Front office
What is a folio in a hotel?
A folio is the running account of everything a guest is charged and everything they pay during a stay: room nights, restaurant bills, minibar, laundry, taxes, deposits and payments. At check-out the folio is settled and becomes the basis for the invoice.
Types of folio
A single stay can have more than one folio:
- Guest folio: the individual guest's charges
- Master folio: shared charges for a group, such as rooms and banquets
- Company or travel-agent folio: charges a third party has agreed to pay
- Non-guest folio: for someone using the hotel without staying, such as a banquet client
Split folios and split payments
A split folio divides one stay's charges between payers, for example room and breakfast to the company and minibar to the guest. A split payment settles one folio with more than one payment method. Charges moved to a company account end up in the city ledger.
In StaySynq
StaySynq keeps room, restaurant, minibar, laundry and banquet charges on one folio, and splits it by guest or company before check-out.
Common questions
What is the difference between a folio and an invoice?
A folio is the live account during the stay. An invoice is the tax document issued when the folio is settled.
Can restaurant bills be added to a folio?
Yes. When a guest charges a meal to their room, the POS posts it to their folio. See room-charge posting.
Related terms
- City ledgerA city ledger is the hotel's record of money owed by parties who are not currently staying: companies with credit accounts, travel agents, OTAs and guests who left with an unpaid balance. It is the hotel's accounts receivable for stays that were billed rather than paid at check-out.
- Night auditA night audit is the daily routine that closes one hotel business day and opens the next. It posts the night's room and tax charges to guest folios, reconciles the day's payments and cash, identifies no-shows and errors, and produces the daily reports for management.
- KOT (kitchen order ticket)A KOT, or kitchen order ticket, is the slip or screen entry that tells the kitchen what to prepare. It lists the table or room, the items and quantities, any special instructions and the time of the order. The bill is produced later from the same order.
- GRC (guest registration card)A GRC, or guest registration card, is the form completed at check-in that records who is staying: name, address, ID details, nationality, arrival and departure dates, room and rate, and the guest's signature. It is the hotel's legal record of the stay.
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