Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

The FOM in Action: A Solution
What can FOMs do to ensure that there are mini-
mal disputes about the payment of direct bill
accounts? The necessary activities vary based on
the number of open direct bill accounts that the
hotel has. In a large property that primarily serves
corporate clients, the guests whose charges will
be settled by direct bill can represent more than
50 percent of the hotel’s total rooms revenue. In a
smaller hotel serving the leisure market, direct bills
may be only occasional. In both cases, however,
FOMs must be concerned about who is authorized
to charge and what can be charged.
In the example of the Lenox Hotel, the dispute
has not arisen based on 
who has charged but rather
on 
what that individual has charged. The company
responsible for the direct bill, Greenfield Financial,
has disputed a portion of it, and it has a legitimate
complaint. Trisha, the FOM, has failed to monitor the
property’s credit policy properly, and the result is
inappropriate charges to the corporate account.
If the FOM requires that a payment card be
presented by all guests at check-in, it may be rela-
tively easy to charge the card presented by Mr.
Keefer, the guest with nonauthorized direct bill
charges. The signature he provided at check-in
will authorize payment for his incidentals. If no
payment card was required, it may be possible to
collect by contacting Mr. Keefer directly either at
the address recorded on his registration card or
through his employer.
The responsibility to invoice for and collect on
direct billing lies with the hotel’s credit manager.
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