Applies to:          Stayntouch PMS          

Stayntouch PMS: Training Guide

Hello and welcome to the Stayntouch community!

We are excited to welcome your property to the team!

This document can be used to practice what you've learned in your training sessions.

If you would like to use a demo hotel environment to practice, please be sure to let your Implementations Consultant know, and they can set you up with a demo environment login. Attached at the bottom of this guide, you will find a PDF with practice exercises you can try from your demo account.

Please note, this guide is intended to be used alongside your training as well as afterwards, so you can practice using Stayntouch PMS.

TRAINING

LOGIN/ACCESS STAYNTOUCH PMS: The Basics of Logging In 

• Access Stayntouch PMS at pms.stayntouch.com or pms.eu.stayntouch.com. 

• Access Stayntouch PMS via Google Chrome (only). 

• Can’t log in? Contact your Manager. 

• Users start from the Stayntouch PMS Dashboard page.

DASHBOARD: Get to Know the Stayntouch PMS Dashboard

Access: 

• From the sidebar menu, the Dashboard is the first choice that will appear for selection. 

Dashboard: 

• The layout of the Stayntouch PMS Dashboard depends largely on the type of Dashboard assigned to your user and which parameters are configured for the property (i.e., Are upsell counts ON/OFF?).

• The article hyperlinked here (as well as above) is a guide to the various icons used in Stayntouch PMS: arrivals, departures, in-house, future reservations, previous reservations, cancellations, no-shows, etc.  

Search: 

• Search Bar: Can be used to retrieve reservations; additional filter options are available along the toolbar. 

• The from and to dates can be used to further narrow your search; the from date will always start on today’s date; however, you can set it for dates in the past, as well. 

• Reservations can be located by name, group name, room number, or confirmation number—as well as by Company or Travel Agent name. 

• Search by room type.

• The calendar icon can retrieve reservations for a specific date range. 

• +NEW: Users can create reservations from the Dashboard page.

• Different guest icons (male, female, non-specific) as well as for accompanying guests (double image).

Guests: 

• Guests (Buttons)

• Reservations are grouped under a “quicklink” button depending on their current status:

  • Arrivals (Due-In)

  • Mobile Check-Ins (Stayntouch Guest Mobility Only)

  • Queued (The Queue Setting Must Be ON) 

  • Stayovers (In-House)

  • Departures (Due-Out)

  • Checked Out (With Balance)

  • VIPs

Occupancy:

• Occupancy Percentages 

  • Displays house availability for the current business date and the next two days

  • Also displays the occupancy percentage for the month and the year. 

Rooms:

• Rooms (Buttons) 

  • Includes information on Occupied, Vacant (Ready), Vacant (Not Ready), and Out of Order/Service Rooms 

Statistics: 

• ADR, Upsell, and the Rate of the Day 

AVAILABILITY PAGE: More information in this video.

• This window slides out when selected from the Dashboard. Availability does not calculate for OOS rooms. There are five different sections users can navigate to from here; each section can be expanded to view more information: Availability, House Status, Item Inventory, Groups, and Allotments. 

Availability: Dates run across the header of this page. Use the calendar icon to search for a specific date range. Select how many days you’d like Stayntouch PMS to display (7, 14, or 30 Days). The print button will appear when 14 Days is selected.

• Occupancy %: This is the total number of physical rooms at the hotel divided by the number of rooms sold. The chevron arrows reveal a more detailed view of these numbers: 

  • OOO vs. OOS Rooms (here) 

  • Rooms Inventory: The total number of physical rooms onsite at the property. 

  • OOO Rooms: The number of Out of Order rooms. 

  • Rooms to Sell: This is the number of available rooms to be sold (minus OOO rooms).  

  • Best Available Rate: This is the rate that has been selected to display in Settings > Rates > Rate Sequence > Stayntouch PMS Dashboard > Custom Rate for the current business date. Does not take into consideration restrictions unless the rate is “closed”. We STRONGLY recommend using this as a reference point; think of this information as a starting point/guideline. We do not suggest using it as a quote for a guest. 

• Available Rooms: The number of physical rooms currently available to sell; this includes OOO rooms and rooms already sold.  

  • The chevron arrows reveal every room type and its availability. 

  • Gray shaded rooms indicate rooms that have 5 or fewer rooms available. 

  • A red zero indicates a sold out room type.

  • A red negative number indicates a room type that has been oversold. 

  • Component/Suite rooms have a darker, bolder outline around the room number. 

• Rooms Sold: The current number of rooms that have been sold. Includes group/allotments rooms. This number indicates actual physical reservations. It also takes into account the number of adults and children assigned to a reservation (so reservation counts may not always match in this space). 

• Non-Group Rooms: The total number of transient rooms (individual rooms) booked. 

• Group/Allotments: Indicates the total number of rooms set aside for groups/allotments. 

House Status 

• Offers a detailed view of yesterday’s, today’s, and tomorrow’s activity. 

• Includes expected and actual numbers, total room revenue, and average daily rate. 

Item Inventory 

• Indicates the items available to purchase at your hotel and their current availability. 

• When the availability reaches 5 or less, the block will display a pinkish color. 

Group

• Similar to the group/allotment information presented from the Availability view; however, in addition to the definite status, you can view other types of “hold” statuses—as they are configured for your property. (e.g., tentative, prospect, non deduct, etc.) 

