Hotel inventory management: every department in one place
By mise · Updated September 29, 2026
Quick answer: a hotel's inventory sits in five or six places: the storeroom, the kitchen, the bar, the minibars, housekeeping (linen and amenities) and maintenance. Run each one as a location, count consumption areas weekly and the storeroom monthly, set par levels per item and log shrinkage with a reason. With mise you scan the barcode or snap a photo and the AI finds and categorizes the product.
In a hotel the money isn't on one shelf. It's in the breakfast buffet, in every room's minibar, in the sheets that go to the laundry and don't come back, in the amenity kits that walk out. If you only control the kitchen, you see half the cost.
The inventory areas of a hotel
| Area | What it holds | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Storeroom | Everything received and not yet issued: beverages, dry goods, cleaning supplies, amenities, new linen | Monthly (full) and on every requisition |
| Kitchen & breakfast | Perishables, deli, bread, fruit, coffee, milk, juice | Weekly (perishables daily) |
| Bar & restaurant | Spirits, wine, beer, soft drinks | Weekly |
| Minibars | Water, soft drinks, beer, snacks, chocolate per room | At every checkout + monthly close |
| Housekeeping | Linen (sheets, towels, pillowcases), guest amenities, cleaning chemicals | Monthly (linen), weekly (amenities) |
| Maintenance | Bulbs, batteries, spare parts, pool chemicals | Monthly |
Example: a 40-room hotel
The routine that works
- Every department is a location. The storeroom issues against a requisition; what leaves it lands in the department that asked.
- Par stock per item and per area: water in the minibar, coffee at breakfast, queen sheets in the linen room. See par stock in hotels.
- Counts with a date and a name. Whoever receives deliveries shouldn't be the one who counts.
- Shrinkage with a reason: breakage, expired, staff use, comp, not charged.
- F&B cost kept apart from rooms: linen and amenities are a cost per occupied room.
How a hotel runs mise
Scan the barcode with the phone camera or snap a photo of the label; mise's AI finds the product and categorizes it with name, brand, category and photo. Linen and anything without a barcode is added once by name, then just counted.
- Locations for storeroom, kitchen, bar, minibars and housekeeping: count one or see the whole property.
- Several properties as separate stores, each with its own inventory, or all of them together.
- Team by department: housekeeping counts the minibars, the bartender counts the bar, and the manager decides who sees costs.
- Par levels with alerts, shrinkage with reasons and F&B cost for the period.
Scan the barcode or snap a photo: mise's AI finds the product and categorizes it. 7-day free trial, then US$33 a month (£26 in the UK).
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Frequently asked questions
How do hotels manage inventory?
By department: the storeroom receives and issues against requisitions, each area (kitchen, bar, minibars, housekeeping) is counted on its own schedule, every item has a par level and shrinkage is logged with a reason.
Is there a hotel inventory management template in Excel?
Yes: one sheet per department with item, unit, par, count and variance. See the hotel inventory list. With mise you count by scanning and export to Excel or PDF.
How often should a hotel take stock?
Perishables and minibars often (daily or at checkout), bar and amenities weekly, storeroom and linen once a month.
Does it work for B&Bs, hostels and resorts?
Yes. The logic is the same: each area is a location and each property can be a separate store.
How much does mise cost?
A 7-day free trial, then US$33 a month per property (£26 in the UK).