In hotel accounting, the city ledger is the collection of accounts belonging to non-registered guests. This is distinct from the transient ledger (or front-office ledger, or guest ledger), which is the collection of accounts receivable for guests who are currently registered.
The vast majority of accounts in the city ledger are accounts receivable (one notable exception is the advance deposit account discussed below, which is an account payable).
Included in the city ledger are accounts belonging to various companies that utilize the hotel for meeting space and for lodging travelling executives. Instead of billing separately for each individual service that the hotel provides, the charges are accumulated in the company's city ledger account. The hotel then periodically sends the bill to the company.
The second major component of the city ledger are credit card accounts. When a guest uses a credit card, this transaction creates an account receivable for the hotel to be collected from the credit card company. This account receivable is recorded in the credit card company's city ledger account.
As mentioned above, advance deposits are an example of an account payable found in the city ledger. When a guest pays a deposit prior to registration, the hotel incurs an account payable to the guest for services to be rendered in the future. Advance deposits from all guests are collected in a common advance deposit account. This amount is then transferred back to the guest's front-office account (folio) upon check-in.
Famous quotes containing the words city and/or ledger:
“Do you know what Agelisas said, when he was asked why the great city of Lacedomonie was not girded with walls? Because, pointing out the inhabitants and citizens of the city, so expert in military discipline and so strong and well armed: “Here,” he said, “are the walls of the city,” meaning that there is no wall but of bones, and that towns and cities can have no more secure nor stronger wall than the virtue of their citizens and inhabitants.”
—François Rabelais (1494–1553)
“In considering the ledger equal, understand the greatest gift you have given your parents is the opportunity to raise you. The things a child gets from parents can’t compare to the things a parent gets from raising a child. Only by experiencing this can you understand the degree to which children give meaning to parents’ lives.”
—Frank Pittman (20th century)