Chris Ballard is the general manager of the Playa del Mar Resort. The resort has 400 rooms and is located on a half mile of some of the finest beach in the state. In addition, the resort has tennis, golf, a swimming pool, and many other recreational activities. During the peak season, the resort enjoys an occupancy of over 80%. During the low season, the resort operates at about 40% occupancy. Therefore it is essential that costs be minimized at all times and revenue be maximized during the peak season. The resort has a fully automated front desk Property Management System. When Chris became the general manager about a month ago, he recognized that the front office had a problem. Every two out of three days, he was receiving incorrect night audit reports, especially when it came to account balances. In essence, Chris has no confidence that the night audit was in balance. In addition, department managers were telling Chris that the revenues they were posting in their point-of-sale equipment did not always seem to be credited to their revenue centers on the proper days. This was especially true in banquets, where master account postings might be a day late. Because of this, Chris was also concerned that occupancy and room status information may not be late either. This could affect revenues. You have just joined the hotel as Controller and the night audit staff reports to you. Chris has asked you to develop a plan to ensure that the night audit is always in balance and that revenues and occupancy are being reported correctly. [FONT="]1. What are the typical causes of being out of balance and where should you look to identify these problems? [/FONT] A. Causes § Previous balance pickup § transposition § missing folio B. Places to look [FONT="] 2. What are the causes of departmental totals being out of balance? [/FONT] a. The incorrect posting by the department cashiers not check against the Property Management System and guest /payment dockets b. Outstanding postings not completed as in the example of the banquets departments c. Problem with posting –Property Management System system delays posting [FONT="] [/FONT] [FONT="]3. Develop a step-by-step night audit task list that will address the issues identified by Chris and ensure the audit is always balance, revenues are being posted promptly, and management reporting is accurate. [/FONT] § Complete outstanding postings § Reconcile room status discrepancies § Balance all departments § Verify room rates § Verify No Show reservations § Post room and taxes § Prepare reports § Deposit cash § Clear or back up the system § Distribute reports
