The Blue Book

Book excerpt: The Blue Book is an ultimate guide for financial and management accounting in the hotel industry, and it is like no other. Some academic books for the hospitality industry do exist; however, as the term "hospitality industry" refers to lodging, food & beverage, event planning, transportation, and recreation, the industry is already complex on its own. It explains why such books do not conveniently cater to a hotel's needs. Moreover, these books dedicate many pages to corporate financing, which has little or nothing to do with the property level. Although there are some ground rules within the hospitality industry, the hotel has its unique accounting procedures and techniques, and this is when this book plays a main role.With over twenty years of valuable experience with the best international hotel operators in six countries, the author shares the essential and practical knowledge and guidelines to build a strong Finance Division in hotels. Therefore, this book perfectly caters to all financial professionals, from the start of their careers to becoming finance leaders.The contents of this book are certainly comprehensive and thorough - highly relevant and easy to understand. This makes it suitable for financial professionals, stakeholders including division heads, general managers, auditors, owners, and owner's representatives. All will greatly benefit from it. The Blue Book includes the following twelve parts that provide the most essential needed information to understand the hotel finance functions and to build a strong finance division:Part One: Basic AccountingPart Two: Revenue ManagementPart Three: Cost ManagementPart Four: Labor ManagementPart Five: Other Expenses GuidelinesPart Six: Financial AnalysisPart Seven: Budgeting and ForecastingPart Eight: Cash ManagementPart Nine: Hotel InvestmentsPart Ten: Hotel Management SoftwarePart Eleven: Financial Functions and SOPsPart Twelve: Parent-Child Chart of AccountsThis book uses the Uniform System of Accounts and GAAP as its main reference, ensuring that the information provided to the readers is the most updated and relevant version of the modern hotel industry.