Software Options for Operating a Mid-Sized Hotel? 61
curly_dan asks: "Can readers recommend any software packages suitable for a mid-sized hotel (100 rooms + restaurant + bar + function rooms) to use for checking guests in/out, billing, housekeeping, reservations, financial accounting and all other necessary functions for a busy hotel? Their existing system (which I don't want to name) is clunky, fails often, and the telephone support team seem unable to use or configure their own product and are frequently rude to the hotel staff. I'm interested in hearing the experiences on the software packages those of you in this business have encountered."
Keep the PBX in mind (Score:4, Interesting)
Oh yeah (Score:3, Interesting)
Trust me.. download roommaster, play with the sample data.. it'll kill you with ease of use.
it does require win xp pro on all terminals..
First year we saved about 1k in postage by emailing our confirmations (independent motel) we also had much better communications because we had sent an email to everyone at point of booking, and again when their reservations had a deposit.. if we never recieved a deposit, 'usta be we'd cancel the bookings, now we send an email ahead, then recapture about half, then cancel the rest...
I have confirmation letters that know the difference between a rack rate, and a special that require a different cancel time, and prints the date they must cancel by (3 days ahead, or 14) automatically..
it can produce 99% of it's reports to PDF...
pay the pony, at a 100 rooms, get the enterprise edition, the extra reporting is well worth it.
THE ONLY THING it does not do that I wish it did today (Robert, are ya listening? I'm sure you've figured out who this is from the slacker typing style) is let me track rooms completed by which housekeeper... where the desk types them in, and I also wish I could move line items off the DESK FOLIOS only, so I could recapture missed call accounting interfaces (due to desk, not software error) to the rooms they belong to cleanly.....
How far back do you want to go? (Score:3, Interesting)
But, in the period JUST BEFORE pc's were common, our hotel used a
1-Micros Cash register to keep track of all the rooms
2- 3 ring binder with 'graph' paper to keep track of availability
3- boxes like 4X6 index card boxes for actual reservations
process, you call the hotel, ask for a certain date, the agent steals the "book" from whichever phone (of three) it's sitting at, and looks at the two pages (rooms 1-40 on page one, 41-80 on page 2) and quotes availability and room descriptions
as soon as possible, you write this name in the book for their room in pencil.. you file the respad in the box for such by name.
a week-ten days later, their deposit (check or money order only) arrives.. you pull the name copy.. get the book- erase the name in pencil, write it again in ink.. then go to the micros and open the 'adv deposit' account.. ring up the check- and it prints a two-line comment on the respad as well.. now file the respad in the index boxes by date of arrival.
guest arrives, fills out stub card on registration card.. you ring up a payment from the advance deposit file, and the balance of what the guest paid at check in.. and print it off
each night, the auditor takes each card one at a time, and posts off the days charges...
at checkout, the balances get zeroed, and the top copy is the guests receipt.