Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

FRONT OFFICE SEMANTICS
Archive:
Process of preserving records or documents (when used as a verb). Records or documents
that have been preserved (when used as a noun).
The night auditor has historically been responsible for creating and caring for the
hotel’s records. Much of the information about guests, such as their credit card num-
bers and home telephone numbers is confidential; therefore, it is important to protect
selected records.
Position of Night Auditor
Few areas within the hotel industry have changed more in the past decade than has
the night audit. Until then, the audit was the result of hours of manual postings and
calculations. Today’s auditor, however, is more likely to allow the preprogrammed
PMS to perform most audit functions. Nevertheless, FOMs must understand the
fundamentals of the night audit process, because they realize that the night auditor’s
position is one of the most important in any hotel.
Many skills are required to be an effective night auditor. Because the audit is
always performed in the early morning hours, it takes a special type of person to
complete it day after day. Before an individual is selected for the position, each
segment of the job should be reviewed carefully with potential candidates. Figure 3
presents a detailed job description for night auditor. Although a specific document
must be developed by each hotel, this description suggests the most important job
tasks. As such, it provides a preview of the remainder of this chapter. The amount of
variability in the work of night auditors is significant. There are some basic activities,
however, and the following functions will be discussed in depth: accounting for
guest charges, other night audit accounting procedures, data reporting, and data
management.
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