• The groups that list below the room counts are those groups that fall within the selected date range. 

• Use the chevron arrows to access a more detailed view of each group block’s booking activity.  

• When a number is highlighted in orange from this page, you can select the number to release the rooms back into your property's inventory. (Not all users will be able to release remaining rooms; this is set by user roles.)

• Select the Details >> button beside a specific group to access the group’s Rooming List. (Not all users will be able to release remaining rooms; this is set by user roles.) 

• Note: The Availability page always returns the user to the last page they were viewing. For example, if a user closed the Availability page after navigating to the Rooming List page, they would remain on the Rooming List page. Stayntouch PMS does not return the user to the Dashboard.  

Allotments

• This page exactly replicates the Groups tab, except the emphasis is on allotments, instead of groups. 

• Please note, allotments designate a block of hotel rooms purchased or held by a travel organizer or travel agent.

FRONT DESK: 

Access: From the sidebar menu, choose Front Desk. Subsections include:

• Search Reservations
• Create Reservation
• Room Diary
• Post Charges
• Cashier
• Accounts
• End of Day

We will cover each of these in more detail below: 

Search Reservations: 

• As described above in the Search section under Dashboard, users have the ability to search for reservations in Stayntouch PMS. 

Create Reservation: 

• Access video 1 and video 2 for examples. 

• Stayntouch PMS allows users to create reservations while logged in to the PMS.

• You will see the following screens during reservation creation: Create Reservation, Rooms & Rates page, Enhance Stay (basic details about the guest must be included here if not—Stayntouch PMS will display matching reservation information here, too, or the user can choose New Guest), Guest Details & Payment, and Reservations. 

Create Reservation   

• To begin creating a reservation, Stayntouch PMS just needs the start date and end date for the booking. All other details are optional—up until the user reaches the confirmation screen.

• With the Create Reservation page, Front Desk agents can:

  • Create a single room booking reservation. 

  • Create a single reservation with multiple room types attached.

  • Create a single reservation with multiple AND different room types attached.

  • Create a reservation and link it to a specific Group (routing).

  • Create a reservation and link it to a Company Card or Travel Agent Card (Direct Bill). 

  • Create a reservation and link it to a Group, Allotment, or Promo Code.

  • Create a reservation and link it to a member (i.e., loyalty program).

Room & Rates

• During reservation creation, the user will need to select a rate from the Rooms & Rates page. This page is handy for Front Desk Agents who need to quickly pull a quote for a guest, like when a guest calls in looking for rate information. 

• Begin in the upper right hand corner of the page where you can select Show Closed Rates, Show Stay Dates, Recommended, Room Type, and Rate: 

  • Selecting from these options will reveal the following rate selection settings: 

    • Room Type: When you are looking for a specific room type this setting will reveal if a specific room type is available for the reservation. 

    • Show Closed Rates: View closed rates. 

    • Show Stay Dates: Display the guest’s stay dates.  

    • Recommended: From the Create Reservation page, if a Company, Travel Agent, Group, Promo Code, etc. was successfully selected, then the Rooms & Rates page will return “recommend” rates that match the search criteria.   

    • Room Types: Displays room types.

    • Rate: Displays rates. 

  • Along the bottom of the page, you have the icons indicating restrictions on the rates you retrieve, as well. 

• This is also the first page where you will notice the black bar running across the top of the page. This stores the guests details, like their name, location, contact information—as well as the cards (Company, Travel Agent, Group) that a Front Desk Agent could link to the card. 

• By selecting the screen tab in the middle of the black bar, you will reveal the Guest Card. You can add the guest’s name, email, and city/state residence to this card, but save the card until later on in the booking process (when more fields are available to fill out).

• Assign the rate/room type to the reservation by selecting the green Book button. 

Enhance Stay

• This is the page where you have the ability to add enhancements (or add-ons) to the guest’s reservation before confirming their stay. See the corresponding video and article for how to add enhancements to a reservation.

• Add-ons are grouped by a specific category (charge group) in Stayntouch PMS settings. Locate certain add-ons by choosing a category along the left-hand side of the page. 

• Take note of the Book button—this allows you to proceed to the next screen without selecting any add-ons. 

• There may be an Enhancements button that appears beside the Book button. This indicates the add-ons that are already included with the rate—or which add-ons you’ve selected to add to the rate (so you can keep track of what you have added). 

• On the add-on itself, you have the option to add or choose a specific quantity for the item (x2, x3, etc.). 

• Any enhancements that are already included with the rate (INCL), will be noted in the right hand corner of the page with a number: Enhancements 1. 

• If your property is not using enhancements, this screen can be disabled. To disable, navigate to Settings > Reservation Settings > Add-Ons for Reservations.

Guest Details & Payment

• This page allows the user to review the guest’s reservation details (including the guest’s payment type), add billing information, etc. before confirming the reservation. 

• Take note of the reservation information that appears under the Reservation Summary. 

• You can set the arrival/departure time if desired. 

• There is the option to add billing information and demographics if necessary. 

• To the right of the screen—the payment type needs to be selected. 

• If a deposit is required, you can add payment for that, as well. You have the option to pay the deposit now or later. 

• Only when a payment type has been selected/added can you choose the Continue button. This will navigate to the Reservations screen.

Reservations

• Verify which email address(es) you’d like to send the confirmation email. 

• Add additional emails if the guest requests it. 

