--- title: Hotel Management Guides: KPIs, Costs, Stores | Tivuzo description: Practical hotel guides: occupancy, ADR and RevPAR, night audit, food cost, procurement, kitchen and bar stores, housekeeping and month-end accounts. url: https://www.tivuzo.com/guides/ updated: 2026-11-03 --- Guides # Guides for people who run hotels. Plain, practical answers for people who run hotels, lodges, camps and guest houses: the numbers, the routines and the controls. Written to be useful whether or not you use Tivuzo. **Where to start:** Start with the numbers: [occupancy, ADR and RevPAR](https://www.tivuzo.com/guides/occupancy-adr-revpar/) and [cost per occupied room](https://www.tivuzo.com/guides/cost-per-occupied-room/). Then the routines: [the night audit](https://www.tivuzo.com/guides/what-is-a-night-audit/) and [the month-end close](https://www.tivuzo.com/guides/hotel-month-end-close/). Choosing software? Read [how to choose a hotel PMS](https://www.tivuzo.com/guides/how-to-choose-a-hotel-pms/) and the [buyer's guide](https://www.tivuzo.com/best-hotel-management-software/). Opening a property? See [how to start a guest house](https://www.tivuzo.com/guides/how-to-start-a-guest-house/). ## Numbers and performance - [**Occupancy, ADR and RevPAR** What occupancy rate, ADR and RevPAR mean, how to calculate each with a worked example, what good looks like, and the cost numbers to read beside them.](https://www.tivuzo.com/guides/occupancy-adr-revpar/) - [**Cost per occupied room** Cost per occupied room (CPOR) explained: the formula, what to include, a worked example, GOPPAR beside RevPAR, and where small hotels usually save money.](https://www.tivuzo.com/guides/cost-per-occupied-room/) - [**Food cost percentage** The food cost percentage formula, a worked hotel kitchen example, typical ranges, why it drifts and seven ways to bring it back, from receiving to portions.](https://www.tivuzo.com/guides/hotel-food-cost-percentage/) - [**Bar stock control** How to control hotel bar stock: pour cost formula, measures and recipes, par stock, daily and weekly counts, variance by bottle and the leaks to watch.](https://www.tivuzo.com/guides/hotel-bar-stock-control/) ## Running the hotel - [**What is a night audit** What a hotel night audit is, who does it and the steps: check arrivals and no-shows, post room charges, balance the tills, run the reports, roll the date.](https://www.tivuzo.com/guides/what-is-a-night-audit/) - [**Housekeeping checklist** A practical hotel housekeeping guide: room status codes, the daily flow with the front desk, a room cleaning checklist, inspections, linen par and amenities.](https://www.tivuzo.com/guides/hotel-housekeeping-checklist/) - [**Hotel procurement process** The hotel procurement process from purchase request to payment: approvals, quotes, purchase orders, receiving and the GRN, three-way matching and controls.](https://www.tivuzo.com/guides/hotel-procurement-process/) - [**Hotel stores control** How to run hotel stores: main and department stores, receiving, issues and requisitions, par levels, FIFO and expiry, monthly counts and reading variances.](https://www.tivuzo.com/guides/hotel-stores-control/) ## Accounts - [**Hotel month-end close** A hotel month-end checklist: folios and city ledger, OTA commissions, supplier bills, stores counts, bank and M-Pesa reconciliation, VAT, and the P&L review.](https://www.tivuzo.com/guides/hotel-month-end-close/) - [**OTA commission accounting** How hotels record OTA bookings and commissions from Booking.com, Expedia and agents: gross vs net, prepaid vs pay-at-hotel, invoices and matching payouts.](https://www.tivuzo.com/guides/booking-com-commission-accounting/) ## Choosing software - [**How to choose a hotel PMS** A 10-point checklist for choosing a hotel PMS: rooms and rates, front desk, folios, housekeeping, the back office, payments, offline, data and support.](https://www.tivuzo.com/guides/how-to-choose-a-hotel-pms/) - [**Best hotel management software** How to choose the best hotel management software in 2026: the PMS features that matter, back office, offline, payments, total cost and questions to ask.](https://www.tivuzo.com/best-hotel-management-software/) - [**Best PMS for small hotels** What the best PMS for a small hotel, lodge or guest house must do, what you can skip, what it should cost and how to compare systems in a week.](https://www.tivuzo.com/best-pms-for-small-hotels/) - [**Best hotel accounting software** How to choose hotel accounting software: departmental P&L, folios that post themselves, VAT and levies, stock valuation, bank and M-Pesa matching.](https://www.tivuzo.com/best-hotel-accounting-software/) - [**One system vs separate systems** Separate PMS, POS, stores and accounting software vs one hotel back office: re-keying, month-end, cost per room, price and when each choice makes sense.](https://www.tivuzo.com/compare/one-system-vs-separate-pms-and-accounting/) - [**Cloud vs on-premise hotel software** Cloud vs on-premise hotel software compared: internet and power, backups, updates, access from anywhere, security and total cost for a small property.](https://www.tivuzo.com/compare/cloud-vs-on-premise-hotel-software/) - [**Tivuzo vs Excel and notebooks** When a booking diary and Excel stop working for a hotel, what a PMS and back office add, what they cost and how to move without closing for a day.](https://www.tivuzo.com/compare/tivuzo-vs-excel/) ## Starting out - [**How to start a guest house** Starting a guest house or small hotel: licences to check, rooms and rates, the first suppliers, stores, payments, accounts and the systems to set up on day one.](https://www.tivuzo.com/guides/how-to-start-a-guest-house/) ## Reference - [**Glossary** Plain-English definitions of hotel terms: ADR, RevPAR, occupancy, folio, night audit, rack rate, meal plans, no-show, GRN, par stock and food cost.](https://www.tivuzo.com/glossary/) - [**Questions and answers** Answers about Tivuzo: what it does, who it is for, per-user pricing, the free trial, OTAs, offline selling, M-Pesa, your data, countries and support.](https://www.tivuzo.com/faq/) ## About these guides ### Who writes these guides? The Tivuzo team, from our work with hotels, lodges and guest houses. They are general guides; for legal, tax or licensing questions, check with the relevant authority or a qualified adviser. [About Tivuzo](https://www.tivuzo.com/about/). ### Can I share or quote these guides? Yes. You are welcome to link to or quote them with a link back to the page. ### Are the examples real? The worked examples use round, realistic figures to show the method. Use your own numbers.