Types of Check-out Procedures – Express and Self

Types of Check-out Procedures – Express and Self

Express Check-Out

Most hotels are now using the Express Checkout service that allows customers to check out of their rooms and return the keys, without actually having to wait for their final bill to be produced. It is a great convenience for hotel guests at all times, but especially so when they are pressed for time, which is often the case with many of us.

Offering an Express Checkout service to your guests means that they can return their keys and go without having to wait for their bill to be made up. The benefits are obvious and here are some of them:

• Express Checkout saves your guests time when there are long queues at the front desk, because there is no need to wait to checkout.
• If a guest is in a hurry to catch a train or plain, you are helping her to avoid a stressful delay.
• If there is no one available at the front desk, your guests can simply drop in their keys and leave.
• The guest leaves the hotel without having to go through the standard C/O procedure The guest signs the ECO form and authorizes the hotel to charge the outstanding balance to his credit card The guest is given the Express C/O form on the morning of his date of departure.
• The hotel sends the signed ECO form and the credit card imprint to the credit card company towards payment of the bill The cashier prepares the guest’s final bill and mails a copy to the guest.

But the benefits go both ways. Using Express Checkout at your hotel also means that your staff can make up your guests’ bills at the most convenient time of the day, not when they have a bunch of people in front of them, all waiting to check in or out.

At present, the Express Checkout hotel program is only available with the following card schemes:

• Visa
• MasterCard
• American Express
• Discover
• Diners Club
• Paypal

Express Checkout is not available with the following card networks:

• Maestro Domestic
• Maestro International
• Visa Electron
• Solo

Express Checkout Procedure

Express Checkout works by allowing participating hotels to finalize the bill after the guest checks out. The following procedures should be followed:

1. At check-in, ask your guest if they would like to use the Express Checkout service or include the Express Checkout Authorization Form in your guest’s “welcome package.” Not everyone will agree to using the Express Checkout, as they will want to examine the bill first.
2. Have each customer who agrees to use the service to fill out and sign the Express Checkout Authorization Form, which should include your hotel’s name, address, and phone number and provide space for the customer’s name, address, room number, signature, and account number that may optionally be imprinted.
3. Explain to your customer, and spell it out in the authorization form, that the final bill will be charged on his or her card account, without the need for a cardholder signature at checkout.
4. Request a per-authorization approval for the expected amount of the bill. If your authorization request is declined, ask your customer for an alternative form of payment.
5. Once you have obtained an authorization approval, print out a sales ticket with your customer’s card account number, and follow regular authorization procedures. Write down the words “Express Checkout” on the ticket (or “Priority Check-Out” for Visa — check with your processor for the correct wording) and once again explain that the bill amount will be charged on the card after the customer checks out.
6. When your customer leaves, you need to calculate the final bill amount and complete a sales ticket, printing the words “signature on file — express checkout” (or “Priority Check-Out” for Visa, check with your processor) in the customer signature field.
7. If the final bill exceeds the per-authorized amount by more than 15 percent, request an authorization approval for the additional amount.
8. Deposit the sales ticket in the usual manner.
9. Mail or email a copy of the bill, sales ticket and the Express Checkout Authorization Form to your customer no more than three business days after he or she has checked out.
10. Keep copies of the bill, sales ticket and authorization form for at least 18 months to be used in the event of a dispute.

Self Check – Out

1. Only fully automated hotels are equipped with self service terminals, which allow guests to C/I and C/O promptly.
2. Self C/I and C/O kiosks identify guests by their room number, credit card number.
3. Guests can access and review their folios and settle their accounts using the credit card.