Hotel Front Office Management, 3rd Edition

C H A P T E R 8Processing Guest Charge PaymentsOPENINGDILEMMACHAPTER FOCUS POINTSThe night auditor has been unable to track down a $35.50 shortage in balancingthe night audit. He suspects that it occurred because of a posting error on apaid-out on behalf of a guest or food service department staff person.• Common bookkeepingpractices performed in thefront office• Forms used to processguest charges andpaymentsThe lodging industry has always prided itself on its ability to maintain up-todaterecords of outstanding guest balances (Figure 8-1). The front office processesa multitude of charges and payments on any given day, requiring a wellorganizedbookkeeping system to process the guests’ bills and maintain theintegrity of the hotel’s financial records. This chapter addresses how those guestcharges are processed.Common Bookkeeping PracticesKnowledge of basic bookkeeping methods enables the front office manager tounderstand the reasons for following particular procedures when handling financialtransactions. This ability will greatly assist the front office manager in trainingfront desk clerks and night auditors. Instead of teaching the staff which keys to press onthe keyboard to process a transaction, explaining why a charge must be posted in a certainway will facilitate bookkeeping procedures. Many of you have already taken a basicaccounting course or have had experience with a bookkeeping system. However, thischapter does not assume any previous knowledge of accounting procedures.• Account ledgers• Procedures for processingguest charges andpayments• Procedures for transferringguest and city ledgersto accounts receivable• Importance of standardoperating procedures forposting and the nightauditTLFeBOOK