If the housekeeping report indicates that a room is vacant, but the front office believes it is occupied, the auditor should search for an active room folio. If the folio exists and has an outstanding balance there are several possibilities:
The guest may have departed but forgot to checkout.
The guest may be a skipper who left with no intention of checking out.
The front desk agent or cashier may not have properly closed the folio at checkout.
After verifying that the guest has left the hotel the hotel night audit should process the checkout and set the folio aside for management review. If the folio has been settled the front office room status system should be corrected to show that the room is vacant. The night auditor should verify the guest folio against the housekeeping and the room status report to ensure that all three are consistent and in balance.