According to James A.

Bardi, the author of the textbook "Hotel Front

Office Management," checkout is the "best opportunity for securing
additional reservations." As the final impression that your customer
has of your hotel, your checkout procedures are essential for
maintaining and growing your customer base. You can ensure that
your front office staff makes the most of this opportunity by developing
a checklist for your checkout.

Arrange Paperwork
The evening before, review all your guests who are due to check out
and arrange all their files together. Send express checkout forms to all
the appropriate guest's rooms. Note your customer's names so you
can greet them by name in the morning.

Greet the Customer

Make eye contact and greet the customer by name. Ask if she will be
checking out. If she has completed the express form, take the form,
review it for accuracy and ask for the keys. If the customer has not
filled out the express form, continue with the checklist.

Ask About the Stay

Ask if she enjoyed her stay and if she will be returning to the area. If
so, ask if she would they like to make another reservation. Is there
another hotel in the chain where she might need another reservation?
Note any future reservation information.

Review Bill With Guest

While chatting with the guest, print out the final bill and review all
charges. Make sure you review all room service, phone and mini-bar
charges. If there is a discrepancy, ask the customer which item she
disputes and tell her you will look into it immediately. If you have made
a mistake, apologize and correct it. If no mistake is found, refer the bill
to your supervisor.
Process Payment
Ask how the customer will be paying for the bill. Process all charges
and present the customer the receipt.

Ask About Other Services

Ask if the customer requires hotel transportation to the airport or to
have her luggage stored.

Thank the Customer

Make eye contact and thank the customer for staying at the hotel. Ask
if there was anything else that could have been done to improve her
stay. Give out any survey forms and indicate where she can post
positive comments online.

Report Back
Report any complaints and suggestions to your supervisor. Refer any
future reservation requests to the reservations department.
 If front office personnel have collected and posted guest late charges in an appropriate and
timely manner, then the guest checkout can proceed without any bottle necks. However,
when the cashier or front desk clerk must make several phone calls to the restaurant, gift
shop, and switchboard to verify charges, delays and disputes can occur.

The guest checkout involves the following steps:

1. Guest requests checkout.
2. Desk clerk inquires about quality of products and services.
3. Guest returns key to desk clerk.
4. Desk clerk retrieves hard copy of electronic folio.
5. Desk clerk reviews folio for completeness.
6. Guest reviews charges and payments.
7. Guest determines method of payment.
8. Guest makes payment.
9. Desk clerk inquires about additional reservations.
10. Desk clerk files folio and related documents for the night audit.
11. Desk clerk communicates guest departure to housekeeping and other departments in the hotel if
necessary.

Check Out Procedure in Front Office

The objective of the checkout process is to process the guest’s request for settlement of his or her
account as quickly and efficiently as possible. The lodging establishment also wants to maintain a
quality - control system for both the guest and the hotel: posting error scan mean erroneous charges
for the guest and lost money for the lodging establishment.

Throughout your career in lodging management, you will be called on to develop operational
procedures. First set your objectives and keep them simple. Accommodate guests and maintain
necessary data to provide the lodging establishment with information for the income statement. The
steps outlined for guest checkout show how easy it is to establish operational procedures when you
keep these goals in mind. The narratives that follow elaborate on each step in the guest checkout.

Inquiring about Quality of Products and Services

When the guest arrives at the front desk to check out, the cashier should inquire about the guest’s
satisfaction with the accommodations, food and beverages, and miscellaneous services provided by
the hotel. Cashiers should be alert to possible problems.

ncidental comments about a cold room, low water pressure, leaky plumbing, or damaged furniture
should be noted and passed along to the appropriate department heads.

Because guests often do not verbalize complaints or compliments, all lodging properties should have
guest comment cards available as an optional source of communication.

In many leading lodging chains, the chief executive officer answers these cards personally. The
general manager of an independent lodging property can provide a similar personal touch by
acknowledging negative comments. A good public relations program can be enhanced by addressing
any minor problems experienced by the guest that might indicate lack of concern. Also, concern for
guest satisfaction impacts the financial success of the hotel.
Retrieving the Room Key
Lodging properties that use a hard - key system must request the return of the hard key. The security
of the guest as well as the financial investment in the hard - key system mandates that this procedure
be a part of the guest checkout. Guest security is jeopardized if keys are lost or not returned. A 200 -
room property with approximately five keys per room that must be constantly replaced will find that
a great deal of money is being spent to maintain the key supply. Some properties require a key
deposit, returnable upon guest checkout.

