Assignment on Check-out and Settlement

CHECK-OUT AND SETTLEMENT

DEPARTURE PROCEDURE The last interaction of the guest with the hotel staff takes place during the final phase of the guest cycle- check-out. During check-out, guests formally vacate their rooms, settle their bills, and leave the hotel. This phase is very crucial as guests settle their financial transactions with the hotel, and any dispute at this stage can ruin their entire experience. On the other hand, a smooth settlement of bills and check-out would enhance the guests, experience. As every hotel endeavours to achieve high levels of guest satisfaction, the activities of the various departments should be coordinated to ensure a smooth check-out. The speed and accuracy in the preparation and presentation of bills will lead to the maximization of guest satisfaction.

CONTINUE The departure procedure may vary slightly from hotel to hotel according to the degree of automation of the organization. The following steps are involved in the departure procedure in manual or semi-automated systems: 1.

The check-out request is received at the front desk or bell desk.

2.

The front desk sends a bell boy to transfer the guests luggage from the room to the lobby.

3.

The bell boy fills the departure errand card.

4.

The front desk sends departure notification slips (DNS) to all concerned departments.

5.

The front desk alerts all points of sale to rush last-minute credit transactions to the front desk.

6.

The front desk cashier updates the guest folio on the basis of recent bills received from the points of sales.

7.

The guest arrives at the front desk for check-out and hands over the room keys.

CHECK-OUT REQUEST A request for check-out is received from the guest either at the front desk or at the bell desk. This information is communicated to all the concerned departments and points of sales. While processing the check-out request, the front desk agent should confirm the guests details like name, room number, etc. and check the departure date.

LUGGAGE HANDLING The front desk requests the bell captain to send a bell boy to transfer the guest luggage to the lobby. The bell boy fills the departure errand card and the bell captain makes an entry in the bell captain control sheet. The bell boy goes to the guest room, knocks on the door, and announces himself. After getting due permission from the guest, he enters the room and carries the guest luggage to the lobby. Apart from carrying the luggage of the guest, the bell boy is also expected to do the following: 1.

Look around the room for signs of any damage to the hotel property.

2.

Draw the curtains and lock the balcony and windows.

3.

Check for any guest belongings left behind by mistake.

4.

Collect the room keys from the guest.

5.

Check the mini-bar consumption or politely enquire from the guest about the same.

6.

Lock the room and hang “clean my room” tag on the door knob, so that the housekeeping department can quickly clean the room for the next occupant.

ACCOUNTING ALL TRANSACTIONS The front desk informs housekeeping and all points of sale to rush the latest credit transactions to the front desk, so that the cashier can add them to the guest account. It is very difficult to get payment for unpaid bills after the guest has checked out, unless she has gone to another hotel in the same chain or is going to return to the hotel later.

UPDATING GUEST FOLIO The front desk cashier updates the guest folio by:1.

Adding the latest credit transactions received from the points of sale.

2.

Checking if any late check-out charges are applicable, i.e., if the check-out time is 12 noon and the guest checks out at 6 p.m., he will be charged for late checkout.

3.

Checking for any late charges, i.e., if there are any latest bills that have not been added to the guest account.

4.

Examining the current entries in the guest account.

BILL Guest bills are prepared on the basis of guest folios. While preparing the bill, the front desk staff should check if late check-out charges are applicable. If so, they should be added in the master bill. The check-out time is the time fixed by the hotel to mark the end of the day. A 12 noon, else he would incur late check-out charges. Late check-out charges are normally a point of contention between the hotel and the guest. The front desk cashier should also pay special care to late charges while preparing the bills for settlement. A late charge is an outstanding payment from the guest, the bill for which reaches the front desk cashier after the master bill has been prepared. Some common examples of late charges are: 1.

Laundry bills

2.

Telephone bills

3.

Breakfast bills

4.

Mini-bar consumption

If the late charges reach the front desk after the guest has settled his bill and checked out, the hotel will have to bear the loss. In order to reduce the losses due to the late arrival of charges, the cashier should confirm from all the points of sale about any outstanding charges for the departing guest and also enquire about the mini-bar consumption from the guest before preparing the master bill.

DETERMINATION OF MODE OF PAYMENT The method of settlement of bills is generally established during registration or even before, at the reservation stage. The methods of payment of bills may be cash- in local and foreign currency; cash equivalents like demand draft, traveller,s cheque, and debit card; or through credit modes like charge card, credit card, travel agent vouchers, and corporate billings. The front desk is generally aware about the mode of settlement of bills.

RECEIVING PAYMENT The guest reviews the bill and makes the payment in the pre-decided mode. The payment may be made through currency notes, traveller,s cheque , personal cheque, demand draft, debit card, credit card, charge card, travel agent voucher, and bill to the company. The front desk cashier follows the house policy in collecting the payment from the guest.

MARKETING ACTIVITY As the guest and the hotel staff come face-to-face for the last time at the check-out stage, the front office should use this opportunity for marketing efforts in the following ways: 1.

The front desk should ask guests about their experience at the hotel and ask them to fill a feedback form.

2.

If guests have any complaints, the front desk should note the same and assure the guests of a quick resolution.

3.

The front desk agent should inform the guest about upcoming special offers.

4.

The front desk agent may suggest making future reservation for the guest,s return trip or for a hotel in the same chain at the guest,s next destination.

MODE OF SETTLEMENT OF BILLS Generally hotels determine the mode of settling the guest accounts at the time of registration or sometimes even at the time of receiving the reservation request. This makes it very convenient for the front desk employee to prepare the guest bill at the time of check-out. There are several acceptable modes of payment- foreign currency, traveller,s cheque, demand draft, debit card, credit card, and so on.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE The tourism and hospitality industry is among the major foreign exchange earners for any nation. All the foreign visitors in a hotel can settle their accounts in the currency of their country- dollar, Euro, Pound, etc.- except guests who are employed with the UN and its agencies, embassies, consulates, and high commissions. Even if the guests have already converted their currency into Indian currency, they still have to pay the room rent in foreign currency. Hotels have to take a valid licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to deal with foreign exchange. RBI issues two types of licences to deal with foreign exchange- one for the purchase and one for the sale of the foreign currency. A hotel with the purchase licence can only purchase foreign currency, which means that the hotel can accept foreign currency from the guest, but the refund amount exceeding the billing amount will only be made in Indian currency.

CURRENCY EXCHANGE PROCEDURE To deal in foreign exchange, a hotel has to take a valid licence from RBI. The front office cashier is the hotel,s authorized representative for foreign exchange dealing. When guests wish to exchange the currency of their country into Indian currency, the following procedure is followed: 1.

The guest contacts the front desk cashier for foreign exchange.

2.

The cashier requests the guest to produce his passport to verify his identity.

3.

The cashier asks the guest for the amount of foreign currency to be exchanged and determines whether the amount is exchangeable as per the RBI guidelines.

4.

The cashier checks the exchange rate from RBI or a leading nationalized bank of the town.

5.

The cashier prepares the currency exchange certificate.

6.

The cashier requests the guest to sign the currency exchange certificate.

7.

The guest gives the foreign currency to the cashier in cash or as traveller,s cheques.

8.

The cashier calculates the total amount to be paid in local currency as per the exchange rate.

THANK YOU!