What is Hotel Master Billing (HMB)?
Convention centers and five star hotels often have an in-house AV Company that provides equipment to clients (i.e. projectors, speakers, microphones, lighting, whiteboards, TVs etc.). In addition to providing equipment, the AV Company may also provide services such as a technician to setup, test and configure the equipment, then pack it away when the event is finished. The hotel and the AV Company agree on a contract to allocate the revenue that’s received from the client. These contracts are collectively referred to as Hotel Master Billing. Other terms used are; Master Billing, MB or HMB.
Billing Scenarios Available
RentalPoint supports four different billing scenarios for in-house AV companies.
The diagrams included in the scenarios are examples of key events and interactions and are designed to be read in a top-down direction. Actual events may differ slightly from company to company.
Master Billing
In this scenario:
- The client contacts the hotel and orders equipment and services.
- The hotel contacts the AV Company and provides the details of the order.
- The AV company quotes the event and sends the details to the hotel.
- The hotel adds the AV equipment and services to the Master Bill for the client
Venue Billing (aka. Alternative Billing, Commission as a Discount)
The Venue Billing scenario is:
- Essentially the same as the Master Billing scenario.
- The only difference is that the AV Company removes the hotel commission before sending the invoice to the hotel.
- The commission is deducted from the invoice price as a discount.
- At the end of the month a Master Billing report shows the amount payable to the AV Company
Direct Billing
- In some hotels the client contacts the AV Company directly and orders equipment and services
- The AV Company invoices the client
- Then at the end of the month, the AV Company pays a commission to the hotel based on the value of the client invoice
Sales and Promotion (S&P)
- Sales and Promotion scenario is when the hotel orders equipment and services from the AV Company at a heavily discounted rate.
- The is no commission involved.
- Discounts can be offered via a special price set, a booking discount or line item discounts; allowing for flexible pricing options to meet a range of needs.
- The amount of S&P billed to the hotel is reflected on the Master Billing report.
Configuring Hotel Master Billing
Pre-requisites
Before jumping into HMB, first ensure that the following items are configured
| Locations | Locations are one of the core elements of HMB. Ensure all your locations are entered in location setup. |
| Inventory | Products are another core element of HMB. Ensure your product inventory is configured before starting. Although you can enter inventory at a later date, it's much easier to get HMB up and running when you already have your inventory entered. |
| Taxes | Tax defaults can be configured for each Master Billing entity and are selected from existing taxes set up in the system |
| Price Sets | Hotel commission works with Price Sets. A price set enables you to include commissions into the invoice price when billing the hotel and/or the client. |
Enable HMB Parameter
