Business Economic Notes 3
The Lodging Industry
These notes are issued to Inspectors of Taxes to assist them in examining accounts. They are intended to provide a general background to the trade, with some explanation of its most important features. Business Economic Notes are not intended to provide an exhaustive or definitive picture of any particular trade or profession.
Contents
- Fire regulations - Insurance - Hygiene
- Visitors Register - Prices
5 Advance Bookings and Deposits
10 Resident Rest and Nursing Homes
- Registration - Premises - Staff
- Record of Residents - Fees
Appendices
1 Main Provisions of the Hotel Proprietors Act 1956
2 The Tourism (Sleeping Accom Price Display) Order 1977
1 General |
The trade covers a wide spectrum, from the small bed and breakfast establishment to the large International hotel chain, their common purpose being to provide accommodation and food for the holiday maker, tourist or business traveller.
Establishments fall into three basic categories:-
B & B houses, lodging and guest houses
larger guest houses and small hotels
larger hotels
All have to conform to certain legal requirements and more stringent legislation applies to hotels. In addition, there are a large number of unofficial establishments, mainly private householders, providing "Pirate Accommodation" in areas of high seasonal demand.
Few people agree on the exact definition of a "Pirate". There are scores of Acts of Parliament about letting accommodation, but many of the regulations are supervised by Local Authorities and there are vast regional differences in interpretation. Someone just letting one or two bedrooms may be doing nothing illegal, but they are much resented by official establishments, who quite definitely regard them as "Pirates" and do all they can to stem what they consider an illegal trade.
An hotel is legally defined by "The Hotel Proprietors Act 1956". It is sufficient to define an hotel as an establishment having five or more bedrooms, not calling itself a guest or boarding house and not being listed as providing bed and breakfast accommodation only.
Establishments choosing to bring themselves within the definition acquire certain legal rights and obligations (see Appendix 1). The legal principles have applied to inns for centuries. An hotel defined in the Act is usually referred to as an inn, all other establishments are known as "private hotels".
2 Main Legal Requirements |
Fire regulations
Under the Fire Precautions Act 1971, a fire certificate must be obtained if accommodation is provided for more than six persons, including employed staff. The proprietor and family are excluded from this figure as long as they do not occupy guest or staff accommodation.
Normally a bed and breakfast business would not need to meet the requirements of this Act if there is accommodation for six persons or less. However, if some letting bedrooms are above the first floor or below ground level, a fire certificate will be required.
If the premises are covered by the Fire Precautions Act 1971, a survey will be carried out by a fire prevention office. He will outline the measures necessary for the fire certificate. A time limit will be set for carrying out the alterations, but this can be extended.
Loans for fire precaution work may be available from Local Authorities, but they are usually granted only when funds cannot be found from other sources. They are only available to establishments which were in existence on 1 June 1972.
Insurance
It is necessary to have Public Liability Insurance and a Business Insurance, if there are six or more guests.
Hygiene
The Food Hygiene (General) Regulations 1970 apply to any business which provides food for human consumption and includes provision for securing the hygienic handling of food and for regulating the construction, equipment and maintenance of premises in which food is handled.
Visitors register
Under the Immigration (Hotel Records) Order 1972, all hotels, boarding houses, etc. must keep a record of the full name and nationality of their guests over 16 years of age. Aliens must also record the number and place of issue of their passport, their nationality and their next destination.
Records of this information must be kept for at least 12 months and be available for inspection by any police officer.
Prices
If there are four bedrooms or eight beds or more, prices inclusive of VAT must be clearly displayed. (See Appendix 2).
3 Tariffs |
Prices are governed by market forces and subject to seasonal variations. Accommodation and services can be charged in a variety of ways. Normally the bedroom is the pricing unit and scales set according to the type of room, single room, double room, and so on. In other cases, the guest is the pricing unit and will be charged a separate price for meals and bedroom. There can be many variations of this theme, but basically the two measures of occupancy are:
- by the room; and
- by the bed space.
