Hotel invoice: what to include, with a worked example

What is a hotel invoice, and how is it different from a receipt?

People often mix up three papers. They look similar, but they do different jobs.

• Invoice. It asks for money, or records what a stay costs. It can be sent before, during or after the stay.
• Receipt. It proves money was paid. You give it after a payment comes in.
• Booking confirmation. It confirms the room is held for the guest. It may show the price, but its main job is to confirm the booking.

So the simple rule is this. An invoice says "this is what the stay costs." A receipt says "we got your money." Many guests ask for both, so it helps to send them together.

If you want more on the confirmation side, read our guide to the hotel booking confirmation (opens in new tab).

Who asks for a hotel invoice?

Most leisure guests never ask. They paid on Booking.com or Airbnb and they are happy. The people who ask are usually:

• Business travellers. Their company pays them back, but only with a correct invoice.
• Companies and travel agents. They pay you by bank transfer after the stay and need a paper to approve.
• Event or group organisers. They book many rooms and must split the cost between people.
• Guests on long stays. They pay weekly or monthly and want a record each time.

What a hotel invoice must include

Rules on invoices change from country to country. Still, almost every good hotel invoice has the same parts. Use this list when you build your own template.

Two small parts help a lot. First, write the currency next to every number, for example Rp or IDR. Second, write the guest's name exactly as on their passport or ID. A company may reject an invoice with a wrong name.

See how a booking record holds the guest, dates and payments in the demo

Invoice number rules

Give every invoice its own number. Never reuse one, even if you cancel the invoice. A simple pattern works well: a prefix, the year, then a counter. For example INV-2026-0001, INV-2026-0002 and so on.

If you change an invoice after sending it, do not edit the old one quietly. Send a new invoice, or a credit note, that refers to the old number. That way both you and the guest can follow what happened.

A worked hotel invoice example

Here is a full example for a small villa. The villa, the guest and the company are all made up. The prices are also made up, only to show the maths.

Made-up example: Villa Kembang Sari, Ubud, Bali

• Invoice number: INV-2026-0142
• Invoice date: 18 December 2026
• Bill to: PT Contoh Maju (made up), Jakarta, with its company tax ID
• Guest: Dewi Lestari (made up)
• Booking number: KB-88213
• Stay: 14 December to 18 December 2026, 4 nights, one Garden Suite

Payment: bank transfer to the account shown, by 31 December 2026.

Look at how each line answers one question. What was bought? How many? At what price? The guest can check every number with a phone calculator in a minute. That is the goal.

In this example the tax is shown as one line on top of the subtotal. Your real setup may be different. Some properties show prices with tax already inside. Others add a service charge before tax. Ask your tax adviser which way fits your business, then use it the same way on every invoice.

Taxes and service charges on an invoice

Tax is where most invoice questions come from. The rules depend on where your property is, so treat this part as a general guide, not tax advice.

In many countries a hotel stay carries a local tax, a national sales tax, or both. In Indonesia, hotel stays are usually charged a regional tax set by each local government. The national law on central and regional finance, Law No. 1 of 2022 (opens in new tab), sets the upper limit for this tax at 10%. Each regency then sets its own rate.

A few simple habits keep tax lines clean:

• Show each tax on its own line. Do not hide tax inside a room line if the guest needs to see it.
• Use the same order every time. For example price, then service charge, then tax.
• Name the tax clearly. Write the local name, so a company accountant knows what it is.
• Do not add taxes the guest does not owe you. For example, Bali's levy for foreign tourists is paid by the visitor through the official Love Bali (opens in new tab) site. It is not a line on your hotel bill.

Our hotel tax guide for Indonesia (opens in new tab) goes deeper into how the regional hotel tax works.

Open a booking in the demo and check its payment lines

How to handle deposits, part payments and OTA bookings

Many stays are paid in steps. A guest pays a deposit, then the rest on arrival. A good invoice shows each step so the balance is always clear.

Deposits

Show the deposit as a payment line, with its date. Then show the balance. Do not lower the room price to show a deposit. The full price stays on the invoice, and the deposit is taken off at the bottom.

If the guest has not paid the deposit yet, you can send an invoice for the deposit amount only. Write clearly that it is a deposit for a booking, with the dates. Our guide on following up arrival deposits (opens in new tab) has message ideas for guests who pay late.

