The Third-Party Payment Standard
Five steps for paying suppliers and tips on a guest’s behalf. A charge the guest didn’t expect can turn a well-made booking into a dispute at checkout.
- Who
- Concierges, with the front office cashier
- When
- Any purchase, deposit or tip the desk pays for a guest
- You need
- The guest’s approval, a paid-out form, the receipt, the folio in the PMS
- Measured by
- Guest approved the amount before payment
- Receipt attached to every folio charge
- Posted to the folio the same day
5 steps
01
Agree the amount
Before paying anything, tell the guest the full price, with any booking fee, delivery or service charge, and how it will be billed. Get the yes in writing, by message or a signed slip, above €100.
Say this
“The two tickets are €240 in total, including a €12 booking fee. I’ll add it to your room bill. Shall I go ahead?”
Common mistake Quoting the ticket price and leaving out the fees. The guest sees €252 on the bill and wonders what else was added.
02
Pay and keep proof
Pay with the hotel’s account or the paid-out float, never with your own card. Write the guest’s name and room on the original receipt and fill in the paid-out form with the cashier’s signature.
Say this
“Paid-out 0412: Okafor, 305, opera tickets, €240, receipt attached. Approved by message 15:10. L. Ferri.”
Common mistake Paying from your own pocket to save time. You wait weeks for the money, and the receipt is still in your coat.
03
Post it today
Post the charge to the folio the same day with a description the guest will recognise, not a code. Never add a handling fee or a mark-up the guest wasn’t told about in step one.
Say this
“Opera, Teatro Verdi, 2 tickets, Fri 18 Oct”
Common mistake Posting it as “Misc. paid-out 0412”. At checkout the guest asks what it is, and nobody on the night shift knows.
04
Tip openly
If the guest asks you to tip a driver or guide for them, agree the amount with the guest, hand it over in full on the same day, and post it to the folio as a tip with the partner’s name.
Say this
“Mr Okafor asked me to give you this €20 for today, with his thanks.”
Common mistake Keeping the tip until you next see the driver. The driver thinks the guest didn’t tip, and the guest has already paid it.
05
Check before checkout
The evening before departure, check each paid-out on the folio against its receipt and form. Give the guest copies of the receipts with the bill, and settle any refund for a cancellation before they leave.
Say this
“Mr Okafor, your bill includes the opera tickets and the driver’s tip. The receipts are attached.”
Common mistake Leaving a refund to sort out after checkout. The guest is home, the money is in limbo, and the email chain begins.
Charges That Need a Word First
Six charges the desk pays for guests every week: what the guest hears first and what the folio must show. A line with no proof can be disputed.
Brief one row a day at the morning briefing. For one week the cashier checks every paid-out posted the day before and returns any without proof to the concierge who posted it. Review on Friday.
The Standards Library.
No. 27 · Concierge
The Local Knowledge Standard
Five steps for a shortlist of places the desk has actually visited. Guests can search online in their room; they come to the desk for what a search can’t say.
No. 28 · Concierge
The Outside Booking Standard
Five steps for every booking made with a restaurant, theatre or guide for a guest. If it goes wrong, the guest finds out at the door, far from the desk.