Show me the money: A systematic literature review on financial transparency and USALI’s global adoption challenges

This systematic literature review explores the adoption and implementation of the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI) across 25 studies, including academic articles and grey literature. This review aims to shed light on the diverse experiences of hotels adopting USALI by examining its impact on financial transparency, cost allocation practices, benchmarking capabilities, and sustainability reporting within the global hospitality sector. While larger, chain-affiliated hotels tend to benefit from full compliance, smaller independent hotels often struggle due to limited resources and the system’s complexity. The introduction of the 12th edition of USALI in 2024, which includes new Energy, Water, and Waste (EWW) metrics to promote sustainability, presents additional challenges for smaller hotels. Findings underscore the importance of USALI for benchmarking and management within hospitality units and highlight the need for future research into simplified, scalable USALI solutions. Such developments would make this management accounting system more accessible to smaller hotels and emerging markets, allowing them to realize its long-term financial benefits.