• Choose the guest’s primary language. 

• Opt to not print the rate.

• Opt to include custom confirmation text (if this is enabled for your property). The confirmation email will include an attachment that lists the guest’s reservation details.

  • You can opt to include custom confirmation text, which will appear in the body of the confirmation email. 

• Note: You can also trigger a confirmation email from the stay card. See the corresponding video and article to learn how to resend a confirmation email. 

• Once the reservations is confirmed, you can choose to go to the stay card, create a new reservation for a guest, or search reservations.

Add Billing Information/Demographics: 

• Also, during reservation creation, you have the option to add: 

  • Billing Information: If bill routing needs to be configured for the reservation.  

  • Demographics: Details about from where the reservation originated. See the corresponding video and article for how to configure demographics.

  • These fields appear for selection during recreation creation on the Guest Details & Payment page.

  • Click either button to add more information:

Stay Card: 

• The stay card is the main page from which you will make adjustments to a reservation as well as perform check-in/check-out actions.

• Think of the stay card as a the “hub” for anything guest related (editing the reservations, putting in queue (if enabled), performing check-in, reviewing past/current/future reservations associated with this guest, etc.

• The stay card includes: 

  • Guest’s details (name, city, state, and other contact information)

  • Company, Travel Agent, Group Card

  • Reservation history (past, present, and future) 

  • Confirmation Number 

  • Arrival/Departure Date

  • Arrival Time

  • Number of Nights

  • Number of Accompanying Guests (other adults or children) 

  • Actions Notes

  • Associated With (Company, Travel Agent, Group Card) 

  • Restrict Post 

  • Payment Method (ability to add/update payment method)

  • Room Type (ability to upgrade if enabled)

  • Rate & Add Ons (you can add additional add-ons/enhancements—as well as make changes to the rate’s price: apply custom rate or update room & rate [permission required])

  •  Additional Details (demographic information)

  • External References: (or CRS—tracking external reference numbers)  

  • Activity Log (records certain actions/updates to the reservation)

• Create Stay Card

  • To create a brand new stay card, begin by setting up a reservation. 

  • From the sidebar menu, choose Front Desk > Create Reservation. (Or just select the +New button from the Dashboard view).

  • Select stay dates for the guest. 

  • Proceed to the next screen with the Find Rooms & Rates button.

• Select the screen tab again.

• Begin writing the guest’s first and last name. 

• Then choose the New Guest button to complete the stay card. 

• Fill out the details. Make sure to include the guest’s contact information below their name (phone number and email address).

• Select Save New Card.

• Set Up/Add Loyalty Program 

• Add Payment Method to Stay Card (includes credit card)

  • To see how to add a credit card to a stay card, see the corresponding video and article.

• Add Likes to the Stay Card: 

  • From the stay card, click the “screen tab” to reveal the Guest Card. 

  • Then locate the tab named Likes.

  • You can add guest likes/preferences in this space, which can then be reviewed by other internal team members when selected. Please note, likes determine which rooms will be returned based on the criteria entered here, and this may slow down the check-in process.

Buttons: 

• Check-in/check-out activity: You have the ability to check in or check out a reservation (a button will appear on the stay card). 

• Guest Balance/Guest to Pay: We’ve renamed the BALANCE field on the stay card to GUEST BALANCE—if the reservation status is checked in or checked out (with balance)—or GUEST TO PAY—if a reservation is due in.

  • Below are examples of different scenarios:

    • Reserved Reservations: Stay card balance will show as GUEST TO PAY. The GUEST TO PAY balance shows the ProForma/projected balance of all bills for the primary guest only. All projected charges routed to another account or reservation will not contribute to the guest balance on the stay card.

    • Checked In Reservations: Stay card balance will show as GUEST BALANCE. The GUEST BALANCE shows the balance of all bills for the primary guest only. All charges routed to another account or reservation will not contribute the guest balance on the stay card.

    • No Show Reservations: Stay card balance will show as GUEST TO PAY. The GUEST TO PAY balance shows the ProForma/projected balance of all bills for the primary guest only. All projected charges routed to another account or reservation will not contribute to the guest balance on the stay card.

    • Reserved Check-In Reservations: Stay card balance will show as GUEST TO PAY. The GUEST TO PAY balance shows the ProForma/projected balance of all bills for the primary guest only. Should there be charges generated during the checked in stage of the reservation, and the charges are for the primary guest, then it will go toward the GUEST TO PAY balance.

    • Checked Out Reservations: Stay card balance will show as GUEST BALANCE. The GUEST BALANCE shows the balance of all bills for the primary guest only.

  • For all reservation statuses, the GUEST BALANCE/GUEST TO PAY indication will be displayed in red when in debit and green when the balance is $0.00 or a credit.

  • GUEST TO PAY balances will match what has been calculated on the ProForma Invoice. This will include projected charges for add-ons that are built to generate with the room rate and any additional pre-stay charges.

• Put in Queue: Can put a guest into queue or remove from queue. Please see this article for more information about placing a guest in queue. (This setting needs to be enabled to see the Queue button on the Dashboard as well as on the stay card.)

• Deposit/Balance: This allows you to access and process deposits.

• Bill & Charges: Navigates to the Guest Bill page.

• Smartbands: This is property specific

• Confirmation: Send additional confirmation email. Custom text—same rules apply as under the Reservations page above.

