Hand Guests a Folio That Looks Like It Came From the Front Desk

How to Write a Hotel Receipt (Guest Folio)

A hotel receipt — properly, a guest folio — is the itemized account of a stay, from the room rate to the last incidental, settled and marked paid. Travelers rely on it for expense reports and reimbursement; properties rely on it to document the reservation they billed. A good folio is unambiguous about what the room cost, what extras were added, and how much of the total was tax. This guide covers what belongs on one, using an elegant coastal-inn design — a Cormorant Garamond masthead and a navy-and-foam palette — as the worked example.

Capture the Whole Stay, Not a Moment

Unlike a point-of-sale receipt, a folio documents a span of time. The record strip should carry:

• Guest and room — who stayed and where
• Check-in and check-out — dates and times
• Nights — the count the room charge is based on
• Guests — the occupancy, which can affect rate and tax

These fields let a traveler match the receipt to their trip and an employer verify the stay against the reason for travel.

Itemize the Room Separately From Incidentals

Spell out the room charge with its nightly rate and night count ("2 nights @ $295.00") on its own line, then list incidentals — breakfast, parking, a resort fee, a spa charge — as separate lines, each with a short sub-line explaining what it covers. Corporate expense systems often reimburse the room but not certain incidentals, so the separation isn't cosmetic; it's what makes the receipt usable for reimbursement.

Break Out Occupancy Tax

Lodging or occupancy tax is levied specifically on accommodation and is often a hefty percentage — 12% in the worked example, higher in many cities. Show it as its own line between the subtotal and the total. A business traveler may need to report or reclaim it, and every guest deserves to see what the room cost versus what tax added. Folding it into the rate hides information the receipt exists to provide.

Record How the Folio Was Settled

Note the payment method, the card's last four digits, an authorization code, and the settlement date ("settled in full to Visa ending ••2741 at check-out, authorization A-558203"). State plainly that no balance remains, and mention that incidental holds release within a few business days — a common guest question the folio can answer in advance.

Close With Property Details and Policy

The footer is the place for a warm sign-off, your property's contact, and your lodging license number where required. A folio that names a real licensed property and settles to zero reads as authoritative — which is exactly what a guest submitting it for reimbursement needs it to be.

Taking a deposit at booking or collecting a one-off payment outside the stay itself? A general payment receipt is the cleaner document for that, since it's built around a single payment and milestone rather than a multi-night folio.