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Check Out
The Check Out option is used to settle the guest's account, record payment, print folios, and automatically adjust room inventory when the guest checks out of the room.
Note: The Settlement button and the Check Out button on the Billing screen are "toggled". Which button is displayed depends on the guest's reservation status. If the guest's reservation status is Checked In, the Settlement button is available. If the guest's reservation status is DUE OUT, the Check Out button is available.
Note: If you wish to check out a guest before the scheduled departure date, use the Early Departure option available when you select the Settlement button.
Note: The Scheduled Checkout feature is available when the Cashiering>Scheduled Checkout application function is set to Y. You may use this feature to automatically check out guests having a zero balance at a specific time on their departure date. See Scheduled Checkout for details.
To check a guest out, select Cashiering>Billing to display the In-House Guest Search screen. Then select the guest who you wish to check out. The guest's Billing screen appears.
OPERA immediately posts room and tax charges for day-use reservations upon opening the Billing screen. This ensures that the folio is completely up to date.
From the Billing screen, select the Check Out button.
If one member of a share checks out before any other member of the share has checked in, the following prompt appears: "Checking out this reservation will break the share with the Reserved reservation(s) for <name>, <name>...." Do you want to continue?" If you reply Yes, the share will be broken and the checkout will continue. If you reply No, the checkout will not proceed. If at least one other of the sharers has checked in, the prompt does not appear and the checkout proceeds.
Note: If you reply Yes to the prompt, the entire share is broken, regardless of how many other sharers are involved.
When the Cashiering>Auto Open Share Withs application parameter is set to Y, and you open the Billing screen for a guest who is sharing, bills for up to 6 related sharers are automatically opened in the Billing screen.
In addition, when one of the sharing guests is checked out, OPERA automatically and without prompt checks out any other of the sharers whose reservation has a zero balance. If related sharers have a non-zero balance, those guests' billing screens will be opened in sequence to allow settlement and checkout.
Note: Only the bills for sharers whose bills are being viewed in the Billing screen are processed automatically. If the number of sharers exceeds the capacity of the Billing screen to open them all at one time, those sharers whose bills are not automatically opened must be selected manually for checkout.
There are several circumstances where charges may be added to the guest folio following checkout.
Post Stay Charging - If the Cashiering>Post Stay Charges application function is set to Y, it is possible for the guest to check out and still allow charges to be added to the guest's folio until End of Day Processing. When the reservation Privileges screen specifies Post Stay Charging and the post stay charging rules allow, charges may be added to the reservation until End of Day processing takes place for the date on which the guest checked out. The guest must still have a zero balance at checkout, and any charges added to the folio after checkout — either manually or automatically via interfaces — must be settled before End of Day processing. During End of Day processing, checked out reservations with the Post Stay Charging privilege which have an outstanding balance will be flagged for resolution. Otherwise, the folio will be closed automatically.
Note: To enable post stay charging, the Post Stay Charging check box may be selected either before or after guest checkout.
Check Out with Open Folio - If the Cashiering>Open Folio application parameter is set to Y (this parameter is only available if the Cashiering>Post Stay Charges application function is set to Y), it is possible for the guest to check out and still allow charges to be added to the guest's folio. When the guest checks out and the Cashiering>Open Folio Closure application setting can be set to Unrestricted, the guest may check out with an outstanding balance and charges can continue to be manually posted to the folio until such time as final settlement is made. The property is responsible for monitoring reservations that are checked out with an open folio and for ensuring settlement when appropriate; no limit is placed on the time during which charges may continue to be added to the open folio. Each day during the End of Day routine, checked out reservations for which Check Out with Open Folio is in- effect will not halt processing, even if they have an outstanding balance. The Guest Ledger report will show reservations with an open folio balance.
Note: When manually posting a rate code with a Package on an Open Folio reservation, the entire rate amount is posted to the transaction code on the rate code, the rate amount is not split into room and package amounts. The reason being that the Open Folio reservations are already checked out and do not go through End of Day process as normal in-house reservations. Due to that no allowance and profit/loss postings take place hence there is no splitting of rate amount.
