Hotel Receipt: Managing Your Receipts Plus FREE Templates

Hotel receipts are a must-have for travelers, especially for business professionals who need to track and report lodging expenses. Whether you’re staying at a small inn or a 5 star hotel, a hotel receipt will break down the charges for your stay and serve as an official receipt as proof of payment.

What is a hotel receipt?

A hotel receipt is a document given to a guest by a hotel at the end of their stay that breaks down the charges for their stay. It’s a proof of payment and outlines the different expenses for the stay such as room charges, taxes, and additional services, like room service, minibar usage, or parking fees.

Hotel receipts are used for personal record-keeping and business purposes, such as expense reimbursements and tax deductions. 

Providing professional receipts enhances the venue's image and makes bookkeeping operations smoother. Business travelers use hotel receipts to claim expenses and support their financial records.

Why are guest and hotel receipts important?

A hotel receipt is essential for both guests and hotels. For guests, it’s proof of payment and a detailed record of their stay, which is handy for expense reports, tax purposes, or reimbursement claims. A clear itemized receipt means guests can track their spending and verify that all charges are correct.

For hotels, it’s essential for accounting and record keeping. It breaks down the services and amounts paid, which is helpful for financial audits and business analysis. 

Issuing a professional receipt also builds trust and transparency with guests and shows the hotel’s commitment to excellent service and professionalism.

What information is included on a hotel receipt?

A hotel receipt will have the following details for the hotel and the guest. This includes a breakdown of everything charged during a hotel stay, with all services and charges listed, so the guest knows what they’re being charged for.

1. Payment

• Payment method: Credit card, cash, or other.

• Amount paid: What the guest paid.

• Date paid: Date of transaction.

• Receipt number: A unique code.

• Payment confirmation: This may include a signature or confirmation number.

2. Room service and other charges

• Room service: Meals or services in the guest’s room, itemized.

• Other incidentals: Minibar, laundry, parking.

• Sales tax: Tax on the room and services.

• Total amount due: All charges and tax.

3. Booking details

• Guest name: Who made the booking.

• Room number: Assigned room.

• Check-in and check-out dates: To track stay duration.

• Number of guests: For occupancy and extra charges if applicable.

• Contact information: Address, phone number, and email.

What kind of hotel receipts are there?

There are two types of hotel receipts.

1. Simple receipt

A simple receipt template is a document with only basic information, such as room charges and payment details. Small hotels or guesthouses use this kind of receipt.

2. Itemized receipt

A detailed list in an itemized receipt breaks down every charge during your stay. This is useful for business travelers who need to document and report expenses. The receipt includes all room charges, incidentals, and taxes to track individual expenses for reimbursement.

What's the best method for managing hotel receipts for business?

Managing hotel receipts can be tedious, especially for frequent business travelers.

Shoeboxed can make it easy by digitizing, organizing, storing, and tracking your receipts for you.

Shoeboxed - ideal for businesses looking to simplify travel expense management

Shoeboxed lets you scan physical hotel receipts or forward digital receipts to the platform. The app will extract the date, amount, and hotel name to record and store all receipts. No more lost receipts because you always have a backup in the cloud.

Here’s how:

1. Automates receipt capture and storage

Shoeboxed is a receipt scanning app or a receipt scanning service, whichever you prefer.

Mobile app

With the mobile app, scan your hotel receipts with your smartphone's camera, and Shoeboxed's app will automatically upload them to your designated account.

Magic Envelope service

Or, if you prefer, you can put your hotel and travel receipts in a prepaid postage-free Magic Envelope provided by Shoeboxed and mail them to their processing center, where their team will scan, human-verify, and upload them into your account.

Gmail plugin

Shoeboxed also offers a Gmail plugin that automatically searches your inbox and forwards receipts directly to your Shoeboxed account if you booked online.

2. Organizes travel expenses

Shoeboxed automatically categorizes hotel receipts and other travel expenses into 15 tax or custom categories, such as travel dates, room charges, and incidentals. 

