Stayntouch PMS
Release Notes (v1.19)
Effective: 14 July 2016
PRODUCT ENHANCEMENTS
Hello team,
The following new features and product enhancements are now live in Stayntouch PMS. Please share these notes with all the Stayntouch PMS users at your hotel.
Thank you,
The Stayntouch Team
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- RATES
- REPORTS
- PERMISSION UPDATES
- COMMISSIONS PAGE
- INVOICE UPDATES
- CREDIT CARD AUTHORIZATIONS
- INTERFACE UPDATES
- JOURNAL
- ACCOUNT DETAILS
- ROOMS & RATES PAGE
RATES
Rate Configuration (Linen Change and Turn Down): Linen Change and Turn Down have been added to the rate code configuration settings. This functionality allows the hotel to configure specific rates with unique housekeeping duties, depending on the hotel’s housekeeping procedures. The user can manage these actions by accessing the Rate’s specific Rate Details and clicking the Additional Details sub-section.
As long as Linen Change and/or Turn Down have been added to the Work Type > Task Management page and set to “Show on Stay Card”, a newly created reservation for the specified rate will include these default rate configurations. The user can still change the task on a per reservation basis if needed.
Configured Rates Now Populate for Reservations: To better assist users with assigning the right rate to a reservation, Stayntouch PMS automatically directs users to a Recommendation Rate screen if the particular Company/T.A./Group/Allotment details are included on the Create Reservation page.
Note: Prior rate configuration is required in order for Stayntouch PMS to produce recommended rates. Learn more about this process here.
Expedite Rate Creation with “Copy From” Button: With the Copy From button, hotels can take an existing rate and modify it to create a completely new rate. This eliminates the need for the user to manually re-enter rate details during rate creation. Using Copy From produces a new rate that is entirely separate from the originally rate it was copied from.
"Origin" - New Demographic Added for Rates: Now during rate creation, a user can select the rate’s origin from the Rate Details screen. A designated hotel administer can modify what options appear in the drop down menu from the Settings > Reservations > Origin of Booking screen.
Additionally, requiring the user to enter this information during reservation creation is possible by checking the box titled Force Origin of Booking under the Settings > Reservation > Reservation Settings.
REPORTS
Schedule Reports: From the Reports page, the user now has the ability to schedule reports and send the exported data to specified email addresses. With this functionality, specific hotel staff members will receive an automated report from Stayntouch PMS.At this time, Stayntouch PMS can schedule and export the following Reports:
- Arriving Guests
- Departing Guests
- Balance for all Outstanding Accounts
- All In-House Guests
Note: Only users with the "Hotel Admin" permission settings may view and schedule reports.
Financial Transactions - Adjustment Report: Now while viewing the Financial Transactions - Adjustment Report, the report will display the following:
- The guest’s first and last name / account name
- The room number (if applicable)
Mobile Check In Report: The Mobile Check In Report is a new addition to the reports page that allows the user to track and compare mobile check-in activity. With this report, the user may track the number of guests that successfully complete mobile check-in with Stayntouch PMS. The report summarizes data for multiple actions throughout check-in, but most notably: mobile check-in and auto-check in.
- Mobile check-in occurs when the guest chooses to begin “pre-check in” from their mobile device and alerts the hotel of their estimated arrival time.
- Auto check-in occurs when instructions for key retrieval are sent to the guest. (An email may notify the guest to pick up their keys from the front desk or create keys with a QR Code). Stayntouch PMS then tracks the total number of guests that complete “auto check-in” through Stayntouch PMS.
Room Upsell Report: Users may now view a summary of the hotel’s total room upsell performance in the Room Upsell Report. Some of the more notable details this report tracks include: How many arriving guests were offered an upsell option. The total number of guests that agreed to the upsell option. The total revenue generated from the upsell activity.
Reservation Based Reports Now Clickable: Reservation based reports are now enabled with click through functionality. The user is taken to the Stay Card after clicking on a guest's name when viewing any of the following Reports:
- Arrival
- In-house
- Departures, Cancellation & No Show
- Reservations by User
- Rate Adjustment Report
Upsell by Day/User Report: For properties that would like to track which user(s) performed an upsell action, the Upsell Report now records the user’s name and the origin of the upsell (Stayntouch PMS, Stayntouch Guest Mobility, Stayntouch Guest Kiosk).
PERMISSION UPDATES
Permission to View Suppressed Rate: By changing the permissions in Settings > Permissions, a designated administrator may determine if a user can view a Suppressed Rate (SR) from the Stay Card. When the user with the correct permission clicks on the field where the SR button is shown, the numeric amount will be shown on both the Stay Card as well as the Billing screen. When the user exits the screen and returns, the amount will be replaced with the SR button again.