• Cancel Reservation: Cancel a reservation, include a note, and/or apply/do not apply a penalty.

Guest Card:

• The Guest Card holds additional information specific to the guest. Details entered in this area will update in the reservation record, as well.

• Take note of the series of tabs that store information on this card. 

• VIP status: Toggle ON or OFF.

• Contact Information: Enter detailed information, like the guest’s home address, job, nationality, etc. 

• Likes: The likes can be configured in Stayntouch PMS settings and are made for recording guest preferences. Some examples include floor location, smoking (yes/no), room features, etc. 

• Credit Cards & Payments: Save the guest’s preferred credit card in this field. 

• Loyalty: Can update if the guest is associated with a hotel loyalty program. 

• Notes: Add notes (for your internal team to view only).

• Detach Card: There is also a button for detaching the Guest Card. Learn how and when to detach the Guest Card here.

Check-In:

There are a couple ways to begin the check-in process in Stayntouch PMS. The first is by navigating to the ARRIVALS section of the dashboard and opening a guest reservation.

You can also search for a guest from the search bar at the top of the dashboard screen.

Once you pull up the reservation, you’ll see the reservation details, along with a green CHECK IN button if the guest is due to check in that day. Simply click the CHECK IN button to begin the check-in process. This will then take you to the Room Assignment screen, which will show available rooms for the guest’s stay dates as well as the option to upgrade the guest’s room (if available). You can also choose to filter by different room features, search by room, or sort by room type. You can then go ahead and select an available room.

Upon clicking the CHECK IN button (before being directed to the Room Assignment screen), depending on the settings at your hotel, you may also get a popup asking to PROVIDE DATA BEFORE CHECK IN. In the example below, the guest is not required to enter this information, so we can go ahead and select SUBMIT to continue.

After selecting a room, Stayntouch PMS will then direct you to the Registration screen, which will give you a recap of the nightly rate you’ve selected. You’ll also notice for this reservation, the guest already has a credit card on file, so at this point, when you ask the guest to sign where indicated, select the checkbox to agree with the Terms & Conditions (and view/print the Terms & Conditions if desired), and select COMPLETE CHECK-IN, you will be able to proceed to the next step. Please note, depending on the settings at your hotel, you may be prompted to swipe a credit card, authorize a transaction, etc.

If you have a key integration with Stayntouch PMS, the next step will be to print a key for the reservation. Simply select a KEY ENCODER, indicate the number of keys you’d like printed, and then select PRINT KEY. In this example, since we don’t have a key encoder configured, we will select CANCEL; however, if you do have one in place, you should proceed with key creation. Because we selected CANCEL, a “Keys not printed” message appears. From here, we can select VIEW STAY CARD to view the current status of the reservation. 

You will know the guest has been checked in based on the following indicators. First, at the top left of the stay card, you’ll notice a blue “occupied” indicator. Second, the room number will display in black. And finally, where we previously saw a green CHECK IN button, we now see a red CHECK OUT button.

In-House Reservations: 

• Re-Print Room Keys: Hotels using a remote key printer or an RFID key encoder can create new or duplicate keys from the stay card. The Keys button on the stay card will offer an option to make new keys (which will deactivate previously made keys) or duplicate to make additional keys (without deactivating previously made keys).

• Room Move: Move a guest to a new room by selecting the ROOM section on the stay card.

• From the Room Assignment screen, select a new room from the available choices. 

• Note: If upgrades are available, then additional rooms will appear to the right of the rooming list. (In the example below, no upgrades are available.) 

• Confirm the room move. 

• Update Rate Plan: If a guest’s reservation has been confirmed, but you know you’d like to change the rate plan, navigate to the guest’s stay card. 

  • Select the rate.

  • You have the option to Apply a Custom Rate or Update the Room & Rate. 

• Apply a Custom Rate: Enter a new value for the rate. Post an adjustment reason for the rate change. 

• Update the Room & Rate: Select a new, already configured rate to apply to the reservation. This will return you to the Rooms & Rates page (the same one that you would see during reservation creation). 

• Change Stay Dates: 

  • We recommend following these steps to perform a date change in Stayntouch PMS: 

  • From the stay card choose the Nights button.

• Proceed to drag and drop the arrivals date (green) and the departure date to adjust the stay dates in the calendar grid.

• Use the arrows to the left and right of the month to proceed to different months.

• Gray dates indicate dates without availability. 

• Choose Confirm Updates to save these changes. 

• Please note, reservations can be extended in increments of up to 7 days at a time.

Check-Out:

• Early Departure: Early departure occurs when a guest checks out of the hotel prior to their departure date. For early departure, Stayntouch PMS will pre-post room charges, and the guest will be charged for the stay as originally scheduled if enabled for your property.

• For example, if a guest is scheduled to stay at the property from December 12 through December 15, but the guest instead checks out on December 14, the charges would post on December 14 and include charges up to December 15.  

Room Diary: 

• The Room Diary provides a snapshot view of reservation activity for a set date range at the property. 

• The date range can span either 7 or 21 days and includes individual reservations, groups, and allotments. 

• There are lots of icons (color coded) on this page that indicate what status the reservation is in. You’ll want to reiterate (helpful guide here). 

• Room numbers are also color-coded to indicate their housekeeping status.

• Use the Filter dropdown menus to locate rooms by the room type or floor level. 

• Users can also create reservations from the Room Diary by toggling from View to Book and selecting the relevant date range and room number. 

