ACCOMMODATION OPERATION UNIT-I

INTRODUCTION TO HOUSEKEEPING


The basic concept of housekeeping has started from keeping of a domestic house clean and has gradually come to maintaining high standard of cleanliness and maintenance of commercial levels, besides the housekeeping should also contributes to the saving in costs of labour, cleaning material and equipment.

Housekeeping is an important and integral part of the guest experience and satisfaction. The impact of the housekeeping function on the success of a hotel’s operations cannot be underestimated, since large revenue for hotel industry is generated mainly from the sale of rooms. The housekeeping is the department of a hotel charged with cleaning and maintaining rooms and public spaces. From the time a guest checks-in in a hotel till he checks out, it is the housekeeping department which takes care of the guest by making his / her stay pleasant and comfortable.

In general, the housekeeping crew is responsible for the daily cleaning of public rooms (lobbies, corridors, meeting rooms), private bedrooms and public washrooms. In addition, it handles the laundering of linens and in some instances, guest laundry. Housekeeping also performs a minor security function by providing a “first alert” to potential guest problems while staff undertake daily guest bedroom cleaning.

What is housekeeping?

Housekeeping in simple words means maintaining a house on a daily or long term basis or looking after its cleanliness, unkeep and smooth running, at the same time check all the fixtures like taps, geysers, electric wiring, bulbs, tubes, fans, plug point are in good working conditions.

DEFINITION OF HOUSEKEEPING

            In other words, we may also say that housekeeping is a process of keeping a place clean, beautiful and well maintained so that it looks and feels pleasant inviting to all, either living, visiting or working there,.

IMPORTANCE OF HOUSEKEEPING

1) Comfort: It is the duty of the housekeeping department to ensure comfort and a welcoming atmosphere to the guests as well as strive to extend courteous, reliable and satisfactory service from staffs of all departments.

2) Cleanliness and Hygiene:  A high standard of cleanliness and general upkeep in all areas. Clean and well maintained areas and equipments create a favorable impression on the guest.

Hygiene is maintained especially in the wash rooms, toilets, pool changing room, health club, etc

3) Privacy: Housekeeping staffs ensure the privacy of the guests and they should be trained with proper procedures to enter the room.

4) Safety and Security: The housekeeping department staffs should ensure the safety and security of the guests with the help of security services.

5) Décor: This work is an art and the housekeeping staff is mainly responsible for creating a pleasant atmosphere.

FUNCTIONS OF HOUSEKEEPING

The main functions of housekeeping are overall cleanliness, bed making, ensuring maintenance of the building and its infrastructure, laundry, linen management, key control, pest control, safety and security of the guests as well as the infrastructure and interior decoration. All this ensure the ambience and promotes a congenial environment.

The basic function of the housekeeping is explained briefly:

Cleaning Rooms and Public Areas:

Apart from cleaning the guest rooms, housekeeping department is also responsible for cleaning floor, terraces, elevators, elevator lobbies, corridors of guest floors, floor linen closets, mop and janitor’s closets, service lobbies and service stairways, function rooms, shopping arcade, cabanas, bars, dining rooms, offices, uniform rooms, tailor rooms, upholstery, shops, store rooms and swimming pools.

 Bed Making:

Bed making is a skill that requires to be developed by the housekeeper, as it not only provides comfort to the guest, but also adds to the pleasant ambience of a guest’s room.

 Linen Management:

This involves all functions from purchase of linen to laundering,  storage, supplies and to condemnation. In a hotel different types of clothes and linen are used such as the bed sheets, pillow covers, napkins, towels, hand towels, table covers, curtains, cushion covers etc.

Laundry Services:

The relationship between the housekeeping and laundry is significant for the smooth functioning of housekeeping services.

Pest Control:

Pest Control is another major job of the Housekeeping Department.   It speaks badly of a hotel where one sees rats, cockroaches, and lizards running around. Therefore, pest control  is one of the primary responsibility of the housekeeping department.

Key Control:

The room keys have to be handled efficiently and safely before and after letting the room.

Safety and Security:

If the guests and staff always fear for their safety and the safety of their belongings, the atmosphere will be very tense. Hence the housekeeping department staff should be aware of ways to protect himself and others, especially   the guests around him and the property of the  hotel from accidents and theft.

 Interior Decoration:

These arts and crafts have to be well maintained by the housekeeping department. Decorating flowers is a creative and stimulating art which often carries a message or theme. Flowers and indoor plants add colour and beauty to a room.

Room Maintenance: Good housekeeping department is just as responsible for the hotel's maintenance as an engineering department.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF HOUSE-KEEPING PERSONNEL:

1) Executive Housekeeper
• Ensure conformance to policies and procedure as laid dawn by the management.
• Manage staff scheduling as demanded by room occupancy forecasts and the banquet functions.
• Ensure that the staff is properly groomed and correctly uniformed.
• Check all the public areas and rooms and see that the standard of cleanliness is maintained.
• Prepares duty rosters for the staff.
• Co –ordinates with the purchase manager for purchase of linen.
• Co- ordinates with human resources department regarding the recruitment of staff.
• Supervise the staff working under her.
• Training of new recruitment.
• Set up par stock level and sanctions for uniform.
• Reports to the general manager of the hotel regarding the happenings of her department.
• Checks the working of the equipments.
• Hold meetings of the housekeeping staff.
• Prepares polices concerning housekeeping.

2) Assistant Executive Housekeeper:
• She acts as an executive house keeper on her absence.
• Assists the executive house keeper on daily functions.
• Supervises the staff working under her.
• Helps the house keeper in preparing duty roaster.
• Physically checks the areas to see that they are cleaned up as per the hotel standards.
• Trains the staff working under her.
• Checks the staff working under her.
• Checks the occupancy report.
• Checks the room attendants report.

3) Floor supervisor:
• Assigns duties to the room attendants.
• Responsible for the cleanliness and the upkeep of the assigned floors.
• Prepares occupancy report.
• Ensures the supply of guest amenities to the rooms.
• Maintains records of all room linen.
• Reports maintenance to the house keeping control desk.
• Handles guest complaints.

4) Public area supervisor:
• Assigns duties to the house men.
• Responsible for the cleanliness and the upkeep of the public areas.
• Reports for maintenance to the control desk.
• Prepares job order forms.
• Supervises pest control activities.

5) Control desk supervisor:
• He listens to the guest complaints.
• Prepares housekeeping report; a copy of which is sent to the front office.
• Co-ordinates with the maintenance department.
• Prepares job order form.
• Conveys the messages.
• Controls the movement of keys.
• Enters lost and found items.
• Co-ordinates with all the staff of the department.
• Maintains log books in the desk.