Note: When a charge is posted from an interface to a checked out reservation on the same business date as the reservation's departure date and reservation has an Open Folio with, or without, Post Stay privilege, this posting is made to the respective reservation and not sent to Default posting room.
Note: Based on the numeric value that is set for the Cashiering>Zero Balance Open Folio Close Days application setting, all the open folios having a 0 balance will be automatically closed during the night audit after the 'X' number of days have passed since the reservation departure date. All the billing windows must have 0 balance in order to close an open folio automatically.
Reopen Folio. If the Cashiering>Open Folio application parameter is set to Y (this parameter is only available if the Cashiering>Post Stay Charges application function is set to Y) and your user group allows you to reopen folios, it is possible to reopen a folio following checkout. See Billing screen for details.
When the Cashiering>Post Stay Charges application function is set to Y, and the Cashiering>Open Folio application parameter is set to Y, the Checkout Options screen appears.
Check Out. What happens when this option is chosen depends on whether the Cashiering>Post Stay Charges application function is active, whether the reservation Privileges screen specifies Post Stay Charging, and whether the post stay charging rules allow.
Check Out with Open Folio. Available if the Cashiering>Open Folio application parameter is set to Y (this parameter is only available if the Cashiering>Post Stay Charges application function is set to Y). Select this option to allow manual postings to the guest's folio following the guest's checkout until such time as payment is made and the folio is closed. If this option is selected, the Payment screen appears, but it may be closed and checkout proceeds without requiring payment of the outstanding balance. Once Check Out with Open Folio is selected, the Check Out/Settlement button on the Billing screen changes to Close Folio. When the time comes to close the folio, use this button to display the Payment screen once again. After payment has been posted, you are prompted, "Should folio now be closed?" Respond Yes to permanently close the folio and the reservation; or No to leave the reservation active and to allow further postings.
The Cashiering>Open Folio Closure application setting determines whether you must close the open folio before leaving the Billing screen ( Immediate setting) or whether you may leave the Billing screen and close the open folio at some other time (Unrestricted setting).
Note: If the Cashiering>Open Folio Closure application setting is set to Immediate and you end your Opera session without closing the open folio, end of day processing will flag the open folio and require that it be closed.
If the Cashiering>Open Folio application parameter is set to Y (this parameter is only available if the Cashiering>Post Stay Charges application function is set to Y) and you are viewing a bill belonging to a guest who was checked out on the current day, selecting the Reinstate button presents another option: Reopen Folio. Following end of day processing, the Reinstate button does not appear on the checked out guest's Billing screen; however, the Reopen button is available. In either case, selecting the Reopen Folio feature allows you to open the checked-out guest's folio and modify the folio after checkout. See Billing screen for details.
Your capabilities when working with a reopened folio include the following:
Note: Interface postings are not allowed on the reopened folio.
The Payment screen appears, provided the active Billing screen window has a non-zero balance. (See Payment for details on using the Payment screen.)
When processing a check-out, a payment receipt is automatically printed if the Cashiering >Payment Receipt application Parameter is set to Y. (If this is the case, the Print box on the payment screen is checked). If the parameter is set to N, you may check the Print box if a payment receipt is required. You may also change the default number of copies by entering a number in the Copies box on the Payment screen.
Note: When payment is made with an EFT Credit Card, the Folio Number, Folio Type, and Queue Name details are also populated with all of the other credit card settlement details in the CR_CARD_SETTLE table.
If the Billing screen has multiple windows, OPERA starts payment processing with the currently active window; you will be prompted to continue payment processing for each additional window. For example:
Click Yes to continue payment processing for the next window. As you post payments for each window, the payment transactions are listed in the window. As the balance for each window reaches zero, the folio (and optionally, the payment receipt), are automatically printed for that window.
Note: You may not check a guest out until all windows on the guest's Billing screen show a zero balance. If you close the Billing screen before processing full payment for all windows, the Check Out process will be cancelled.
The Payment screen Amount will always default to the amount required to bring the balance for the window to zero. For example, suppose the balance in window 1 is $200 and the guest wants to pay $50 in cash and $150 with a credit card. On the Payment screen you would select the Cash Payment Code option, and overtype the $200 in the Amount field with $50. When you press the Post button, the Amount field will automatically change to $150 (which is the balance remaining for the window). Select the appropriate credit card from the Payment Code LOV and again select the Post button. As soon as the balance is zero, OPERA prints the folio.
