FIT Departure
Procedure at the bell desk
1. The bell captain deploys a bell boy who in turn fi lls up the departure errand card.
2. On the way to the guest room, the bellboy informs the reception and cashier about the departure taking place.
3. On arrival at the room, the bellboy knocks at the door and announces himself.
4. The guest is greeted by the bellboy and the number of baggage to be taken down is checked with the guest.
5. Luggage is picked up and placed outside the room and then the key is collected.
6. The bellboy takes a quick look around the room to check for any damage or loss for the hotel property.
7. The bellboy checks the mini-bar consumption and inform cashier on telephone.
8. The bellboy checks for any left-behinds in the drawers, cupboard, bathroom, etc. Draws the cur- tains back and switches off the lights. Then he leaves the room, locking the door behind.
9. Before approaching to the elevator, the bellboy hangs a part portion of errand card in the door knob.
10. At the elevator, the bellboy allows the guest to step in fi rst and then positions himself near the control panel.
Fig. 4.22 Publicity sticker
11. The bellboy enquires politely, whether the guest had a pleasant stay, and would the guest require a taxi to be called.
12. The bellboy escorts the guest to the cash counter and takes the luggage to the bell desk.
13. The publicity stickers are put on the baggage. A publicity sticker is shown in Fig. 4.22.
14. The bellboy checks for any fax/message for the guest at the reception/business centre.
15. The bell boy comes back to the Cash Counter and picks up the Baggage Out Pass (Cashier’s Clearance Card). Figure 4.24 shows a baggage out pass.
.
Fig. 4.23 Luggage tag
Indian Hotel
Baggage Out Pass
SI No. 45768
Attendant No.: Departure Time:
Date:
Room No.: Name:
Bill No.:
Signature
Fig.4.24 Baggage out pass
16. The key is handed over to the reception and an acknowledgement is taken (Key Clearance) on the errand card.
17. The commissionaire is informed to call a taxi/car and after showing the baggage out pass.
18. The bellboy load baggage in the car and count the number of pieces announcing to the guest.
19. The taxi/car number and the departure time are noted down on the errand card.
20. The bellboy bids the guest a warm farewell and thanks him for staying with the hotel.
21. The bellboy returns to the bell desk to complete the errand card and presents the same to the bell captain for signature. The bell captain makes an entry in the lobby attendant control sheet.
Procedure at Reception
1. The expected departure list is checked to assess the room availability position.
2. Housekeeping is informed over telephone so that the concerned room boy/attendant can attend the departure room immediately.
3. After the room key is received, an entry is made in the arrival-departure register.
4. Room rack and information rack are updated.
5. An entry is made in the alphabetical register, if in use.
6. A departure notifi cation slip is made and sent to the following department/section:
(a) Housekeeping (b) Room Service (c) Telephone Section Procedure at Cashier’s Desk
As soon as the cashier receives the intimation that departure will take place, 1. The guest bill folio is taken out and checked for any pending posting.
2. Room service and coffee shop are called up for any last minute billing.
3. Bill folio is updated and the billing instruction is checked.
4. All supporting vouchers against bill entries are taken out and arranged date wise.
5. The bill is presented to the guest on arrival at the cashier’s desk and the billing instruction is reconfi rmed. Guest approval is obtained.
6. If the guest wishes to see the supporting vouchers, then they are presented to him. He is helped in locating the charges on the bill and any query raised is answered by the cashier.
7. After guest’s approval of the charges, the bill is fi nalized by the cashier by obtaining guest signa- ture on the bill.
8. On receipt of the cash, a money receipt is made and a baggage out pass is issued.
9. The money receipt is stapled with the original bill folio and placed in an envelope. The support- ing vouchers are neatly placed in another envelope and both of them are handed over to the guest with a smile. The cashier bids farewell to the guest.
10. If the mode of payment is voucher or to the company, then the original bill is kept and subse- quently it is posted to the city ledger. At the end of the day, all bills are sent to accounts depart- ment and in turn they collect money from the company and/or travel agents.
DEPARTURE
GRC No.
Name of Guest
Nationality Room Pax Dep.
Time Arr.
Date Room Nights
Bed Nights
Receptionist’s Code Signature
Code Remarks
A C
Fig. 4.25 Departure side of AD register
Indian Hotel Errand Card (Departure) Name
GRC No.
Bell Boy No.
Room No.
Date Call Time Departure Time Receptionist Cashier Description
Signature of Bell Boy Signature of Bell Captain Room No.:
Date:
Time:
To Be Cleaned
Fig. 4.26 Errand card (departure)
Indian Hotel
Lobby Attandant Control Sheet
Date:
Shift Time: From: To:
Captain:
SI. No. Room No. Time Baggage Details Bell Boy Name / Number Remarks Arr. Dep.
Signature of Bell Captain
Fig. 4.27 Lobby attendant control sheet
Group Departure Procedure at Bell Desk
1. The bell captain ensures that suffi cient staffs are available in the shift.
2. The baggage down time and wake-call time of the group are checked.
3. Five minutes before the baggage down time, the bell captain allocates the fl oors and rooms to the Bellboys for bringing the luggage down.
4. The bell boys collect the baggage from rooms mentioned on their list. Generally, the group mem- bers are advised by the group leader to keep their baggage packed and ready for pick-up outside their room at baggage down time.
5. The baggage from all the rooms and fl oors are collected quietly and brought down to the lobby, where they are neatly arranged in rows and publicity stickers are pasted on them.