6) Linen room supervisor:
• Controls and checks up the soiled and fresh linen and uniform to and from the linen room.
• Issues linen and uniform to the staff.
• Controls the linen room.
• Checks the linen stock periodically.

7) Room attendants:
• Cleans all the guest room
• Cleans the assigned floors.
• Changes guest linen.
• Fills up day to day guest compliments and supplies.
• In charge of service trolley.
• Helps in preparing occupancy report and room attendant report.
• Replenishes service trolley with guest supplies, delegate linen, etc.
• Reports for maintenance if any

8) Public area attendants:
• Responsible for cleaning all public areas, outlets & executive office.
• Responsible for all heavy works in housekeeping department.
• Involve in post control activities.

9) Gardener:
Gardeners are responsible for maintaining all gardens in the hotel.

A CAREER IN THE HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT
            The days have long gone when housekeepers were characterised by their hard and soft brooms or by the functions of sweeping and mopping. In fact, if anyone was seen sweeping or mopping in a hotel, people would automatically associate him with the housekeeping department. Moreover, the main role of a housekeeper in earlier times was to keep the property neat, clean and hygienic.

The role of a housekeeper has changed rapidly with the changing times.

           Apart from the cleaning, maintenance and aesthetic upkeep of the property, the housekeeping system in itself has been computerised. A majority of the staff who were earlier illiterate are now diploma holders with technical qualifications, All fluent in English and working on shop floors and doing basic jobs in the hospitality industry. Housekeeping control room jobs, too, which were earlier manual, are now completely computerised. Nowadays rooms, amenities and supplies are also modified from hotel to hotel, While keeping in mind the guest profile.
                          Modern rooms are spacious with tasteful decor and are well-equipped with many facilities, Apart from the changing room scene, housekeepers today are well-versed, not only with their jobs, Take care of horticulture, laundry operations, interiors, quality control, cost control, and the comfort and satisfaction of guests.
            Today, most complaints are forwarded to the chief housekeeper and sorted out with the housekeeping staff. Only major complaints reach the front office/general managers.


            Apart from this, housekeepers also do purchasing for exclusive items for special occasions. In many hotels, housekeepers also assist the sales team to generate revenue. Today's housekeepers have experience, skill as well as knowledge to run the Rooms Division.


            Therefore, the housekeepers' main role in every organisation is to preserve the building decor, its interior, fabrics and furniture. Planning, men management, recruitment and training as per expectation of the management, along with controlling costs and keeping records.


            In modern times, housekeepers also employ R&D for the betterment of their company. In addition, housekeepers also play the role of HRD managers for their staff, endeavoring to solve their individual grievances/operational problems within the four walls of the department concerned, before the matter gets out of hand. This is because good housekeepers always consider their staff assets to the organization.


            At last as the scope of a housekeeper increases, there are a lot of challenges to be encountered simultaneously. The first factor in this respect stems from the very same understanding that the staffs are the main asset for their department.
            In order to ensure guest satisfaction with zero complaint, a housekeeper has to train and motivate staff accordingly, during brain storming sessions. Apart from that, maintaining the hotel's standards, preserving the building and its decor as well as fabric and furnishing are some of the other responsibilities. To successfully run the housekeeping department, housekeepers have to keep their budget in mind at all times and deliver the best results without any excuses.


With increasing competition from new hotels, housekeepers on a daily basis have to ensure that there are no complaints; interact with guests as well as internal customers in order to get daily feedback. This is a challenge restricted not only to housekeepers, but other heads of departments, in other facets of the hospitality industry as well. And at the end of the day, there is no job surety either, in this industry. An individual has to keep delivering good results, consistently meet standards and work effectively within the budget. Housekeepers, on the other hand should have good communication skills and be effective team leaders and trainers, having wide knowledge as well as keeping an eye out for detail.

ROLE OF HOUSE KEEPING

The role of housekeeping is to keep a clean, comfortable and safe house.  The house keeping department in a hotel is responsible for the cleanliness, maintenance and aesthetic upkeep of the hotel.  The house keeping department takes pride in keeping the hotel clean and comfortable so as to create a home away from home.

A hotel survives the sale of rooms, food and beverage and other minor operation services such as laundry, health club, etc. It is responsible for supply of liner and uniforms to various other depts. and to the rooms.

It is the responsibility of housekeeping personal to offer it within the budget if not it reveals the inefficient mgt and operations.

INTRODUCTION TO HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT

The housekeeping is the department of a hotel charged with cleaning and maintaining rooms and public spaces. From the time a guest checks-in in a hotel till he checks out, it is the housekeeping department which takes care of the guest by making his / her stay pleasant and comfortable. In general, the housekeeping crew is responsible for the daily cleaning of public rooms (lobbies, corridors, meeting rooms), private bedrooms and public washrooms. In addition, it handles the laundering of linens and in some instances, guest laundry. Housekeeping also performs a minor security function by providing a “first alert” to potential guest problems while staff undertake daily guest bedroom.


OBJECTIVES OF HOUSEKEEPING

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT

The organizational structure of the housekeeping department mainly depends on the activities and the size of the hotel.

ORGANIZATION CHART OF A LARGE HOTEL

1. Executive Housekeeper.

Responsible and accountable for the total cleanliness, maintenance and aesthetic upkeep of the hotel.

2. Assistant Housekeeper.

He manages the resources given by the Executive Housekeeper to achieve the common objectives of cleanliness, maintenance and attractiveness

3. Uniform Room Supervisor. 

The hotel staff are all practically in uniforms his / her task is enormous and demanding as h e / she has to keep an inventory control on various stages of use, such as, when sorted ones are handed over, or those which are being washed or dry-cleaned in the laundry.

4. Uniform Room Attendants.

who actually do the issue of uniforms in e x c h a n g e f o r soiled ones for onward transmission to the laundry.

5. Linen Room Supervisors.

His job is a mammoth task because he keeps track of all linen as they would number in thousands.

6. Linen Room Attendant.

Assists the supervisor by actually issuing linen and filling such records as necessary.

7. Tailor /Seamstress.

Tailor or seamstress personnel are responsible for stitching and mending t h e linen and upholstery’s.

8. Helpers.

They are to be found both in Uniforms and linen Rooms and do the physical work of transporting, counting and bundling of uniforms and linen.

9. Floor Supervisor.

Responsible for the cleanliness, maintenance and presentability of the guest floors attached to him

     10. Public Area Supervisor

           Responsible for the cleanliness, maintenance and presentability of all public areas                                                                                                                               

12. Head Houseman.

            Supervises the work allotted to Houseman, especially those in public areas. In medium sized hotels he could be the person in charge of housekeeping on night shifts.

13. Housemen.

Usually handy men who do the heavy physical cleaning required in guest rooms and public areas.

