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Using objects.
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Billing.
The primary purpose of adding objects was to make billing more flexible. Using only rates meant that the billing was solely attached to the resource/room but by using objects we can attach billing to what goes into a room. It is of course possible to set up rates for each permutation of what could go into a room but this would mean that we potentially have to create a lot of
rates to cover each possibility. For example, assume a hotel bills per person per day with rate breaks for children at half price. If a room can potentially take 4 persons we would have to set up 16 rates just to handle this. Using objects we could set up two objects (adult and child) and simply attach as many of each to the reservation as is required. This is a lot easier.
Also, using objects to produce billing it is possible to have "complex" billing, where a single charge on the guest's account can be allocated to multiple GL revenue accounts. For example an all inclusive dinner, bed and breakfast rate of $150 per night can be split in the GL to $100 accommodation and $50 for meals. Whether the guest sees the split or not can be
specified by the user.
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Vouchers.
An object can also be used to print vouchers for a guest - free sauna/massage, horse rides, bus tours, game drives, casino voucher, breakfast/meal vouchers, boat trips and so forth. An object does not necessarily have to carry an associated cost/value or billing and can simply be used to provide the guest with some form of document to be used/redeemed against something. This
should not be used to print guest cards as this facility is provided as a standard print spec. Vouchers can be auto numbered and an audit trail is produced when these are printed.
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Return reminders.
Objects are useful for reminding the checkout clerk that the guest needs return something on leaving the hotel. This could carry a billing value but not necessarily and could include hair dryers, safe keys and special equipment.
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Guest activity history.
Objects could be used to track specific guest history such as courses attended. For example, where RR is used in an in-house conference centre, objects can be set up for each course presented and could the be saved to the participant's history file on completion. This should not be confused with normal guest history maintained by the system.
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Other uses.
Apart from the above objects can have unlimited uses. Here are some:
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Which newspaper (s) the client prefers to receive.
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Special dietary requirements.
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Special occasion reminders, eg. champagne for honeymooners.
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Special arrival/greeting requirements.
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Room/resource furniture requirements eg. Baby beds, tables/chairs/overhead screens for conference rooms.
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Special tracking requirements such as complimentary free nights. |
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Setting up.
To make setting up and using easier and more powerful we have created a function called resource object links and rate object links. This allows a user to set up defaults or lists of objects normally associated with a resource/room and rate. These objects will automatically be added to a reservation made using the resource and/or rate. For example, if a room is normally used
by a single adult, we can set up an object called "Adult" and set up a resource/object link for one adult. Each time we call up the resource to make a reservation, the object will already be there and can then be modified or deleted. We can also add new objects at time of making the reservation. Similarly we can "attach" objects to a rate. These will be
automatically added to a reservation when a rate is selected.
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Keep it simple.
Remember the key to using any system is simplicity and that is especially true with a reservation system. RR is very powerful and extremely flexible in it's use, which means also that it can be set up to be unduly complicated. Very often there are multiple ways of setting up the system to achieve a specific requirement or suit a specific environment. When setting up bear in
mind your available resources, equipment and staff. |
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