CHANGES IN ROOM AND RATE

During the period of a guest's stay, there may be a change of a room/ or rate. These changes must be notified to the other departments by the front desk staff. A change notification will be sent out giving details of the change for the following reasons.

• The cashier will need to alter the room number or rate on the bill.
• The telephone operator will have to change the room number on the alphabetical guest index.
• The restaurant should know of a room change or plan during his/ her stay.
• The front desk staff must make necessary amendments on the reception board information to show the updated status.
• The housekeeping must know , as a room change will involvethe cleaning of a room from which the guest has moved, or if the guest id joined by another member of the family then more linen will have to be provided
  

VOUCHERS

Vouchers are special documents generally in printed form. It is issued by travel agents and airlines stating the required services to be provided by the hotel. It indicates that the guest has pre- paid to the travel agencies or the concerned company guarantees the payment of bill for accommodation and services of the particular guests. Hence for the recovery of each payment the steps are:

• Receive and check the vouchers at check- in such billing instructions are mentioned.
• Read the vouchers carefully and determine whether it has been issued from bona-fide travel agency duly recognized by the hotel. If in doubt refer to the list of bona-fide agent as issued by the account department.
• Check the name of the guest, date and room required.
• Check the room plan and any other special remarks.
• Ask the guest/ group leader to sign the bills and the folios.
• Do not give copies of signed bills.
• Attach the vouchers and the folio together and send it to the account department.
  

TRAVELLER'S CHEQUES

The customer purchases traveler's cheques in his/ her own country before commencing his/ her journey. These may be in international currencies the customer requires. these cheques are signed twice. It is signed firstly at the time of purchase and serial numbers are noted by the issuing bank. While using traveler's cheque for payment, the owner will sign and date each cheque. The cashies should carefully watch the second signature of the guest at the , and tally the signature and the photograph against the passport/ identity card. All traveller's cheques should be converted into local currencies at the current day's exchange rate. The traveller's cheques areexchanged for their required currency value by the bank then credited to the hotel's account.

CREDIT CARD

Credit card is a small plastic card that holds a certain monetary value. It authorizes the owner to charge goods or services to his/ her account. It is issued by bank to its customers. It is used to purchase goods, accommodation, or to pay for services. In hotels and other service establishments, large bills are often settled by credit cards. It usually allows higher limits than personal cheques.

Most hotels accepts major credit cards for deposit and payment. The front desk representative should know the credit cards that the hotel accepts, as well as the procedures for accepting and authorizing their use. Visa card, Master card, American express etc. are the most widely honored and accepted credit cards. Others such as Diner's Club, City bank card, Euro card etc may be honored by many but not by all properties.

PROCEDURES WHILE ACCEPTING CREDIT CARDS:

1. With the use of credit card imprinter machine(manual/ electronic), imprint/ swipe the credit card and obtain the details in the credit card charge slip.
2. Enter the date and the amount that is to be charged, but without totaling the amount.
3. present the charge slip to the guest and obtain the signature in the specified area.
4. tally the signature on the charge slip against the credit card and total the amount now.
5. Give the customer's copy of the charge slip to the guest along with the credit card.
6. retain the other two copies of the charge slip and send the appropriate copy to the accounts along with the cashier's summary report.
7. Determine the answers to the following questions before accepting any credit card:

• Is the card acceptable by the hotel?
• Is the card valid?
• Are the card holder and the card owner the same person?
• Is the available credit sufficient to cover the charges?
  

CASH

Cash is one of the most common and swift payment modes to handle. this type of payment, either in local or foreign currency, is one of the most popular methods used in hotel as cash is instantly available for use. However, while handling cash the cashier needs to be careful in distinguishing and ascertaining the currencies and their denominations acceptable. The cashier should be well aware of the current day's exchange rate and also possess the extra skills to evaluate the genuine currency notes.

MODE OF PAYMENT

It refers to the various methods of payment by which the guests can settle their bills/ checks in the hotel. Mode pf payment varies with the type of establishment , e.g. A cinema would normally take the payment before the customer uses the service, whereas the hotel usually takes the payment after the services have been rendered. from a moment guest registers himself into a hotel, s/he uses the other credit facilities. Realizations of such bills have to be handled very cautiously by the hotel. Usually, hotels undertake the following steps to ensure payment:

1. Maintain a specific credit limit.
2. Accept officially recognized credit cards only.
3. personal cheques are accepted under certain conditions.

A guest settles his/ her bills by the following modes of payment in a hotel:

1. CASH
2. CREDIT CARDS
3. TRAVELLERS' CHEQUES
4. VOUCHERS
5. COMPANY ACCOUNT

RESERVATION REGISTER

It is a format used by front office department for keeping the record of the requested rooms. this format is widely referred to as room reservation from. the reservation assistant is responsible to fill in this format stating the information about guests, type, quantity of rooms and special service requested. This format is mainly used to record the reservation request coming through a telephone and personal visit. The reservation data is directly recorded into the computer where the reservation system is computerized. This format will contain the following information:

1. Name of the client, nationality, and address
2. Date of arrival
3. Company's name and address
4. Type of room, rate and number desired
5. Contact address, eg telephone, fax, e- mail etc
6. Credit card number(if any)
7. Name of the person/ sources seeking reservation
8. Reservation received by
9. Total number of nights.
10. Special services required(if any).