Like other industries, hotel operators are tasked with controlling both fixed and variable expenses. In short, variable expenses increase or decrease as business volume expands or contracts. On the other hand, fixed expenses are impervious to fluctuations in business levels. Changes are influenced by external factors such as climate, inflation, and other economic conditions. IN THE HOTEL industry, operated department expenses tend to be highly variable, while the majority of undistributed expenses are mostly fixed in nature.
In 2013, operated department costs increased by 3.9 percent, while undistributed expenses rose by just 3.1 percent. Clearly the lodging industry is at a point in the business cycle when business volume is covering most of the fixed undistributed expenses, while continued growth in occupancy is driving the variable departmental costs.
Some lodging expenses are almost entirely out of the day-to-day control of management. These include expenses such as utilities, property taxes, and insurance. In 2012, utility costs at U.S. hotels declined from 2011 levels. Unfortunately, this downward trend ended in 2013 as the combined cost of electricity, gas, steam, water, and sewer increased by 2.0 percent. Property taxes and insurance grew by 3.9 percent in 2013, an increase from the 3.5 percent growth rate observed in 2012