14. Desk Control Supervisor.

The Housekeeping Desk must be manned 24 hours as guests and staff will contact this desk to transmit or receive information.

15. Runner.

He is a person who goes from one guest room to another collecting or delivering guest laundry.

16. Clock Room Attendants.

            Responsible for the supply of clean dry towels, soaps and Perfumeries

17. Hat-Checkers.

 This is a service provided by superior hotels in cold climates.

18. Night Supervisor.

They handle all aspect of housekeeping at night including desk control operations, issue of linen and uniform in an emergency, etc.

19. Horticulturist.

Horticulturists, who maintain the gardens of the hotels as well as supply flowers from the garden for interior decorations and floral arrangements,.

20. Head Gardener.

 Supervises the   gardeners in maintaining hotel garden

21. Gardeners.  

             Does the actual digging, planting, watering, etc.                                                          

22)  Room Attendants.

            They also known as chamber maids or room boys. They do the actual cleaning of guest rooms and Bathrooms

TOURISM AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

TOURISM AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT-I

UNIT I

TOURISM – DEFINITION AND MEANING

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In India we see the origin of the concept of Tourism in Sanskrit Literature. It has given us three terms derived from the root word “Atana” which means going out and accordingly we have the terms:

Tirthatana – It means going out and visiting places of religious merit.

Paryatana - It means going out for pleasure and knowledge.

Deshatana - It means going out of the country primarily for economic gains.

In simple terms Tourism is the act of travel for the purposes of leisure, pleasure or business, and the provision of services for this act.

There are two important components that make up tourism:

1. The practice of travelling for pleasure.

2. The business of providing tours and services for persons travelling.

Here we are discussing the features of the above two components

The following are required, to make travel possible:

1. Discretionary income, i.e. money to spend on non-essentials

2. Time in which to do so.

3. Infrastructure in the form of accommodation facilities and means of transport.

There are four basic services to be provided for Tourists:

1. Travel Arrangements

2. Board and Lodging

3. Food

4. Entertainment

THE MEANING OF TOURISM 

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Tourism involves the movement of people. That movement might either be within their own countries - which is called “domestic tourism” - or to and from other countries - which is called “International tourism”. In either case, the movement involves travel, by different means (by road, or rail or water or air) over long or short distances. Therefore, tourism and travel are completely interrelated.

DEFINITION

“Tourism is the temporary short-term movement of people to destinations outside the places where they normally live and work, and activities during their stay at those destinations; it includes movement for all purposes, as well as day visits and excursions.”

DEFINITION

“Tourism might be defined in terms of particular activities selected by choice and undertaken outside the home environment. Tourism might or might not involve overnight stays away from home.”

CHARACTERISTICS OF TOURISM

Five main characteristics of tourism may be identified from the definition

1. Tourism arises from a movement of people to stay in various destinations.

2. There are two elements in all tourism:

a) The journey to the destination

b) The stay at the destination.

3. The journey and the stay take place outside the usual place of residence and work.

4. The movement to destinations is of temporary short-term.

5. Destinations are visited for purposes other than taking up permanent residence.

CLASSIFICATION OF TOURISM

As per WTO, Tourism can be classified into the following forms

1) Inbound tourism: Visits to a country by non-resident of that country

2) Outbound tourism: Visits by the residents of a country to another country

3) Domestic tourism: It involves travelling by the residents of the given country within their own country.

4) Internal tourism: It comprises of domestic tourism and inbound tourism.

5) International tourism: It comprises of inbound tourism and outbound tourism

TYPES OF TOURISTS

1) International Tourist-An international tourist has been defined as a person visiting India on a foreign passport, staying at least 24 hours in India and the purpose of whose journey can be classified under one of the following headings:

· Leisure (recreation, holiday, health, study, religion and sport).

· Business, Family, Mission and Meeting.

a) Excursionist- he is a visitor staying less than 24 hours in the country including cruise passengers.

b) Cruise Passenger- he is a visitor who arrives in the country aboard cruise ships and who does not spend a night in an accommodation establishment in the country.

2) Domestic Tourist- A person who travels within the country to a place other than his usual place of residence and stays at hotels or other accommodation establishments run on commercial bases or in dharamshalas or stays with friends and relatives and uses sightseeing facilities, or goes on a pilgrimage for a duration of not less than 24 hours or one night and not more than 6months at a time for any of the following purposes:

1) Pleasure(holiday, leisure, sports and so on)

2) Pilgrimage, Religious and Social functions

3) Study and Health

TYPES OF TOURISM IN INDIA

India has always been known for its hospitality, uniqueness, and charm – attributes that have been attracting foreign travelers to India in hordes. Being a country with tremendous diversity, India has a lot to offer in terms of tourism and related activities.

1) ADVENTURE TOURISM-As a kind of tourism in India, adventure tourism has recently grown in India. This involves exploration of remote areas and exotic locales and engaging in various activities. For adventure tourism in India, tourists prefer to go for trekking to places like Ladakh, Sikkim, and Himalaya. Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir are popular for the skiing facilities they offer. Whitewater rafting is also catching on in India and tourists flock to places such as Uttranchal, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh for this adrenalin-packed activity.

2) WILDLIFE TOURISM-India has a rich forest cover which has some beautiful and exotic species of wildlife – some of which that are even endangered and very rare. This has boosted wildlife tourism in India. The places where a foreign tourist can go for wildlife tourism in India are the Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary, Keoladeo Ghana National Park, and Corbett National Park.

3) MEDICAL TOURISM-Tourists from all over the world have been thronging India to avail themselves of cost-effective but superior quality healthcare in terms of surgical procedures and general medical attention. There are several medical institutes in the country that cater to foreign patients and impart top-quality healthcare at a fraction of what it would have cost in developed nations such as USA and UK. It is expected that medical tourism in India will hold a value around US$ 2 billion by 2012. The city of Chennai attracts around 45% of medical tourists from foreign countries

4) PILGRIMAGE TOURISM-India is famous for its temples and that is the reason that among the different kinds of tourism in India, pilgrimage tourism is increasing most rapidly. The various places for tourists to visit in India for pilgrimage are Vaishno Devi, Golden temple, Char Dham, and Mathura Vrindavan

5) ECO-TOURISM-Among the types of tourism in India, ecotourism have grown recently. Ecotourism entails the sustainable preservation of a naturally endowed area or region. This is becoming more and more significant for the ecological development of all regions that have tourist value. For ecotourism in India, tourists can go to places such as Kaziranga National Park, Gir National Park, and Kanha National Park.

6) CULTURAL TOURISM-India is known for its rich cultural heritage and an element of mysticism, which is why tourists come to India to experience it for themselves. The various fairs and festivals that tourists can visit in India are the Pushkar fair, Taj Mahotsav, and Suraj Kund mela.

