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!