Nearly always there will be an extra charge for a double room, if occupied by a single person. Rooms with additional facilities such as own bathroom, shower, telephone, good view, etc. will be more expensive. There may also be special rates for children, pensioners, block bookings and long stay guests.
Larger hotels usually charge for bedroom and services separately or may offer "demi-pension" terms, which will include some, but not all, food (usually breakfast).
Where charges are separate, they normally divide into six categories:
- the bedroom;
- food: main meals, snacks plus non-alcoholic beverages;
- drinks: wines, spirits and beers (where licensed) and minerals;
- sundries: telephone calls, laundry, valeting, hairdressing, newspapers,
etc;
- other disbursements (on the visitor's behalf): taxis, theatre tickets,
guided tours, etc; and
service charges: normally a percentage addition to the bill (commonly 10-15%) and not always passed on to the staff. (A service charge added to the bill attracts VAT, but tips paid direct to staff, do not.)
4 Other sources of income |
Separate restaurant, open to non-residents.
Licensed bars, open to non-residents.
Games rooms and amusement machines.
Function - catering for private parties, wedding receptions.
Conference and exhibition facilities.
Surcharges on currency exchanges and cheque cashing facilities.
Organising day trips and guided tours.
Subletting space on premises for display cabinets, advertising panels
or small kiosks and shops.
Commission from car hire, taxi firms, etc.
Car parking (may be open to residents at reduced charge and public at full charge).
5 Advance bookings and deposits |
An advance booking creates a contractual relationship between the hotelier and guest, from the timer of reservation until the account is settled.
A reservation imposes a legal obligation on the hotel to hold a room for the guest for an agreed period and on the guest to pay for the accommodation. If either party wishes to cancel or alter the reservation, they can do so, by mutual agreement. If they do not agree they are liable to compensate the other party for any loss.
Cancellation without consent or failure to arrive on the due date for whatever reason, including illness, will entitle the hotelier to claim compensation, as long as all reasonable steps have been taken to re-let the accommodation, subject to:
- no claim to be made until the original letting period has expired;
and
- the claim excluding all cost of food not supplied, but including costs of re-letting.
Normally a deposit is non-returnable. If the claim is for less than the deposit, the balance may be refunded.
In practice, hoteliers may be reluctant to exercise their legal rights owing to the damaging effect on goodwill. Usually guests are informed that a room will be held for a set time, after which (if booking not confirmed and balance paid, usually 6-8 weeks before arrival date) the room will then be re-let.
In this way, the reservation is made conditional and, if not taken up, there is no legal obligation on either party. Deposits, if taken, are automatically returned.
VAT is not charged on forfeited deposits and cancellation charges. They are not regarded as consideration for a supply and are outside the scope of the tax.
6 Records |
In small establishments, the records will normally consist of a booking diary and a simple cash book. If liable to VAT a full record of all inputs (purchases) must be maintained.
A larger establishment will usually maintain comprehensive records and typically these will include:
Hotel register, either in:
- book form;
- loose leaves; or
- individual forms.
Room record book - recording the occupancy of a room over a specified
period.
Visitor's record card - permanent record of each guest's stay at hotel.
Visitors' journal or Terms book - records each day's arrivals and departures
and terms of occupancy.
Booking diary or visual display chart.
Visitors' ledger or Tabular ledger - a columnar ledger, which is often the most characteristic feature of hotel bookkeeping. It uses columnar bookkeeping to record the guests' personal accounts and has grown out of the special needs of the hotel business.
The main features are:-
- A number of personal accounts of guests are arranged on the same
sheet, in tabular form, for easy reference.
- Narration is reduced to the minimum, through the use of printed descriptions applicable to all accounts on the sheet.
- As the cycle of hotel operations is repeated daily, the guests' accounts are balanced daily and one or more sheets of a ledger relate to a day's business (see Appendix 3 for example of a manual tabular ledger sheet).