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DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TRAVEL AND TOURISM

  The words Travel and Tourism are used in a wider concept and a lot more than travel alone. Travel implies journeys undertaken from one place to another for any purpose including journeys to work, leisure and residence; whereas Tourism includes the journey to a destination and also the stay at a destination. All tourism includes some travel, but not all travel is tourism .A person may often travel for a wide variety of purposes of which tourism is only one.

Some of the characteristics that distinguish tourism from travel are:

Tourism is:

1. Temporary, to distinguish it from the permanent travel of the Tramp and nomad.

2. Voluntary, to distinguish it from the forced travel of the exile and Refugee.

3. Round up, to distinguish it from the one-way journey of the Migrant.

4. Relatively long, to distinguish it from the recurrent trips of the Holiday house owner.

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES ON THE STUDY OF TOURISM
1. Geographical Perspective - the main concern of tourism is to look into aspects like the geographical location of a place, the climate, the landscape, the environment, A geographer feels that it is the climate, landscape or physical attributes which draw the tourist to a destination, for example; if a Person from Delhi goes to Shimla in the summer he does so because of the cooler climate which he cannot get in Delhi

2. Sociological Perspective - From a sociologist’s perspective Tourism is a social activity; it is about interaction between different communities—hosts and guests—and encounter between different cultures. This approach studies social classes, habits and customs of both hosts and guests in terms of tourism behavior of individuals or groups of people and the impact of tourism on society.

3. Historical Perspective - from an historian’s perspective tourism is a study of the factors instrumental in the initiation of tourism to a particular destination, For example we all know that a lot of tourists visit Taj Mahal in Agra but a historian would be interested in studying the factors that bring the tourist there, e.g. the architecture, the story behind the monument, or something else that draws them there.

4. Managerial Perspective - from the management perspective tourism is an industry, and therefore needs managerial skills in order to be properly managed. This perspective concentrates on management activities such as planning, research, pricing, marketing, control etc. as vital to the operation of a tourist establishment.

5. Economic Perspective – From an economist’s perspective tourism is a major source of foreign exchange earnings, a generator of personal and corporate incomes, a creator of employment and a contributor to government earnings.

TOURISM BODIES
DTTDC – Delhi Tourism & Transportation Development Corporation

ITDC – Indian Tourism Development Corporation

TAAI – Travel Agents Association of India

IATA – International Air Transport Associates

W.T.O. – World Tourism Organization.

Components & Elements of Tourism

There are three basic components of tourism which are also known as 3 A’s of tourism:

1. Accessibility (Reachability/Transportation): - Accessibility means reachability to the place of destination through various means of transportation. Transportation should be regular, comfortable, economical and safe. Today there are various means of transportation like airlines, railways, surface (road transportation) and water transportation. The transportation should be there for all kinds of tourists and destinations.

2. Accommodation: - It is a place where tourists can find food and shelter provided he/she is in a fit position to pay for it. There are various types of accommodation from a seven star deluxe hotel to a normal budget class hotel.

3. Attraction (Locale): - It is considered as the most important basic component of tourism. Attraction means anything that creates a desire in any person to travel in a specific tourist destination or attraction.
Locale is another basic component of tourism. The locale may be used to include the holiday destination and what it offers to the tourist. The holiday destination may offer natural attractions.
It is considered as the most important basic component of tourism. Fashion is an important factor in the demand for various tourist attractions and amenities. The tourist who visits a particular place for its natural beauty may decide to visit some other attractions due to a change in fashion.

Elements of tourism: - There are certain elements or ingredients of tourism. They are the fundamental attractions of tourism. They are.
1. Pleasing weather
2. Scenic attractions.
3. Historical and cultural factors.
4. Accessibility
5. Amenities
6. Accommodation
7. safety and security
8. Other factors
a. Guide/ escort facilities.
b. Basic medical facilities.
c. Electricity
d. Water
e. Communication system.

1. Pleasing weather: - Fine weather with warm sun shine is one of the most important attractions of any tourist place. Particularly good weather plays an important role in making a holiday pleasant or an unpleasant experience. Tourist from countries with extremes of weather Visit Sea beaches in search of fine weather and sunshine. Due to this many spas and resorts along the sea coasts come into existence. In Europe, countries like Italy, Spain and Greece have developed beautiful beach resorts. There are many such resorts along the coasts of Mediterranean sea INDIA, Sri Lanka, Thailand Indonesia, Australia, Philippines and some other countries have beautiful sea beaches with fine weather are best examples where weather has played a prominent in attracting tourists. In some countries hill station resorts’ have been developed to eater the needs of tourists. The best example for this is Shimla.

2. Scenic attractions: - No doubt scenic attractions are very important factors in tourism. Scenery consisting of mountains, lakes, waterfalls, glaciers, forests, deserts, is strong forces attracting people to visit them. Thousands and thousands of tourists are attracted by the northern slopes of the Alps in Switzerland and Austria and the southern slopes at Italy and also Himalayan. Mountain slopes of India and Nepal.

3. Historical and cultural factors: - Historical and cultural interest exercised tremendous influence over travelers. Large numbers of tourists are attracted every year by the great drawing power of stratfood on avon in England because of its association with Shakespeare, or the city of Agra in India because of its famous leaning tower. Large number of Americans and Canadians visit London because of its historical and cultural attractions. So also the world famous caves of Ajanta and Ellora in India are visited by tourists because of its architecture and painting.

4. Accessibility: - Accessibility is another important factor of tourism. There should be accessibility for each and every location of tourist attractions. If their locations are inaccessible by the normal means of transport, it would be of little importance. All kinds of transport facilities are to be made available for such locations. The distance factor also plays am important role in determining a tourist’s choice of a destination. Longer distance cost much than to short distances.

5. Amenities: - Facilities are very essential for any tourist centre. They are considered necessary aid to the tourist centre. For a seaside resort facilities like swimming, boating, yachting surf riding and such other facilities like deeming recreations and amusements are an important feature. There are two types of amenities viz. natural and man made. Beaches, sea-bathing, fishing, climbing, trekking, viewing etc. are come under the former category. Various types of entertainments and facilities which cater for the special needs of the tourists come under the latter category.

6. Accommodation: - The need and necessity of accommodation cannot be ignored in tourist destination. Accommodation plays a vital role in this field. Many changes have taken place in accommodation recently. New types of accommodation, particularly, holiday villages, apartment houses camping and caravan sites and tourist cottage etc, have become very popular. Usually a large number of tourists visit a particular spot simply because there is a first class hotel with excellent facilities. Today Switzerland, Holland, Austria and the Netherlands have gained reputation for good cuisine, comfort and cleanliness.

