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Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Guest Checkout
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
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
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
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
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
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
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
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
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Guest checkout procedure (cont’d.)
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
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Guest checkout procedure (cont’d.)
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
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Guest checkout procedure (cont’d.)
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
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Guest checkout procedure (cont’d.)
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)
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Guest checkout procedure (cont’d.)
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
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Guest checkout procedure (cont’d.)
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
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Guest checkout procedure (cont’d.)
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#
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Guest checkout procedure (cont’d.)
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
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Guest checkout procedure (cont’d.)
Filing documents Need to properly file paperwork (folios,
transfers, paid-out slips, etc.) with regard for the night audit preparation
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Guest checkout procedure (cont’d.)
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
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
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)
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Guest checkout procedure (cont’d.)
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
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Guest checkout procedure (cont’d.)
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
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
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
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
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
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
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
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
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
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
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.