Welcome to my blog post on the different types of folios used in the front office of hotels. Folios are an essential part of the hotel accounting system, as they provide a detailed record of all transactions between the hotel and its guests.
Understanding the different types of folios is crucial for hotel front office personnel, as it helps them to accurately manage guest accounts and provide exceptional customer service.
In this post, you will explore the various types of folios commonly used in hotels, their functions, and how they contribute to the smooth running of the hotel operations. Whether you’re a hotel guest, front office staff, or simply interested in hotel operations, this post is for you!
What is the Folios in Front Office Department?
In the front office department of a hotel, a folio is a record of all the transactions that have taken place between a guest and the hotel. This includes charges for room and board, as well as any other services or amenities that the guest has used. Folios are used to keep track of the guest’s account balance and to ensure that the guest is billed accurately for their stay.
Folios typically contain detailed information such as the guest’s name, room number, arrival and departure dates, and a breakdown of charges incurred during their stay. These charges may include room rates, additional services like meals, laundry, telephone calls, room service, and any other incidental expenses.
Different types of Folios in Front Office
Guest folio
A guest folio is created at the time of guest arrival at front desk. After completing the formalities of guest arrival, guest registration form is filled by guest. And guest folio is created by front office cashier to open guest account.
If any guest pays any advance amount in that case the posting of amount will be posted in the credit side of guest folio at the time of guest room reservation.
Guest folios are also an important tool for front office personnel, as they help them to manage guest accounts and provide efficient and personalized customer service.
Master folio
Master folio created for group guest or more than one guest. It contains all the necessary information about group guest, room no’s, mode of bill settlement. It is one folio for group guest.
This allows the guest(s) to make a single payment at the end of their stay, rather than having to pay for each individual service separately.
Master folios are particularly useful for group bookings, conferences, and events, where multiple rooms and services are booked and paid for by a single entity.
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Non-guest folio
In this folio credit financial transaction made by guest who are not staying in the hotel. But they are allowed to enjoy hotel services on credit basis.
The bill will be sent to their respective office address for necessary payments. The guest need not pay on the spot. This folio also called as CITY LEDGER. This credit facility generally offered to local business clients to attract business for the hotel.
These folios are important for accurate accounting and financial management of the hotel, as they help to track and report all revenue generated by the hotel’s services, regardless of whether the customer is a guest or not.
Additionally, non-guest folios can be used to identify areas of revenue growth and opportunities for improving the hotel’s services and offerings to non-guest customers.
Employee/Staff folio
This folio is created between hotel staff and the hotel. The staffs are allowed for credit transactions for a certain amount of money fixed by hotel as per the policies.
The amount is later on collected from employee salaries. For example the staff can order for birth day cake for which the bill is generated and the staff needs to sign with the Name, department in which he/she is working and employee code no. These bills will be sent to accounts department for the recovery of transaction made by the staff and some percentage of discounts is given to staff.
These folios are important for accurate accounting and financial management of the hotel, as they help to track and report all revenue generated by the hotel’s services used by its employees.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the different types of folios used in hotel front office operations play a crucial role in accurate accounting and financial management.
Guest folios are used to track charges and payments made by guests during their stay, while non-guest folios track charges and payments made by non-guests for services availed of within the hotel. Master folios are used for group bookings or events, and employee folios track charges and payments made by hotel employees for services used within the hotel.
Proper management of these folios ensures transparency and fairness in hotel operations, as well as accurate accounting and financial reporting. Understanding the different types of folios used in front office operations is essential for hotel personnel to provide efficient and personalized customer service and to ensure the smooth running of hotel operations.
I hope this post has been informative and helpful in providing a comprehensive overview of the different types of folios used in hotel front office operations.