7. Safety and Security: Safety and security are vital to providing quality in tourism. More than any other economic activity, the success or failure of a tourism destination depends on being able to provide a safe and secure environment for visitors.

Other factors: - Besides the above factors, hospitality is one such factor among the variety of factors. It is the duty of the host country to be hospitable towards tourists. For this French and Indian governments have done a lot. A series of short films on various themes like “being courteous”, “cleanliness” and “welcoming” a visitor” were prepared and exhibited through a wide network cinema theatres all over the country. Slogans like “welcome a visitor- send back a friend” were displayed at various important exists and entry points like railway stations, airports and seaports. Following the above methods, many other countries launched “Be nice” campaigns. It means that the tourists must be treated as friends.

BASIC COMPONENTS OF TOURISM

ELEMENTS OF TOURISM

Elements of tourism: - There are certain elements or ingredients of tourism. They are the fundamental attractions of tourism. They are.

1.      Pleasing weather

2.      Scenic attractions.

3.      Historical and cultural factors.

4.      Accessibility

5.      Amenities

6.      Accommodation

7.      Safety and security

8.      Other factors

a.       Guide/ escort facilities.

b.      Basic medical facilities.

c.       Electricity

d.      Water

e.        Communication system.

1. Pleasing weather: - Fine weather with warm sun shine is one of the most important attractions of any tourist place. Particularly good weather plays an important role in making a holiday pleasant or an unpleasant experience. Tourist from countries with extremes of weather Visit Sea beaches in search of fine weather and sunshine. Due to this many spas and resorts along the sea coasts come into existence. In Europe, countries like Italy, Spain and Greece have developed beautiful beach resorts. There are many such resorts along the coasts of Mediterranean sea INDIA, Sri Lanka, Thailand Indonesia, Australia, Philippines and some other countries have beautiful sea beaches with fine weather are best examples where weather has played a prominent in attracting tourists. In some countries hill station resorts’ have been developed to eater the needs of tourists. The best example for this is Shimla.

2. Scenic attractions: - No doubt scenic attractions are very important factors in tourism. Scenery consisting of mountains, lakes, waterfalls, glaciers, forests, deserts, is strong forces attracting people to visit them. Thousands and thousands of tourists are attracted by the northern slopes of the Alps in Switzerland and Austria and the southern slopes at Italy and also Himalayan. Mountain slopes of India and Nepal.

3. Historical and cultural factors: - Historical and cultural interest exercised tremendous influence over travelers. Large numbers of tourists are attracted every year by the great drawing power of stratfood on avon in England because of its association with Shakespeare, or the city of Agra in India because of its famous leaning tower. Large number of Americans and Canadians visit London because of its historical and cultural attractions. So also the world famous caves of Ajanta and Ellora in India are visited by tourists because of its architecture and painting.

4. Accessibility: - Accessibility is another important factor of tourism. There should be accessibility for each and every location of tourist attractions. If their locations are inaccessible by the normal means of transport, it would be of little importance. All kinds of transport facilities are to be made available for such locations. The distance factor also plays am important role in determining a tourist’s choice of a destination. Longer distance cost much than to short distances.

5. Amenities: - Facilities are very essential for any tourist centre. They are considered necessary aid to the tourist centre. For a seaside resort facilities like swimming, boating, yachting surf riding and such other facilities like deeming recreations and amusements are an important feature. There are two types of amenities viz. natural and man made. Beaches, sea-bathing, fishing, climbing, trekking, viewing etc. are come under the former category. Various types of entertainments and facilities which cater for the special needs of the tourists come under the latter category.

6. Accommodation: - The need and necessity of accommodation cannot be ignored in tourist destination. Accommodation plays a vital role in this field. Many changes have taken place in accommodation recently. New types of accommodation, particularly, holiday villages, apartment houses camping and caravan sites and tourist cottage etc, have become very popular. Usually a large number of tourists visit a particular spot simply because there is a first class hotel with excellent facilities. Today Switzerland, Holland, Austria and the Netherlands have gained reputation for good cuisine, comfort and cleanliness.

7. Safety and Security: Safety and security are vital to providing quality in tourism. More than any other economic activity, the success or failure of a tourism destination depends on being able to provide a safe and secure environment for visitors.

8. Other factors: - Besides the above factors, hospitality is one such factor among the variety of factors. It is the duty of the host country to be hospitable towards tourists. For this French and Indian governments have done a lot. A series of short films on various themes like “being courteous”, “cleanliness” and “welcoming” a visitor” were prepared and exhibited through a wide network cinema theatres all over the country. Slogans like “welcome a visitor- send back a friend” were displayed at various important exists and entry points like railway stations, airports and seaports. Following the above methods, many other countries launched “Be nice” campaigns. It means that the tourists must be treated as friends.

FRONT OFFICE MANAGEMENT UNIT II

GUEST ACCOUNTING
There exist several transactions between the hotel and the guest. it is the front office staffs that carry out this functions. Normally hotels have a front office cashier to engage in these type of transactions with the guset. As soon as the registration of the guest is over,folio is opened no his/her name to record all transactions.The gueat folio should always updated whenever the makes a transactions.At the time of guest's check out, the guest's folio is verified for the outstanding expenses of the guest. The final bill is made handed over to the guest for the settlement.
The following are the main objectives of the front office accounting system:

To handle the guest’s transactions in an easy way
To identify the revenues from different departments
To monitor credit limit of the guest
To avoid the fraudulent practices of staff
To maintain an accurate data of guest’s transactions
To save time and to avoid misplacement's

Documents Generated in Guest Accounting

There are various documents that are maintained to ensure a proper guest accounting system in hotels. They are as follows.
1) Folios

2) Vouchers

3) City Ledger

4) High Balance Report

5) Guest Ledger

1) Folios:A folio is a statement of all transactions (i.e. debits & credits) affecting the balance of a single account. At Checkout, any guest folio should be balanced to 0 through full cash payment, credit card transfer, personal check transfer, special program transfer, and direct billing transfer…The correct way of maintaining folios starts with proper posting, which is the process of recording transactions on a folio (i.e. proper folio, proper location and proper amount)Under the manual, semi automated and fully automated systems, folios are called hand-written folios, machine-posted folios, and computer-based electronic folios respectively. Moreover, all folios shall have a unique serial number for internal control and storing purposes.

In the front office department, there are four common types of folios used:

a) Guest folios: accounts assigned to individual persons or guestrooms

b) Master Folios: accounts assigned to more than one person or guest room; usually reserved for guest groups

c) Non-Guest (or semi-permanent) folios: accounts assigned to non-guest businesses or agencies with hotel charge purchase privileges

d) Employee Folios: accounts assigned to employees with charge purchase privileges
Apart from the above mentioned common folios, front office department get use of some other types of folios such as A-type, B-type, C-type, D-type, and E-type folios.

