Other Accommodation and Food Services Industry Terminology

ADR (Average Daily Rate)

Average room revenue earned per occupied room in a day; ADR = Room Revenue / Rooms Sold.

Our ADR climbed 8% YoY; Set weekend ADR at $175 based on demand; Package pricing increased ADR without hurting occupancy

Allergen Management

Policies, training, labeling, and kitchen practices used to prevent allergen exposure and cross-contact for guests.

Implement an allergen matrix for all menu items; Servers follow allergen communication SOPs; Dedicated fryers support our allergen management plan

Ancillary Revenue

Income from non-core products/services (late checkout, parking, minibar, equipment rental, add-ons).

Upsell late checkout to grow ancillary revenue; Picnic kits added $7k in ancillary sales; Ancillary revenue per guest rose after bundling

Back-of-House (BOH)

Non-guest-facing operational areas (kitchen, storage, dish, staff spaces) and the teams who work there.

BOH workflow redesign cut ticket times; BOH access restricted to food-handling staff; New BOH layout meets HACCP flow

Banquet Event Order (BEO)

Detailed document specifying event requirements (menus, headcount, setup, timeline, A/V, billing) for banquets or catered functions.

Send the revised BEO for client sign-off; Add vegan counts to the BEO; Finance bills according to the BEO guarantees

Beverage Cost Percentage

Beverage COGS divided by beverage sales; a key control metric for bars and catering.

Target bev cost at 22%; Inventory variance is pushing beverage cost up; Cocktail re-pricing lowered beverage cost percentage

Break-even Point (BEP)

The sales volume at which total revenue equals total fixed plus variable costs; profit is zero.

Food truck BEP is 120 covers/day; We hit BEP for the wedding at 150 guests; Raising price dropped BEP by 10 events per month

CAPEX (Capital Expenditures)

Long-term investments in assets (ovens, vehicles, furnishings, property improvements) capitalized on the balance sheet.

Budget CAPEX for a combi oven; CAPEX request for refurbishing cabins; Defer noncritical CAPEX to preserve cash

Catering Contract

Legally binding agreement outlining scope, menus, service levels, payment, cancellation, and liability for catered events.

Add force majeure to the catering contract; Deposit and cancellation terms are in the contract; Indemnification clause protects us onsite

Channel Management

Practice and systems to manage rates, inventory, and content across distribution channels (direct, OTAs, GDS, marketplaces).

Sync rates via our channel manager; Close OTA channels for sold-out dates; Parity audits improved channel performance

COGS (Cost of Goods Sold)

Direct costs of ingredients and disposables used to produce sold items; excludes labor and overhead.

COGS rose with protein inflation; Engineering the menu reduced COGS by 2 pts; Weekly COGS report guides pricing

Commissary Kitchen

Licensed shared or central kitchen for prep, storage, and compliance used by food trucks, caterers, and ghost kitchens.

Lease a commissary for overnight prep; Commissary meets our cold storage needs; City requires food trucks to use a commissary

Cross-Contamination

The transfer of harmful pathogens or allergens from one surface/food to another.

Color-coded boards reduce cross-contamination; Allergen cross-contact training is mandatory; Separate storage prevents raw-to-ready contamination

CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

Systems and processes for tracking guest data, preferences, communications, and loyalty to drive repeat business.

Tag OTA guests in CRM for direct offers; CRM campaigns lifted repeat bookings; Capture dietary preferences in CRM

Dynamic Pricing

Adjusting prices in real time based on demand, inventory, time, and competitor signals.

Use dynamic pricing for peak weekends; Raise delivery fees during rain-driven spikes; Dynamic rates increased ADR and RevPAR

EBITDA

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization; proxy for operating cash flow.

Catering EBITDA margin hit 18%; Normalize EBITDA for one-time costs; Lender covenants require minimum EBITDA

FIFO (First-In, First-Out)

Inventory rotation method ensuring oldest stock is used first to minimize spoilage and waste.

Date labels support FIFO; Walk-in is organized for FIFO; FIFO cut waste by 12%

Food Cost Percentage

Food COGS divided by food sales; a core profitability metric for kitchens.

Target food cost at 28%; Shrinkage inflated food cost; Recipe costing controls food cost percentage

Front-of-House (FOH)

Guest-facing areas and staff (servers, bar, counter, reception).

Cross-train FOH for banquets; FOH-BOH expo improved speed; FOH scripting boosted upsells

Ghost Kitchen

Delivery-only production kitchen with no dine-in, often leveraging virtual brands and third-party delivery.

Launch a breakfast virtual brand from our ghost kitchen; Ghost kitchen uses third-party delivery; Commissary supports ghost kitchen scaling

HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points)

Preventive food safety system identifying hazards and controls at critical points in the process.

Update HACCP plan for sous vide; Monitor CCPs every two hours; HACCP logs passed inspection

Inventory Turnover

COGS divided by average inventory; measures how efficiently inventory is used.

Turnover improved to 24x annually; Slow turns signal over-ordering; Higher turns freed working capital

Just-in-Time Inventory (JIT)

Purchasing strategy that minimizes on-hand inventory by timing deliveries close to production.

JIT deliveries cut carrying costs; Supplier reliability is key for JIT; Rain impacted JIT for the festival booth

KDS (Kitchen Display System)

Digital screens replacing paper tickets to manage, time, and route orders in the kitchen.

