenue divided by rooms available. Revenue per available room — the number that moves when either rate or occupancy moves. |
| CPOR | Total rooms department expense (5000–5390) divided by rooms sold. Cost per occupied room — the cleanest read on housekeeping and guest-supply discipline, and the reason travel agent commission has to sit in 5200 rather than in marketing. |
| TRevPAR | All operating revenue, including food and beverage and other operated departments, divided by rooms available. Total revenue per available room. |
| GOPPAR | Gross operating profit divided by rooms available. What management agreements and incentive fees are usually written against. |
| Flow-through | The change in gross operating profit divided by the change in total revenue, period over period. How much of an extra dollar of revenue reached the bottom line. |
None of those require a separate reporting system. They require the ledger to be grouped so the inputs are already separated — which is the entire argument for setting the chart of accounts up correctly before the first month closes rather than restructuring it in year two. Definitions for the wider set are in our hospitality KPI glossary.
The five postings that cause the most trouble
Online travel agency bookings recorded net. If a $200 room booked through an OTA on the merchant model arrives in the ledger as $160 of revenue, rooms revenue is understated, ADR is wrong, and the commission never appears as a cost anyone can negotiate. Record gross revenue in 4010–4130 and the commission in 5210.
Service charge treated as revenue when it is distributed. Only the portion the hotel retains belongs in 4590. Amounts distributed to employees are payroll, and in most jurisdictions carry employer tax. Getting this wrong overstates food and beverage revenue and understates labor in the same month. The distinction between a service charge and a tip is the one we set out for restaurants, and it applies identically to banquet.
Occupancy tax sitting in revenue. Transient lodging, tourism and district assessments are collected on behalf of an authority. They belong in 2310 and 2320 as liabilities. Leaving them in revenue inflates RevPAR and, eventually, produces a tax bill nobody reserved for.
Advance deposits recognized on receipt. A deposit for a wedding eleven months out is cash and a liability in 2200, not revenue. Recognizing it early is a common cause of a hotel showing a profitable quarter and an empty bank account — the pattern we describe in cash flow gaps.
Capital work posted to repairs. A soft-goods refurbishment is a capital item funded from the FF&E reserve, not a property operation and maintenance expense. Posting it to 6620 depresses gross operating profit, which in a managed hotel can reduce an incentive fee that was properly earned — and in an owned one understates the asset.
Setting it up in practice
Import the account list, then set the ordering so each department's revenue and its direct expense sit together and departmental profit can be subtotalled on the face of the statement. Carry property as a location or class dimension and department as a second dimension; do not encode either in the account number. If you operate more than one hotel, agree the chart once at group level and roll it out — charts allowed to diverge per property make consolidation a manual exercise within a year, which is the problem our consolidated group pack is built to solve.
If you are mid-year, you can still change it. The requirement is that prior periods are remapped to the new structure so comparatives survive. That remapping is part of what happens when a property moves to us, and it is set out in the accountant handover pack.
A group that also runs standalone restaurants will want both structures. The restaurant side is grouped to prime cost rather than by department, and the full account list for it is published at restaurant chart of accounts.
Frequently asked
Is there a hotel chart of accounts template in Excel or PDF?
Yes, in Excel and CSV, both free and ungated — take them from the section above. The workbook holds the same 187 postable accounts and adds the account type, the statement each account belongs to, its normal balance and the USALI department it reports in, plus a sheet mapping the account ranges to departmental profit, gross operating profit and the ADR, RevPAR, CPOR, TRevPAR and GOPPAR calculations. The full list also stays published as text on this page, so you can still copy it straight into a spreadsheet. There is no PDF, because a PDF of an account list cannot be imported into anything. If you want it loaded, mapped and reconciled against your property management system rather than imported by hand, that is what our hotel accounting service does.
How many accounts should a hotel chart of accounts have?
Enough to produce departmental profit for every department you actually operate, and no more. A select-service property is usually well served by around eighty to a hundred active accounts; a full-service hotel with banquet, spa and parking will run closer to the list on this page. The failure mode runs in both directions — too few and the statement cannot explain a variance, too many and nothing gets coded consistently.
How does this relate to the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry?
It follows the same departmental logic — operated departments reporting their own profit, undistributed overhead kept unallocated, ownership costs below gross operating profit — because that is what brands, management companies and lenders read. It is our own working structure and not a reproduction of that standard, which is published separately by HFTP and AHLA. If a brand or loan agreement requires strict conformity, buy the current edition and map this chart to it. Our hotel reporting pack shows what the finished monthly statements look like.
Should each hotel in a group have its own chart of accounts?
No. One chart of accounts, with property carried as a location or class dimension. Separate charts per property make per-property comparison and group consolidation manual work, and they drift apart within a year.
Where do online travel agency commissions belong?
In rooms department expense, account 5210, with the gross room rate recorded as rooms revenue. Netting the commission against revenue understates both rooms revenue and the cost of distribution, and makes cost per occupied room meaningless as a comparison between properties or periods.
What does CPOR mean?
Cost per occupied room: total rooms department expense divided by the number of rooms sold in the period. It isolates what it costs to put a guest in a room — labor, guest supplies, laundry, commissions and reservation fees — and is the main efficiency measure for the rooms department.
Can I change a hotel chart of accounts mid-year?
Yes, and it is usually better than waiting for a year end. The condition is that prior periods are remapped to the new structure so comparatives and brand reporting still reconcile.
We build and run this structure for hotels, resorts and mixed hospitality groups across the United States — departmental statements, brand and lender reporting, and a closed P&L and balance sheet by day 10. If your current reporting cannot show departmental profit or gross operating profit without a spreadsheet, that is a chart of accounts problem and it is fixable. Talk to us about your property.
Related: Hotel accounting services · Hotel reporting pack · CFO and controller services · Restaurant chart of accounts · KPI glossary