Sales ledger - contains all the debtors of the hotel, other than customers'
accounts which are accumulating in the tabular ledger.
Purchases ledger - recording all expenditure on food, drinks, etc.
and overheads.
Salaries and wages record.
Petty cash records.
7 Economics of hotel keeping |
The hotelier's most valuable asset, apart from his/her own and the staff's endeavours, is the shell of a building. Into this will be entrusted further capital by providing furnishings, fittings, equipment and labour. In return a reward commensurate with the investment will be expected.
Unlike the retailer, there are no relevant purchases that will give the proprietor a recognisable margin. Apart from the small bed and breakfast establishment there are too many variables that make precise evaluation of hotel economics difficult, e.g.:
The marked dissimilarity of the principal services offered e.g. rooms,
food, liquor and tobacco.
The variety of costs incurred by each of these services and the differences
in the way these costs are incurred.
The incidence of fixed costs which go on being incurred whether or
not the facilities are being used, for instance, spare capacity, which
may only be used at times of peak demand.
The range of supporting services and other attractions which may be
offered, which affect the cost the profitability of the principal services
if they are not charged out separately.
The different sources of custom available and the variations and combinations of services offered to each of these, e.g. overnight stay, full board, conference guests, package guests, agency custom, banquets and general restaurant and bar sales to non-residents, all of which give rise to a variety of prices for the same commodity.
Without the aid of an accurate management accounting system, the hotelier can run into unforeseen problems. He/she will not be able to prepare accurate costings of all the various services, and may not be able to maintain profitability or keep proper control of cash flow. Any well intentioned alteration in the balance of principal services either by overall expansion or extension of one service at the expense of another may have adverse consequences.
A good management accounting system needs to identify and provide detailed information on:
income from, and cost and profitability of, each principal service
provided;
income (if any) and cost of supplementary services; and
income, cost and profit figures, period by period, not only to check results quickly, but to distinguish periods of seasonal trading.
It is important not only that the overall trend in sales be reviewed but also the trend of sales of each activity. These trends, if known, allow decisions to be taken on the direction of selling effort and explain changes in profit in relation to sales.
Consideration must also be given to the association of each element of cost with a particular type of sale. The prime elements of cost being:
cost of goods sold (i.e. cost of sales);
wages costs; and
other costs.
Studying the results of annual accounts in isolation will not be sufficient to fully interpret and appreciate the overall results. The conventional type of profit statement shows the total profit earned on total sales, but gives no indication of what profit was made on each of the different activities.
Examination of annual accounts may well show an anomaly between increases in total sales and total profit, for the simple reason that the overall figures may conceal the fact that some sections of the business are making a reasonable profit, whilst on others the results are unsatisfactory.
A good understanding of the hotel's management accounting system, looked at in conjunction with annual accounts, will provide a clear picture of trading and profit trends, highlighting any unsatisfactory features and avoiding time-consuming misunderstandings.
To illustrate this point, let's take a look at a simple example where sales analysis has been obtained from the hotel's management accounting system.
|
Last Year |
This Year |
||||
|
£ |
% |
Sales |
£ |
% |
|
|
22,000 |
55 |
Rooms |
25,000 |
50 |
|
|
14,000 |
35 |
Food |
20,000 |
40 |
|
|
3,300 |
8 |
Liquor |
4,000 |
8 |
|
|
600 |
2 |
Tobacco |
750 |
2 |
|
|
100 |
__ |
Other |
250 |
__ |
|
|
40,000 |
100 |
Total Sales |
50,000 |
100 |
|
|
15,000 |
38 |
Less |
Cost of Sales |
16,500 |
33 |
|
25,000 |
62 |
Gross Profit |
33,500 |
67 |
|
|
10,000 |
25 |
Wage Costs |
15,000 |
30 |
|
|
10,000 |
25 |
Less |
Other Costs |
12,000 |
24 |
|
35,000 |
88 |
Total Expenses |
43,500 |
87 |
|
|
5,000 |
12 |
Net Profit |
6,500 |
13 |
|
Other information that can be used is the bedroom occupancy statistics:
|
Beds occupied: |
Last year |
This year |
|
Beds X Nights |
Beds X Nights |
|
|
Available |
14,000 |
14,000 |
|
Occupied |
7,000 |
10,000 |
|
% Occupancy |
50% |
70% |
The example reveals that the major share of sales increase comes from food and that although room sales have also gone up, the proportion of room sales to total sales has actually gone down. The additional quantitative information which has added to the statement indicates that the number of beds occupied increased by 40%, whereas sales value of rooms has only increased by 12%.