Bookings from Booking.com, Airbnb and other OTAs

An OTA is an online travel agency, like Booking.com or Expedia. When a guest books through one, who sends the invoice depends on how the guest paid.

• The guest paid the OTA. The OTA often gives the guest its own receipt. If the guest also wants a hotel invoice, you can make one, but match the amount the guest paid.
• The guest pays you at the property. Then you are the one who bills them, so you make the invoice.

Always check the booking details before you invoice an OTA guest. The price the guest paid and the amount you receive after the OTA's commission are often not the same. The invoice to the guest shows what the guest paid.

Payments in cash or local methods

If a guest pays in cash, by bank transfer or by QRIS, write the method and date on the payment line. QRIS is Indonesia's national QR code for payments. Our guide to local payment methods in Indonesia (opens in new tab) explains the common choices for guests.

Invoices for company guests

Company guests are where a good invoice saves the most time. A wrong invoice can mean weeks of waiting for money.

Before the stay, ask the guest three questions:

1. Who pays: you, or your company?
2. What exact company name and address should be on the invoice?
3. Does your company need a tax number on it?

Write the answers in the booking notes on the day the guest books. Then the invoice is right the first time.

For Indonesian companies, the company tax number is called an NPWP. Many finance teams cannot approve an invoice without it. If a company asks for an official Indonesian tax invoice, called a Faktur Pajak, the rules depend on your own tax status, so check with your tax adviser first.

Splitting a bill

Groups often want one invoice per person, or one for rooms and one for meals. Agree on the split before check-out. Then make separate invoices that add up to the full amount. Give each one its own number.

Common hotel invoice mistakes

These small mistakes cause most payment delays:

• No invoice number. The company's finance team cannot track it.
• Wrong name or company. The traveller cannot claim it.
• Totals that do not add up. Even a small rounding error makes people stop and ask.
• Mixed currencies. A line in US dollars and a line in Rupiah on one invoice confuses everyone.
• Missing payment details. The guest wants to pay, but does not know how.
• Editing a sent invoice. Change it with a new invoice or a credit note instead.
• Sending it late. Send the invoice within a day of check-out, while the stay is fresh.

A simple habit fixes most of these. Before you send any invoice, read it once as if you were the guest's accountant. Does every number make sense on its own?

How Kiyo helps with hotel invoices

Kiyo is a property management system (PMS) for small hotels, villas and guesthouses. A PMS is the main software that runs your bookings, rooms and front desk.

In Kiyo, each booking keeps the guest, the dates, the room and the payments in one record. From that booking you can download a PDF invoice with one button in the dashboard. The invoice can show Indonesian taxes on their own lines and a company's NPWP in the Bill To part. That covers the parts company guests ask for most.

For bookings made on your own booking page, the confirmation email can carry a receipt PDF and a Faktur Pajak XML file. Your guest gets the papers without you typing anything.

Kiyo also connects to 75+ OTAs, so OTA bookings land in the same calendar as your direct ones. The whole app works in Bahasa Indonesia and English, so every staff member can use it.

Download a sample invoice from a booking in the Kiyo demo

Plans start from Rp40k per room per month (opens in new tab). Free setup, pay from go-live, 14-day money-back guarantee.

Frequently asked questions

Is a hotel invoice the same as a hotel bill?

Mostly, yes. People use both words. "Bill" is common at check-out. "Invoice" is common when a company pays later. Both should show the same parts.

When should I send a hotel invoice?

Send it at check-out, or within a day after. For company guests who pay later, send it as soon as the stay ends. For deposits, send a deposit invoice when the guest books.

Can I change an invoice after I send it?

Do not edit it quietly. Make a new invoice, or a credit note, that refers to the old number. Then both sides can see the change.

Do I need to include tax on a hotel invoice?

If you charge tax, show it on its own line. The exact rules depend on your country and region, so ask a local tax adviser. In Indonesia, the regional hotel tax rate is set by each regency, up to the limit in national law.

What if the guest booked through an OTA?

Check how the guest paid. If they paid the OTA, the OTA usually gives them a receipt. If they want a hotel invoice too, match the amount they paid. If they pay you at the property, you make the invoice.

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