Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

GUEST CHARGES, PAYMENT, AND CHECK-OUT
zero) to the payment card. If Ms. Grayson uses an American Express card, the
amount she owes (an A/R account) will be reduced. An equal amount will be added
to the total that American Express (also an A/R account) owes the hotel. The man-
agement of transfers from guest ledger funds to payment card accounts is an impor-
tant part of the FOM’s job.
As shown in Figure 9, four steps are required to receive money from a payment
card company:
•
Initiation. In this first step, a front office staff member verifies that the guest’s
payment card is active and that the amount of the proposed purchase is within
the card’s approved spending limit. When a financial institution issues a pay-
ment card, it generally does so with restrictions on the amount it will pay on a
cardholder’s behalf (popularly called the card’s limit). Each card issuer has its
own set of rules regarding if, and by how much, the cardholder can exceed the
preapproved limit.
Initiating a card typically involves one of two methods. When the guest is
present in the hotel, restaurant, or another outlet, the card is physically available.
To initiate the transaction, the hotel employee swipes the card through a card
reader or manually keys the card number through a POS terminal. Alternatively,
if a telephone or fax is used to make a payment, the card is not physically pres-
ent at the hotel. Then the staff member manually enters the information,
including the payment card number, expiration date, and card verification or
validation codes (usually three or four digits on the back of the card).
More guests now use debit cards as a method of payment.
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