You had a busy morning checking-out guests. The final straw for the morning occurred when you had to meet a foreign guest Mr. Nonjoma, to ask about his bill. Mr. Nonjoma and his family had been checked in to the hotel for a week by a travel agent. He then asked and received an extra week’s extension of stay. All of the accommodation expenses for the first week were covered by the travel agent but all extras were to be paid by Mr. Nonjoma, as were all of the expenses associated with the extra week. Earlier in the week it was noticed that Mr. Nonjoma and his family had run up an excessive bill, so he was asked to give an imprint of his credit card or pay some of the bill. However he was unable to produce either a card or money because he said his wallet had been stolen or lost. But he told the hotel staff not to worry as he was the president of a large company in his own country and was in town to set up a branch here. Not being convinced, the duty manager of the day asked Mr. Nonjoma for his passport for surety. Two days ago the Nonjomas were expected to check out but as yet no remuneration had been received and so Mr. Nonjoma’s passport was not returned until he paid his bill. Today you had to approach Mr. Nonjoma to ask about settlement. However, once again Mr. Nonjoma has not been able to get any money. At this point, you noticed that his bill had become excessive, mainly due to room service and international telephone calls 1. As a receptionist,how would you handle Mr. Nojoma? Gather as much as information as possible on Mr. Nojoma - check previous records and all correspondence - Make inquiries with the travel agent handling the booking If all information is complete and doesn’t cause you to change your assessment, inform Mr. Nojoma firmly that something must be done. You have a responsibility to your hotel to ensure that this doesn’t continue Be professional in your conduct and show empathy If the interview goes well insist on payment the same afternoon If procrastination, highlight breach in contract Refer to higher management [FONT="]2. What would you do next and who would you inform and why? [/FONT] Inform Duty Manager, General Manager and Financial Controller The General Manager is ultimately responsible The Financial Controller will be responsible for recovering the debt and will advice the best course of action while guest still at hotel When passing on to seniors you are informing them of the situation and seeking advice Make the managers know you are still involved This does not mean you no longer have responsibility Inform of all your findings, provide proper documentation Provide assistance to follow up [FONT="]3. How could such a situation have happened in the first place?[/FONT] Too much leniency Poor control and monitoring of guest accounts Review all accounts well with a limit set to control Management should been aware before it reached this stage [FONT="]4. What needs to be done to ensure that such an incident does not happen again? [/FONT] Ceiling on guest accounts All relevant staff know how to control ceiling Credit card details taken on arrival Other forms of financial guarantee The General Manager and Financial Controller mist be informed daily on High balance accounts