• Unassigned rooms can be assigned by clicking on the bed icon. These can be assigned individually or in bulk. Please note, room feature preferences will be considered during auto-assignment.

• Review the full Knowledge Base article here.

Post Charges: 

• There are two ways to post charges in Stayntouch PMS. 

  • The first is from the sidebar menu; select Post Charges.

  • The other way to post is by navigating to the Guest Bill page and choosing the Add Charge button.  

• View our posting charges video. 

Cashier: 

• A place for tracking cash and check payments submitted at the end of a front desk agent’s shift. 

Accounts: 

• Accounts will be listed alphabetically on this page. 

• Accounts include house accounts and group accounts.

• Accounts will display certain information: 

  • Account Name

  • Account Number (Code)

  • Travel Agent 

  • Company Card

  • Balance 

  • Status 

• There is a search bar that allows you to search by Account Name or Code (i.e., the Account Number assigned to the Account).

• Account Type: Group or House Account 

• Account Status: Open or Closed   

• Non-Zero Balance: Show all the accounts with a balance that is not $0.00.  

• +Add New: Set up an Account from this page with the +Add New button.

• There are pagination buttons (Previous, Next) for navigating long lists of Accounts, as well.  

End of Day: 

• Before we get started, there is a detailed article explaining Stayntouch PMS’s EOD settings here. We also recommend taking a look at this video and article. (You may want to reference these while walking through EOD.)

• EOD can be set to run automatically OR manually in Stayntouch PMS. 

  • Automatic: Locate the specific settings under Settings > Hotel & Staff > Settings & Parameters > Change Business Day. 

  • Manual: Make sure the user has been assigned the correct permission (Access Run End of Day). The Run EOD button is located under Settings > Front Desk > End of Day.

• We recommend running EOD automatically. We have observed properties struggle to correctly/consistently run EOD manually. (Someone forgets to run EOD, EOD runs too often, etc.). 

• You will notice several headers that appear along the top of the page while EOD is running. These “notifications” will appear throughout Stayntouch PMS to inform all logged-in users when EOD is being run. The notifications include:  

  • End of Day Routine in Progress

  • EOD Processes failed, please check log!

  • EOD running again

• The EOD report (also referred to as the EOD “log”) appears under Settings > Front Desk > End of Day. 

• Stayntouch PMS returns this report/log once EOD is complete. The user is presented with a running list of each EOD process and its current status for the selected business date (success, failure, pending).

• If there were any errors during processing, the failures will display in red text, and the user can choose to RE-RUN the process to resolve the issue. 

• Selecting the re-run button on the failed log will only run the process for the selected log (not the whole script).

GROUPS: 

• Group information is created and stored under the sidebar menu in the Groups tab. 

• Articles regarding groups are located here. 

New Group:

• Use the New Group button to create new groups (also called group blocks) in Stayntouch PMS.

• There is a header running across the top of the page for entering the Group Name. 

  • Below the name are icons. Each icon indicates a space for adding a Company and/or Travel Agent Card. 

• Group information is stored under specific tabs. (Note that certain tabs are only accessible once the Summary tab has been filled out and saved for a new group): 

  • Summary: The group’s details appear here.

  • Room Block Details: Overview of rooms selected for the group’s block (and availability) appear here. 

  • Account: Account Information appears here.

  • Rooming List: All of the group block’s reservations appear here. 

  • Transactions: Accumulating transactions appear here. 

  • Activity Log: Like on the stay card, this tab records significant actions performed that impact the group, including reservations, stay dates, payment details, billing information, hold status, etc. 

• Watch our video guide to setting up a group block. 

• Learn more with our group-specific articles here, as well. 

Manage Groups:

• The Manage Groups page is designed to help you retrieve a previously created group and make changes to the block. 

• When you first open the Manage Groups page, you will be able to use the search bar to locate a group by name. 

• The from and to dates will allow you to search for a group within a specific date range. 

• Whenever you need to make changes to the group, navigate to this page and locate the group you have in mind.

• Groups are listed on this page and include the group name, group code (if added), arrival date, departure date, hold status, total number of rooms assigned to the block, and total picked up rooms. 

• Reminder: Retrieve a list of reservations booked under the group with the Rooming List. 

New Allotment: 

• Same rules as group block creation apply for allotments. 

• Allotments are designed for longer term stays. 

Manage Allotment: 

• The Manage Allotments page is designed to help you retrieve a previously created allotment and make changes to the block. 

• When you first open the Manage Allotments page, you will be able to use the search bar to locate an allotment by name. 

• Use the Manage Allotments page just as you would for the Manage Groups page. Again, allotments are designed for long-term stays (whereas groups are for short-terms stays). 

REVENUE MANAGEMENT: 

Rate Manager: 

• The Rate Manager is the main page where you will manage the rates at your property. While creating the rate happens in Stayntouch PMS’s Settings (Settings > Rates > Rates), the daily, weekly, monthly, etc. management of the rate happens from the Rate Manager. 

• Use the Rate Manager to set restrictions, increase or decrease the rate’s amount, or open/close a rate for a single date or date range. 

• The Rate Manager is a centralized location for controlling rate availability, restrictions, and the rate’s price for a specific time frame.

• Read up on FAQs or watch our Rate Manager webinar. 

