AHLEI CHA study guide
AHLEI CHA · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA®) is a professional credential administered by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI), which describes itself as a global leader in hospitality education, training and certification. AHLEI states that it provides the study materials and administers the certification process for nearly 30 certification designations trademarked by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA). The AHLEI CHA study guide has 4 sections and about 1,387 words.
01Leadership in Hotel Management
Leadership questions test whether you can distinguish management (planning, organizing, controlling, staffing) from leadership (vision, influence, motivation, culture). Expect situational items where the "best" answer is the one that builds capability and ownership rather than the one that simply restores order fastest.
329 words, about 2 min02Business Acumen for Hotel Leaders
Business acumen items ask you to connect hotel decisions to financial outcomes and to the competitive environment. You should be comfortable with the structure of a hotel income statement : revenue departments (rooms, F&B, other operated departments), their departmental expenses and departmental profit , then undistributed operating expenses (A&G, sales and marketing, property operations and maintenance, utilities), then GOP , then fixed charges (rent, property taxes, insurance), EBITDA , and finally management fees, depreciation, and interest.
347 words, about 2 min03Hotel Operations
Operations items test whether you understand how the front office, housekeeping, engineering, and F&B interlock, and how standards are maintained under pressure. Know the guest cycle (pre-arrival, arrival, occupancy, departure, post-departure), reservation and overbooking logic, the night audit's purpose (posting charges, balancing accounts, rolling the business date), and the difference between a walk (relocating a guest when the hotel is oversold) and a no-show .
337 words, about 2 min04Revenue and Financial Management
Revenue management items test disciplined decision-making: segment the market, forecast demand, allocate inventory to the highest-value business, and protect rate integrity. Core concepts: Segmentation : transient, corporate negotiated, group, OTA, wholesale, loyalty.
374 words, about 2 min