6. The bell captain counts the number of baggage (Baggage Count).
7. After the tour leader settles the bill, the bell captain ensures that all the keys from the group mem- bers are retrieved.
8. The keys are handed over to the reception, where the receptionist checks out the room numbers whose keys are received.
9. The bell captain request the group leader to count the baggage and also request to contact those members of the group who have not yet returned their room keys.
10. After all the keys are received, the receptionist gives the key clearance on the errand card.
11. The bell captain then obtains a baggage out pass from the cashier; the baggage is then loaded into the vehicle.
12. He then bids farewell to the group members.
13. Only one errand card is made for group departure; however the number of all those bell boys who were engaged in the departure procedure is mentioned.
14. An entry is made in the lobby attendant control sheet.
Procedure at the Reception
1. The reception issues a group departure notifi cation about half an hour in advance of actual depar- ture time to housekeeping, room service, telephone and coffee shop.
2. On presentation of the departure errand card of the group, the receptionist checks the receipt of the room keys by scoring out the room numbers on the rooming list, the keys of which have been received. The remaining room numbers are written on the baggage out pass/errand card to assist the bell captain in collecting the keys.
3. After the room keys are received, an entry is made in the arrival-departure register.
4. Room rack and information rack are updated.
5. Entry is made in the alphabetical register, if in use.
Procedure at the Cashier’s Desk
As soon as cashier receive the intimation that group departure will take place.
1. The cashier takes out the group bill and the bill for extras. He calls up room service and the coffee shop for the last minute billing.
2. Cashier checks the complete billing and updates it.
3. The extra bills are taken out and separated room-wise. A small summary is made room-wise to facilitate cash collection.
4. When the tour leader comes to the desk, the cashier presents the main bill for approval and also handovers the bill for extras.
5. The tour leader assists the cashier in collecting all extra charges from the tour members.
6. After ratifying the bill, the tour leader is requested to sign on it. The travel agent’s voucher is stapled with the main bill noting down the exchange voucher number, travel agent’s name, and travel agent’s reference number clearly and legibly.
7. The cashier then issues a baggage out pass to the bell captain/group leader (only for group exclu- sively).
8. Original bill is kept and posted to city ledger. At the end of the day, all bills are sent to accounts department and in turn, they collect money from travel agents.
Settlement at Check-out
All in-house guests have to settle their bills before departure from the hotel. Check-out should be smooth and fast.
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to accept and process various types of settlement of the guest account at check-out or advance settlement.
Front desk cash is the last point of the hotel where the last minute rectifi cation or addition on the bill can be made like inclusion of mini bar charges, transportation, etc. All the charges incurred by the guest from various point of sale are recorded on to his room account.
Procedure
1. Greet the guest according to the time of the day. Check the room number and guest’s name to avoid last minute confusion. Inform room service for them to check the mini-bar.
2. Before presenting the bill to the guest, the FOA should check billing instructions carefully, mode of payment, any locker taken by the guest and any last minute charges incurred like mini bar or transportation etc.
3. In case the guest is settling the bill by the credit card, process the charges on the EDC machine.
Verify signature carefully.
4. If the guest is settling by cash/foreign exchange, then count the currency twice and return balance amount, if any. Issue money receipt and show settlement in the record.
5. If the payment is through foreign currency, then print out the foreign currency exchange certifi - cate, show the amount settlement on the certifi cate and make a receipt for the bill amount.
6. In case of bill to company, take the guest signature and settle in company account.
7. If the payment is by voucher, collect the required voucher, verify and settle in travel agent ac- count.
8. In case the guest is departing beyond the check-out time, then charge a half day or a full day as informed to the guest.
Check for the room number, guest name, billing instructions and his mode of payment before pre- senting the bill to ensure a smooth check out.
Check-Out Options Express Check-Out
In busy hotels with high volume of business, guests normally experience long lines at the front desk at the prime check-out period. To ease the front desk, some hotels initiate check-out activities before the guest is actually ready to leave. Bill folios are printed and quietly slipped under guest room door of ex- pected check-out rooms before 0600 hours. The front offi ce also attach an express check-out form with each pre-departure folio. Express check-out forms include a note requesting guests to notify the front desk if departure plans change. This procedure reminds and encourages guests to notify the front desk about any problems in departure before the check-out time. For an effi cient and effective express check- out procedure, the hotel must collect accurate billing instruction during registration. The front offi ce must inform room status information to the housekeeping department as soon as an express check-out form is received, as that will facilitate housekeeping to plan their work and get the room ready for the next guest on time.
Self Check-Out
In some hotels, guests can check themselves out of the hotel by accessing self check-out terminals in the lobby area or by using an in-room system. Self check-out terminals or in-room systems are interfaced with the front offi ce computer and are meant to reduce the departure time and rush at the front desk. Some of the terminals look similar to bank teller machines, while others have video and audio capabilities.
At the terminals, a guest can access his bill folio and review the content. There the guest is required to feed his credit card number using the key-pad or by the magnetic card reader. The check-out is com- plete when the guest’s balance is transferred to a credit card account.
Some hotels use the in-room television set and the telephone for this purpose. Both the devices are attached to the front offi ce computer system. The guest can confi rm a previously approved method of settlement. The front offi ce computer directs the self check-out process. Generally, guests can pick up a printed bill folio copy at the front desk on their way out.