Company & TA Cards: 

• Create a Company or Travel Agent Card. This will allow you to link reservations (via Direct Routing) to a specific card; AKA setup direct bill. 

• From the main Company or Travel Agent Card page, you can search for a card by the name, IATA, or Corporate ID. 

• Create A/R numbers for Company and Travel Agent Cards. See the corresponding video and article for more information.

• To begin creating a new card, start typing the name of the card. Then choose Add a New Card or choose +Add New (which appears in the search bar).

• The main components of the Company Card include the following:  

  • Contact Information: Company information is listed here, including, company, names, address, corporate ID, accounts receivable number (if added), and primary contact details.   

  • Contracts: Create contract rates with this tab. (Reminder: You need to have rates set up in Stayntouch PMS to begin creating contract rates. Contracts rates are built off of pre-existing rates.)  

  • Notes: Add a note you’d like other Stayntouch PMS users to see. 

  • A/R Account: The A/R Account tab will only appear if an A/R Number has been created (add an A/R Number from the Contact Information tab).  

    • A/R numbers can be entered or Stayntouch PMS can auto-create a number (located in Settings > Accounts Receivables > Toggle [Automatically Assign A/R Numbers]).

  • A/R Transactions: Reservations and associated charges will appear here (reservation must be linked to the Company Card for this to happen). 

    • The search bar and calendar (to/from) buttons can be used to locate reservations.

      • The search bar only locates searches from within the current tab you have selected (Balance, Paid Bills, Unallocated, Allocated). 

    • Use the Statement button to print or email a copy of the statement (this will print the current view of the page).  

    • Additional buttons include identifying partial payments applied to the reservation (these appear as a wallet icon).

    • The Stay Card button allows you to access the reservation’s stay card.

    • The Post Charge button allows you to post additional charges to the reservations. 

    • The Add Payment button allows you to add a payment (which will appear under the Unallocated tab). You can then proceed to Allocate Payments from here. 

    • More functionality is available for managing charges from the Accounts Receivable page in Stayntouch PMS (Financials > Accounts Receivable). 

• A large component of this page is creating and managing Company and Travel Agent Cards. Get comfortable doing this! 

Permission Driven: 

• Create Company Card, Edit Company Card 

• Create Travel Agent Card, Edit Travel Agent Card 

• Setup a Company Card: Learn how here.  

• Setup a Travel Agent Card: Learn how here. 

HOUSEKEEPING: 

Room Status: 

• The Room Status page provides a snapshot view of all the hotel’s rooms. 

• Users will access this page to review a complete list of rooms, filter through room types, as well as open the Room Details page (which is where users update rooms with a ready/not ready status). 

• From the Main Room Status page, there are several buttons and tools you can use: 

  • Reset Button: If you’re like to return the page to the original view (how the page looked when you first arrived on the Room Status page with no filter settings selected, etc.,), just select the Reset button. It is located in the left hand corner of the page, and looks like an arrow circling an “X”. 

  • Room Filter: The filter button reveals options that will help you narrow down your search. Filter options include:

    • Work Types: Tasks per the configuration in your property's Stayntouch PMS settings. 

    • Employee: Select to only view rooms that are assigned to specific housekeeping employees.

    • Floors: Sort by single or multiple floors. 

    • Housekeeping Status: Show dirty, pickup, clean, inspected, out of order, and/or out of service rooms.

    • Reservation Status: Show vacant, occupied, queued, check(ed)-out, pre-check-in rooms.  

    • Room Types: Room types per the configuration in your property's Stayntouch PMS settings. 

    • Front Office Status: Show stayovers, not reserved, arrivals, arrived, due-out, and/or departed. 

  • Search Bar: Begin typing a number (the search bar only searches by number).

  • Room/Task: Ignore this button, functionality is still being developed. 

  • Print: Print a copy of the page. Stayntouch PMS will print whatever is currently displaying on your screen (the filter setting can be used to manipulate what information this page prints). 

  • Edit/Room Status/Service Status: By selecting the white box below the Availability icon, you will reveal a purple pencil icon. With this you can quickly make an edit to the room status or service status of ONE or MULTIPLE rooms. We recommend this as the quickest way to update a room’s housekeeping status. Learn more here.

• Reference the following article while you navigate the items on this page. 

• You will want to cover:

  • The various icons associated with Stayntouch PMS Housekeeping.

  • How to update the room’s status.

  • How to perform a housekeeping check-out. 

  • How to enable room status updates upon check-out.

  • How to navigate the Room Status page. 

Task Management: 

• Task Management is an item specific to Housekeeping Managers (or other senior level management) who would like to manage and assign tasks to their housekeeping staff.  

• Locate the Task Management page: Housekeeping > Task Management. 

• Upon initial view of the Task Management page, you will notice the following items on the page:

  • Date: Used to retrieve information for the current business date or another date in the future. 

  • Reset Button: You can select this to return to the current business date (if you’ve selected a date in the future). 

  • Housekeeping Tasks: These items take up the majority of the page and are configured in Stay settings (Settings > Rooms > Tasks Management > Work Type).

  • Next, watch our Task Management Tutorials: Part 1 and Part 2. 

  • As mentioned in the tutorials above, this page will include several columns that summarize your property’s various tasks (linen change, stayover clean, turndown, etc.) by the following: 

    • Total Hours: The total time (hours and/or minutes) required to complete that particular group of tasks for the day. Task "times" require configuration in Settings > Rooms > Task Management > Task List > + Add Task. 

