Stayntouch PMS: Release Notes (v5.9) – 26 June 2019

Modified on: Wed, 31 Aug, 2022 at 1:23 PM

Stayntouch PMS

Release Notes (v5.9)


Effective: 26 June 2019


TABLE OF CONTENTS


PRODUCT ENHANCEMENTS 

Room Diary: Changes to the Book Button


We have introduced new functionality for the BOOK button. This is applicable for all hotel types (full hourly, day use, and nightly). As part of these changes, the following is true.


The RESERVED/AVAILABLE toggle has been changed to VIEW/BOOK. When the VIEW toggle is ON, you can search or filter rooms or reservations. 



Only users with the permission “Create reservation” can switch to BOOK mode. When the BOOK toggle is ON, you are given the option to choose arrival/departure date and time.



You can select the arrival date only within the chosen date range in VIEW mode. If you select June 25 through July 5, then you can choose the arrival date until July 5. This is true in both the 7- and 21-day modes.


By default, the arrival date is equal to the business date, and the departure date is equal to the arrival date plus one day. Furthermore, the default arrival time is equal to the hotel check in time, and the departure time is equal to the hotel check out time. The time can be updated. The maximum departure date available is the arrival date plus 92 days.


When you select an arrival date, the departure date will always default to the arrival date plus one. However, you can choose any date for the departure date after choosing an arrival date. If the chosen arrival date is equal to the business date, then the arrival and departure time will default to 9AM to 5PM. You can only choose a time in which the arrival time is at least 15 minutes less than the departure time.



You can select the FIND ROOMS button to show the available rooms for the selected date/time range. If the rooms are not available, you will receive an error message. Rooms are listed based on the room availability for the selected date/time range.




The BOOK button will display for available rooms and due out or pre-assigned rooms (if the room is vacant for the selected date/time range). Overlapping reservations are considered when checking for availability.


The day use cleaning task applicable for a room type is also considered when checking for availability in the nightly diary to avoid overlapping of reservations. For nightly hotels, the cleaning task will default to 0 minutes.


You can access the BOOK button on subsequent pages by clicking through the pagination. You are also able to apply filters for ROOM TYPE and FLOOR upon selecting the FIND ROOMS button.



Out of Order rooms are not shown as available. In full hourly hotels, even if the room is Out of Order for an hour, it is considered Out of Order for the full day. Nightly hotels are still able to assign or move room a reservation to a room that is Out of Order for the departure date.


When there are unassigned reservations for a room type within the specific date range, the unassigned reservations message will display upon selecting the BOOK button. This will display only if the availability is greater than 0 for the date range. The unassigned reservations will include all the reservations without room assigned as well as the group/allotment blocked rooms count (applicable for day use and nightly modes). You are still able to book reservations.


 

When the room type availability is less than 0 for any of the dates in the queried date range, it will show a “no availability” message upon selecting the BOOK button.


Accompanying Guest Card to Show on Stay Card


The accompanying guest card can now be accessed from the stay card. You will find a CREATE/SHOW GUEST CARD button on the stay card next to the accompanying guest’s name, which creates a new guest card or opens an existing guest card for editing.




Record Do Not Move in Stay Card Activity Log


An entry will now be made in the stay card activity log if the DO NOT MOVE toggle is switched ON or OFF from the stay card.



Add/Remove Loyalty Card Updates in Activity Log


Guest card and stay card activity logs now update when the following changes are made:


Guest Card:

  • Loyalty card is added or deleted

  • Frequent flyer is added or deleted



Stay Card:

  • Loyalty card is added or deleted

  • Frequent flyer is added or deleted


Credit Card Payment Information Added to the Reservations by User Report


You will now see credit card payment information (if selected) on the Reservations by User Report. Only the last four digits of the credit card number will display on the report.


Assignment of Night Reservations from the Hourly Diary


Night reservations (1-night and 0-night reservations) can now be assigned from the hourly diary. These reservations will appear in the UNASSIGNED RESERVATIONS list; however, this will only include reservations arriving in the next 48 hours.



From here, you can also assign a room to an unassigned reservation by clicking the desired reservation—at which point, the available rooms will display in orange.