COMMISSIONS PAGE
New Commissions Page: From the Financials tab, a Commission’s summary page has been added to provide a list of all the travel agents that have active commissions. Now, in addition to tracking commissions data from the Travel Agent’s Card, users may search for a particular travel agent from the Commissions page.
INVOICE UPDATES
Account Bill – Print for Company or Travel Agent: Added functionality has been made to the print / email button located on the Account Details page below the Transactions tab.Now, when a user clicks the print /email button, the company / travel agent details will now be included on the account bill header. In addition, if both company and travel agent are attached to an account, the option to produce an invoice for either the Company or Travel Agent appears.Depending on the user’s selection, Stayntouch PMS will use the information saved on the Company or Travel Agent Card to populate the invoice.
Company & TA Invoice: Additional details have been added to the Company / TA Bill Invoice to help the user identify key information faster:Reference Number
Tax ID Number
A/R Number
All details displayed on the invoice are pulled directly from the information saved in the Company / TA Card.
CREDIT CARD AUTHORIZATIONS
Credit Card Authorizations for 3rd Party Interfaces: 3rd party interfaces like phones, restaurants, spas, movies, wifi, etc., can be posted to the guest’s reservation without requiring credit card authorization. For this permission to work, the interface must first be configured with Stayntouch PMS, and the reservation needs to be in-house. This setting only affects incoming postings associated with 3rd party interfaces. If a purchase is added to the guest’s bill through Stayntouch PMS, Stayntouch PMS will still verify the credit card authorization.
Learn more by reading our Knowledge Base article here.
INTERFACE UPDATES
Integration with GoMoment Ivy: Due to increased interest in text-message technology between hotels and their guests, Stayntouch PMS can now be configured to work with GoMoment Ivy. When the integration is enabled, and data is sent to Ivy, guest interaction between GoMoment Ivy and the guest can begin. To learn more, please contact a Stayntouch team member at support@stayntouch.com. Please include your contact details and the name of your property, so we better assist you.
M3 Accounting Interface: Stayntouch PMS can now be configured to interface with a hotel’s M3 Accounting Software. A Stayntouch team member will need to configure this setting for your property. Once set-up is complete, an XML file will be delivered in an email when End-of-Day processes begin. If your property is interested in learning how to configure this setting, please contact a Stayntouch team member at support@stayntouch.com. Please include your contact details and the name of your property, so we can better assist you.
Inferences Receive Check In and Check Out Messages: Improvements have been made to ensure Stayntouch PMS delivers both check in and check out messages to the hotel’s connected interfaces as these actions occur within Stayntouch PMS. For example, if a user selects the reverse check out button from the Stay Card, Stayntouch PMS will send a message notifying all of the hotel’s interfaces that the guest is back in the room. As a result, not only will the reservation return to a checked-in status within Stayntouch PMS, but the property's connected interfaces receive a notification that the guest has returned to the room.
Windsurfer: Groups Blocks: When blocking rooms for a group reservation in Stayntouch PMS, Stayntouch PMS will automatically update the information in Windsurfer’s Central Reservation System. Additionally, if a group block is booked through Windsurfer, Stayntouch PMS will deduct those rooms from the house inventory.
JOURNAL
Timestamp Updates: When a user reviews a list of transactions on the Journal page, the transaction time will now show the time the action occurred based on the hotel’s specific time zone. Additionally, transaction dates will coincide with hotel’s End-of-Day settings. The date and time will now display as: End-of-Day, End-of-Day, Time.
Example: If a hotel’s End-of-Day is 2am, a transaction may post at 1:50am on July 3, 2016. The transaction will still post with a date of July 2, 2016 in the Journal because the hotel’s End-of-Day has not yet passed.
ACCOUNT DETAILS
Added Pagination & Organization: Improvements have been made to the Transactions Tab for Accounts, and as a result, transactions are now summarized daily. By clicking on the daily summary boxes, the user can view a day-by-day summary of the selected transactions.Pagination arrows have been added to either side of the dates to provide users the ability to scroll through historical dates. Also, if a large number of charges have accumulated for a particular date, the user may scroll to the bottom of the screen and page forward and backward between sections of the list.
ROOMS & RATES PAGE
Icons to Replace Text on Rooms & Rates Screen: To save space on the Room & Rates screen, Stayntouch PMS will now use icons to indicate the status of available rooms, rates, and restrictions. Learn more here.