The hotel with a PMS and / or an electronic key system can easily change the electronic code on a
key for future entrance to the guest room. Although the initial financial investment in such a system
is substantial, security is the ultimate objective in adopting this technology.

Retrieving and Reviewing the Folio

In a front office with a PMS, the cashier uses the folio option of the checkout module to retrieve the
electronic folio by entering the guest’s name or room number. A hard copy is printed for the guest.

The guest and the cashier should both review the folio. The cashier reviews the obvious charges:
room fee and tax for the number of nights spent in the hotel (day of arrival through last night),
incidentals (such as movie rental, personal phone calls, or purchase sat the gift shop) paid for by the
individual rather than a corporation, and the like. The cashier must inquire if late charges were
incurred at the restaurant or any other hotel department or if any last - minute phone calls were made.

The guest must also be shown a copy of the folio for a final review. The front office manager should
provide cashiers with a list of procedures to follow if charges are questioned. Typical questions
concern charges for phone calls that were not made, meals that were not eaten, gifts that were not
purchased, flowers that were not received, laundry that was not sent out, or in - room movies that
were not viewed. Using the list provided by the front office manager, the front desk clerk or cashier
may adjust these charges up to a certain dollar amount.

A thorough cost - control procedure to track the total adjustments by each employee can help to keep
such adjustments in line. Large dollar amounts that are questioned by the guest should be referred to
the front office manager. The adjustments option of the checkout module in a property management
system can be used to make these changes.

Check Out Procedure in Hotel Industry

In - Room Guest Checkout

Before proceeding further with the guest checkout procedure, it is important to note the guest’s
option to use in - room guest checkout, a computerized procedure that allows guests to settle their
accounts from their rooms. In some PMSs that feature in - room guest checkout, the guest can initiate
the guest checkout the night before departing by following instructions located near the television set
in the guest room.
The guest can view a final version of the folio on the television screen on the morning of checkout.
This expedites the process by alerting the front office to have a hard copy ready for payment. If the
guest has indicated that he or she will pay by credit card or direct billing (bill - to - account), the
guest does not have to stop by the front desk to check out. A control procedure is built into the PMS
to prevent a cash customer from using in - room checkout. A guest who is going to pay with cash has
not established a line of credit with the hotel.

Objective:
After a guest arrives at the hotel, the front desk agent should complete the guest
registration process. This is to make sure that the guest registration is completed
as per the hotel standard and also to collect important guest information’s.
Guest is also asked to sign on the printed registration card as a statutory
requirement and also to verify that the details provided on the registration card is
accurate.
When Guest arrives at the reception to check in:
 Great the guest.
 Enquire the Last name / First name of the guest.
 Search for the reservation record and print registration card ( if the same is
not pre printed )
Present the Registration Card to guest for verifying / reconfirming preprinted
details Like :
  First Name, Last Name.
 Arrival Date. Time.
 Departure Date, Expected time of departure.
 Room Rate.
 Room Number.
 Room Type.
 Method of payment.
 Billing instructions.
 Meal Plan
 Request for ID Proof for local guest and Passport and Visa details for
foreigners.
Following details to be completed:
 Salutation.
 Designation.
 Company Name.
 Address Home / Business
 City, Country
 Postal Code
 Telephone / Fax / Mobile numbers.
 Email address.
 Contact Number / Person in case of emergency.
 Purpose of Visit.
Passport details:
 Passport Number.
 Nationality and country of residence.
 Date of Birth / Anniversary Date.
 Passport Issue date and Expiry Date
 Place of Issue of Passport.
Visa Details:
  Visa Number
 Visa issue date and Expiry date.
 Visa Place of issue.
 Type of Visa.
 Proposed duration of Stay in the country.
 Arrived from.
 Proceeding to.
 Explain to the guest regarding late checkout policy if any.
 Request the guest to sign on the Registration Card.
 Scan / Photocopy of Passport and Visa copy and attach to the registration
card.
 Front office assistant to also cross sign the registration card on the provided
field.
 Update the guest details collected on regard to the Profile of the guest.
 File Registration card.
Training Summary questions:
Q1. Why it is required to complete guest registration process upon guest check
in?
Q2. What all details to be collected on registration card?
Q3. What all details to be collected from the passport?
Q4. Should the front desk agent sign on the regard?
Q5. What all details to be updated back on the guest profile?
Q6. What all details to be reconfirmed on registration card?

heck in procedures

 Welcoming the guest in a friendly way (Trying to

establish a connection between you and the guest).
 Reconfirming the reservation with the guest (length of
the stay, room category, room type, requests and meal
plan. room rate and total amount).
 Establish with the Guest the method of payment and for
the extras according to the hotel policy.
Mr Y we do have the reservation for you in a double deluxe for 7 nights,
in All Inclusive, you request a room in the high floor.