One explanation could be that higher occupancy has been achieved by means of offering attractive terms, possibly off-season.
In order to be completely useful, the analysis needs to be broken down still further, with sales and appropriate costs analysed. In this way comparison of individual profit trends within the overall profit trend can be made and their results interpreted meaningfully.
For the straightforward bed and breakfast establishment a fairly accurate assessment of achievable return can be calculated by reference to available bed space and occupancy levels for the particular establishment.
There should normally be no difficulty in reconciling the takings for periods of full occupancy. Complications will arise where there is partial occupancy and non-standard rates.
Reconciliations for such periods are best made by reference to average room occupancy e.g.:
|
Sample week No of guests |
Length of stay |
Product |
|
14 |
2 |
28 |
|
5 |
4 |
20 |
|
3 |
6 |
18 |
|
22 |
|
66 |
Therefore average stay per guest - 3 nights.
For greater accuracy a larger number of weeks should be sampled. Takings for the period can then be calculated by multiplying the number of guests in the period by the average stay and the result multiplied by the average rate per night. The average rate is obtained by first of all calculating the maximum room sales per night for full occupancy and then dividing this by the maximum guest capacity i.e.:
Calculations of maximum room sales and average rate per night.
|
Room type |
No of rooms |
Capacity |
Price per night per guest |
Max room sales |
|
Single |
8 |
8 |
£4 |
£ 32.00 |
|
Twin |
10 |
20 |
£6 |
£120.00 |
|
|
18 |
28 |
£152.00 |
Therefore average rate per night - £152 = £5.43
28
No of guests (22) x Average Stay (3 nights) x Average rate per night per guest (£5.43) = £358.85.
This kind of reconciliation will provide a useful guide to the probable takings of an establishment where there are variable factors involved. Takings on this basis may have a 5% to 7% tolerance of the actual receipts. Appropriate adjustments should be made to take into account exceptions to general pricing policies or bedspace occupation and calculations broken down as far as possible into like groups, in order to increase the overall accuracy of the reconciliation exercise.
8 New Technology |
Apart from the use of computers in standard accounting functions, the growth of computerisation has been slow in front office management, largely due to difficulties in developing suitable software capable of efficiently dealing with the unique problems involved in front office control.
Computers now assist in three specific areas of activity:
Room Status
ERS systems (Electronic Room Status) providing immediate updated information on room occupancy - of special benefit to the larger hotel.
Billing Systems
The main advantage of computer billing systems is the speed with which a customer's final bill can be produced. A side benefit is the potential for providing detailed and exhaustive analysis of sales.
Advance Reservation Systems
This is the latest aspect of computerisation to enter the front office and provides the greatest long term potential for improving profitability. At present, most systems available are little more than a sophisticated filing system. There are however some which although expensive are advanced enough to provide detailed analysis to assist the operator in forward room planning.
An interesting innovation is a system called Diatel, which allows telephone reservations to be made without speaking to a hotel receptionist. If a booking is accepted, the hotel occupancy chart is immediately updated.
9 Telephone and Telex |
Telephone income can be significant, especially in the larger hotels. Nowadays, international calls of over £100 each are not uncommon. Income will arise from bedroom telephones, public area coin boxes, telegrams and telex.
