Hotel Night Audit: Celebrating the Unsung Heroes of Hospitality

It's called the Snowball Effect: Sometimes, one small idea can cause bigger and bigger actions, ultimately resulting in a monumental impact. 

Last week, on May 18, hundreds of hoteliers across the hospitality industry rallied together to celebrate Night Auditor Appreciation Day. At Otelier, we are so grateful for the outpouring of support from hotel leaders across hospitality, shining the light on the staff members that we consider the unsung heroes of our industry.

Because of their schedule, many hotel leaders rarely even see or speak to their overnight crew, which makes it hard to show appreciation. At Otelier, we felt like it was time to step back and say “thanks.” Hotel leaders from across the industry joined in, posting amazing messages and pictures across social media of how they celebrated their overnight crews leading up to Night Auditor Appreciation Day.

There were kind notes, snack packs, gift boxes, gift cards, cakes, special breakfasts, poems, and even a watercolor painting. It was amazing to see so many hotel GMs, directors of operations and other leaders across our industry come together to celebrate the unsung heroes of our industry who work so tirelessly to support hotel operations. 

“Tonight we are appreciating our two night auditors by sending them a sugar rush with a delivery of Insomnia cookies along with thank you notes from all of the managers with gift cards for Starbucks Coffee,” wrote Camille Garcia, Hotel Manager with Aimbridge Hospitality.

“Late Night Delivery for the first ever Night Auditor Appreciation Day sponsored by [Otelier]! Crumbl Cookies and Speedway Gas Cards for our 3rd shift dream team of Alex, Niki, and Marquice Gee!” wrote the hotel manager at Ironworks Hotel Indy.

“We were excited to show our two hero Night Auditors some appreciation for National Night Auditors Day! Nabih & Vagish allow us to sleep soundly knowing our  is in good hands in the wee hours. Their new snack boxes will constantly be refilled with snacks of their choice to get them through the night. Thank you guys!” wrote Erik Mendoza, General Manager at the Hyatt Place San Francisco.

“We celebrated our amazing night auditors on #NightAuditorAppreciationDay by surprising them with snacks, mugs, non-alcoholic beverages, thank you cards signed by our team members, and gift cards to show our gratitude for their hard work and dedication. We couldn't do it without them, and we're so grateful for everything they do to keep our business running smoothly 24/7,” wrote Linda Attipoe, Human Resources Manager at Stonebridge Companies.

“At Crowne Plaza Fredericton-Lord Beaverbrook Hotel, we're honoring our dedicated night auditors on this special day. We started with a team breakfast at Pickle Jar, filled with laughter and camaraderie. To show our appreciation, we surprised them with goodie bags. Our night auditors play a vital role in ensuring smooth operations during the night shift. Thank you for your dedication and professionalism!” wrote the hotel manager at Crowne Plaza Fredericton-Lord Beaverbrook.

As part of Night Auditor Appreciation Day, Otelier held a drawing to give away a $250 Amazon gift card for any hotelier who posted on Linkedin with a kind message using the hashtag #nightauditorappreciationday. The winner was Thessa M., associate director of finance at the Marriott La Jolla, who put together a couple of amazing gift bags for her overnight crew.

Ongoing Support

The idea for Night Auditor Appreciation Day was born earlier in the year, when Otelier leaders began a brainstorming session to better connect with the users of their core product, Otelier DigiAudit. We spoke to GMs, directors of operations, finance executives, Human Resources managers, and one common theme consistently bubbled up: That staff members who work the third shift and process the night audit each and every night are critical to the success of a hotel.

The Night Audit shift is commonly 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., which already makes the job difficult. On top of operating on a backward schedule where you are asleep while everyone else is awake, the Night Auditor is tasked with a multitude of critical responsibilities. Night Auditors routinely serve as the front-desk agent, checking late-arriving guests into the hotel; the cook, feeding hungry guests looking for a late-night meal; the bartender, keeping the lobby bar abuzz. Then, at some point in the night, the Night Auditor switches into accounting mode, reconciling all the revenues and expenditures from throughout the property that day. After that, they begin preparing the hotel for the next day, creating notes to keep the next-day staff informed of what’s happening across the property and setting up breakfast.

Many top executives across the hospitality industry started their career as Night Auditors. Now, when we think about the talent pipeline for our industry, it’s clear the Night Auditor position is a critical juncture. And for today’s Night Auditors, it’s important to see that they’ve got a foot in the door, are beginning to understand the framework of the business, and can build a career from there. 

In the end, Night Auditors: We can't thank you enough for the awesome job that you do, really serving as the heartbeat of the hotel industry. Thanks so much to everyone who participated in Night Auditor Appreciation Day, and we can't wait to do it again next year.