 Giving the guest the hotel information:

 All inclusive system (opening hours for the restaurants, which
restaurants included with the AI)
 Facilities in the room (tea and coffee, mini bar and safe)
 Other activities (wifi, sports activities, spa)
 offer the guest further assistance in a genuine way

Mr Y we hope that you enjoy your stay with us, for any
further asistance with your room or the hotel or the local area please
contact us here in the reception or dial 0 from your phone

 Hand in the keys in a discreet way (without saying the

room number, you can just point the room number on
the key card packet).

Very important to make the guest feel welcome and

comfortable by speaking and acting in friendly and
professional way.

Keep the guest always informed about what are you doing
(Madame just one moment I am going to make a copy from
your passport and bring it back for you, Sir just few minutes
am going to check if your room is ready or not yet, in few
minutes I will come to help with the checking in).
 ''Hospitality is a Peoples First Business''

Process Street's Hotel Check In Procedure Template has been specifically designed to work
as a guide for the front of office staff, to standardize the check in process, making the
process consistently efficient.

The Hotel Check In Procedure Template template has organized the hotel check in process to a
series of steps outlined below:

 Greet Guest
 Determine Availability
 Registrations Process
 Collaborate Information
 Enter Details
 Confirm Details
 VIP Guests
 Confirm Baggage
 Assign Mode of Settlement
 Advanced Payment
 Assign Room and Provide Keys
  Wish the Guest an Enjoyable Stay
At the beginning of this checklist, you will be presented with a set of specialized questions
designed to make sure the hotel check in process runs smoothly. The questions are given as
sub checklists, short answers, or yes/no drop-down menus. Certain questions have been
conditioned to guide you through the correct process path for the specific circumstance.

The Hotel Check In Procedure Template considers different categories for each guest, to infer a
guest 'type'. Guest 'types' are labeled as 'pre-booked guests', 'walk-in guests' and 'VIP
guests'appropriately.

Selecting a specific guest 'type' will present subsequent conditional steps constructed to ensure
proper actions are taken depending on whether the guests have pre-booked or not, or are
considered VIP.

Other conditional steps, such as whether the guest wants to pay in advance, or whether the guests
carry hand luggage only, have also been integrated into the Hotel Check In Procedure Template.

Therefore the Hotel Check In Procedure Template template is a dynamic, standardized

guide. Process standardization as such guarantees quality, improves clarity and boosts employee
morale.

What can be considered as of most importance is the benefit standardization has towards
achieving faster and more efficient customer service.

The hotel industry is considered a 'peoples first business', therefore customer service is vitally
important for success, especially in the current climate with an increased demand for improved
and superior customer experiences. In 2019, 86% of customers were willing to pay more for
better customer experiences.

By implementing Process Street's Hotel Check In Procedure Template, you will reap the above
benefits by ensuring your check in procedure is standardized.

See Process Street's Hotel Check Out Procedure Template.

Record Checklist details

In this Hotel Check In Procedure Template, you will be presented with the following form
fields, for which you are required to populate with your own specific data. More information
for each form field type is provided via linkage to our help pages:

 Subtasks
 Dropdown
 Short Text
 Date
Let's start by recording the hotel details, your details and the details of your supervisor or
manager.

Front of office staff full name

Hotel name

Hotel address line 1 (street address)

Hotel address line 2 (apartment, suite, unit)

City

ZIP code

Country

Date of check in procedure beginning

Date will be set here

Greet Guest:

Consider VIP guests

Firstly, you will need to consider whether or not the guest is a 'Very Important Person' (VIP).
VIP guests will trigger a slightly different check in process than non-VIP guests. Selecting Yes
or No from the dropdown form field will start the appropriate process.
Is the guest considered VIP?

It is important to treat guests well, and not every hotel will make a distinction between VIP and
non-VIP guests.

Provide a friendly greeting

Check off the task from the subtasks form field once it has been completed to move on in the
process.

 1

Greet the guest, for example, 'good morning', 'good afternoon', 'good evening'

As the front of office staff, you are the guests first and the last point of contact. Ensuring
excellent first impressions are vital upon the guest's arrival. To do this, front of office staff need
to be excellent communicators, positive, patient and empathetic to ensure an outstanding
customer experience. Big smiles provide a warm welcome and maintaining eye contact assures
your full attention.

