Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

NIGHT AUDIT AND REPORT MANAGEMENT
ACCOUNTING FOR GUEST CHARGES
Roadmap 2 indicates that this section focuses on the processes used to account for
guest charges. The night auditor has primary responsibility for posting charges to
guest folios; however, the night auditor is not the only staff member who does this.
Consider, for example, the guest at the Altoona Hotel who calls the front desk agent
and states that she understands the hotel’s posted check-out time is noon, but she
would like to check out at 5:00 p.m. The front desk agent approves the request but
informs the guest that a day rate will be charged to her folio. The guest agrees, and
she pays the extra charge when checking out. Clearly, this charge was not posted to
the guest’s folio by the night auditor who does not begin working until many hours
later.
When guests check in very early or check out very late, partial day rates will likely
be assessed and posted to the guest’s folio by someone other than the night auditor.
If a guest checks in after the night audit shift ends (typically at 7:00 a.m.) and checks
out before the next night audit shift begins (typically 11:00 p.m.), none of the guest’s
folio postings will be the night auditor’s responsibility.
In addition to posting folio charges and crediting guest payments to their
accounts, the night auditor must verify the accuracy of all charges, complete billings
for no-shows, and verify end-of-day balances. FOMs need to understand the reason
for each of these accounting tasks and know how they are completed.