Billing discrepancy · Room rates
Hotel room rate discrepancies on group master bills.
A wrong group rate is rarely wrong on every room. It's usually a handful of nights: shoulder dates, a room type that wasn't mapped, or reservations made after the cutoff. That's why it's easy to miss by scanning totals.
The short answer
To check group room rates, compare the nightly rate on each master-billed room or folio with the contracted rate for that room type and date. Check pre- and post-event nights separately, because many contracts extend the group rate to shoulder dates only subject to availability.
Compare rates before tax and fees. A room that looks $40 high may be correct once occupancy tax and a resort fee are separated out, or it may carry a fee the contract waived.
What to check
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Rate by room type
Run of house, deluxe, suite. Check each billed type has a contracted rate and was charged it.
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Rate by date
Some contracts have different rates for peak and shoulder nights. Match each night, not an average.
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Pre- and post-event nights
Is the group rate extended three days before and after? Subject to availability or guaranteed?
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Upgrades
Complimentary upgrades should bill at the group rate for the original type.
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Taxes and fees separated
Strip occupancy tax, tourism levies and resort fees before comparing. Check any waived fee isn't included.
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Master vs individual folios
Master-billed rooms and individually paid rooms can both be wrong. Supply folios if attendees paid their own.
How FolioMatch checks it
FolioMatch extracts contracted rates by room type and date range from the agreement and addenda, including shoulder-night terms, then compares each billed room night on the master account or supplied folio export.
Where a rate difference could be explained by a fee or tax the documents don't break out, the finding is marked needs review rather than treated as a rate error.
- 01
Hotel or event agreement
The signed contract and its schedules set the base terms: rates, percentages, minimums, formulas and concessions.
- 02
Amendments and signed changes
A signed addendum or change order replaces the contract term it amends, and only that term.
- 03
BEOs and revised BEOs
Banquet event orders set the operational detail: counts, times, staffing and menus. The latest approved revision is used, and earlier revisions are kept for comparison.
- 04
Supporting documents
Rooming lists, pickup reports, AV orders, staffing sheets and invoice exports, where you supply them.
- 05
Final invoice or master bill
Each billed line is compared with the terms above. Where the documents don't explain a charge, it becomes a finding with the pages behind it.
Findings are labelled as a possible discrepancy, needs review, matches the agreement or insufficient evidence. FolioMatch doesn't make legal determinations; it shows what the supplied documents do and don't support.
Sample finding: pre-event nights billed above group rate
Illustrative example — sample data
Agreement
- Group rate $239 run of house
- Rate extended 3 days pre/post
- Subject to availability at booking
Rooming list
- 38 rooms arriving Sept 14
- Booked within cutoff
Final bill
- Sept 14: 38 rooms at $289
- Sept 15–18: at $239
FolioMatch finding
Possible $1,900 discrepancy
The supplied agreement extends the $239 group rate to three days before the event. September 14 is one day before, and the rooming list shows the reservations were made within the cutoff.
The final bill shows 38 rooms on September 14 at $289, $50 above the group rate. Review recommended; the hotel may have recorded the rooms as not available at booking.
- 38 room nights × ($289 − $239)
- $1,900.00
Evidence
- Agreement · Room Rates · page 3
- Rooming List · Arrivals Sept 14 · page 1
- Final Invoice · Room & Tax · page 4
Rate errors carry into other lines
The room rate is an input to several other calculations. Attrition damages are usually valued at the group rate, and comp credits are valued at it too. A rate keyed wrong on one night can change attrition charges and complimentary room credits as well as the room line itself.
Questions
Why does my room rate look higher than the contract?
Often it's tax and fees. Compare the base rate first. If the base rate itself is higher, it's worth checking the date and room type.
Does the group rate apply to reservations after the cutoff?
Usually only subject to availability. The reservation date matters, so a rooming list with booking dates helps.
Can FolioMatch check individual guest folios?
Yes, if you supply them or a folio export. Otherwise it checks what's on the master account.
Related
Attrition charges
Room-night commitment, allowed attrition, pickup and the formula used.
Complimentary room credits
1-per-X formulas, actualized room nights and whether the credit reached the master.
Missing concessions
A concessions ledger: what was negotiated, and whether it reached the bill.
Back to all hotel billing discrepancies or the hotel master bill audit guide.
You negotiated the deal. Make sure you got it.
Upload the agreement, BEOs and final bill. FolioMatch checks what you negotiated against what you were charged and shows the evidence behind every finding.