Day Use Toggle Locked on Stay Card


You are now unable to manually update the day use flag on the stay card based on your hotel’s settings. Stayntouch PMS will automatically analyze the reservation data to indicate whether or not the reservation is day use. This is to ensure we collect the correct day use statistics and update the stay data accordingly. 


VIP Label Added to Full Hourly and Day Use Diaries


You will now see a VIP label next to the guest name on the full hourly and day use diaries. 

Nightly Diary: Room Assign/Move Room Based on Guest Preferences


When an unassigned reservation gets assigned to a room from the nightly and daily diaries, we will now take into account guest card and reservation card preferences as seen in the current room assignment functionality for stay card room allocation. This same logic also applies when moving a room from the diary. 


Stayntouch Guest Kiosk: Walk-In Functionality


With ID scanning active, Stayntouch Guest Kiosk now features walk-in functionality. There are two possible flows, one traditional—whereby the guest is presented with available room categories to book—and another that is upsell-oriented. In the upsell-oriented flow, the lowest cost and most well-suited room category is automatically selected for the guest. At the tail end of this process, the guest is presented with options to upgrade to a higher level room category. Walk-in reservations and flow selection can be configured in Settings > Station > Walk-In Reservations. By default, the Traditional flow will be selected.



After activating walk-in reservations—provided ID scanning is active—a fourth icon will be displayed on Stayntouch Guest Kiosk’s home screen.



When the guest selects WALK-IN, they will be asked to enter stay details.



Option 1: Traditional Flow


The guest is then asked to make a room selection to proceed with ID scan and check-in. The guest details are taken directly from the scanned ID—no manual input is needed to complete the reservation. Room upgrade options are not shown in this flow.




Option 2: Upsell Oriented Flow


After the guest enters their stay details, Stayntouch Guest Kiosk will select a room for the guest, and the guest will receive the message, “We have selected a room category for you based on best fit and offer. You can modify your room type selection before confirming the reservation.” As with all text modules on Stayntouch Guest Kiosk, this message can be customized. The guest is then asked to proceed with ID scan and check-in and will be shown room upgrade options before confirming their reservation.




YOU ASK… WE LISTEN


Ability to Check In Not Ready Rooms


We now allow check-in for not ready rooms when the Allow Check-In for Not Ready Rooms toggle is turned ON from Settings > Reservations > Reservation Settings.



Once this setting is enabled, you will be presented with a READY/NOT READY pop-up upon checking in a not ready room. If you select READY, the room status will change to ready, and you will be able to proceed with check-in. If you select NOT READY, you will be taken back to the stay card. Both the selection of READY/NOT READY and the change in room status will be recorded in the stay card activity log.



Booker Email Added to Stay Card


A booker email address can now be added to a stay card as a record of who booked the reservation. This will only be stored on the stay card and not the guest card. You will also be able to choose to send the confirmation and cancellation letters to this email and/or another email on file. The booker email will be linked to the secondary email on the reservation confirmation summary.




You can also choose to send a copy of every confirmation letter to a hotel-defined email address. To enable, navigate to Settings > Hotel & Staff > Stationery > Confirmations/Cancellation > Guest Confirmation > Confirmation Email > COPY HOTEL ON CONFIRMATION.



COUNTRY SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

Austria: Guest Card Fields Added As Mandatory Fields


Due to Austrian legal requirements, we have added three mandatory fields to the guest card, which are as follows:

  1. Job title

  2. Date of birth

  3. Nationality


These fields will be marked with a red asterisk (*), and when you try to leave the card, you will see a pop-up as pictured below. To configure these fields, navigate to Settings > Cards > Guest Card Fields.



When you try to update the guest card, and the fields are not filled in, you will get a validation message to fill in the required fields. Users can still exit the guest card; it is for information purposes only. 


Austria: Registration Card Sequence


Due to Austrian legal requirements, we have added a registration card sequence toggle (to be enabled by Stayntouch Admin). The registration card sequence will only be visible if the Austrian registration card setting is enabled. 


When this toggle is ON, you will see a separate field called First Registration Card Number, which will default to 1. If you want to change the sequence, Stayntouch Admin can update this for you. The registration card sequence number will be allocated at the time of check-in. To enable this for your property, please contact Customer Support.


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