    • Total Staff: The total number of housekeeping staff that have been assigned tasks for the day. This is based on the number of employees who are designated "housekeepers." They will have the title of Floor & Maintenance Staff assigned to their User Role.    

    • Total Rooms: All the rooms for that particular task that need to be cleaned/inspected. As tasks are completed (updated with an inspected/clean status), this number will decrease. 

    • Assigned: The number of the tasks that have been assigned to housekeeping staff. Assigning tasks does not decrease the Total Rooms number. Instead the Assigned number will increase to match the Total Rooms number. Note: The numbers in this column do not decrease as rooms are inspected/cleaned. Tasks appear in red and are any value equal to or greater than one. Only when there are no tasks assigned for the day will the column display a green zero. 

    • Completed: This number does change; only a red or green digit appears. The red zero indicates that there are tasks assigned to the Assigned column. The only time this number will display in green is when the number is zero. This means that there are no tasks assigned to the Assigned column. 

  • Note that if any tasks display orange double chevron arrows, you can click the arrows to reveal subtasks (also configured for your property in Settings > Rooms > Task Management > + Add New > Select a ‘Work Type’ from the dropdown menu).

• Located at the bottom of these rows is a button that reads: Manage Work Sheets. You may have to scroll down to access this button.  

• Click the Manage Work Sheets button to reveal the page where tasks (according to room number) can be assigned to housekeeping staff. 

• Auto-Assign: Stayntouch PMS can be configured to assign housekeeping tasks to selected employees or tasks that will automatically be assigned By Section and Time."

  • Setup of Auto-Assign: Our article here explains how to use the Auto-Assign button, which includes how to setup the property’s sorting preference (By Employees or By Section and Time) and how to assign housekeeping sections to employees (see screenshot below).

• We also have a webinar that covers this item in more detail here. 

• How to add/edit Housekeepers: 

  • To add a housekeeper, begin by navigating to Settings > Hotel & Staff > User Setup. 

  • Choose +Add New.

  • Enter the user’s name, email address, assign a password (you do not need to remember/share this password), job title, working shift (optional), housekeeping section (optional).

  • Next, under the User Role section, assign the role of Floor & Maintenance Staff to the user (only assign one user role).  

  • Below Default Dashboard, choose the Stayntouch PMS Dashboard you’d like the user to see when they log in to Stayntouch PMS. 

  • Finally, click Save Changes. 

  • See the corresponding video and article for more information about creating housekeeping staff.

• Manage Task Sheets (also referred to as “work management” sheets).

  • Learn how to manage task sheets with the corresponding article and video.

• Housekeeping Reports:

  • Reports can be located by navigating to the Reports section. 

  • Some Reports you may find useful are:

    • In-House Guests: 

    • Rooms OOO/OOS:

  • Reminder: Don’t forget to use the Room Status page (Housekeeping > Room Status). 

FINANCIALS: 

Journal:

• The Journal functions much like a report and lists all the property’s financial transactions based on when End of Day was last completed. (Locate the Journal under Settings > Financials > Journal.) 

  • Permission to View: Users must be assigned the correct permission to access the Journal page. The permission is named Access Journal.

• The Journal is a succinct overview of the total revenue generated and every payment posted and refunded at the property. Different ledgers on the Journal can be run for a single date or multiple date ranges with the calendar icon (located in the upper left hand corner of the page). 

  • Calendar: Automatically retrieves data for the prior business date. You can navigate to other dates. 

  • Overview/Details: Select either option to control the format of the printed page. (For use with the print button.) 

  • Print: Button for printing this page. 

  • Summary: Includes the day’s deposit balance, guest balance, and A/R balance. On the revenue and payment tabs, the Journal displays balance information (also commonly referred to as ledgers), which represents the property’s financial activity.

  • Revenue: The total revenue generated for each charge group configured for your property. Within Stayntouch PMS, multiple charge codes can be grouped under a unique charge group, such as room, tax, food, payments, etc.

  • Payments: A running list of all your property’s configured payment types. Each payment type will list the total amount collected for a date or date range.

  • Cashier: A place for tracking cash and check payments submitted at the end of a front desk agent’s shift.

• Use the following article to reference the different items on the Journal page in more detail: Click here.

Cashier: 

• First, begin by navigating to the Cashier tool from Front Desk > Cashier. 

• Currently, this page is used to record cash and checks submitted to the front desk.

• First, ensure the correct name displays in the cashier dropdown menu. 

• Then, enter the total cash amount and total check amount collected for the day in the spaces provided. 

• To click the CLOSE SHIFT button. This will close the cashier.

CC Transactions: 

• The CC Transactions tab records credit card activity. 

  • You can locate transactions nested under a specific card type. 

  • Use the calendar button to view a different dates (past dates only). 

  • Transactions are sorted by payments and authorizations. 

    • Payments: Payments include all the payments that posted for a specific date (which can be changed with the calendar icon).  

    • Authorizations: This page collects authorizations by category: Approved, Declined, and Reverse Authorizations. Click the orange chevron arrows to reveal additional postings that fall under a specific category. 

  • As a reminder, authorization settings are configured under Settings > Reservations > Reservation Settings. 

Commissions: 

• Search Bar: Search by Agent Name, IATA Number, or City.

