Night auditor

Night auditors oversee night customer care in hospitality establishment and perform a wide variety of activities from front desk to bookkeeping.

The duties of a night auditor include, but are not limited to:

• Keeping hotel financial records in order.
• Processing invoices, transactions, room charges, refunds, etc.
• Preparing and distributing employee checks.
• Verifying that all accounts are balanced and supported by documentation.
• Checking guests in and out of the hotel.
• Responding to guests’ needs, requests, and complaints.
• Answering the phone and making reservations.
• Summarizing each night’s operations and listing any follow-up tasks for management.
• Following End of Day procedures.

The following job titles also refer to night auditor:

night time customer auditor
night customer care manager
overnight customer care manager
overnight auditor

A high school diploma is the minimum requirement to become a night auditor. However, establishments with higher ratings and capacities may prefer to hire candidates who are either experienced or have pursued higher education in the field. For example, some applicants pursue an associate degree in business, hospitality or administration. Some employers also look for candidates who have been trained and gained certification in areas like data entry, word processing, accounting and bookkeeping, office management and customer service.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Night auditor is a Skill level 2 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to night auditor.

camping ground operative
hotel concierge
hospitality establishment receptionist
hotel butler
ticket sales agent

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of night auditor. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of night auditor with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

rooms division manager
camping ground manager
hospitality entertainment manager
accommodation manager
travel agency manager

These skills are necessary for the role of night auditor.

• Comply with food safety and hygiene: Respect optimal food safety and hygiene during preparation, manufacturing, processing, storage, distribution and delivery of food products.
• Deal with arrivals in accommodation: Handle arrivals, guest’s luggage, check-in clients in line with company standards and local legislation ensuring high levels of customer service.
• Greet guests: Welcome guests in a friendly manner in a certain place.
• Handle customer complaints: Administer complaints and negative feedback from customers in order to address concerns and where applicable provide a quick service recovery.
• Maintain customer service: Keep the highest possible customer service and make sure that the customer service is at all times performed in a professional way. Help customers or participants feel at ease and support special requirements.
• Carry out end of day accounts: Execute end of day accounts to ensure that business transactions from the current day have been correctly processed.
• Process reservations: Execute customers’ reservations in accordance to their schedules and needs by phone, electronically or in person.
• Deal with departures in accommodation: Handle departures, guest’s luggage, client’s check-out in line with company standards and local legislation ensuring high levels of customer service.
• Process payments: Accept payments such as cash, credit cards and debit cards. Handle reimbursement in case of returns or administer vouchers and marketing instruments such as bonus cards or membership cards. Pay attention to safety and the protection of personal data.
• Maintain customer records: Keep and store structured data and records about customers in accordance with customer data protection and privacy regulations.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of night auditor. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Implement marketing strategies: Implement strategies which aim to promote a specific product or service, using the developed marketing strategies.
• Monitor guest access: Oversee guests access, ensuring that guest needs are addressed and security is maintained at all times.
• Provide tourism related information: Give customers relevant information about historical and cultural locations and events while conveying this information in an entertaining and informative manner.
• Maintain incident reporting records: Keep a system to record details of unusual events that occur at the facility, such as job-related injuries.
• Assess cleanliness of areas: Evaluate cleanliness of areas in order to make sure that they are clean and presentable for customers.
• Identify customer’s needs: Use appropriate questions and active listening in order to identify customer expectations, desires and requirements according to product and services.
• Run errands on behalf of customers: Take orders and follow requests on behalf of a client, such as go shopping or pick up dry cleaning.
• Handle surveillance equipment: Monitor surveillance equipment to observe what people are doing in a given area and ensure their safety.
• Ensure hotel security: Guarantee the security of guests and the premises by monitoring the hotel premises.
• Assist clients with special needs: Aid clients with special needs following relevant guidelines and special standards. Recognise their needs and accurately respond to them if needed.
• Implement sales strategies: Carry out the plan to gain competitive advantage on the market by positioning the company’s brand or product and by targeting the right audience to sell this brand or product to.
• Take room service orders: Accept room service orders and redirect them to the responsible employees.
• Detect drug abuse: Identify people under excessive use of alcohol and drugs inside a facility, effectively deal with these people and supervise customers own safety while applying relevant regulations.

4226 – Receptionists (general)

References

1. Night auditor – ESCO
2. Night Auditor Job Description – Betterteam
3. Night Auditor Job Description – Indeed
4. Featured image: By Ennis – Old Ground Hotel – Reception Desk in Lobby by Joseph Mischyshyn, CC BY-SA 2.0