Online guest check-out: pay and check out from a phone

Online check-out lets a guest open their bill on their phone on the departure day, pay the balance and check out without queuing at the front desk. The check-out is done the same way as at the front desk: the room goes to housekeeping, the bill and the booking are closed, the room key and the room phone are disconnected.

Who: the hotel owner or a manager with access to hotel settings. The location's business type must be "Hotel", and check-ins must be handled in the Cenaly PMS.

Before you start:

• guests need a stay pass — online check-out opens from the “My room” screen, which is available only on a connected device (see Stay pass);
• for the guest to pay the balance themselves, the location must have online payment connected and turned on in the bill currency. Without it, a guest with a balance sees “Online payment is not available right now” and goes to the front desk.

Turn on online check-out at a location#

Online check-out is off by default: the guest has no button, and the server does not accept such a check-out.

1. Open Rooms and the Hotel settings window (the 💲 Rates or 🏷️ Room types button).
2. Go to the Stay rules section.
3. In the Online check-out block, turn on Allow guests to check out online.
4. In Available from, set the hour from which online check-out becomes available on the departure day, in hotel time. The default is 06:00.
5. Select Save. “Saved” appears next to the button.

How to check: a guest with a stay pass now sees the Check out online button on the My room screen, captioned “On your departure day from 06:00” (or your hour).

Which stays qualify#

Online check-out is available only when all conditions are met:

• the room is occupied by exactly this stay, and the stay was checked in from a booking (walk-ins check out at the front desk only);
• today is the booking's departure date, and the hour in “Available from” has come. Early and late departures are handled by the front desk;
• the bill is neither closed nor voided;
• the stay is not paid by a company, and the room is not part of a group stay with a shared bill;
• the room has no open room check and no pending damage draft;
• the guest is not due a refund of an overpayment.

If a condition is not met, the guest sees a clear reason and, where needed, a request to come to the front desk — the full list is below in When the front desk is needed.

What the guest sees#

1. The guest opens My room and taps Check out online. The Online check-out window opens.
2. The system posts the last night — with the same calculation as a front-desk check-out — and shows a summary: Charges, Paid, To pay.
3. Then one of the following:
   • there is a balance — the Pay {amount} button (see Payment);
   • nothing is owed — “Your bill is settled — you can check out” and the Confirm check-out button (see Completing check-out);
   • check-out is not possible yet — “Almost there” or “Please check out at the front desk” with an explanation and a Refresh button.

The guest sees the charge lines in My bill — it is the same stay bill (folio) the front desk works with.

Room check and damage#

Online check-out does not bypass the room check.

Request a room check before departure. In the check-out window on the room board, or in the stay bill payment window at the POS, select Check the room in the Room check before checkout block. The system creates an urgent housekeeping task and shows the status: “Waiting for housekeeping”, “Housekeeping is checking the room”, “Room checked”. Only the front desk or a manager can request a room check.

While the check is open, the guest sees “The room is being checked before departure. Once it is done, you can check out.” and waits.

What the check does:

• the minibar counted by housekeeping goes straight to the bill — the guest sees it in the “To pay” amount;
• if something is missing or damaged, a damage compensation draft is created with the status “Awaiting decision”. This is not a charge: the front desk approves, reduces or declines the amount in the Damage compensation window (the Open claim button).

While the draft is awaiting a decision, the guest sees “The front desk has a question about the room — please drop by.” Online check-out is not available in that case.

How room checks and the minibar work is described in Room check, minibar and room assets.

Payment#

1. The guest taps Pay {amount}. The server calculates the amount — the guest does not enter it.
2. The hotel's secure payment page opens. It is the same bill-balance payment link the front desk can send.
3. After paying, the guest returns to the check-out window. While the money is being posted to the bill, they see “Your payment has been received and is being posted to the bill — refresh in a minute.”
4. Once the payment is posted, “Your bill is settled — you can check out” appears.

If the guest has already opened a payment for a different amount (for example, from a link sent by the front desk), they see “A payment for a different amount is already open — finish it or wait a few minutes.”

If there is a deposit hold on the guest's card, the window notes “The hotel will release the deposit hold on your card after check-out.” The front desk releases or captures it — see Prepayment, guarantee and security hold.

Completing check-out#

1. The guest taps Confirm check-out. Before that, the system re-checks all conditions on fresh data.
2. The guest sees “You have checked out. Thank you for staying with us!” and the hint “Please leave the key in the room or at the front desk.”

What happens after confirmation — the same as a front-desk check-out:

• the room becomes dirty and a cleaning task appears;
• the booking and the bill are closed, and the stay is recorded in the log;
• the room phone and electronic keys are disconnected (if connected);
• the stay pass ends: every guest device shows “Your stay has ended. Thank you!”

What the front desk sees: in the booking history the check-out author is “guest (online check-out)”, and the shift log gets the entry “Guest checked out online · room {room}. Bill paid, room sent to housekeeping.”

Tapping again after check-out (online or by the front desk) does not check the guest out twice — the guest simply sees that the check-out is done.

When the front desk is needed#

Not available yet#

• Online check-out on any day other than the booking's departure date: early and late departures are front desk only.
• Online check-out for walk-ins, groups with a shared bill, and stays paid by a company.
• Online refund of an overpayment — the POS handles it.

Related articles#

• Stay pass and guest device access
• Check guests in and out at the front desk
• Room check, minibar and room assets
• Prepayment, guarantee and security hold
• Hotel folio, payment and fiscal receipt
• Hotel: Rooms, PMS and Guest Service

FAQ#

Can a guest check out online the evening before?#

No. Online check-out opens only on the booking's departure date and not before the hour set in “Available from”. If the guest leaves earlier, the front desk checks them out.

Is damage charged automatically?#

No. The room check only creates a damage compensation draft. Until the front desk decides on it, online check-out is closed and the guest is asked to come to the front desk.

Can the bill be closed without waiting for the room check?#

At the front desk — yes: the “Room check before checkout” block warns that the minibar and missing items are not in the bill yet, but does not block check-out. Online check-out is not available while a check is open.

What if the guest paid but did not tap “Confirm check-out”?#

The payment is already on the bill. The guest can return to My room and confirm check-out, or the front desk can check the guest out — there will be no second check-out.

Who sees that the guest checked out online?#

The front desk: in the booking history the check-out author is “guest (online check-out)”, and the shift log gets a separate entry with the room number.