Charging, charges and Taxes

Customers' stay in the hotel room or generally in the hotel is directly linked to several taxes, charges or other payments. The main idea of this e-book is to present the most common and crucial ones for front office operations. The list is incomplete but proposes the main idea behind selected taxes and charges

Late Charge – The transaction posted on the room account is already checked-out.

No Post – Special functionality that disables posting the charges on the room account from other departments of other systems.

Void – The cancellation of the charge posted on the room account. In many PMS systems, the payment can be voided only during the day of account posting.

Stay Taxes – In many countries, the stay (local) taxes are applied to support local administration or the government. The hotel quests commonly pay the local taxes (the tax is excluded from the room rate and paid separately), collected by the accommodation facility and monthly given to the administration body.

VAT – Value Added Tax connected to various products and services. All the items in the PMS account must be charged with the correct VAT.  

Damage Charges – During the stay, the hotel quest might damage the inventory of the hotel room. During the housekeeping or maintenance, the proper check must be done, and any damage must be documented. Damage charges or refunds are applied during the stay or during client check out. The client must be informed about the whole situation and the requested amount.

Room Key Loss – In many hotels, room keys (cards) are given to the hotel client with the condition of their return. When the key is not returned, a key loss charge is applied. This charge should cover the lock exchange or card deactivation and reactivation.

Routing instructions – The rules used by the hotel front office employees are based on the agreement with the business partner. The rules are applied while charging the quest of the company account and directly link the groups of the accounts with the account owner. For example, corporate reservations can be used, where the accommodation is paid for by the company (including basic restoration as breakfast) and the rest of the consumption is paid for by the client himself.

Amenity – Service of product given to the client at no charge during the check-in or stay. This product should improve the overall guest experience and comfort of the stay.

Crib Charge – Special charge for a crib given to the quests with a kid under five years (the age limit should be directly set by the hotel management and the amount charged for such a service).

Extra Bed Charge – Surcharge is lower than the average guest rate for providing an extra bed in the hotel room.