Front Office PMS guide

Early Check-In Fees and Late Check-Out Charges

Set early check-in fees and late check-out charges in hourly bands as a percentage or flat amount, with manager waivers and a full report.

Your standard arrival and departure times have always been part of your property's settings. What happened either side of them used to be a manual charge any receptionist could add or quietly skip, with no rule for the amount and no trace of a waiver.

How the bands work

For example: free for the first two hours, 25% up to four, 50% up to eight, and a full night beyond the last band. Add as many bands as you like for each side, charged either as a share of the nightly rate or a fixed amount. Bands are counted in hours from your standard time, so they shift if you change it. If you never set a policy, guests are neither charged nor asked.

At the front desk

At check-in, the dialog shows what your policy says for this arrival and posts it once the guest is checked in, as room revenue with GST at that night's slab. At check-out, once the guest has passed the time, a late-departure line appears on the card with a Post charge button. Check-out stays blocked until someone posts or waives the charge, so a busy morning cannot make anyone forget it. Waivers belong to a manager, with a reason, under their name, unless you allow your desk to do it.

The report

You get one line per side per stay: the date and local time, room, guest, standard time, how late or early, the band, the amount with tax, the outcome (charged, waived or free), the reason and the person who decided. A PENDING row flags any in-house guest past today's check-out time whose late charge has not been decided yet.

Other Front Office PMS guides

A Tape Chart That Shows Rates, Rules and RoomsSee every room, night and booking on one hotel tape chart, with the rate, minimum stay and stop-sell sitting right above the bars. Take a Reservation With a Firm Quote FirstQuote the stay before you book it, so the rate your front desk tells the guest is exactly the rate the PMS charges. Fast Guest Check-In With ID and Advance on One BillCheck guests in from one screen with ID capture, the existing advance folio and an instant room release when the last guest leaves. Printable Guest Registration Card on Your LetterheadPrint the guest registration card (GRC) straight from the booking, on your hotel letterhead, and reprint it whenever you need. Guest Folio With Split Billing WindowsKeep one guest folio per stay, or split it into billing windows so a company covers the room while the guest settles food. GST Invoices With the Right Slab and a QR CheckIssue a GST invoice for hotel stays with the correct slab, a CGST/SGST split, the buyer GSTIN and a QR code anyone can verify. Quick Check-Out, Settlement and Small Balance WaiversSettle the bill at check-out, transfer it to a company, or waive a small leftover balance with a reason, and keep the bill open to fix later. GST Credit Notes and Debit Notes for Hotel BillsCorrect an issued hotel invoice with a numbered GST credit note or debit note that points to the original, without ever editing the bill. Move Rooms or Upgrade Guests From the ChartMove a guest to another room or upgrade them to a better category from the tape chart, recording why and by whom. No-Show and Cancellation Policies That Charge CorrectlyAttach a cancellation policy to every booking, let the night audit apply no-show retention, and never post a charge you cannot collect. Group Bookings With Rooming Lists and Master BillsManage hotel group bookings as one reservation covering several rooms, with a rooming list and separate or master billing for each room. One Guest Profile Across All Your HotelsKeep one guest profile per person across every property, stop OTA relay emails merging strangers, and catch duplicate bookings early. Admin Corrections on Any Booking, Fully LoggedLet your administrator correct any hotel booking, whether audited, in house, checked out or billed, with every change logged. Block Rooms and Close Dates Across Every ChannelBlock an out-of-order room or close dates for the hotel in a right-click, and your OTA channels update within the same minute. Daily Arrivals, Departures and In-House ListsSee expected arrivals, departures and in-house guests each morning, with the rate and payment mode on every row your desk needs. Track Every Outstanding Balance and Payment LinkSee every outstanding hotel balance in one panel and follow each payment link until you know whether the money arrived. A Full Audit Trail on Every BookingEvery booking keeps an audit trail of who created, changed, moved, checked in or billed it, with the time and the computer used. Confirm, Don't Block: How Exceptions Are HandledThe PMS blocks only actions that would make the money wrong; for every other exception it shows a warning, asks once and logs who approved. Bill Discounts With Reasons, Limits and ApprovalsGive a discount on the whole bill, room, food or one line, reduce the GST with it, record a reason and name, and need a manager above your limit. Undo Front Desk Mistakes Before the Day ClosesUndo the desk's actions on a booking until the night audit runs, restore cancelled bookings, and let an admin reopen a zero-balance bill.