What does a night auditor do: Job description and responsibilities

What is a night auditor?

Night auditors are employed by hotels (or anywhere that hosts overnight guests), to perform administrative duties during the quieter business hours.

Typically, they work behind a hotel’s front desk, in case a guest arrives late at night and still needs a member of staff to help them check-in. Sometimes, they can be managers, overseeing the work of night cleaners and security.

As you can imagine, this makes night auditing a pretty varied role that ties together aspects of Accounting, Business Administration, and customer service. Here, we’ll cover what qualifications are required and help you decide whether it’s the right fit for you.

Night auditor job responsibilities and duties

Let’s take a closer look at the key responsibilities that define this dynamic, nighttime role:

Front desk duties and guest interaction

A night auditor is the first point of contact for late-night arrivals. Here, their job is largely the same as a hotel front desk agent; welcoming guests, answering their questions, and ensuring check-in goes as smoothly as possible.

As you’ll often be working the quieter hours, you might want to think about how new technologies contribute to the evolution of this role. For instance, with mobile check-in options becoming more common, future night auditors may focus more on their administrative duties than the customer service aspect.

Managing finances and accounting

The heart of this role lies in auditing — that is, examining the financial accounts and transactions of your hotel throughout the prior working day.

Here's a breakdown of the tasks and responsibilities a night auditor typically performs in this aspect of their role:

• Reconciling accounts: Night auditors are responsible for reconciling various accounts to make sure that the financial records are accurate.
• Verifying transactions: They verify all guest charges, payments, and credits posted to individual guest accounts during the day.
• Balancing revenue: Night auditors reconcile the total revenue earned by the hotel during their shift.
• Managing cash flow: If the hotel handles cash transactions, night auditors manage the cash drawer, ensuring that the cash received matches the transactions recorded.

This sounds like a lot to handle all at once — but don’t worry. Tools like accounting software, payroll automation software and spreadsheets are able to manage a lot of the heavy lifting.

Tools like this make your job much easier by streamlining manual tasks and reducing your chances of making a miscalculation. The hospitality industry is constantly embracing these innovations and learning how to use them will help you shoot for peak efficiency.

Ensuring data accuracy and record-keeping

The quiet hours of nighttime working are the perfect chance for a night auditor to pick up on errors left behind in the hotel system.

Common issues include missing guest payments, double charges, or discrepancies between room occupation status and check-in logs. You’ll be expected to cross-examine the validity of the system information when the reality suggests something different.

Then, at the end of the night, save backup copies of any relevant financial statements and store them securely on your company’s systems. We recommend brushing up on your cybersecurity tips before entering a role in which you’re working with sensitive data.

Creating nightly reports and documenting

Night auditors are also expected to curate nightly reports to assist with the hotel’s financial planning and forecasting. These reports typically summarise the day's transactions, including revenue breakdowns, occupancy rates, and any significant discrepancies or irregularities.

Just remember, automation is gaining ground — smart systems that integrate data and generate reports are becoming a must-have tool for night auditors looking to elevate their efficiency. You’re likely to use tools like a bookkeeping app or a cloud-based account ledger as they save countless hours of toiling through data by generating a report at the click of a button.

Collaboration and coordination with day shift teams

Finally, the morning has arrived, and it’s almost time for you to sign out of work — but don’t disappear just yet, as you still need to hand over operations to the day shift team.

Remember, you’re not just ending your shift; you’re paving the way for a new one. You have to inform your colleagues of any important details that happened overnight, including:

• Hotel occupancy status
• Guest check-ins/check-outs
• Payment issues
• Maintenance needs
• Housekeeping notes
• Any other special guest requests

To some people, working the graveyard shift might sound like the absolute worst. But to a night auditor, it’s just business as usual. Most night auditors pick this job because they enjoy working in the quieter hours when they naturally feel more productive.

Qualification requirements

Now, let’s consider what qualifications can help you land a job as a night auditor:

• Excellent communication skills (speaking a second language can make you really stand out).
• Certifications in first aid, fire safety, and responsible service of alcohol (RSA).
• A degree in Hospitality Management, Business Administration or Accounting from Torrens University.

For an independent customer-facing role, hiring managers will also want to see some relevant work experience on your resume. Whether it’s a previous role in hospitality or business admin, they need to trust that you’ll manage all of the above without needing supervision!

To wrap up, to be a night auditor you must be a lot of things: a good communicator, a friendly face, an accounting whiz, a meticulous administrator, and more.

It’s a great job for individuals looking to break into the hospitality industry and prove they’re capable, responsible, and determined to learn on the job. It’s also not for everyone. The biggest deal-breaker for most people is the unsociable working hours — you’re either a night owl or you’re not!

So, if you like the sound of being a night auditor but can’t get over doing the graveyard shift, there are still plenty of daytime opportunities in this field of work.