This organized storage makes it easy to retrieve receipts when you need to file for business reimbursements or include them in tax filings. You can search by date, location, or amount to find the specific receipts you need for expense reports.

3. Generates expense reports

Shoeboxed generates detailed expense reports for business reimbursements, including hotel receipts. These reports are formatted for submission to your company’s finance department or for tax deductions.

4. Integrates with accounting software

You can export reports in PDF or Excel and even integrate with accounting software like QuickBooks or Xero, making the reimbursement and tax deduction process hassle-free.

5. Tracks deductible expenses

Shoeboxed will track your deductible expenses so all hotel stays and related costs like room service or business amenities are recorded for tax deductions. This will save you time during tax season and compliance with tax regulations.

6. Provides mobile and cloud access anywhere, anytime

Shoeboxed’s cloud storage means your receipts are accessible anywhere, on the road or in the office. With mobile access, you can scan and organize receipts when you check out of a hotel, so your records are always current.

By automating receipt management with Shoeboxed, you’ll simplify the process of managing hotel expenses for business reimbursements and tax deductions, reduce manual work, and ensure accuracy.

What are the best practices for hotel receipts?

Here are some things to remember that I have found to make managing hotel receipts much more manageable.

1. Ask for an itemized receipt

• Ask for an itemized receipt from the hotel to ensure accuracy and compliance.

• Make sure all necessary information is included on the receipt.

• Consider using a receipt management system to make it easier.

2. Reconciling business lodging costs

• Use hotel receipts to track business expenses.

• Include receipts in expense reports to ensure accuracy and compliance.

• Consider using a receipt management system like Shoeboxed to automate the process.

• Use Google Sheets or Google Docs to generate receipts and save time.

3. Hotel receipt template

• Use a hotel receipt template to create professional guest receipts.

• Include details like payment, room service charges, and booking information.

• Use a hotel receipt template to save time and ensure all necessary info is included.

Here are some free templates to generate receipts:

Hotel receipt template by BnBholiday (Google Sheets template, Word template, Google Doc template, Excel template)

👉Download directly

Hotel receipt template by Bookipi (Google Docs, MS Word, MS Excel, Google Sheets)

👉Download directly

Frequently asked questions

What if my hotel receipt is missing or incomplete?

Contact the hotel if your receipt lacks essential information, like room charges or payment confirmation. Most hotels can send you a duplicate receipt or fix the errors quickly. Plus, with Shoeboxed, you’ll always have a backup of your receipts.

Can I use the hotel receipt for tax purposes?

Yes, hotel receipts are used for business travel tax deductions. Ensure the receipt is itemized and has all the necessary info, like room charges, taxes, and extra fees. Organize and store these in Shoeboxed so you can easily access them during tax time or audit.

In conclusion

Hotel receipts are a vital part of expense management for business travelers who need to track lodging for reimbursement and tax purposes. Now that you know how to manage hotel receipts, Shoeboxed will take care of the rest by organizing receipts, automating expense reports, and safely and efficiently storing all your important documents.

Caryl Ramsey has years of experience assisting in different aspects of bookkeeping, taxes, and customer service. She uses a variety of accounting software to set up client information, reconcile accounts, code expenses, run financial reports, and prepare tax returns. She is also experienced in setting up corporations with the State Corporation Commission and the IRS.

About Shoeboxed!

Shoeboxed is a receipt scanning service with receipt management software that supports multiple receipt capture methods: send, scan, upload, forward, and more!

You can stuff your receipts into one of our Magic Envelopes (prepaid postage within the US). Use our receipt tracker + receipt scanner app (iPhone, iPad, and Android) to snap a picture while on the go. Auto-import receipts from Gmail. Or forward a receipt to your designated Shoeboxed email address.

Turn your receipts into data and deductibles with our expense reports, including IRS-accepted receipt images.

Join over 1 million businesses scanning & organizing receipts, creating expense reports, and more—with Shoeboxed.

Try Shoeboxed today!