Restaurant, minibar and meals on the room bill

A hotel guest has dinner in the restaurant, takes a drink at the bar or from the minibar — and does not want to pay each time. This article explains how to put such spending on the room bill, how to restrict it and how to deduct meals that are already in the rate (for example, breakfast). For a general overview see Hotel: rooms, PMS and guest service.

Who it's for: restaurant and bar cashiers, front desk staff and the owner.

When you can charge to a room#

You can only charge to an open room account — that is, a guest who is checked in right now. The account opens at check-in at the front desk and closes at check-out. If the POS window says "No open room accounts", nobody is checked in or the check-in has not been done yet.

Charge a restaurant or bar bill to a room#

At the POS build the bill as usual.
Choose the "Charge to room" payment method.
Find the room in "Room or guest". Each room shows its "Balance" and, if a limit is set, "Left to limit".
Pick the room. The system asks: "Charge amount to room N?" and shows the account the bill will be added to.
Click "Charge to room".

Nothing is paid now: the amount is added to the room account, and the guest pays it at check-out together with the stay. On the room bill it appears as a "Restaurant and bar" line.

The guest orders on their own. A guest can also order "charge to room" from the room — via the stay link or the QR code in the room. How to connect the guest and give them the room code — see Hotel. An extra PIN on every such order is turned on in the hotel settings → "Stay rules" → "Require a stay PIN for "charge to room" orders".

Minibar#

Minibar items are set up in the hotel settings → "Housekeeping" → "Minibar" block: name, price and tax group. The housekeeper marks what was taken while cleaning the room, and each item goes to the guest's bill as a separate line. If the bill is already closed, the front desk gets a task.

The minibar report and stock tracking are covered in the housekeeping section.

Block room charges or set a limit#

If a guest checked in without a guarantee and pays on the spot, the front desk can close room charges for them — completely or above an amount.

Open Rooms and the card of the occupied room.
Click "Guest services".
In the "Room charges" block:
- turn on "No charges to this room" — POS and guest "charge to room" orders are not accepted, the guest pays right away;
- or set a "Charge limit" — an order after which the bill's debt would exceed this sum is not accepted. Empty means no limit.
Click "Save". The POS sees the change within a few seconds.

The block shows "Balance now" and "Left to limit".

What still gets charged: room nights, taxes, manual front desk charges and minibar items marked by the housekeeper. The block and the limit only close orders from the POS and from the guest.

What the POS shows when a charge is refused#

What you see	What it means	What to do
The room is greyed out with "No room charges"	The front desk blocked charges to this room	Take payment another way
"Over the charge limit"	The bill would push the debt over the limit	Take payment another way or ask the front desk to raise the limit
A message that the order did not go onto the account after sending	The block or limit was set while the cashier was building the bill — the server has the last word	Take payment another way

A guest ordering from the room simply does not see "charge to room"; the reason is not shown to them.

Meals in the rate: breakfast, half board, all inclusive#

If the room was sold on a rate with meals (the "Meal" field of the rate plan — see Hotel prices), the guest has already paid for food in the room price. The POS knows this and does not take money twice.

Rate meal	What is in the package
Room only	Nothing
Breakfast	Breakfast
Half board	Breakfast and dinner
Full board	Breakfast, lunch and dinner
All inclusive	No portion count

Portions: one portion per guest for each meal per hotel day. Breakfast for two — 2 portions of 2. "All inclusive" is not counted: any number of dishes and drinks per day.

Deduct dishes from the package#

At the POS build the guest's bill and choose "Charge to room".
A room with meals shows a note, for example "Breakfast · today 1 of 2".
Pick the room. At the confirmation step turn on "Deduct from the meal package".
Enter "Portions" (you see "N of M left today") and tick "Dishes in the package".
Click "Deduct from package".

Package dishes go on the bill with a 100% discount and are not charged to the room. If the bill has something beyond the package, the rest goes to the room — the window shows "Charge to the room: about …". If the whole bill goes into the package — "Nothing is charged".

A room with no charges or an exhausted limit is still open for package dishes: only the rest beyond the package is blocked. If the rest cannot go through, the window warns: "Leave only package dishes in the bill, or take payment another way."

The server re-checks the package: the account is open, the meal is in the rate and there are enough portions today. If something does not match, the discount counts as an ordinary manual cashier discount — and needs a senior's approval under the POS discount rules.

Meal forecast for a date: how many breakfasts to prepare tomorrow#

Open Reports → Meals. Tomorrow is selected by default; you can pick any other date.

At the top are the totals: how many rooms, adults and children to expect for breakfast, lunch, dinner and all inclusive. Separate lines:

Room only — guests on rates without meals (for reference);
Meal plan unknown — the booking's rate was deleted or has an unknown meal code. These guests are not counted in any meal — open the rate and check its "Meals" field.

Below is the room list: room, guest, party (children's ages in small print), meal code (BB, HB, FB, AI) and what the guest gets on that day. Print gives an A4 sheet for the kitchen, CSV a spreadsheet.

Arrival and departure days. Between arrival and departure every meal of the rate is counted. On the arrival and departure days only what is ticked in the Arrival and departure days block. By default breakfast is served on the departure day (after the night), dinner on the arrival day, lunch on neither, all inclusive on both. If your hotel works differently, tick your own rules: the choice is remembered in this browser for this hotel.

Counted: expected, checked-in and today's checked-out guests. Not counted: cancelled bookings, no-shows and day-use sales. A split stay (moving to another room mid-stay) counts as one guest. The rate the guest checked in on wins over the booking's rate.

This is a forecast: it changes with bookings and rates. Meals actually served are in the meal packages at the POS (section above).

The kitchen can open the report too (a role with the Kitchen section), but without guest names and notes — rooms and party only. There is no money in this report for anyone.

What is not there yet#

There are no package restrictions such as "only certain dishes": the cashier ticks package dishes by hand.
Charging to a room only works for rooms checked in in our system. If the hotel connected an external PMS, "charge to room" goes there — see Hotel.

FAQ#

Is a fiscal receipt printed when I charge to a room? No — nothing is paid now. The receipt is printed when the guest pays the room bill. More in Hotel account, payment and fiscal receipt.

Two people had breakfast, but the booking has one guest. What happens? The package has one portion. Leave the second portion on the bill and charge it to the room, or take payment.

Which day are portions counted for? The hotel day, in its time zone: the POS and the server count portions by the same date.

Why does the room have no meal note? The booking's rate is "Room only", or the booking has no rate plan with meals.

Is the minibar blocked by "No charges to this room" too? No. Minibar items marked by the housekeeper and manual front desk charges always go through.