Hoteliers try their best to exercise some overall control on the cost of telephone calls and the income arising from charges made to guests. In practice, it is not normally possible to arrive at the split between house calls and guest calls. Thus, it cannot be ascertained that house calls are excessive or that the correct percentage mark-up is being achieved on calls made by guests.
Two ways of controlling guests' calls are:
by installing meters which automatically register outgoing calls from
bedrooms; and
having outgoing calls placed by the hotel operator
Public area telephones are another small source of income. Cash in phone boxes is emptied by the hotelier and should be recorded as income. In due course the Post Office will charge the hotel with the units used by each phone, the cash value of which should equal the amounts collected. A discount is usually allowed on the bill, which is the hotelier's profit.
10 Residential and nursing homes |
10. Residential and nursing homes
These privately run homes offer a specialist service for elderly, disabled or mentally disordered persons. Their primary aims should be to provide considerate and skilful care in surroundings which provide a comfortable homely atmosphere, preserving the independence and dignity of the resident.
Registration
Anyone wishing to run a home must first be registered with the local Authority or with the local Health Authority (for a nursing home). Additionally, in the case of a nursing home, the nominated person in charge should be either a registered medical practitioner or a registered nurse.
The application will only be considered after the necessary planning and building permissions have been obtained.
Registration cannot be transferred either on a change of proprietor or change of premises. In these cases, a new application must be made.
Premises
The maximum number of guests permitted is specified in the registration documents and is subject not only to the number of rooms, but also the size of rooms, situation and general facilities.
Staff
The number of "care" staff required is specified in the registration documents. A staff register must be maintained giving full names, ages and details of special qualifications. There should be one member of staff on call at all times, to deal with emergencies and two persons if there are more than ten residents. In the case of a nursing home, a qualified nurse must be on the premises at all times.
Record of residents
With effect from 1 January 1985, all homes registered with local Authorities are required to keep records of residents. A written document must be given to every resident or his accredited representative indicating details of services and the charge. Signed copies must be retained and be available for inspection by the local Authority representative.
Fees
These are usually paid monthly in advance direct by the resident or by his representative. Payments, in the majority of cases, are by cheque or standing order. Quite often, the basic fee is paid separately. Any extra charges are billed either on a weekly or monthly basis.
Extra charges are usually for:-
medicine and/or medical treatment or supplies;
laundry;
newspapers, confectionery and cigarettes;
telephone;
chiropodist;
hairdresser; and
other personal purchases made by the proprietor and recharged to the resident
Appendix I to BEN 3
Appendix 1 - Main Provisions of The Hotel Proprietors' Act 1956 |
Definition of an hotel
The Act defines an hotel as "an establishment held out by the proprietor as offering food, drink and, if so required, sleeping accommodation, without special contract, to any traveller presenting himself who appears able and willing to pay reasonable sum for the services and facilities provided and who is in a fit state to be received."
Hotelier's responsibility for guest's property
The proprietor of any hotel has a duty to take reasonable care of the property of his guests brought to the hotel, whether resident or not. If it is lost or damaged through the negligence of the hotel, the proprietor may be liable. In addition to this duty, which an innkeeper has in common with others who are not innkeepers (private hoteliers), an innkeeper has, in certain circumstances, strict liability for the property of his resident guests.
The proprietor can avoid his liability only if he can prove that the loss or damage was caused by the guest's own negligence, or by an Act of God, or by an Act of the Queen's enemies.
Innkeeper's strict liability
This liability, which applies only to innkeepers, whether they have been negligent or not, extends to the loss or damage of guests' property only if
at the time of the loss or damage sleeping accommodation had been reserved
for the traveller; and
the loss or damage occurred between the midnight immediately preceding and the midnight immediately following his stay at the hotel
The strict liability does not apply to vehicles or property left in them, horses or other live animals or their harness or other equipment, although the innkeeper still has a duty of reasonable care for them. As strict liability no longer applies to these items, the innkeeper no longer has a right to detain them as security for unpaid bills.
