You wouldn't trust a doctor's mere intuition with your health, right? Of course not. You'd require testing and data. Operational benchmarking is the hotel industry's electrocardiogram (EKG), MRI, X-ray and ultrasound — the instruments that provide the cold hard facts.

COVID-19 has made breaking-even more tolerable than the alternative—going broke. It's not the hand hoteliers wanted, but it's the hand they've been dealt, forcing them to approximate at what occupancy rate they can operate their hotel such that cost and revenue are equal.

COVID-19 swept through Asia first. Chinese health officials first reported the outbreak to the World Health Organization (WHO) on Dec. 31, 2019, and the rapid spread of the virus prompted aggressive containment measures across the entire region.

Hotel operating departments can be divided into two main groups: those that generate revenue and those that don't. Typically, hoteliers focus on the first group when analyzing financial performance— .

Data is king, but futile if you don't know how to best interpret the numbers. Asking yourself, "What's the best way to analyze my data?" is too broad and only adds to the confusion. A better approach is to start by setting goals for your analysis.