KDS reduced chit errors; Route expo items via KDS; KDS data reveals bottlenecks

KPI (Key Performance Indicator)

Quantifiable metric used to gauge performance against targets.

RevPASH is a core KPI; Set KPIs for catering lead response time; Weekly KPI review drives accountability

Labor Cost Percentage

Labor expense divided by sales; tracked overall and by department or daypart.

Labor % spiked during training; Use staffing models to hold labor at 25%; Cross-utilization lowers labor percentage

Licensing and Permits

Regulatory approvals required to operate (health permit, food handler, liquor license, STR permit, fire, occupancy).

Renew health and liquor permits; New zoning requires a STR permit; Event needs a temporary food permit

LTO (Limited-Time Offer)

Short-duration menu or package designed to drive urgency and test concepts.

Spring LTO boosted check average; Run an LTO for local mushrooms; LTO results inform menu engineering

Menu Engineering

Framework for analyzing menu item profitability and popularity to optimize price, design, and placement.

Move stars to the golden triangle; Rework puzzle items with recipe changes; Menu engineering lifted contribution margin

Mise en Place

Organized setup of tools and ingredients to maximize efficiency and consistency.

Daily mise en place checklist; Pre-portion sauces in mise en place; Mise en place cut ticket times

Mobile POS (mPOS)

Portable point-of-sale hardware/software used tableside or offsite at events and mobile units.

Use mPOS for poolside service; Catering team closes checks on mPOS; mPOS speeds line at the food truck

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Customer loyalty metric calculated from 'likelihood to recommend' responses (promoters minus detractors).

NPS after events rose to 68; Close the loop on NPS detractors; Segment NPS by channel

Night Audit

End-of-day reconciliation process for lodging operations that closes the books and rolls the date.

Night audit posts room and tax; Resolve folio discrepancies at night audit; Night audit triggers daily reports

Occupancy Rate

Percentage of available rooms or sites sold for a period; Rooms Sold / Rooms Available.

Occupancy hit 92% on Saturday; Boost midweek occupancy with packages; Occupancy dips seasonally after Labor Day

OPEX (Operating Expenditures)

Ongoing expenses to run the business (rent, utilities, supplies, wages) expensed in the period.

Cut OPEX via energy upgrades; Classify line items as OPEX vs CAPEX; OPEX creep pressured margins

OTA (Online Travel Agency)

Third-party booking platforms that market and sell accommodations for a commission.

Shift mix from OTAs to direct; Optimize OTA content and photos; Negotiate OTA commission tiers

PAR Levels (Periodic Automatic Replenishment)

Target on-hand quantities that trigger reordering for inventory items and linens.

Set par at 3x for linens; Par sheets prevent stockouts; Adjust par after demand spike

PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard)

Security standards governing how payment card data must be handled and protected.

Annual PCI SAQ due this month; Never store PANs per PCI DSS; Tokenization helped PCI compliance

Point-of-Sale (POS)

System used to take orders, process payments, manage menus, and track sales.

Sync POS with inventory; POS modifiers capture upsells; Offline POS mode for festivals

Preventive Maintenance

Scheduled upkeep of equipment and facilities to reduce downtime and extend asset life.

PM the walk-in quarterly; Create PM checklists for cabins; Preventive maintenance cut emergency calls

Profit and Loss (P&L) Statement

Financial report showing revenues, COGS, expenses, and profit over a period.

Review P&L by venue and channel; Food cost variance shows on the P&L; Monthly P&L drives budget reforecast

RFP (Request for Proposal)

Formal solicitation from clients for event, group, or corporate catering bids.

Respond to the RFP within 24 hours; Customize the RFP with floor plans; Win the RFP with value-adds

RevPASH (Revenue per Available Seat Hour)

Restaurant metric: Total revenue / (seats × hours open); measures dining room productivity.

Brunch RevPASH lags dinner; Shorten table turn times to lift RevPASH; Pre-theater menu improved RevPASH

RevPAR (Revenue per Available Room)

Lodging metric: Room revenue / rooms available; equals ADR × occupancy.

RevPAR up 12% YoY; Compression nights spike RevPAR; Rate fences protected RevPAR

SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures)

Documented step-by-step methods to ensure consistency, safety, and quality.

SOP for tented events in rain; Cocktail SOPs standardize specs; Train new hires on SOPs

TCS Foods (Time/Temperature Control for Safety)

Foods requiring strict time and temperature control to prevent pathogen growth (e.g., dairy, meats, cooked rice).

Label TCS items with discard times; Hold TCS foods at 41°F/5°C or below; Log TCS hot-holding at 135°F/57°C+

TOT (Transient Occupancy Tax)

Local lodging tax applied to short-term stays; also called hotel or bed tax.

Remit TOT monthly to the city; STR listings must display TOT; Package rates should include room and TOT

Upselling

Encouraging guests to purchase higher-margin items or add-ons that enhance the experience.

Train FOH to upsell premium pours; Offer firepit rentals at check-in; Pre-arrival emails upsell late checkout

Zero-Waste Kitchen

Operational approach to minimize landfill waste via source reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting.

Track waste to move toward zero-waste; Repurpose trim into stocks; Switch to reusables to cut waste

Zoning Compliance

Adherence to local land-use rules governing where and how accommodations and food businesses operate.

Verify zoning for short-term rentals; Seek variance for outdoor dining; Zoning limits event capacity