Night auditor job description: what a hotel night auditor does, the night audit step by step, skills and a template

At eleven at night the hotel's day team goes home and one person takes over the desk, the phones, the doors and the money. By seven the next morning that person has checked in the late arrivals, dealt with whatever the night brought, and closed the day's accounts so that the hotel starts tomorrow knowing exactly what happened yesterday. The night auditor job description has to describe both jobs, because the role is both.

This article explains the role using two primary sources, the US O*NET occupational database and the Bureau of Labor Statistics handbook, sets out the two halves of the job, the night audit step by step, the lone-working and safety questions, the skills and training, and a job description template. The sources are American; the job is the same in a British or European hotel, where it is also called night receptionist or night manager.

Night auditors work alone and are reviewed by managers who rarely see them work. See how New Dynamics feedback lets a front-office manager capture a short note on a handover or an incident while it is still specific, so the annual review reflects the year.

What does a night auditor do?

O*NET describes hotel, motel and resort desk clerks as people who “accommodate hotel, motel, and resort patrons by registering and assigning rooms to guests, issuing room keys or cards, transmitting and receiving messages, keeping records of occupied rooms and guests' accounts, making and confirming reservations, and presenting statements to and collecting payments from departing guests.” That is the front desk half of the night auditor's job.

The second half is in O*NET's task list: “Perform bookkeeping activities, such as balancing accounts and conducting nightly audits.” The Bureau of Labor Statistics adds that desk clerks in lodging that operates around the clock work “evenings, weekends, and holidays”, and that the work can be stressful when handling unhappy customers, which at two in the morning is a different test from the same complaint at two in the afternoon.

The two halves of the job

In a large hotel a night manager and a night porter share the desk half; in a small one the night auditor is the only person awake in the building.

The night audit, step by step

Property management systems automate much of this, but the auditor is responsible for what the system does and for what it cannot catch.

1. Reconcile the day's postings. Check every charge posted to guest accounts during the day, room, restaurant, bar, telephone, parking and extras, against the departmental totals and the source records. O*NET's task: “Post charges, such as those for rooms, food, liquor, or telephone calls, to ledgers.”
2. Balance payments and the cash. Match card settlements, cash and other payments to the accounts; count and reconcile the float; investigate and correct any difference. O*NET: “Compute bills, collect payments, and make change for guests”; “Keep records of room availability and guests' accounts.”
3. Post the night's room charges and taxes. Run the room-and-tax posting for every occupied room, check the rates against the reservations, and deal with no-shows, early departures and complimentary rooms.
4. Run the reports and roll the day. Produce the daily revenue, occupancy and manager's reports, note anything unusual for the morning team, back up the system where required and roll it over to the new business day.

Errors found and corrected at three in the morning save the day team and the guests from finding them at check-out.

The front desk overnight

Between audit tasks the night auditor is the hotel. O*NET's tasks include making and confirming reservations, greeting and registering guests, verifying credit and payment methods, issuing keys, transmitting and receiving messages, recording guest comments and complaints, contacting housekeeping or maintenance when problems arise, and keeping the lobby clean and presentable. Add the things the night brings: the guest locked out at one, the fire alarm at four, the early breakfast set-up, the wake-up calls and the handover at seven.

Lone working, safety and integrity

The night auditor is often alone with the building, the guests and the cash. The job description should state the lone-working arrangements: who is on call, how to summon help, the security procedures for the doors and the lobby, and what the auditor is expected to do and not do in an emergency. The BLS lists integrity among the important qualities for information clerks, handling confidential information responsibly; for a night auditor with the cash float and the guest records, it is the first quality to hire for.

Skills, hours and routes in

The BLS names communication skills, integrity, interpersonal skills and organisational skills as the important qualities for information clerks. O*NET's essential skills for desk clerks are speaking, active listening, monitoring and reading comprehension. For the audit half, add numeracy, attention to detail and confidence with the property management system and spreadsheets.

Hours. Night shifts, typically eleven to seven, including weekends and holidays; state the rota and the number of nights per week.

Routes in. The BLS says a high school diploma is typically enough, with short-term on-the-job training of a few weeks covering procedures and computer systems; O*NET places desk clerks in Job Zones one to two. Many night auditors come from the day front desk or from a bookkeeping background. Progression runs to front-office supervisor or night manager, and, for those who take to the numbers, to accounts, revenue or reservations management.

Night auditor job description template

Job title: Night Auditor (or Night Receptionist, Night Manager where the role supervises)

Reports to: Front Office Manager or General Manager; state who is on call overnight

Scope: State the hotel, the number of rooms, the systems used and whether the auditor works alone or with a night porter or manager.

Purpose: Run the front desk overnight, keep guests and the building safe, and close the day's accounts accurately so that the hotel starts each day with correct records.

Responsibilities:

• Check guests in and out overnight; handle reservations, messages, requests and complaints.
• Verify payment methods, take payments and issue keys; keep guest and room records accurate.
• Carry out the night audit: reconcile the day's charges and payments, balance the cash, post room and tax charges, correct errors, run the daily reports and roll the system to the new day.
• Follow security, fire and emergency procedures; control access; record incidents.
• Prepare the front desk and the lobby for the morning; set up early services as required.
• Hand over to the day team with a written report of the night.
• Keep confidential information secure.

Skills and experience:

• Front desk, reception or bookkeeping experience; hotel experience preferred.
• Numeracy and attention to detail; confidence with property management systems and spreadsheets; state which system.
• Integrity with cash and records; calm judgement with guests and in emergencies.
• Clear written handovers and reports.

Working pattern: State the nights per week, the shift times, weekends and holidays, and the lone-working and on-call arrangements.

Training: Systems, the audit procedure, fire and emergency procedures, first aid where required.

Frequently asked questions

What does a night auditor do?

Two things on one shift: runs the hotel's front desk overnight, checking guests in and out, handling requests, security and incidents, and closes the day's accounts, reconciling charges and payments, posting room and tax charges, running the daily reports and rolling the system to the new day. The US occupational database lists conducting nightly audits among desk clerks' tasks.

What is a night audit in a hotel?

The end-of-day process that checks every charge posted to guest accounts against payments and departmental records, balances the cash, posts the night's room and tax charges, corrects errors, produces the daily revenue and occupancy reports and rolls the property management system over to the new business day.

What is the difference between a night auditor and a night receptionist?

Often nothing; the titles are used for the same job. Where they differ, the night receptionist covers only the front desk half and the audit is done by an accounts team or by a night manager. State in the advert which duties the role includes.

What skills does a night auditor need?

Integrity with cash and records, numeracy and attention to detail, confidence with the property management system, calm judgement with late-night guests and in emergencies, and clear written handovers. The BLS names communication, integrity, interpersonal and organisational skills as the important qualities for information clerks.

What qualifications do you need to be a night auditor?

The BLS says a high school diploma is usually enough for desk clerk roles, with a few weeks' on-the-job training. Hotel front desk or bookkeeping experience helps; training on the property management system and the audit procedure is usually provided.

Your next step: describe both halves and the night

1. Say whether the role covers the audit, the desk or both, and whether the auditor works alone.
2. State the shift, the rota and the lone-working and on-call arrangements.
3. Name the systems and the reports expected each morning.
4. Plan the first nights: shadow shifts, the audit procedure written down, a named person to call.

For a plan that turns a new night auditor's first week of shifts into a confident first month, read and download our onboarding guide. The guide is free to read, and the PDF uses our short download form.

Want lone night workers' handovers, feedback and reviews kept in one place, so the people who rarely see them work can still review them fairly? Book a New Dynamics demo and bring your current approach. You can also email contact@new-dynamics.com.