See Process Street's Training Hotel Employees Template.

Enquire about reservation

Whether the guest has reserved a space at the hotel or not is a conditional question. If the guest
has not reserved a room at the hotel then they need to be registered. If the guest has reserved a
room at the hotel, then pre-entered details need to be confirmed.

This is a conditional step. Select Yes or No from the dropdown form field and the appropriate
process will begin.

 1

Ask if the guest has a reservation

Does the guest have a reservation?

With the rise of hotel booking sites and phone applications such as Hotel Tonight, booking in
advance is becoming easier for guests. More and more last-minute advance bookings are
becoming possible.

Determine Availability:

Check room availability

Before you can consider a room for a walk-in guest, you must ensure rooms are available. This
should be the first step for walk-in guests to prevent time wastage.

This is a conditional step. Select 'Yes' or 'No' from the dropdown form field and the appropriate
process will begin.

Are rooms available?

Suggest alternatives

If there are no rooms for walk-in guests, then the check-in procedure has now ended. Kindly
state no rooms are available, but provide advice and help, suggesting alternative places for the
guest to stay.

 1
 If there are no rooms available, politely apologize to the guest and suggest alternatives for their
stay

Maintain excellent customer service at all times to represent and promote your hotel brand even
to non-customers.

Registration Process:

Gather information from the guest

Obtain the required information for walk-in guests during the registration process. Check off the
below information once it has been obtained from the guest.

The below information is a general standard and may not be specific to your hotel. Consider
additional information needed specific to your hotel business.

 1

Surname

 2

Forename

 3

D.O.B

 4

Company (if needed)

 5

Passport number

 6

Designation

 7

Nationality

 8
 Permanent address

 9

Date of arrival

 10

Proceeding to

 11

Date of departure

 12

Credit card number

 13

Date of issue

 14

Place of issue

Consider any additional information needed specific to your hotel business.

Collaborate Information:

Collaborate information to determine guest room preferences

Make sure to consider a range of possible room options so you are fully transparent in respect to
what your hotel has to offer. The below subtasks list general room differences to be considered.
Please regard other room options specific to your hotel.
 1

Number of adults

 2

Number of children

 3

Number of OAP's

 4

Number of nights staying

 5
 Number of rooms required

 6

Room types required

 7

Room configurations wanted

 8

Room designation as smoking or non-smoking

 9

Bed numbers per room

 10

Bed types in the room

Guests have different preferences in regards to the rooms they want. Introducing choice and
flexibility will give guests the freedom to design their hotel experience, providing better
customer experiences. Providing good customer experiences is vital for your hotel's business
success.

Consider room options specific to your hotel not included in the above.

Check the availability of rooms

Collaborate room preferences to draw up a list of optional rooms. Not all of these options will
meet the entirety of the guest's preferences, but a compromise and best fit can be reached with
discussion.

 1

Based on room preferences, determine the availability of the required rooms

 2

Provide guest with room options

Enter Details:

Allocate room

Once you have obtained the required details from the guest and ran through the possible room
options, you then need to allocate the room most fitting to the guest's needs. Be sure to record all
the needed information during this room allocation and checking in process.

Use the below subtasks as a guide to ensure important and relevant information is recorded
when booking a guest into the Hotel. Make sure to add additional information needed specific to
your hotel.

 1

Room number

 2

Number of person staying

 3

Number of adults staying

 4

Number of children staying

 5

Number of OAP's staying

 6

Room rate

 7

Billing Inst

 8

Billing to

 9
 Passport number of billing to

 10

Booked by

Consider additional information needed for your hotel business,

Confirm details:

Confirm details of pre-booked guest

It is important to run through pre-booked information to make sure no details have been lost or
incorrectly recorded. Use the below subtasks as a guide to ensure relevant and important
information has been obtained. Run through this information with the guest to double check its
accuracy.

The below is a general guide of information needed for checking a guest into the hotel. The
information is not specific to a given hotel. Please consider any additional information specific
for your hotel.
Confirm registration details
 1

Surname

 2

Forename

 3

D.O.B

 4
 Company (if appropriate)

 5

Passport number, date of issue , place of issue

 6

Designation

 7

Nationality

 8

Permanent address

 9

Date of arrival

 10

Arriving from

 11

Proceeding to

 12

Date of departure

 13

Credit card number

 14

Registration certificate

 15

Date of issue

 16
 Place of issue

Confirm details of room allocated

 1

Room number

 2

Number of persons staying

 3

Number of persons to each room

 4

Number of adults

 5

Number of Children

 6

Number of OAP's

 7

Number of nights staying

 8

Room type

 9

Room configuration

 10

Room designation as smoking or non-smoking

 11

Number of beds per room

  12

Number of each bed type per room, e.g. single, double, king

 13

Room rate

Consider additional information needed for your hotel business.

