Accounting Clerk/Generalist

About the Company

Highgate is a leading real estate investment and hospitality management company widely recognized as an innovator in the industry. Highgate is the dominant player in major U.S. gateway cities including New York, Boston, Miami, San Francisco, and Honolulu, with a growing Caribbean and Latin America footprint. The company provides expert guidance through all stages of the property cycle, from planning and development through recapitalization or disposition. Highgate has a proven record of developing its diverse portfolio of bespoke lifestyle hotel brands, legacy brands, and independent hotels and resorts with contemporary programming and digital acumen.

Location

The Westin New Orleans is situated at the end of famed Canal Street, offering stunning views of the Mississippi River and the French Quarter. Guests are just steps from the Shops at Canal Place, Harrah’s Casino, Bourbon Street, and the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The hotel features 462 rooms and suites, 34,000 sq. ft. of event space, a fitness center, a lobby bar with views of the French Quarter, and a restaurant.

About the Role

The Accounting Clerk performs all accounting functions such as accounts receivable, accounts payable, processing and collections, internal audit, and general cashier duties, ensuring tasks are completed in a timely and accurate manner.

Responsibilities

• Maintain a warm and friendly demeanor at all times, effectively communicating with employees and guests in an attentive, courteous, and service-oriented manner.
• Multitask and prioritize departmental functions to meet deadlines.
• Attend all required hotel meetings and trainings.
• Maintain regular attendance and high standards of personal appearance and grooming.
• Comply with Highgate Hotels Standards and regulations to encourage safe and efficient hotel operations.
• Maximize productivity, identify problem areas, and assist in implementing solutions.
• Handle problems by anticipating, preventing, identifying, and solving them as necessary.
• Understand and apply complex information from various sources to meet objectives.
• Cross-train in other hotel-related areas and maintain confidentiality of information.
• Show initiative, including anticipating guest or operational needs.
• Perform other duties as requested by management.
• Utilize and maintain the time and attendance system, processing payroll and related information (daily, weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, and monthly).
• Review and ensure accuracy of all payroll input and output.
• Monitor, prepare, and communicate financial reports in accordance with Highgate Hotels’s required due dates.
• Retrieve and process all deposits in accordance with hotel standards.
• Maintain an adequate supply of cash/change and provide it to all departments as needed.
• Prepare Cash Over/Short reports on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis.
• Issue and redeem cashier banks as needed with the approval of the Accounting Manager.
• Audit cashier banks as required by hotel standards and maintain all documentation.
• Process “due backs” on a timely basis and maintain all cashier contracts.
• Process petty cash receipts and reimbursements, informing management of any policy deviations.
• Assist in establishing customer credit in accordance with Highgate Hotels’s policies, including application processing, reference checks, and credit limitations.
• Provide customers with accurate and timely invoices, statements, and schedules.
• Respond to customer inquiries in a timely fashion and communicate issues to appropriate supervisors.
• Maintain an efficient collection process, including filing, tracing, issuing letters, monitoring returned checks, performing collection calls, and preparing bad debt write-offs.
• Monitor guest ledger, advance deposit ledger, and other related ledgers to ensure proper internal control.
• Keep management aware of unusual financial occurrences or significant deviations from policies and procedures.
• Ensure overall guest satisfaction.

Requirements

• High School diploma or equivalent; related experience in a hotel or related field preferred.
• College courses in an associate field preferred.
• Proficient in Windows, company-approved spreadsheets, and word processing.
• Flexible and long hours sometimes required.
• Sedentary work – exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or negligible force frequently.