2) Vouchers:Vouchers are documents that have the details of the purchases made by the guest from an outlet of a hotel. This is send to the front desk and they carry out the posting process in the guest’s folio. Vouchers acts as a supporting document of the transaction happened between the hotel and the guest.If the guest pays the amount in the outlet, then the voucher is filed there itself. And in case, if the guest signs the voucher, it is send to the front desk for the posting purpose. Vouchers are also known as Checks. A voucher is a proof that a transaction has taken place in the hotel. Charge vouchers, Correction vouchers, Allowance vouchers, Transfer vouchers and Paid Out vouchers are examples of vouchers.

a) Charge vouchers: Charge purchases are deferred payment transactions. In a deferred payment transaction, the guest receives goods or services from the hotel but does not pay for them immediately. If the transaction occurs somewhere other than at the front desk, it must be communicated to the front desk for proper folio posting. This is done through a charge voucher, also called as account receivable voucher.

b) Correction vouchers: An account correction transaction corrects a posting error in a folio. An account correction is made on the same day the error is made, before the close of business. An account correction can either increase or decrease an account balance. E.g. If a charge is wrongly posted as lower than the actual rate, it can be corrected on the same day after entering the details of correction in a correction voucher.

c) Allowance vouchers: Allowance vouchers can be of 2 types. One type of allowance is a compensation given to a guest for poor services or discounts etc. The other type of allowance is a correction to a posting error on an existing account after the close of business. Any account allowances must be documented with the use of an allowance voucher. All allowance vouchers require management approval.

d) Transfer vouchers: A transfer voucher is used when the account balance or account entry is transferred or shifted from one folio to another folio. E.g. When one guest staying in room 203, agrees to pay a dinner charge for his friend who is also a guest staying in room 209 in the hotel, the charges must be transferred from room no. 209 folio to room 203 folio and this transfer must be documented by a transfer voucher. An account transfer may also occur when a guest checks out by paying through credit mode. The guest’s outstanding account balance is transferred from a guest account to a non guest account through the use of a transfer voucher.

f) Paid Out vouchers (Visitor’s Paid Out): Also called as a Cash Advance or VPO. It is cash paid out by the hotel on behalf of the guest. If petty payments like taxi fare, cinema tickets, postage etc. are made by the front desk, a Visitor’s Paid Out Voucher is issued on guest’s name and his signature is collected and the amount is debited in guest’s folio.

3)Ledger
A Ledger is a book in which the accounts of both resident and non-resident guests are entered. In simple words, it’s a grouping of guest accounts. This ledger aids in preparing the Profit and Loss account and Balance Sheet of a hotel.

a) City Ledger: The City ledger is also known as the Non-guest ledger. It is the collection of non-guest accounts. If a guest account is not settled in full by cash payment at checkout, the guest’s folio balance is transferred from the guest ledger to the city ledger in the accounting division for collection.

City Ledger could also include accounts held by:

Ø Local business people who are not resident in the hotel but who use the hotel facilities and services for entertainment or business meetings.

Ø Guests who walk out of the hotel without settling the outstanding balance. Walkouts are no longer resident so their account is transferred to the city ledger, till the account is settled or closed by writing off as bad debt, if the amount is over due and not forthcoming for a long period.

Ø Guests who have sent prepayments to guarantee their bookings, but have not arrived or checked in. This amount is recorded in the city ledger and the account needs to be closed as per the terms of the reservation.

Ø Even a skipper’s outstanding balance is transferred to city ledger with a hope that the amount may come through. Eventually if there was no trace of the guest the amount will be written off as a Bad Debt.

b)Guest ledger:Guest Ledger is a type of ledger that has the accounts of all the guests residing in a hotel. After the registration process of the guest is over, a guest folio is opened on his/her name to record all the purchases which he/she is making from the hotel. This ledger is also known as Transient or Room Ledger.
Guests who make appropriate credit arrangements at registration may be extended privileges to charge purchases to their individual account folios. Guests may also pay against their outstanding balance at any time during occupancy. Guest’s financial transactions are recorded in guest ledger accounts to track guest account balances. Some of the accounts of the resident guests may be settled by their company, travel agency or airline company. In this case, at the time of the guest’s check-out, his signature is taken and the guest account is transferred from the Guest Ledger to City Ledger.

JOB DESCRIPTION OF FRONT OFFICE CASHIER

Job description                                    Front office cashier

Category                                               Non-supervisory

Reports to                                             1. Income accountant

                                                              2. Chief accountant

                                                              3. Front office manager

Job definition                                        Post all guest’s charges and credits on

                                                              Guest’s folios accurately and in time so as to

                                                              Properly settle guest’s accounts or receive 

                                                              Payment upon guest departure.

Directly controls / supervises               None, except when made shift in charge

Assigned area of activity                      Front officer’s cage

Hours of operation                              One shift in 24 hrs for 8 hrs, or as per policy

                                                              of the management

Authority                                              Refuse credit cards, currency notes /

                                                              personal cheques as offered by guests.  Give

                                                              discounts as per policy.  Hold back “credit      

                                                              cards” listed in the cancellation bulletin.

Work performed /Duties of front office cashier

RECORDS AND LEDGERS MAINTAINED BY THE CASHIER

1) TABULAR LEDGER: For many years this method of recording charges issued in hotel was the only one existence and for several years even after the introduction of electronic account and in the early days of computerization it continued to the most of the common method in use. The advantage of using the system is that hotel can head up columns according to their needs and should they change over a period of time no extra cost are incurred.
            Although still used by many smaller hotel in many units it has been replaced by computerization since computer programs are now available to suit all type and sizes of hotels even so, the possible of the tab and its double entry of charges is applicable to all sorts of hotel billing, and student who are familiar with its operation in easy adapt to other more sophisticated means of accounting.
            The system revolves around two records one is the customer account and the another is the summary of all the change incurred by all guest during the day and forms the basis hotel record of earning the customer’s bill is normally prepared in duplicate one copy being given to the guest upon departure and the other retained by the hotel for control purpose.

2) VERTICAL TABULAR LEDGER: The rooms numbers of guest are entered across the tab the charger are recorded vertically below each room numbers. This system is often used in hotel the carbon paper is used to ever charger on to the tab and the bill at the same time debit entries form the main body of the tab, while credits and entered at the bottom after the daily total has been summarized.
 Each days tab would consist of a number of similar sheets. The exact number of sheets used depends upon the number of rooms let.

3) HORIZONTAL TABULAR LEDGER: With the horizontal tab the departmental charges are lighted across the tab so each guest account is arranged horizontally across the page of the tab. Debit charges to the guest accounts are enter on the left hand side and credit entries on the right. Normally two lines are allowed for each room number this enables the number of entries to be made under the departmental heading for example, a guest may have a number of telephone calls course of a day.

