Booking system (cont)
New Guest
You need to collect all of the guest’s details and store them onto the computer. If this was done manually then in would take exactly the same time so there are no advantages at this moment, however there will be many more advantages later.
Returning Guest
A guest that has already used the hotel returns. In this case the receptionist has only to call the hotel’s records up and recall the guest’s details, check them and re-use them. In this way the hotel saves more time and thus needs to employ a smaller number of employees or could employ more employees for customer services, so the customer is more satisfied. Compared to being done manually, there would be no time saved if a returning guest came as his details would have to be searched and then recalled. There is now an advantage for computer systems.
Internet Online Booking
The hotel offers an online booking system and I gave it a trial. It was very well advertised and the hotel just made sure you would not miss it. It was very speedy but the prices put me off. On a good note the prices were the only let-down. This system would be very helpful and more accessible for visitors from abroad than fax and telephone. The exact same system is used to record information but there are no receptionists so, in theory, no booking staff would be needed, because the customer types in all the details him/herself. Validation of data is particularly important as there is no staff control. Hotels encourage online bookings as the staff save a lot of time.
However, on the other hand, online booking can be impersonal and sometimes unhelpful if the website is poorly designed, but Kingsway hall’s website has been adjusted over the past year. Online bookings make up about 40% of the hotel’s overall bookings. However the judgements needed for group bookings make it compulsory for staff to do. A third of the hotel’s business is made up of group bookings.
Rooms available for booking
If using a manual system the receptionist would have to firstly find the booking sheets for the given dates and then find the available rooms. This is an extremely lengthy process especially when the sheets start to fill up.
However using a computer system, the receptionist has to only enter the days and dates and the rooms are immediately displayed on the computer monitor. The hotel averages 80 bookings a day. The fast process saves the time equivalent to half an employee. Also the customer receives a much better impression.
Booking
The same time is used up to make a manual booking as opposed to a computerised booking system. The benefits of a computerised booking system are realised in later events. Using a manual system the details are written on the relevant dates and rooms. The computer system generates a Guest Number which concatenates all the other details under one number. It also generates a booking.
Check-in
The main event at check-in is the signing of the contract between guest and host, i.e. customer and hotel. In the manual system hiss used to be called “The Register” and entries were made in a book. The computer system would print the contract on to a piece of paper A5 sized and the customer would sign it. On the paper are the main details of the duration of the guest’s stay their name, address and most importantly the price agreed. At the booking stage these detail’s were recorded so could now be printed off in seconds. This system saves time as well as well as making sure that the contract is well presented. This system also makes the document free of legibility issues. Transcription errors are also prevented like the incorrect room rate which happens very frequently. The estimated value of saving for the hotel is two minutes per check-in or 3 hours per day.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE YIELD MANAGEMENT
The majority of the hotel’s costs are fixed costs. The council tax must be paid and the staff must be paid whether the hotel is full or not. The hotel must gain the highest amount of income as possible, so half price for a room is better than no money at all. The Rack rate is the normal price before any discounts are given but discounts ar4e given of the Rack rate to make the hotel fuller on quieter days. The hotel’s problem is when to and when not to give a discount.
For this reason only, the yield management meeting is held. The hotel has a target and for every meeting they need to have an over/under target chart. This is essential and would look like this.
As the graph shows the hotel is over target on most days but on the weekends must offer some sort of deal e.g. Weekend Break Deals.
If the manual system was used, then the manager of the hotel would spend approximately 5 minutes adding up the accounts for one day.
If one day takes 5 minutes then the period of the whole week would take up a whole morning’s work. With this vast amount of work it would not be practicable to hold a meeting more often than once per week.
However, with the computer system, all the information is held in the booking system. An over/under target sheet like the one above would be set up and could be done in seconds.
This has two immediate and wonderful advantages:
- A whole morning’s work is saved each week;
- The discounts reviewed every day and an
analysis can be done every day. In this way, the hotel estimates that it saves £5000 a week as the discounts aren’t carried on for longer than needed.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE KEY SYSTEM
If a manual system was used, then each room would have a traditional metal key which would operate a mechanical lock. In many hotels the locks are suited. “Suited” means that the locks are in a set and can all be operated by one master key. Suited locks cost three times more than one-off locks and must be ordered specially from the manufacturer.
Normally the key are kept on a board and when they would like to leave (s)he leaves the key which is put back on the board. This does two things. Firstly, The key is kept safe and secondly, the housekeeping department knows when the guest is out and thus, when to clean the room. Here is a typical board:
The fobs of the keys are very large and bulky to discourage the guest from placing the keys in their pockets and leaving the hotel with them. Despite this discouraging fact, some guests still insist on taking their room keys out and they end up loosing them. Furthermore, if a criminal finds the key then the reputation of the hotel, the wellbeing of the guests belongings and other such issues are in extreme peril as the criminal would know the hotel, the room number and will thus have access to another guest’s room.
