Guest Information Management

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Wanting to raise the prestige of their hotel or boarding house, to ensure the clarity and efficiency of customer service, to establish control over the actions of staff, etc., their managers inevitably come to the idea of the need to purchase and then implement an automated hotel system.

Presently in the hotels reception, storage and retrieval of information takes place with the help of automated control systems. There is no problem to recall from the computer's memory a list of guests arriving on a particular day, information about room reservations, regular customers, guest accounts, etc.

An automated management system consists of a set of computer programs that can be used to collect and use information relevant to the operation of management and support offices [10; 1063].

The four programs in this set are particularly important because they provide administrators with the necessary information in the following areas:

- manage the reservation service;

- managing guest service;

- management of calculations with the guests;

- General hotel management issues.

The system component that provides a reservation service allows employees of this service to quickly receive reservation requests, confirmation of already made reservations and always have a clear picture of the estimated occupancy of the hotel for each day, collecting information about reservations made directly in the office and via a centralized telephone reservation system. Most hotel corporations have their own numbers in this system, which people can call (for free) from anywhere in the US, and sometimes from abroad, to make reservations. Transport agencies also have direct access to this centralized system via a computer network.

More than a hundred hotel employees who regularly use the automated management system can always get information in the following areas:

- reservation;

- office of the chief administrator;

- registration of collective accounts;

- information about regular customers;

- text editor for reports;

- invoices for transport Agency services;

- making tours;

- administrative and economic issues;

- the management of interest income;

- creation of complex programs;

- wholesale sales;

- interface for the calculations on the computer;

- interface for retail outlets;

- environmental control;

- centralized reservation;

- city Ledger;

- creditor indebtedness;

- management of associations;

- rent for long-term rental of rooms;

- rent for timeshares.

In medium and large hotels, there is a mini-computer on the administrator's Desk for monitoring, billing and purchasing. The hotel also usually has several other main hotel services equipped with monitors: receptionists, reservations, maids, service bureaus, business centers, telephone services, accounting, commercial services, etc. Small hotels can use the mini-computer separately or connect it to the local network for processing requests.

Marriott Hotels ' automated management system is based on the IBM 173 RISC System/600. It covers 250 hotels spread around the world. When creating the network, an attempt was made to integrate all relevant issues in one database: sales, supply, personnel, accounting, administration.

Holiday Inn Worldwide, which includes 600 hotels, spent about $ 60 million to install an automated management system in all its branches [20; 135].

This system includes installation and maintenance of the system in all departments and distribution of the Holiday Inn Reservation Optimization (HIRO) system to them, and free use of these systems by all employees (for work and training). It helps optimize profits for the hotel and maximize customer convenience.

Computerization of the hotel allows you to:

- improve the efficiency of the management system;

- increase the security of guests and personal property, as well as hotel property;

- expand the hotel's customer base and solve a number of marketing tasks;

- increase revenues associated with expanding the offer of additional hotel services.

Obviously, all these tasks are currently relevant for any hotel, regardless of the number of rooms, its category and location.

If the hotel rooms and service areas are equipped with electronic locks, then they can be combined into a single network using a computer, which also performs a number of additional functions:

- blocking, opening one or more numbers on command from the Central console;

- receiving an alarm in case of unauthorized access to the room;

- getting information about the status of the door (open/closed, which key);

- getting information about whether there is a guest in the room or not. Although such information is prohibited in some countries, as it is an invasion of the guest's privacy.

Computer systems for centralized management of the hotel complex allow you to coordinate the work of even a large hotel without much time and effort. The system allows you to solve the following tasks:

- optimization of business processes, reduction of paper document flow;

- increasing control over the activities of services and personnel;

- improving the quality of guest service;

- optimization of operating costs;

- statistical and analytical functions.

Professional systems are based on the successful experience of a large number of hotels, which is accumulated and improved every year in new professional developments. To date, there are several professional developments that deserve the attention of hotels when choosing an automated control system.