Records Maintained by front office cashier

The following are the records that are maintained by the front desk in terms of guest accounting

1) Daily Report

2) Account Aging Report

3) Visitor’s Tabular Ledger

4) High Balance Report

5) Vouchers

6) Folios

7) Ledgers

8) Cash Receipts

1) Daily Report:

The night auditor of a hotel summarizes the total receipts for each day on a daily report. This report includes:

Ø Room rentals

Ø Banquet room rentals

Ø Food sales

Ø Beverage sales

Ø Gift shop sales

Ø Telephone charges

Ø Vending machine sales

Ø Other miscellaneous sales or services

The daily report may also include:

v Room and food statistics, such as:

v Number of rooms occupied - single

v Number of rooms occupied - double

v Number of complimentary rooms

v Average daily rate

v Number of breakfast, lunch and dinner covers

v Sales tax payable

v Hotel Occupancy, Tax payable.

v Cash account and credit card accounts

2) Account Aging Report

                       It is a document that supervises the receivable account from the guest that has aged over a specific period of time.

3) Visitor’s Tabular Ledger (VTL):
            VTL is a loose large sheet used in small hotels in which the daily guest transactions are entered. Whenever a guest is purchasing, the entry is made against each guest account in a VTL Guest bill is made on the basis of VTL and hence it should be updated every time.

4) High Balance Report:
                     A high balance report is made daily which states all the guest accounts whose totals are near to or in excess of the credit limit of the hotel. It is the duty of the night auditor and front desk agents to handle the high balance guest accounts. The night auditor will send a copy of the guest bill with a letter to the guest’s room requesting him to deposit the amount in the reception so that they can extend the credit facilities to the guest.

              In case if the guest fails to contact the reception, then the Lobby manager might personally meet the guest and talk out the matter. But if the guest is not responding at all, then the room of the guest will be double locked

5) Vouchers:
              REFER VOUCHERS ON DOCUMENTS GENERATED BY FO CASHIER

6) Folios:
             REFER VOUCHERS ON DOCUMENTS GENERATED BY FO CASHIER

7) Ledger:
             REFER VOUCHERS ON DOCUMENTS GENERATED BY FO CASHIER

 8) Cash Receipt:

                        Cash receipts are actually the printed documents which are needed by any business, each and every time when the cash is received for a specific service or good. It is necessary for making a cash receipt that you must know all the aspects of cash receipt so that you would be able to get special cash receipt for your business purposes. Sometime when people want to get a special cash receipt format then they often make many mistakes. In order to avoid such mistakes, here is the complete format of cash receipt and by using such format the chances of mistakes would be minimized.

Handling Foreign Exchange:
                                The hotel industry in any country is a prime source for the generation of foreign currency exchange. Foreign Currency Exchanges are done in hotels through a strict system of checks and records. In a hotel, the front office cashier is the authorized person on behalf of the management to receive foreign exchange. As most of the overseas visitors prefer to pay their hotel bills in foreign currency, the cashier must know the rates of exchange. The hotel can exchange the foreign currency but cannot sell it. If the guest has settled his account in foreign currency, the balance should be given in the local currency. The foreign currency exchange rates offered by the hotel might be slightly higher than the bank rates. This is done to cover up the administrative costs, market fluctuations in the exchange rates and a small profit. Hotels accept foreign currencies but not coins.

FOREIGN CURRENCY ENCASHMENT

1. Request the guest to produce his/her passport and determine the credentials.
2. Ask to the guest for his room number.
3. Incase of non-residence, request his/her to contact the lobby manager for his authorization for the transaction
4. Find out the type of currency to be exchanged and determine whether it is exchangeable as per governor banking regulation.
5. Fill in all the details in the foreign exchange encashment certificate.
6. Request to the guest to sign the travelers cheque and voucher in person.
7. Compare the signature.
8. Receive the amount of foreign currency in cash or travelers cheque.
9. Calculate the total amount to paid in local currency by multiplying the foreign currency amount by the rate of exchange.
10. Give the original copy of the certificate and the total amount in local currency to the guest.
11. Attach the second copy of the encashment certificate to the notes to the traveler’s cheque.
12. Leave the third copy in the book.
13. Fill in the details in reception cashier’s report.

Fill in the details in the foreign currency control sheet.

PETTY CASH
                     Taxi fares, laundry and dry cleaning and other small items are often paid by the cashier’s department from a separate petty cash float. This float is reimbursed daily by the hotel’s and individual petty cash vouchers are allowed against the days takings. It is important for the control of the petty cash float that only authorized payments are made against receipts for the amount spent. Petty cash payment are subject to an upper limit and are only paid out after being counter signed by a member of the management.

CREDIT CARD PROCESS

1. Present the charge record form to the guest and receive his signature on it.
2. Check the following establish the validity of the card.
1. Whether credit card is accepted by the establishment.
2. Expiry date of card. The card should be within the expiry date.
3. Compare the name and the number with that calculation bulletin circulated periodically and ascertained if the credit card is black listed.
4. Any alternations on the card.
5. Compare card holders signature on the credit card with that on the charge record form.
3. With the use of an imprinter, imprint the embossed credit card number on the credit card on to the charge record form in the space provided.
4. Enter the date in the appropriate column on the charge record form.
5. Enter the amount that is being charged in the totals column.
6. If the total exchange the authorize limit , look for further instruction from general regulation.
7. Fill check or bill number in the appropriate column of the charge record form.
8. Ensure that the cheque or bill has the guest’s signature and tally the signature with that on the credit card.
9. Give the guest’s original copy of the charge record form and clip the other two copies with the respective cheque or bill.
10. In the case of a late charge due to which the cheque or bill is note received by the front office cashier in time, fill the shaded area on the charge record for the specific purpose. Under the column “ The type of delayed change” Abbreviate the reason in word then fill the amount of delayed change and the new  total amount.  At no cast should figures be allotted or tampered with, the cheque or bill of the delayed change must be retained carefully by the hotel to present to the card holder should their be an inquiry.
11. The hard copy of two copies mentioned in procedure of all charge record form  are collected at the end of the day and totaled.
12. The total of not more than hundred charge record forms are entered in the summary of charge records in the column grand total.
13. Using the special imprinted issued by the credit card company to the hotel, imprint the companies name and account number embossed on the plastic card on to the summary of charge record.
14. The summary of charge records is signed by the authorized representative of the establishment the appropriate box.
15. On the line provided in the summary of charge records, enter the date of summary is being forwarded.
16. Sent the summary of charge record along with all the hard copies of the individual charge record forms to the company.

