What term describes the practice of charging an employer for hotel accommodations?

• A. Walk-in
• B. Direct bill
• C. Prepay
• D. Late checkout

Answer: (B)

Direct bill is the arrangement where a hotel charges the stay to a company rather than to the traveler personally. In this setup, a corporate account or authorization is used, so the employer pays for the hotel expenses. This is common in business travel because it streamlines billing, supports adherence to travel policies, and makes expense tracking easier for the company. The traveler benefits by not paying upfront or at checkout, while the company handles reimbursement through its accounting processes.

Walk-in means the guest pays the hotel themselves, often with a personal method of payment. Prepay means the guest—often the traveler or the company—pays before the stay, in full or a portion, ahead of time. Late checkout is simply a scheduling policy about staying past the usual checkout time and is not about who pays for the room.