Limitation of strict liability
The innkeeper's strict liability is limited to £50 for any one article and to £100 in respect of any guest, if he exhibits a copy of the statutory notice, given in the Act, and in the way prescribed by the Act. If a copy of the statutory notice is not displayed, or not displayed as laid down by the Act at that time when the property was brought to the hotel, the innkeeper loses the protection of limited liability and becomes fully liable for the whole amount of the loss or damage.
Innkeeper's full liability
In addition to full liability arising when the innkeeper does not display a copy of the statutory notice as laid down by the Act, the innkeeper loses the protection of limited liability and becomes fully liable for the whole amount of the loss or damage if the property
was stolen, lost or damaged through the default, neglect or wilful
act of the proprietor, or his staff; or
was lost or damaged whilst expressly deposited for safe custody; or
was refused for safe custody, or through some other default on the part of the innkeeper or his staff, it was not possible to deposit it for safe custody.
Notices of Disclaimer
An innkeeper cannot contract our of his liability to guests who have engaged sleeping accommodation by exhibiting notices disclaiming responsibility, or by informing a guest that the proprietors will not be liable unless goods are deposited for safe custody.
Such notices may not have the value of serving as a warning to guests to take care of their property and thus tend to reduce the risk of loss. They may also be material when the issue of negligence is to be decided: the innkeeper may find it easier to prove negligent a guest who ignores any warning notices and thus reduce his liability or even avoid it completely.
But in an inn notices of disclaimer are not legally effective to relieve the innkeeper of his responsibility.
Application of Act
The Hotel Proprietors' Act, 1956, applies to Great Britain but not to Northern Ireland.
Appendix 2 - The Tourism (Sleeping Accommodation Price Display) Order 1977 |
Made - - - - 15th November 1977
Laid before Parliament 23rd November 1977
Coming into Operation 1st February 1978
At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 15th day of November 1977
Present,
The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council
Her Majesty, in exercise of the powers conferred on Her by Section 18 of the Development of Tourism Act 1969 (a), is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:-
1. (1) This Order may be cited as the tourism (Sleeping Accommodation Price Display) Order 1977 and shall come into operation on 1st February 1978.
(1) The Interpretation Act 1889 (b) shall apply to the interpretation of this Order as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.
2. In this Order, "hotel" means any establishment in Great Britain at which sleeping accommodation is provided by way of trade or business -
(a) which for the purposes of letting has not fewer than four bedrooms or eight beds (including beds situate in dormitories), excluding any which are normally in the same occupation for more than 21 consecutive nights, and
(b) at which such accommodation is offered, whether for one night or for a longer period, to any person who wishes to avail himself thereof and appears able and willing to pay therefore and is in a fit state to be received -
but excluding any establishment which is a bona fide members' club and provides such accommodation as a benefit of membership and any establishment where accommodation is normally provided as for a price which includes the provision of other services and those other services are not merely ancillary to the accommodation.
3. (1) At each hotel there shall be displayed in a prominent position in the reception area or, if none, at the entrance, where it can easily be read by a person seeking to engage sleeping accommodation at the hotel, a legible notice stating the current prices (which, wherever appropriate, shall include, and be stated to include, any service charge) payable per night by any such person for sleeping accommodation at the hotel consisting of:-
(a) a bedroom for occupation by one adult person,
(b) a bedroom for occupation by two adult persons, and
(c) a bed, other than as in (a) or (b) above, for occupation by an adult person and stating also whether it is situate in a dormitory or room to be shared with other guests.
(2) Where Value Added Tax is payable, then either -
(a) the price shall include and be stated to include the amount of tax, or
(b) the price shall be stated to exclude the amount of tax and that amount shall be stated with equal prominence in money terms as the amount of tax payable in addition to the price.
