Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved Chapter 9 - Guest Checkout.

Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved

Chapter 9 - Guest Checkout


Chapter 9 Focus Points

Organization of late charges to produce an accurate guest folio

Procedures necessary to perform the guest checkout

Transfer of guest accounts to the back office Checkout reports available with a property

management system Guest Histories


Organizing Late Charges to Ensure Accuracy

Review financial significance of assembling late guest charges (refer to Table 9-1) p. 238

Importance of POS/PMS interface with other departments that aid in accurate and complete processing of late charges


Guest Checkout Procedure – p. 239

Inquiring about quality of products and services

Relay of problem areas to various departments

Retrieving the room key Discuss this important part of the checkout

process Guest security Cost involved in replacement of hard keys


Guest checkout procedure (cont’d.)

Retrieving and reviewing the electronic folio Procedure to retrieve electronic folio Empowerment concepts Importance of reviewing the electronic folio

Room and tax for number of nights spent Incidentals Inquiry for late charges



Note on In-room guest checkout Procedure for the guest to use in-room guest

checkout Guest views a final version of the folio of television

set Front office prepares a hard copy of folio and

delivers it to guest’s room early in the morning Credit card imprint made at time of

registration is used to process charges



Guest determines method of payment Credit cards

Review various types of credit cards Bank – Visa, MasterCard, JCB Commercial – Diners Card Intersell – Hilton Honors Card

Procedure to suggest to the guest to use a certain credit card with a lower discount rate for the hotel

Procedure to process a credit card as listed in chapter



Bill-to-account (direct billing) Concept of direct billing Concept of house limit of credit Procedure to process direct bill as listed in chapter

Cash and personal checks Cash option is not favored

No credit rating has been established Procedures to process a cash payment and

personal check as listed in text



Traveler’s checks Tips on accepting traveler’s checks

Ask for proof of identification Guest signs in presence of cashier Compare signatures Check list of traveler’s check numbers

which are non-negotiable (procedure to process traveler’s checks are identical to cash method)



Debit cards Debit card is a card that authorizes the

hotel to deduct money directly from the guest’s checking or banking account in payment of a bill

Float is a delay in payment that allows the guest to charge now and pay several days later



Assisting the guest with method of payment Money wire

Establish as an option prior to the need of this option Phone number and address of nearest money wire

center should be posted for front desk clerks’ reference

Travelers Aid Society Establish as an option prior to the need of this option Phone number and address of nearest Travelers Aid

Society should be posted for front desk clerks’ reference



Auto clubs Establish as an option prior to the need of this option

Phone number and address of nearest club should be posted for front desk clerk’s reference

International currency exchange Wall Street Journal Method used to convert international currency into

native currency as listed in text p. 248 Web site daily international currency

http://www.x-rates.com/calculator.html#



Obtaining future reservations Procedure to follow in obtaining future

reservations as listed in text p. 249 Employee training program to learn this

procedure Incentive program for employee motivation



Filing documents Need to properly file paperwork (folios,

transfers, paid-out slips, etc.) with regard for the night audit preparation



Relaying guest departures to other departments Housekeeping and front office communication

via the PMS Guest departures Stayovers Room availability status Other details as they occur


Relaying guest departures to other departments (cont’d.)

Food and beverage department, gift shop, and other departments and front office communications

Guest’s checkout to prevent him or her from charging to folio Personal efforts of staff to make the communication system

work

Removing guest information from the system Guest data removed and stored for future processing –

financial and marketing “Sleeper” – rooms that appear to be occupied but are in reality

vacant – financial implications (note: checkout in a PMS automatically deletes the guest from the database and the call accounting system) (refer to p. 196 in text)



Transfer of guest accounts to back office Role of the back office in the accounting

process Provides a billing service for bill-to-accounts Monitors the accounts receivable process for credit

card receivables and aging accounts Allows for adjustments and transfers to guest

accounts



Checkout reports available with a property management system

Figure 9-3 (Method of Marketing Analyses Payment) p. 251

Figure 9-4 (Room Sales Report) p. 252 Figure 9-5 (Room Status Report) p. 252 Figure 9-6 (Understay Reservation Report) p. 252


Guest Checkout Procedure (cont’d.)

Guest Histories A listing of guests’

geographic and demographic information and guest activities during their stay

Components Obtained from

reservation forms and registration cards:

Business affiliation Date of arrival Date of departure Length of stay Zip code Telephone exchange Method of arrival Type of room and

amenities requested


Uses of Guest History

Zip code provides geographical indicators of people who have tried your products and services Match with media used for advertising Demographics (age, sex, income, occupation,

marital status, etc.) Psychographic (life style)

Group sale contacts Corporate client needs for meeting space Origin of reservation from certain travel agents


Uses of Guest History (cont’d.)

Origin of reservation from certain administrative assistants or secretaries

Advertising methods used to obtain sales (refer to Figure 9-7) p. 254

Frequency of visit (refer to Figure 9-8) p. 255 Type of rooms frequently requested Acceptability of room rates Occupancy patterns for scheduling personnel


Last Impression of the Hotel

Front desk staff opportunity to advance previous efforts of marketing and operations staff members for further relationships

Marriott’s At Your Service® - local weather reports, information on airport shuttle


In-class assignment

Choose any question at the end of the chapter. Write the answer. Discuss with the person sitting next to you. Hand in your response at end of class today.

Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved Chapter 9 - Guest Checkout.

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Transcript of Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved Chapter 9 - Guest Checkout.