Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

GUEST CHARGES, PAYMENT, AND CHECK-OUT
Altoona Hotel
Guest Name
Guest Address
Dear ____________________,
We missed serving you! We held a room at our hotel for you on 
(date) and we’re sorry that you did
not arrive as planned.
Our records show you made your reservation on ____________. We confirmed the reservation by
issuing confirmation number _______________. The room was guaranteed with a 
(card name)
payment card with the last four digits of ____________.
Since, as we promised, we held your room all night, and because we do not have a record of your
reservation being canceled, we have charged the payment card used to reserve your room for the
amount of one night’s room rate. If we have overlooked any relevant information or you have a can-
cellation number, please contact me.
We are sorry you were unable to stay with us. We hope that when your travels again bring you to
our area, we will have another opportunity to serve you.
Best Regards,
(Signature)
(Printed name)
Front Office Manager 
(Telephone number and e-mail address)
FIGURE 14
No-show billing letter.
•
Doris Gaston had guaranteed her reservation and said she would be arriving
very late. In fact, her flight was delayed and rerouted, and she could not arrive
at the hotel at all. She was not permitted to use her cell phone while in the air,
so she could not notify the hotel. The PMS identifies her reservation as a bill-
able no-show. Doris called to cancel her previous night’s reservation the next
morning at 9:00 a.m. Her company is the hotel’s largest corporate client.
•
For the past 10 years, the Scotts family of Tennessee has held its annual reunion
at the Altoona. This year, 18 rooms were guaranteed with Mr. Scotts’ credit
card. When the Scotts checked in, there were 17 (not 18) different parties.
When asked about the 18th room, Mr. Scotts indicated that a death in the fam-
ily reduced their need to 17 rooms. He apologized for not contacting the hotel
earlier. That night, the PMS identifies one room for Mr. Scotts as a no-show.
As you can see, the decision to bill a no-show guest or a guest making a late
reservation cancellation must be made only after carefully considering the facts.
FOMs know that, of all charges posted to a guest’s folio, the ones most frequent-
ly subject to a chargeback challenge relate to no-shows. If a no-show billing is
undertaken, sending the guest a letter similar to the one shown in Figure 14 is 
recommended.
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