What is a hotel invoice?
A business invoice is a document issued to guests outlining all of the transactions associated with a reservation, including room rates, payments, adjustments, and any room charges.
An invoice is usually presented at the beginning of the guest’s stay and at the time of check-out to summarize all charged, paid, and due balances. The invoice serves as a legal agreement between the guest and the hotel. It differs from a hotel receipt in that a receipt represents a closed sale, while an invoice can be presented to a guest as a notification of funds due and be paid at a later date.
Invoices can be printable and provided to guests in person or sent by email, through SMS or messenger, or all of the above based on local legislation requirements and guest preferences.
What to include in a hotel invoice
Regardless of your hotel business, your template should include the following fields and line items.
- Hotel branding and logo (consistent fonts and colors)
- Hotel name and contact information (address, phone number, email, website)
- Unique invoice number
- Invoice date and due date
- Customer name and contact information (address, phone number, email)
- Total number of guests staying
- Total number of hotel room nights and dates of the stay
- Guest reservation number
- Room number
- A list of room rates and hotel services purchased with descriptions and prices for each
- State and local sales taxes
- A list of payment methods, including credit card, debit card, or cash
- Balance due
- Payment terms
- Payment information
- Any additional information or notes
A step-by-step guide to creating a professional invoice
1) Collect guest contact information. Collect necessary information directly from guests or pull reservation details from your PMS system.
2) Add any additional charges to the hotel bill. All incurred charges, including mini-bar consumption, restaurant & bar charges, pet fees, airport transfers, and early check-in, should be added and itemized by the date incurred.
3) Charge payment. The payment may include an incidentals deposit to cover additional expenses charged to the room during the guest’s stay.
4) Generate the invoice. Download template and make a copy with all the necessary information before printing and sending it by email or messenger.
4 tips for creating an invoice template
1) Create a detailed invoice that can be delivered to hotel guests via multiple methods in case they don’t want to visit the Front Desk upon check-in or check-out.
2) Ensure that invoices can be created individually in case guests who travel together want separate invoices. Split Folio features can be helpful in generating separate invoices.
3) If you have documented agreements with business organizations to provide service to their staff or clients, ensure you can transfer guest charges to be paid by the guest’s company or other sponsoring organizations.
4) Invest in invoicing software to automate and simplify your bookkeeping process. Many properties rely on Excel, Word, and other spreadsheets for invoice creation; however, large and small businesses should utilize technology to improve financial reporting and deliver a more seamless guest experience.
Free hotel invoice template! We’ve created an editable hotel invoice template available as a printable PDF and Google Sheets for hotel owners.
Want to automate your invoice process instead? With the Cloudbeds platform, properties can easily generate invoices and connect to various Marketplace partners for detailed financial reporting and accounting functionality.