Most thefts in hotels are an “inside job,” i.e. they are done by corrupt staff and criminals who’ve gained a job with the hotel. The manual system has a large number of security problems.
- It is very easy for staff to get hold of \a key from the board and rob a room.
- Staff in the housekeeping department are in possession of a master key and for them it will be easy to rob a room.
Thefts from guests give the hotel a bad reputation, so, just in case Kingsway Hall has decided to use a computer system to improve security.
Every single room lock contains a small computer, swipe card reader, flash memory, and servo to operate the latch. When a guest books in, they are given a credit card type key. The magnetic strip on the back contains arrival date, departure date and a lock code. The exact same details are transmitted to their room lock. The room lock will only accept the correct code during the dates which are on the magnetic strip.
If someone gets hold of a key card, they cannot tell which room it is for so security is much enhanced. If a card is lost, it costs just a few pence to restore. If a disgruntled employee takes a master card, all the lock codes can be adjusted in minutes so that the particular master card no longer works.
As well as operating the door locks, the key card is inserted in a holder in the room. This holder acts as a master switch for the electrical and heating systems in the room. If a guest is out, then their card is not in the master switch, and all the lighting and air conditioning goes off. The hotel estimates that this saves about £70 in energy costs per room per year.
The computerised lock system cost about £500 per room to install, an investment of £85,000. The hotel says that in the first year with the system, claims of theft went down by 80%, and their insurance premiums have been reduced by £15000 per year.
In total, the insurance and energy savings total £25000 and the system paid for itself in less than four years.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE MINI-BAR SYSTEM
The mini-bars hold alcohol and expensive chocolates. In a manual system, each morning the housekeepers replenish the mini-bars and note down what items have been used. They create their record in a duplicate book, one record for each room. When a housekeeper has completed his or her round, (s)he hands her duplicate book to reception. Reception rip out one copy of each record and adds its value to the guest’s bill. The second copy stays in the duplicate book as a record of the housekeeper’s stock use.
The stock to replenish the mini-bars is on top of the housekeeper’s trolley. The trolley is burdened in the basement stores each morning with adequate stock to meet likely needs. The unused stock is returned to stores with the trolley at the end of the shift.
There are two major problems with this system.
The stock would endure “shrinkage”. Shrinkage is the word used to portray minor thefts by staff in shops and hotels.
Most guests departed before the housekeepers had been around, and some mini-bar usage did not get charged to the guest.
Sales from the mini-bars average about £5 per room per night. With 170 rooms, total sales are £300,000 per annum. The hotel approximates that shrinkage and unbilled usage together amounted to 10% of sales, or £30000 per year. The decision to put in a “smart” mini-bar system was based on preventing this loss.
The new mini-bars have a sensor pad for each item. The pads have wires fixed in them and sense the change in electrical capacitance when a product is present. The pads are connected to a small processor, which is cabled to the hotel network. When a product is removed, a signal is sent to the billing system and the charge made to the guest’s bill. The guest has 10 seconds to decide on the item, and then it is billed. This solves the problem of unbilled usage.
As well as relating to billing, the mini-bar information is also passed on to the storekeeping system in the basement. Each morning, the precise replacements are encumbered to the housekeepers’ trolleys. If any stock is stolen, it becomes apparent almost immediately, and it is also obvious which trolley is involved. There is still some shrinkage, usually caused by guests taking stuff off an unattended trolley, but at about 1% it is minute compared to the old system.
In the film of the hotel, the guest (Miss Kitto) criticised the mini-bar system. She had taken out some Pringles which she did not use and had put back next morning. She was irritated about being billed for something she had not used. She said “Who’s in control here, the technology or the humans?”
DETAILED DESCRPTION OF THE VIDEO ON DEMAND SYSTEM
This hotel would cater mainly for business type people. They didn’t have many social friendships and, so, would find going out alone boring. Thus the hotel decided to put in a video system. Films were sent, or broadcast, on eight channels throughout the room televisions. A timetable showed at what time the films were showing. During the evening, each channel would show £ films all together, thus equalling to 24 films that night. The hotel charged £10 per film. Mechanical video players were used so maintenance was quite high, and complaints were received that the choice was very limited.
Video on Demand (VoD) was provided by the new system. A server broadcast the films which the guest can watch at any time. The server holds a1lmost 200 films giving a much wider range of entertainment. Since putting in the system, revenue has increased threefold, to £400,000 per annum.
Mohammed Koya Page of 12/09.05