Summer is a booming time for the hospitality industry – but for finance leaders, it can feel more like a pressure cooker than a vacation. With guest volume surging, staffing stretched thin, vendors scrambling to keep up, and every department running at full speed, the finance team becomes the nerve center of hotel operations. And without the right tools in place, it’s all too easy for costs to spiral, invoices to pile up, errors to slip through the cracks, and the guest experience to suffer.
That’s where a purpose-built financial management system (FMS) makes all the difference.
Stay on Top of Vendor Payments and Cash Flow
When occupancy spikes, so does procurement. Hotels stock up on food and beverages, linens, cleaning supplies, and maintenance services – often from dozens or even hundreds of vendors. Managing all those invoices manually in spreadsheets or outdated software slows down processing, introduces errors, and increases the risk of duplicate payments or missed due dates. An integrated financial management system streamlines invoice processing and keeps payments on schedule.
- Finance leaders get real-time visibility into outgoing payments and incoming obligations, so they can manage working capital more effectively during periods of high activity. This visibility allows for better coordination with procurement and operations teams, avoiding supply shortages or over-ordering. It also helps identify early-payment discounts and avoid late-payment penalties—both critical during high-volume seasons.
- Automated workflows help eliminate bottlenecks in invoice processing, reduce manual entry, and support timely reconciliation. This reduces the burden on staff and frees up time for higher-value tasks, such as spend analysis and forecasting. By minimizing the risk of error, finance can operate more efficiently while maintaining accuracy and compliance.
When vendor activity is at its peak, the right financial management system turns chaos into control – protecting margins, improving cash flow, and ensuring nothing (and no one) gets paid late.
Adapt Quickly to Volume Surges and Staffing Gaps
Summer doesn’t just bring more guests – it also brings more turnover. Temporary hires, seasonal staff, and last-minute changes to schedules all create complexity in payroll, departmental budgeting, and performance tracking. A flexible FMS allows hotels to adjust for seasonality by providing:
- Real-time budget vs. actual reporting. Hospitality finance leaders can quickly spot variances and take corrective action before issues escalate. This ensures that departments stay accountable, and operations stay within budget, even as guest volume ebbs and flows.
- Payroll allocation across departments. Labor costs can be accurately tracked and reported by department, shift, or location for better profitability analysis. It also simplifies compliance with labor laws and makes workforce planning easier during seasonal peaks.
- Forecasting tools that respond to changes in occupancy, ADR, and RevPAR. These tools help hotels and resorts fine-tune operational plans based on real-time market and performance data. Hospitality finance leaders can model scenarios to test the financial impact of changes in booking trends or staffing levels before acting.
When guest counts surge and staffing shifts, a flexible financial management system gives finance the agility to stay in control, protect profitability, and turn seasonal chaos into strategic advantage.
Eliminate Errors and Bottlenecks When It Matters Most
Manual disconnected processes slow staff down and create risk. And during the busy season, there’s no time to waste correcting miscoded expenses, missing invoices, or reconciling spreadsheets. The right financial management system centralizes data and automates key workflows, so your team can:
- Code expenses to the right department automatically. This ensures that cost reporting is accurate and enables more meaningful departmental performance reviews. It also helps property leaders make more informed decisions about where to allocate resources.
- Reconcile accounts faster with built-in controls. Automated matching of transactions and audit-ready reporting tools reduce the end-of-month crunch. The result is faster financial close cycles and more time to focus on forecasting and analysis.
- Ensure compliance with USALI 12th Edition standards. Standardized reporting aligns financial operations with the industry’s best practices and stakeholder expectations. It also supports more consistent benchmarking across properties, helping uncover gaps or issues.
When accuracy, speed, and compliance matter most, a centralized financial management system keeps errors out, workflows moving, and your finance team firmly in control – even at peak pressure.
Gain the Insight You Need to Optimize Operations
Summer is a time to earn. But without timely, accurate reporting, finance leaders can’t see which departments are driving performance – or which are holding the property back. A modern financial management system delivers actionable dashboards and customizable reports that let you:
- Monitor profitability by department or location. Breakdowns by F&B, rooms, spa, and other outlets make it easy to spot underperforming areas. Hotels can also use this data to make informed decisions about pricing, staffing, and promotions across different segments.
- Identify overspending before it impacts margins. Alerts and threshold-based triggers help hospitality finance teams course-correct in real time. This level of control protects the bottom line, especially when guest expectations (and operational costs) are high.
- Make smarter staffing decisions. With access to reliable, current data, finance leaders can align operational decisions with financial goals. It also builds confidence among ownership groups and exec teams that the business is being steered strategically through peak periods.
In the heat of the summer rush, the right insights turn reactive firefighting into proactive strategy – giving hospitality finance leaders the power to drive peak performance when it matters most.
Don’t Just Keep Up – Get Ahead
For hospitality finance teams, summer can either be a source of stress or a strategic advantage. The right financial management system gives hotels and resorts the automation, accuracy, and agility they need to make the most of the season. With complete visibility into financial data, faster workflows, and fewer surprises, hospitality finance leaders are better equipped to keep operations running smoothly – and to turn the summer travel rush into a period of peak performance and profitability.