Confirm payment with pre-booked guest

Some pre-booked guests might have paid in advance. This is a conditional step. If the guest has
paid in advance upon booking, they will be passed through the relevant stages in this process,
different from the stages required if the guest has not paid in advance.

Has the guest paid in advance

Confirming the guest has paid in advance is a critical step, do so with care.
VIP guests:

Arrange for pick up

 1

Inform relevant staff members of VIP guests arrival date and time

 2

Make sure the VIP guest pickup has been arranged

Some hotels will arrange pickups for VIP guests with advanced knowledge of their arrival. It is
important to make sure the arrival date and time of the VIP guest are checked and confirmed.
This will ensure planned pickups are on time.
Once the pick up has been arranged and confirmed, all relevant staff members need to be
informed in advance of the VIP's arrival.

Provide a friendly greeting on VIP's arrival

 1

Greet the guest, for example, 'good morning', 'good afternoon' and 'good evening'

As the front of office staff, you are the guests first point of contact. Ensuring excellent first
impressions is vital. To do this, front of office staff need to be excellent communicators, positive,
patient and empathetic to ensure an outstanding customer experience.

See Process Street's Training Hotel Employees Template.

Fill VIP guest details

It is important to obtain the required information for VIP guests during the registration process.
Check off the below information once it has been obtained from the guest.

The below information is a general standard and may not be specific to your hotel. Consider
additional information needed specific to your hotel business.

 1

Full name

 2

Arrival time and date

 3

Pre-allocated room number

 4

D.O.B

 5

Company (if appropriate)

 6
 Passport number, date of issue, place of issue

 7

Designation

 8

Nationality

 9

Permanent address

 10

Date of departure

 11

Room number

 12

Number of persons

Many hotels obtain the above information from VIP clients over a welcome drink.

Consider additional information needed for your hotel business.

Deal with luggage appropriately

 1

Make sure luggage is taken up to VIP's guest's room

Taking the guests luggage to their room is helpful, and provides the excellent customer service
they seak.
Confirm baggage:

Confirm baggage type

Guests with hand baggage only are deemed as a threat to leave the hotel without settling
the bill, therefore advanced payment from such guests is needed. This is a conditional step
that enforces advanced payment if the guest has hand luggage only.

Does the guest have hand baggage only?

Label baggage

 1

Obtain authorization from the lobby manager

 2

Stamp registration form as 'Scanty Baggage'

 3

Arrange for advanced payment to be made

By communicating that the guest carries hand luggage only to relevant staff members, it reduces
the likelihood of issues occurring during the guests stay.

Assign mode of settlement:

Determine whether the guest wants to pay in advance

This is a conditional step. Selecting Yes or No from the dropdown menu will bring you to the
appropriate next step in the process.
Does the guest want to pay in advance?

If advanced payment is an option, it is important to let the guests know this and provide them
with the option to pay in advance.

Determine the mode of settlement

 1

Determine how the guest will want to pay on checkout

Depending on how the guest would like to settle the bill will determine how you will process
payment during the check out procedure. Making a note will create a swift check out procedure
with this pre-knowledge.

Please see Process Street's Hotel Check Out Procedure Template.

Advanced Payment:

Settle advanced payments

 1

Determine guests preferred payment method

 2

Confirm payment has been made

Different guests will like to pay by different means. For example, some guests would like to
settle the bill by a cash payment, others using a debit card. It is important to establish the guest's
mode of payment in advance to avoid confusion durnig the check in procedure.
Assign Room and Provide Keys:

Provide room card/keys/code

 1

Room card/keys/code has been provided

 2

An appropriate number of room keys/cards/codes has been provided for each room

 3

Make sure to record the number of room keys/cards which have been provided, to ensure they
are returned during the check-out process.
Keeping a record on the number of room keys handed out to guests will aid the process of
obtaining all keys during the guest's check out.

Please see Process Street's Hotel Check Out Procedure Template.

Wish the Guest an Enjoyable Stay:

Wish the guest an enjoyable day

 1

Confirm booking information

 2

Wish the guest an enjoyable stay

The guest should be successfully checked into your hotel. The required details obtained, and the
room allocated should meet the guest's requirements. It is important to run through the check in
details one last time to confirm the booking information before wishing the guest and enjoyable
stay.