DEPARTURE

LIST
Leigh Anne Agustin Mijares, MBA
Subject Instructor
 Mark and store luggage to allow easy retrieval
A. Guest Luggage Handling Procedures
▪ On Guest Departure

• Collect the luggage from the guest room.

• Try to have a casual conversation with the guest on the way down: "Mr. / Ms. [Guest
Name] I hope you enjoyed your stay with us. Would you need a taxi to airport?"
• If the guest ask the luggage to be stored, tag the luggage accordingly (guest name,
room number, date and time of collection) and get the guest signature on the - Long
Term Luggage Request Form.
• Store the luggage on the designated departure area.
• If the guest is leaving the Hotel immediately after completing the check-out
procedure, then bring the luggage to portico.
• If taxi is waiting then load the luggage to the taxi and request the guest to verify the
loaded luggage.
• Update the departure luggage movement on the Daily Luggage Register or Log Book.
REVIEW DEPARTURES LIST
A DEPARTURE LIST FOR THE DAY WILL BE GENERATED EITHER EARLY IN THE MORNING OR
OVERNIGHT BY THE NIGHT AUDIT TEAM. CHECK THE REPORT FOR:

Express check-outs Prepare the necessary documentation to give to

the guest. These guests want a fast and efficient
check-out with no problems.

Group check-outs and late check-outs So that Reception is not cluttered with the main group
at one time, guest folios can be prepared ahead of
check-out.
Early check-outs These can affect the Housekeeping Department, as
well as Reception, which may need to determine
whether a late check-out fee is to be charged to the
guest.

Variations to check-out from details indicated on the
registration card
Housekeeping will have previously received a report
regarding check-in/check-outs. Check the guest
departure list to see if there have been any variations
to what was previously advised to Housekeeping, e.g.
overstays etc.
EARLY DEPARTURES
Where guests depart at a premature date, this means
that a room becomes available for resale earlier than
expected.
Housekeeping should be notified to service the room
as soon as possible so it can be placed back on the
rack/board for sale.
 OTHER ISSUES
Other aspects associated with reviewing departure lists include
checking documentation to ensure a speedy and efficient check-out.
Issues to check could include:
Ensuring that company faxes are attached to the Registration Card
where it is a company booking.
Checking to see if guest has exceeded the Floor Limit for credit card
payment and obtaining appropriate authorisation where necessary.
PRESENTING THE ACCOUNT
The moment you identify a guest about to check-out you should immediately acknowledge them and not
wait for them to make the first approach.
The greeting should be as mentioned before:
▪ Professional
▪ Personable
▪ Welcoming
▪ Sincere
▪ Polite
▪ Friendly.
The greeting must contain:
▪ The guest’s name or title, if appropriate
▪ An offer of assistance – “Good morning, Mr Wiseman. Are you checking out?”
ASK THE GUEST FOR THEIR
DETAILS
Name and room number – and confirm
information on the charts or in the computer:
number of nights, type of room, and rate
quoted.
 ASK THE GUEST IF OTHER
CHARGES THEY HAD ANY:
❑ Did they use the mini-bar last night, or on the morning of their departure?
This would not be recorded from the previous day, because the mini-bar attendant can finish work
as late as 5:00pm and charges after this time may not have been entered on to the guest’s account.
If the guest did have items from the mini-bar, a docket needs to be raised and the amount and
room number entered so the charge can be posted to the guest’s account.
❑ Did they have breakfast this morning? - if breakfast is not included in their rate.
A hotel with a PMS and point of sale system won't have to ask this question but a hotel without it
will need to contact the outlet where the guest consumed their breakfast and obtain details of the
charge and add this to the guest’s account.
 FINALLY THE
FOLIO/ACCOUNT IS
PRINTED
❑Present to the guest for verification and
signature/payment.
SAFE DEPOSIT BOXES
❑If your hotel doesn’t have in-room safes during
account payment it is good customer relations to ask
the guest if they have used the safety deposit box in
their room and if they have, did they remember to
clear it out.
OTHER DUTIES
When the account has been finalised and the guest has departed, it is
standard practice to check the date of departure. Where the date of
departure is earlier than anticipated, this is called an Early Check
Out and while no charge applies, the Housekeeping department will
need to be advised that the room is now a Check-out room and not a
Stay room.
This means Housekeeping can clean the room in preparation for the
next arrival.
EXPLAIN THE ACCOUNTS
When the account is presented to the guest there may be a need to
assist the guest with explaining the charges.
Many guests simply pay the identified amount without question, but
some can go through the account with a fine-tooth comb.
It is important that you do not indicate your displeasure with any
guest who either checks out or queries their account. They have a
right to do this and your job is to convince them that the account is
honest and accurate.
We don’t want a poor customer relations exercise at check-out to spoil an
otherwise perfect stay.
It is important to remember that check-out time is usually 7:00am – 9:00am and
the reception can be very busy. There can be lots of people queuing to check-out,
all eager to get going: these people can become quickly annoyed at being delayed
by check-out problems.
This means you can often be under pressure not only from a guest who is
querying/ or disputing their account but also from others waiting in line. It can be a
pretty stressful situation on some occasions!
EXPLAIN ACCOUNT
CLEARLY
Part of your role is to explain the account courteously to the guest, and to
process (that is, accept payment for) the account accurately.
The account is presented to the guest for payment and, providing the guest
accepts all charges and no adjustments need to be made, the guest receives a
copy for their record, and another copy remains with the cashier for balancing
purposes at the end of their shift.
The account may be presented in an envelope or a folder. Follow house
practices in this regard. Some establishments simply hand the guest the final
folio print out without any folder.
Some establishments use a code system for charges and guests may occasionally
require your help in interpreting these abbreviations, codes or symbols, even
where a legend appears at the bottom of the account.
In other instances, there may be legitimate charges entered on to the account that
the guest did not expect such as late check outs, newspapers (that they may have
thought were provided free-of-charge). These too need to be explained and the
rationale for their inclusion made clear.
It is common for cashiers and reception staff to have some discretionary powers
when it comes to resolving disputes over accounts. This discretionary power may
be a dollar amount up to which you can use your own judgement as to whether a
charge should be dropped.
In all cases follow house policy in relation to using this discretionary power.
Such powers allow reception staff to, for example, drop the charge for
a newspaper, where the guest is adamant that they did not order or
receive one, or were specifically advised by another staff member
when they made their booking that newspapers were provided as part
of the room rate.
The ability of reception staff to make such decisions will speed up
check-out and create better guest relations both with the guest who has
the issue and with all guests who are waiting to be processed.
 DEPARTURE LISTS
The following departments require departure lists to assist with the check-out process.
❑ Housekeeping
The departure list is used to allocate checkout service rooms to the housekeeping staff
The time of the guest departure could also help with having the room serviced and available for
resale.
❑ Concierge and Porters
The departure list is used for staffing purposes. High check-out days, especially if groups and
tours are involved, need to be identified as more staff is required
Time to departure is also important
High check-out days means the hotel has to have plenty of taxis or airport transfer buses
available.
❑ Security
VIP or high profile guests need security to be present at the time of departure just to
make sure everything runs smoothly.
❑ Management
Various levels of management like to peruse the departures list to see who is checking
out on a particular day. Some managers may come and farewell particular guests
❑ Maintenance
Departure lists help the maintenance department as they may need to have certain rooms
placed out-of-order and need to know when they are available.
▪Offer well wishes: Extend your good wishes
and make them feel welcomed to return in the
future. Example: "We hope you had a
wonderful experience with us. We wish you a
pleasant day/evening, and we look forward to
welcoming you back in the future."
Thank you