METHODS OF SETTLEMENT

A guest account can be brought to a zero balance in several ways. Methods of settlement include cash payment, credit card or Direct Billing transfer or combined settlement method.

1)      CASH PAYMENT IN FULL

Cash payment in full at check out will bring a guest account balance to zero. A cash receipt has to be issued to the guest by the cashier. The cashier should mark the folio paid. If the guest has produced a credit card at check in, the cashier should destroy the guest credit card voucher imprinted at registration when the guest pays the account in full with cash.

Guests paying in foreign currency should convert their money to local currency (some international currencies like $ are accepted). Hotels often charge a fee to convert currencies as banks charge the fee from the hotels. Currency conversion rates are displayed at the Cashiers counter or it can also be taken from business sections of newspapers.

Guests can also use traveler’s cheques to settle their bills. Traveler’s cheques are issued by banks and avoid the risk of carrying cash. At the time of settlement the cashier should confirm the identity of the guest from the safety and security point of view. Also there is no danger of them being stolen as they can be encashed only when the signature of the holder tallies with the signature signed at the time of issue. A foreign traveler’s cheque should be treated as foreign currency and the necessary records, statements and certificates must be maintained like in the case of foreign currency and should be sent to the Reserve Bank of India.

Difference between an ordinary cheque and a traveler’s cheque

Ordinary cheque	Travelers cheque
1.      For issuing a person should have a bank account (either current or saving).	1.      No need of any bank account for purchasing and encashing of traveler’s cheque.
2.      Any amount can be filled in the cheque as they are blank.	2.      Have a fixed amount printed on its face and available in different denominations.
3.      Only one signature is needed of the holder.	3.      Two signatures are required (one in the presence of the issuing authority and second in the presence of encashing authority).
4.      Ordinary cheques are valid only for 3-6 months.	4.      Valid for indefinite period of time unless dated.
5.      These cheques can be crossed for account payee.	5.      No such provision.
6.      No slip/list of lost, damaged or stolen cheques is issued by the bank.	6.      Many banks issue a stop list for stolen and damaged cheques.
7.      Cheque may bounce as the balance in the account may be less than the cheque	7.      No such possibility as the amount is already printed on the face of the cheque.
8.      Not safe as someone might force the owner to sign the cheque.	8.      Quite safe because the second signature have to be put in front of the encashing authority.

Procedure for accepting foreign currency:

Ø Request guest passport and determine the credentials such as name and photo identification place of issue and date of expiry of the passport.

Ø Confirm that the guest is a resident of the hotel by asking his room no. If the guest is a non-resident the permission of the lobby manager is obtained who will extend this facility to VIP’s and regular guests.

Ø Receive the cash or traveler’s cheque in foreign currency.

Ø Calculate the total amount of ocal currency to be paid by multiplying the foreign currency by the exchange rate displayed.

Ø Fill in details of the foreign currency encashment certificate.

Ø Request the guest to sign the foreign currency encashment certificate and compare the signature with the passport.

Ø Request the guest to sign the traveler’s cheque if it is an instrument of exchange.

Ø Give the total amount of local currency with the encashment certificate to the guest

Ø Second copy of the certificate is attached to the notes or traveler’s cheques received

Ø Third copy remains in the encashment certificate book.

Ø Fill in details in the record of foreign currency transactions.

Ø Fill in details of the foreign currency transaction in the cashier’s report.

2)      CREDIT CARD TRANSFER

Even though credit card transfer settlement brings a guest account to zero, the amount of the charge must be tracked until payment is actually received from the credit card Co.

 Credit card settlement creates a transfer of credit on the guest folio and moves an account balance from the guest ledger to a credit card account in the city ledger (non- guest ledger).

(Procedure).

Guest signature completes this transaction. In some hotels computer system sends the settlement transactions directly to the credit card Co. guest only signs on the voucher present at FO. There is no need to sign on imprinted voucher. When foreign guests pay by credit card, credit card Co. payment is in local currency.

3)      DIRECT BILLING TRANSFER

Like credit card settlement, direct billing transfers a guest account balance from the guest ledger to the city ledger. Unlike credit card settlement responsibility for billing and collecting a direct billing lies with the hotel rather than an outside agency. Billing should be arranged and approved by hotel’s credit department. Guest signs the folio and accepts the responsibility to pay the bill should direct billing account not pay the bill.

4)      COMBINED SETTLEMENT METHOD

A guest may elect to use more than one settlement method to bring the folio balance to zero.

E.g., guest may make partial cash payment and charge the reminder of the account balance to an acceptable credit card. FOA must accurately record the combined settlement methods and take care that all required paper work is properly completed. Once the guest has settled the account the FOA should provide the guest with a copy of the folio.

Good evaluation and follow up should be there as it is the last chance to make an impression.

CASH FLOATS:
                       count and document all hotel floats monthly, on a surprise basis, in the presence of the float holder as required by the company's policies and procedures- prepare a monthly summary of float counts, for month-end reporting- maintain current house bank agreements. Issue cashier safety deposit boxes for safe keeping, as required.- provide monetary change to personnel with hotel floats- issue due backs to hotel cashiers in a timely manner.

VARIOUS OPERATING MODES

NON-AUTOMATED: 

Guest folios in a  non-automated or manual system contain a series of columns for listing individual  debit (charge) and credit (payment) entries accumulated during occupancy.  At the end of the business day, each column is totaled and the ending balance is carried forward as the opening folios balance of the following day.

SEMI AUTOMATED: 

Guest transactions are printed sequentially on a machine posted folio.  The information recorded for each transaction included the date, department or reference number amount of the transaction, and new balance of the account.  The folio’s outstanding balance is the amount the guest owes the hotel or the amount the hotel owes the guest in the event of a credit balance at settlement.  The column labeled previous balance pickup provides an audit trail within the posting machines frame work that helps prove the current outstanding balance is correct.  If the semi automated posting is done by mechanical equipment, it does not retain individual folio balances.  This means that each accounts previous balance must be re-entered each time an account posting is made to the folio.  This process enables the machine to produce a new current total on the folio card, but it is very error prone and often and often leads to in correct folios balances and subsequent night audit mistakes.  Electronic posting equipment often does retain folio balances.

FULLY AUTOMATED: 

Point of sale transactions may be automatically posted to an electronic folio when a printed copy of a folio is needed, debits (charges) and credits (payments) may appear in a single column with payments distinguished by parentheses or a minus sign.  Printed folio copies may also be proceeded in the traditional multiple-column account format.  It is unnecessary to manually maintain an account’s previous balance in a fully automated system, since computer based systems maintain current balances for all folios.




TELEPHONE VOUCHER

LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE VOUCHER

LOCAL TELEPHONE CALL VOUCHER