(3) If the accommodation is only provided inclusive of meals, the price of the accommodation shall be stated to be inclusive thereof and the meals so provided shall be suitably identified.
(4) If the prices in respect of each of the above categories of sleeping accommodation are not standard throughout the hotel it shall be sufficient to state the lowest and highest current price for accommodation of each category (disregarding any bedroom or bed which is normally in the same occupation for more than 21 consecutive nights).
(5) Additional information may be included in the notice provided it does not detract from the prominence to be given to the above information.
4. If any person who provides sleeping accommodation in a hotel fails to display a notice which complies with Article 3 he shall, unless he proves that he had reasonable excuse for the failure, be liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding a fine of £200.
5. (1) A duly authorised officer of a local weights and measures authority may, at all reasonable hours and on production, if required, of his credentials, enter and inspect any establishment within the area of that authority at which sleeping accommodation is provided by way of trade or business for the purpose of determining whether the provisions of this Order are being complied with; and where a local weights and measures authority has made arrangements for the discharge of any of its functions as such by another local authority the power conferred by this Article shall also be exercisable by a duly authorised officer of that other local authority.
(2) Any person who wilfully obstructs any person in the exercise of a right of entry and inspection conferred by paragraph (1) of this Article shall also be guilty of any offence and be liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding a fine of £100.
6 (1) Where an offence under this Order committed by a body corporate is committed with the consent of, or is attributable to neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, or any other person who was purporting to act in such capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall also be guilty of an offence.
(2) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, paragraph (1) of this Article shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director of the body corporate.
7. The Secretary for State for Trade as respect England, the Secretary of State for Scotland as respect Scotland and the Secretary of State for Wales as respect Wales may make regulations to exclude from the definition of "hotel" in Article 2 of this Order any class of establishment and to make consequential amendments to this Order.
N E Leigh,
Clerk of the Privy Council
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This Note is not part of the Order.)
This Order provides for the display of the maximum and minimum current prices charged per night for accommodation at establishments in Great Britain which provide sleeping accommodation by way of trade or business and have not less than four bedrooms or eight beds. Establishments which are bona fide members' clubs and establishments where other services are provided which are not merely ancillary to the accommodation are excluded. Bedrooms and beds normally occupied by the same person for more than 21 nights are disregarded. Provision is made for the price displayed to be inclusive of any service charge or meals, for VAT to be included or shown separately, or inspection of establishments, for offences and penalties, and for regulations to be made further excluding any class of establishment from the scope of the Order.
| Appendix 3- Tabular Ledger Extract |
Notes on Tabular Ledger
1. Names and accounts of guests who stayed the previous night are brought forward in Room No. order. New arrivals are entered in the next available column as they arrive.
2. The Rev S Smart was moved this day from Room 5 to Room 2, indicated by the crossing through at the head of his account.
3. "Party": A separate column has been used for an account of a person not staying at the hotel, a dinner booking.
4. A separate column is used to record takings from each bar for which a separate record of sales is required. All other "chance" sales are recorded in the appropriate column.
5. A = Adult, C = Child. Here are recorded the number of sleepers for the night. Some hotels record the number of all guests for an account even though the account may be closed that day and the guests leave. The number of adults and children leaving is then crossed through and the total of uncrossed persons gives the total sleepers for that night.
6. Many tabular ledgers have a lot more detail in the number of analysis headings i.e. liquor may be broken down into the headings of "Wines, liquors, spirits, beers, minerals.
6. A catch-all column for sundry sales is usually shown as chance sales.
8. The "Paid-outs" include any item paid out on the guests' behalf. Here Mr Fortins taxi-fare on a night-out may have been paid by the manger.
9. Accounts are settled by cash/cheque/credit-card or it may be transferred to the ledger for regular customers with credit accounts.
10. When an account is transferred to sales ledger, the relevant folio no. or customer account no. may be written on the tabular ledger below the guest's account.
Produced by the Inland Revenue
October 1990
© Crown Copyright 1990
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