Note: When the Cashiering>Direct Bill Authorizations and Settlement application parameter is set to Y and a direct bill payment type is attached to the reservation, then a Direct Bill authorization will be performed when the Post button is selected. See Direct Bill Authorizations and Settlements for details.
When completing an early departure for a room that has a status of Clean or Inspected already, you will be asked whether you wish to change the room status to Dirty (or, possibly, to Pickup if the Rooms Management>Pickup Status application parameter is set to Y). Select the appropriate option or cancel the message and return to the guest Billing screen. See Room Status Alert for details.
For Day Use reservations with a current status of Clean or Inspected (Available when the Rooms Management>Inspected Status application function is set to Y), the value defined by the Rooms Management>Default Day Use Room Status application setting controls what the Day Use Room Housekeeping status will automatically be updated to upon the check out of the reservation. If the application setting does not have a value defined for it, then the Room Status Alert is displayed in order for the user to select the status.
If the EXPFOLIO_SHOW_CHECKOUT Cashiering Application Parameter is set to Y, OPERA will prompt whether you wish to print an expense folio in addition to the standard folio. Select Yes to print the expense receipt or No if it is not needed. The expense folio offers an alternate breakdown of guest charges. For example, the expense folio might aggregate charges into categories such as Room and Tax, Food and Beverage, Telephone, etc. (The expense folio is set up in System Configuration>Cashiering>Folio Groupings.)
When check out process has been completed, the Billing screen Status field shows the CHECKED OUT reservation status and the balances on all windows show 0.
Following Check Out, a copy of the guest folio (or folios, if the guest Billing screen includes more than on window) is stored in the Folio History (Cashiering>Cashier Functions>Folio History), where it can be reviewed and printed as necessary.
Note: If a direct printer is identified by the IFC>Video Checkout Printer application setting, OPERA will automatically print the guest folio to the defined printer when handling video check out. If trouble printing, a copy can be printed from Folio History.
When a guest has one or more membership types associated with his profile, OPERA allows you to select how you want the membership number to be attached to guest's reservations (that is, whether you want the membership to be automatically attached to the guest's reservations, or whether you want to be prompted to attach the membership to the guest's reservations). In addition, you can determine at what point(s) in OPERA you want this action to be taken (e.g., when the reservation is created, whenever the reservation is updated, at check in, and/or at check out). (See Membership Type Setup and Maintenance for details.) If Membership action is specified for check out, you may be prompted to choose the membership type that is to be attached to the reservation.
When the Membership>Preferred Card application parameter is set to Y, and the Front Desk>Preferred Membership Selection application parameter is set to Y, one loyalty membership type can be flagged as preferred for points accrual. If two or more memberships exist on the guest profile, you can configure the Membership Type Setup screen's Membership Action features so that the user is prompted to choose the preferred membership for points accrual at the designated junctures in OPERA (e.g., at check in and check out). Once selected, this membership is the one that will be accounted for points calculation for the stay record when the guest checks out. (See Membership Type Setup and Maintenance and Reservation Memberships for details.)
Note: The Reinstate button is unavailable unless the Billing screen is accessed from the Cashiering>Billing menu option.
Once a guest has been checked out, the Reinstate button appears on the Billing screen. You may use the reinstate feature if you wish to reverse the check out. When you do so, OPERA prompts you to confirm your decision:
(You are also prompted to indicate whether you wish to reinstate the guest when you select the Post, Transfer, Adjustment, or Split buttons from the Billing screen following check out.)
Select Yes to reinstate the guest.
If interfaces are available (such as telephone), a message asks if you wish to notify the interfaces that the guest has checked in. This message only displays when the guest's room type is configured as Send to Interface, which is controlled from the Room Masters screen (Configuration>Reservations>Room Type). Select Yes if you wish the property's interfaces to recognize the guest as checked in.
At this point, the guest's reservation status changes from CHECKED OUT to DUE OUT.
Note: The Reinstate feature is only available if end of day processing has not closed the business date on which the guest was checked out.
See Also
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