• Bill Status: A dropdown menu that allows you to search for Travel Agents by their Bill Status: Open, Paid, or All. 

• Minimum Amounts: Enter a number in this field. Stayntouch PMS will automatically begin pulling accounts with a minimum amount that matches (or is higher than) the number you enter here. This is helpful for sorting accounts by the amount owed to the agent. 

• Sort By: A dropdown menu that allows you to sort agents by: NAME ASC (A to Z), NAME DESC (Z to A), AMOUNT ASC (Low to High), AMOUNT DESC (High to Low).

• Open Bills: The total number of agents with an "open" or "unpaid" bill. 

• Total Revenue: The total monies accrued as a result of your property’s relationships will all the agents currently displaying on the page. 

• Total to Date: The total monies accrued based on the current business date. 

• Total Paid: The total monies paid to the agents currently displaying on the page. 

• Total Owing: The total monies owed to the agents currently displaying on the page. 

• While viewing agents on this page, you will note that in addition to displaying the Travel Agent’s name, you will be able to easily identify: 

  • Location: The City and State assigned to the TA Card. 

  • IATA Number: The IATA Number assigned to the TA Card. 

  • Number of Open Bills: Calculates the total invoices with an "unpaid" or "open" status for this account. 

  • Amount to Date: Calculates total amount paid to date. 

  • Amount Owed: Calculates total amount paid owed to the property currently. 

• Commission can be recalculated by selecting the chevron to the right of the travel agent name, which will bring you to the Commissions tab. By selecting an invoice, you'll see the option to recalculate commission by a percentage or dollar amount.

• If payment has been processed, you can select the travel agent and mark SET TO PAID.

ACTIONS MANAGER: 

• The Actions Manager allows users to assign actions to individuals or group blocks. This is an ideal page if you know you need to quickly assign multiple tasks to different reservations from one page, instead of having to track down each individual reservation. 

• Use the Actions Manager to search for a specific action and/or assign actions to departments.

• What’s the difference between an action and a note? Actions allow you to notify your colleagues that a certain action needs to be taken for a reservation. Notes are more informative, while actions require some effort on the guest's behalf. 

• With the Actions Manager, you can specify the responsible department as well as the date and time when the action needs to be completed. 

• When actions are attached to a reservation, a notification appears on various screens, including the guest’s stay card page, the Summary tab (for group blocks), and in the Action Manager Report.

• The Actions Manager page includes with the following: 

  • Filter: A filter button can help you narrow your search by the following action statuses: All, Unassigned (no department selected), Assigned, or Completed.

  • Calendar Icon: Search for an action by a specific date. 

  • Search By: Begin typing. Stayntouch PMS will return actions with matching search results. 

  • Print Button: Print button. 

  • Guest Name or Room Number 

  • Assign to Department: Pick a department to assign the task to (optional, although recommended). 

  • Date Due: Date by which the action needs to be completed. 

  • Time Due: Enter a time (HH:MM) by when the action needs to be completed. 

  • Notes: Add any notes that will inform the department assigned how to accomplish the task. 

  • Post Action: Use this as the "confirm" button. Clicking it will assign the action. 

  • Individual/Group View (icon): Select to search for actions assigned to individuals or group blocks accordingly. 

  • Department Dropdown Menu: Narrow your search with the Departments dropdown menu. 

• Read to our guide to using the Actions Manager here. 

REPORTS: 

• Stayntouch PMS’s Reports page lists a series of reports and exports that users can use to review the property’s specific stats (Reports section). 

• Some of our more popular reports include the following:

  • Arrivals Report

  • Mobile Check-In Report

  • Business on the Books Report

  • Group Rooms Report 

  • Learn about each of these reports in our free Report Guide.

• Learn about our various scheduled reports, scheduled exports, and custom exports.

MANAGEMENT: 

• Stayntouch PMS Admin Settings: These are some of the settings with which you may wish to be more familiar as a Manager:

  • Hotel & Staff: This is where you will manage/create Stayntouch PMS users. 

    • User Setup: Create users, activate/inactivate users, lock/unlock accounts. 

    • Permissions: Assign specific permissions to certain Stayntouch PMS users “groups” (hotel admin, front office staff, floor & maintenance staff, etc.)

    • Tools 

    • Click Balance Inventory: Your property can "refresh" your inventory and balance the inventory count for a specific date.   

    • Click Balance Journal: Your property can "refresh" the Journal and balance the ledgers for a specific date.   

    • Configure a Google Drive Account: See the corresponding video and article for more information.

  • Rooms: Create room types and assign room numbers to rooms (do not make changes to these settings after your property’s “go-live/cutover” date).

  • Charge Groups: Create charge codes, create charge groups, assign charge codes to billing groups, and configure payment methods.

  • Rates: Create rate types, create rates, set up rate restrictions, create cancellation penalties and rules, and create promotions. 

  • Reservations: Set up markets, sources, origin of bookings, reservations types, reservation settings (credit card authorizations, top-ups, incidentals, etc.), create hold statuses, and create segments.

TEST CREDIT CARD NUMBERS

• Here are a series of test Credit Card numbers that can be used. All need an expiration date in the future month and year (just not the current month and Year)

  • American Express  378282246310005

  • Visa 4444333322221111  or 4012888888881881

  • MasterCard  5454545454545454  or 5105105105105100

  • Discover Card  60110000990139424

• And for more credit cards try this credit card generating tool.