Front Office Forms

The front office relies on various forms in monitoring the hotel guest cycle. This section discusses front office documents employed in the four stages of the guest cycle. The number and nature of documents will vary depending on the degree of automation in a hotel.

Pre-Arrival

Since reservations initiate the guest cycle, capturing and maintaining reservation data is critical to effective front office operations. Reservations are recorded on a reservation record or entered into a computer-based reservation file. The guest may be sent a letter of confirmation to verify

that a reservation has been made and that its specifications are accurate. Confirmation permits correction of errors before the arrival stage, and allows the front office to verify that it has a correct address for the guest. Front offices which use a reservation rack to monitor reservations require reservation rack slips. The information contained on a reservation rack slip represents only a portion of a complete reservation record/ Reservation rack slips are often color coded to indicate the characteristics of the reservation they represent.

Arrival  

The front office may use a registration card or a computer-based equivalent to process guest check-in. Registration cards require the guest to furnish personal data in addition to indicating length of stay and method of settlement. In most states, the guest's signature is required for the establishment of a legal guest relationship with the hotel .Registration cards may also be required by law to contain printed statements relating to the storage of guest valuables. Front offices that use room racks depend on the creation of room rack slips during the arrival stage of the guest cycle. A room rack slip may contain guest personal data, room rate, expected departure date, and room number. Room rate data make the preparation of rooms revenue reports possible; an expected departure date helps the front office develop future room availability schedules. Completed room rack slips are placed in the room rack to indicate room status. The presence of a rack slip in an assigned room slot indicates that the room is occupied.

Occupancy

Once the guest is registered, the front office initiates a guest folio. A guest folio is a record of the charges incurred and credits acquired by a guest during occupancy. While folio information is comparable across front office recordkeeping systems, folio formats tend to vary. In all recordkeeping systems, information from the guest registration card is transferred to a folio during folio creation. Folios should be pre-numbered for control purposes; the folio number can be entered onto the guest's registration card for cross-indexing. Folios may have several du- plicate pages depending on the hotel's needs. One copy is the front office's record of the guest's stay, and one copy is given to the guest during the departure stage of the guest cycle, as documentation of the charges accrued during occupancy. Other copies are used for a variety of purposes, such as direct billing after departure

In a non-automated system, a folio card contains a series of columns for recording debit entries, credit entries, and a running balance. At the end of the business day, each column is reviewed and the ending balance is carried forward as the opening balance for the following day.  

In a semi-automated system, guest transactions are posted sequentially on a folio card. Data recorded include the transaction date, the originating revenue center, the transaction amount, and the resulting account balance.

In a fully automated system, electronic folios simplify transaction posting and handling" For a guest with a reservation, personal data already stored in the computer are verified at registration or as part of pre- registration activities. Walk-in guest accounts require the desk agent to enter guest information during the registration process. Once all needed information is entered, an electronic folio is automatically created and available for immediate transaction posting. Electronic folios are stored internally and can be printed on demand.

A voucher is a support document detailing the facts of a transaction. Non-automated and semi-automated properties depend on vouchers to communicate information from remote revenue centers to the front desk area. Common types of vouchers include charge vouchers, allowance vouchers, transfer vouchers, and paid-out vouchers. During a night audit routine, vouchers help ensure that all transactions requiring account posting have been processed correctly. Fully automated properties may require few vouchers (or none), since remote points of sale may be electronically interfaced with a front office computer system, reducing the need for support documentation.

An information rack slip may be prepared to enable switchboard operators and guest services personnel to quickly determine the location of a specific guest in the hotel. When a telephone caller asks to be connected with a guest, the switchboard operator can search the information rack to identify the guest's room number and complete the connection. Automated front office systems replace traditional information racks with a computer terminal, thereby eliminating the need for information racks and rack slips. These terminals can be used to quickly access the guest's record and display the comprehensive information it contains.

Departure

Guest folios should be kept current throughout occupancy to ensure an accurate account balance for settlement at departure. In addition to the guest folio, other forms may be required for account settlement. A credit card invoice, for example, will be needed if the guest wishes to settle the account using a credit Card. In some hotels, a cash voucher is used to document a cash settlement. A transfer voucher will be needed if the guest's account is to be direct billed for payment-that is, transferred from a guest receivable to a non-guest receivable account. Even in a fully automated system, several documents may be produced to prove transactions and provide a basis for comprehensive auditing.

Guest history files may require creation of a separate guest history record during the departure stage. A guest history record contains information relevant to marketing, sales, and servicing the guest's return. In addition, state law may require retention of certain guest data for some period of time. Most fully automated systems automatically generate an electronic guest history record as part of the check-out process.  

 At different stages of the guest cycle different forms are used depending on which operating system a hotel chooses. Below are some of the common forms used:

1.      Pre-arrival activities:

a)         Reservation record or a reservation file

b)         Letter of confirmation

c)         Reservation rack and reservation rack slips

2.      Arrival activities:

a)         Registration card (or record) or registration file

b)         Room rack and room rack slips

3.      Occupancy activities:

a)         Guest folio: shall be of duplicate forms and pre-numbered for cross-indexing control purposes

b)         Vouchers: support documents detailing facts of a transaction, but does not replace the source document (i.e. the invoice). Examples of vouchers might include charge vouchers, allowance vouchers, paid-out voucher, and correction vouchers…

c)         Information rack slips

4.      Departure activities:

a)         Credit card vouchers

b)         Cash vouchers

c)         Personal check vouchers

d)         Transfer vouchers

e)         Guest history records