Quick Answer
MTD shows your hotel's performance from the 1st of this month until today. YTD shows it from January 1st until today. Both are used to track progress, compare against last year, and catch problems before the month or year closes.
What is MTD (Month-to-Date)?
Imagine it's April 12. Your hotel has been running for 12 days this month. MTD revenue is the total money your hotel earned from April 1 to April 12 — not the full month, just what's happened so far.
That's it. MTD is simply a running total from the start of the month to today.
Real Example — 30-room hotel, April 12
| What happened | Number |
|---|---|
| Days passed in April so far | 12 days |
| Average occupancy (April 1–12) | 75% = 22–23 rooms/night |
| Average room rate (ARR) | ₹3,500 |
| MTD Room Revenue | ≈ ₹9.45 lakhs |
22 rooms × ₹3,500 × 12 nights = ₹9,24,000 (approximately ₹9.5 lakhs)
Your monthly target was ₹24 lakhs for April. You're 12 days in and at ₹9.5 lakhs. Are you on track? Yes — ₹9.5L out of ₹24L in 12 of 30 days means you're running at 32% of target with 40% of the month gone. That's a flag — you may need to push harder in the second half.
That's exactly what MTD is for — catching this kind of gap while you can still do something about it.
What is YTD (Year-to-Date)?
YTD is the same idea, but across the whole year. If today is April 12, your YTD revenue is everything earned from January 1 to April 12 — 102 days of business.
Hotels use YTD to answer the bigger question: How is this year going compared to last year?
Same hotel — YTD picture on April 12
| Period | Revenue | Occupancy | ARR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2026 (full month) | ₹16.8L | 62% | ₹3,000 |
| Feb 2026 (full month) | ₹20.2L | 78% | ₹3,200 |
| Mar 2026 (full month) | ₹26.4L | 82% | ₹3,500 |
| Apr 1–12 (MTD) | ₹9.5L | 75% | ₹3,500 |
| YTD Total | ₹72.9L | 74.3% | ₹3,300 |
Now compare this to the same period last year (called LYTD — Last Year-to-Date). If Jan–Apr 12, 2025 was ₹63.4 lakhs, you're up +15% year-on-year. That's a meaningful number to share with your owner or accountant.
MTD vs YTD — What's the Difference?
| Feature | MTD | YTD |
|---|---|---|
| Full form | Month-to-Date | Year-to-Date |
| Covers | 1st of this month → today | Jan 1st → today |
| Resets | Every 1st of month | Every January 1st |
| Best for | Monthly target tracking, short-term action | Annual trend, owner reporting, tax/audit |
| Compared against | Same MTD last year (STLY), monthly budget | Last year's YTD, annual budget |
| How often checked | Daily or weekly | Monthly or quarterly |
The Full Family: MTD, YTD, QTD, WTD, STLY
When you open a hotel PMS report or a channel manager dashboard, you'll see several of these abbreviations. Here's what they all mean:
| Abbreviation | Full Form | Covers | When you use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| MTD | Month-to-Date | 1st of month → today | Checking if you'll hit monthly target |
| YTD | Year-to-Date | Jan 1 → today | Annual review, owner reports |
| QTD | Quarter-to-Date | Start of quarter → today | Quarterly business review |
| WTD | Week-to-Date | Monday → today | Weekly performance checks |
| STLY | Same Time Last Year | Same date range, prior year | Year-on-year comparison |
| LYTD | Last Year-to-Date | Jan 1–today, prior year | YoY growth calculation |
How to Read an MTD Report in Your PMS
Most hotel PMS software (eZee, Hotelogix, RezNext) and channel managers show a daily flash report. Here's what a typical MTD section looks like and what each column means:
Sample Flash Report — April 12, 2026 (30-room hotel)
| Metric | Today | MTD | MTD Last Year | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Room Revenue | ₹80,500 | ₹9.5L | ₹8.2L | +16% |
| Rooms Sold | 23 | 264 | 234 | +13% |
| Occupancy % | 77% | 73% | 65% | +8pts |
| ARR | ₹3,500 | ₹3,598 | ₹3,504 | +3% |
| RevPAR | ₹2,683 | ₹2,627 | ₹2,278 | +15% |
Reading this report: The hotel is up 16% in revenue vs April last year — driven mainly by higher occupancy (+8 points), not higher rates (+3%). That tells you the demand is there — you might actually be able to charge a little more.
How Hotel Owners Actually Use MTD
MTD is most useful mid-month, when you still have time to act. Here's how owners and managers use it day-to-day:
It's April 20. MTD revenue is ₹16L. Monthly target is ₹24L. You have 10 days left and need ₹8L more — that's ₹800 per room per day across 30 rooms. You immediately check: are you priced right for the remaining dates? Are any rooms closed on OTAs? Should you run a short promotion?
It's April 15. MTD is already ₹14L against a ₹24L target. You're tracking to finish at ₹28L — 17% ahead. You can now raise rates for the remaining April dates and not worry about filling every room at any price.
Your accountant asks: "How are we doing vs last April?" MTD April 2026 = ₹22L. MTD April 2025 = ₹19L. Answer: up 15.8% YoY. Clean and simple — no need to wait for the full month to close.
Common Mistakes When Reading MTD
Two mistakes hotel owners make when looking at MTD numbers:
Mistake 1: Comparing MTD to the full prior month. If March was ₹28L and your MTD April (12 days) is ₹9.5L, that does NOT mean April is bad. April has only run for 12 days — you're comparing 12 days to 31 days. Always compare MTD April 2026 vs MTD April 2025 (same 12 days, last year).
Mistake 2: Panicking too early. If it's April 3 and MTD is low, that's expected — you've only had 3 days. MTD comparisons are most meaningful after at least 7–10 days of the month have passed.
Where You'll See MTD and YTD in Hotel Reports
| Report / Tool | How MTD/YTD appears |
|---|---|
| PMS Daily Flash Report | MTD revenue, occupancy, ARR vs same MTD last year |
| OTA Partner Dashboard | MTD bookings, MTD cancellations, MTD revenue per channel |
| Channel Manager Reports | MTD room nights by OTA, MTD ADR by channel |
| Monthly P&L Statement | YTD revenue vs YTD budget, YTD expenses |
| Owner/Investor Report | YTD RevPAR, YTD GOP%, YTD vs prior year |
| GST Returns | Monthly (MTD) and annual (YTD) taxable revenue figures |