Despite the large number of complex hotel automation systems, the basic principles of building such systems are quite similar. All systems are integrated software packages that automate the activities of the main hotel services: room management, administrative, commercial, engineering, and catering services. The programs themselves are built on a functional principle. Thus, the automation program management service capacity (Front office) allows you to manage inventory, reservations, registration of guests, maintain guest accounts and automatic calculation of the cost of living and services. The program, designed to automate the provision of services and payments to customers in restaurants, bars and other catering departments, solves the following tasks: maintaining the program of catering guests and managing the loading of halls, viewing the availability of products in stock and in production, etc.

Information can be in the form of documentation on paper or in electronic form. Thus, the automated control system is: a method of accumulation and a source of obtaining complete temporary information about the guest and the current state of the hotel, coming from related systems (divisions) in a convenient form, and therefore, the basis of the hotel information system:

• a tool and tool for managing and responding quickly to constantly changing hotel and market situations;
• a way to improve the level of service for guests and the quality of staff work;
• automation system for all stages of working with a guest-from receiving an application to final payment;
• the ability to effectively use the hotel's room stock and other elements, and consequently increase its revenue;
• a human resources policy tool that allows you to clearly delineate the rights of personnel in the system and control the actions of individual employees;
• new opportunities in the field of management and service, because the accumulated data becomes an invaluable capital for the hotel. Guest history databases allow you to encourage regular customers, accurately study the hotel's target market, predict demand for services, and conduct effective marketing and credit policies.

Advantages of the "Lodging Touch" system»

1. Functional completeness-has a rich set of functions for effective management of business and tourist class hotels.

2. Modularity-interconnected modules of the system comprehensively cover all the processes of organizing guest services and financial and economic management of a hotel enterprise:

Basic module (receptionist, booking, registration and settlement of guests, payments with guests, room management, engineering service, telephone operator, electronic Concierge, night audit). This block is called basic, as it supports the functions of booking " rooms (making and canceling reservations, maintaining waiting lists, viewing floor plans), checking in and checking out guests, calculating payments, and night audit procedures. Here you can view a report on the state of the hotel (in graphical or tabular form), get a variety of reference information (guest cards, passport data, etc.). the night audit Procedure takes from 5 to 15 minutes. By pressing one key, the system date is transferred and the daily rate and fixed additional services are automatically credited to the guest accounts;

• History of the guest;
• Group sales (group booking, working with companies);
• Accounts receivable (working with debtors);
• Travel agencies (working with travel agencies);
• Tariff management;
• Car dealership;
• Sales and marketing (working with contacts);
• Contracts;
• Event management (organization of events);
• Central booking (centralized management of a group of hotels);
• Number management module.

Advantages of "HRS" software products»:

1. widespread;
2. consist of interconnected software modules, each of which is easy to learn and use;
3. it is possible to configure the configuration according to the requirements and features;
4. have built-in "tools" for conducting a commercial strategy to maximize revenue;
5. have the ability to combine (interfaces) with other systems and with other products;
6. have a wide range of technical solutions based on modern technologies for building information systems: client-server, file-server, Oracle, Windows, DOS, Novell, Internet;
7. provide efficient and comprehensive management of a hotel or restaurant of any level and size on a turnkey basis, including the supply of software and hardware, staff training, service support with a round-the-clock hotline, prompt assistance to the customer with the departure of a specialist.

The system has a flexible mechanism for conducting tariff policy. All tariffs entered are characterized by the start date and the end date of their validity. Upon the corresponding date, Nevsky porter will automatically make payments to guests for accommodation and additional services based on the current rates for this date. It is possible to introduce both General tariffs for all guests, and special, contractual, tariffs for individual consumer organizations. The system automatically calculates taxes in accordance with current Russian legislation and depending on the payment method (cash or non-cash payments).

The operator can work with the following directories related to the pricing group:

* directory of accommodation rates;

* directory of rates for equipment in the room;

* directory of tariffs for additional and service services;

* directory of taxes on hotel services.

Hotel employees can create a list of services at their own discretion using the functions of maintaining directories of service and additional services.