Which financial metric indicates a hotel’s ability to cover its operating costs?

The metric that best indicates a hotel's ability to cover its operating costs is the Gross Operating Profit (GOP). This figure reflects the revenue remaining after accounting for all operating expenses, excluding taxes, interest, and depreciation. It is crucial for a hotel’s financial health as it provides insight into the profitability generated from its core operations, allowing management to assess whether the income generated from room sales and other services can effectively cover the costs incurred in running the hotel.

Understanding GOP is essential for hotel management because it helps in evaluating operational efficiency, aiding in decision-making processes, and setting strategies for revenue management. A positive GOP signifies that a hotel can meet its operational expenses and potentially reinvest in the business or distribute profits. In contrast, other metrics like the occupancy rate, Average Daily Rate (ADR), and net income serve different purposes. The occupancy rate measures the percentage of available rooms sold, ADR focuses on the average revenue earned per occupied room, and net income reflects the total profit after all expenses are deducted, which includes factors beyond just operational effectiveness. Therefore, GOP is the preferred measure when specifically analyzing a hotel’s operational viability.