Find the Best Hotel Front Desk Software

The hospitality industry has become one of the most thriving industries in the country. More people are now coming to the Indian subcontinent and to experience the wonder that the country is. Tourism is not just promoted holistically but also individual states are promoting themselves. It is one of the thriving industries and the one which doesn’t go through recession often.

From the technological perspective, every hotel needs a hotel management software that helps to deal with the inflow of tourists and customers. Right from booking, reservation to checkout and all the intermediate processes – is handled efficiently by the hotel front desk software.

Hotel front desk software is a system that allows hotel employees to balance all front desk tasks from a unified platform, including online and offline bookings, check-ins and check-outs, pricing lists, and communications.

The front desk is the most important point. It is the place where the customers or visitors have direct interaction with the business. The hotel’s front desk is the face of the service that the hotel is going to provide. Guests are quickly able to judge the service they are going to get from the way they are being treated at the front gate.

Often, guests are coming from a long, tiring journey and all they want to do is get into their rooms with as little hassle as possible. Few processes take time because they need to be done manually and mandatorily so. The best thing would be that other processes be automated so that the visitors don’t have to spend too much time going through the technicalities and formalities of checking-in.

A hotel front desk software is an appropriate solution for all front desk requirements. Many hotels have the system integrated across different devices so that when the guests arrive, all they have to do is check-in via the device on the entrance. The systems get updated automatically and all details of guests are obtained. The whole concept of front-desk management has diversified.

The real deal - The front desk has multiple levels of activities to take care of. Apart from customer management, financial management, too, is a big task. These are closely-knit activities and need constant monitoring. A hotel front desk management software is all about managing all these activities together. There functions like room management, advanced bookings, urgent and instant booking requirements, guest registration, cleanliness and maintenance, financial statement, etc. All these need to be managed from one spot itself. A hotel front office software makes sure that the people at reception essentially don’t have to be present everywhere to be able to get things done. All information is stored inside the system.

Where maintenance is concerned, the staff gets the maintenance signed by the guest in their in-house device. As rooms get cleaned and ready, the information gets updated in the software used in the hotel front office. That is how staff at reception are aware of the current status. Similarly, where payments are made via cheque, or demand draft and guest information and documentation needs verification as per the standard government guidelines. All these are done by the software for the hotel front desk. 

A hotel front office software is what a Property Management System is all about. Different modules within the front desk application allow managing the hotel business efficiently. When we consider the different functionalities it is handling, we get a clearer idea of how important the software is for managing a hotel. Let us look at some of the essential factors:

• Reservations: For any hotel front desk software systems, reservation is the most important module for managing the business. This where the booking chart, allocations, number of guests current and expected – everything is visible. Visibility is one of the key aspects of the reservation module and based on how the number of rooms needs to be managed. Some of the basic things done here are:
• Room Bookings: The system checks the number of bookings, the rooms that are free and allocated across different channels and the current status of the allocated rooms.
• Payment collection: There are different modes of payment collection and to ensure that each is available and possible.
  • Room Chart and allocation: The booking chart plays a pivotal role in the hotel front desk system since it gives an idea regarding what is available at hand.
  • Reservation emails and notifications: Ensuring that all communication regarding bookings and reservations are informed via emails and notifications.
  • Booking of activities: Some people also book for activities along with rooms. This module takes care of it.
• Front desk operations: Room Management is the acid test for all front desk operations. How the front office is handled, availability of rooms, managing the current and advanced booking – everything is handled at the front desk. This also includes check-in and check-out. The system manages and updates if there are changes and keeps the current status intact.
• Channel Management: Managing activities throughout different channels are equally important. Different channels maintain information regarding airlines, people traveling to and from, inventory regarding hotel supplies, etc. All these are maintained in different channels of a front desk management software. Channel management is important when you want to get a larger picture of the current business venture.
• Revenue management: The hospitality industry is all for the revenue and some of the best hotel front desk software ensure that this module has all the multiple functions that are expected of it. It simply helps to understand the pricing of the hotel room as per the current market rates, monitors competitor’s data and also local events. Prices are fluctuating in nature and the revenue management module takes care of how the prices are to be rotated.
• Housekeeping services: Housekeeping is also the next most important aspect of a hotel front desk software. Keeping an eye on the cleanliness of a huge place like resorts and hotels is tiring and a humongous job. These days, the maintenance staff is given a tablet or a device. They get that updated from the guest when the room cleanliness is completed. And that automatically gets updated in the software for the hotel front desk. Specifically, after a guest checks out and the next guests are going to check-in soon, the housekeeping department is on toes to get the work done at the earliest and get the rooms ready. Hotels with the best service and top-quality cleanliness generally draw more customers. This may involve tasks like ensuring the wood lockers in the rooms are clean and well-maintained, providing a pleasant experience for the guests.
• Customer Data Management: This is the most important module and also needs to have an ample amount of security. The best hotel front desk software always has the highest mode of security for customer data. There should be no leaks in information and that the data is secure. There is an accessible format on how the data can be retrieved. Based upon the customer information, marketing and promotions are also planned. The whole system’s functioning is revolving majorly around this module for this is the point of business.
• Back office management: Back-office management takes care of all back-office activities and hotel administrative tasks like:
  • Event management as requested by the client
  • Spa/gym management
  • Resources and Staff Management
  • Consumption cost
  • Inventory management
  • Sales management and promotions
  • Managing reviews

Like all business process management software, hotel front desk software has certain salient features that need to be considered before you take the plunge for your business. Based on the size of the business and the futuristic goals in mind, you must pick the best software for hotel front desk: 

• Easy third-party integrations: If ever in future you need to integrate with another system, ensure that your hotel front desk software doesn’t give you a hard time with integrations. Mostly all modules will be available in the software, but there might be a reason that you might be looking for integrations and that gets difficult.
• Access through mobile devices: It is essential that the software is cloud-based and also accessible via mobile or other devices. The software should be available via multiple platforms.
• Priority on ease of use: The best hotel front desk app always has simple UI and easy processes that can be followed. Ease of use for employees and guests should be one of the primary concerns.
• Customization offered by provider: As a business, there might some customizations you might want to bring to your software from the UI or module perspective; ensure your software does that for you.
• Security Customer Support: One of the most important aspects of any software for the hotel front desk is to ensure that there is three-tier security where data is considered. You’re putting customer information and business details on it. Also, in case of any need, there is the instant customer support that you can reach out to.
• ROI and the spending: Make sure that it is value for money. If you are upgrading to a new system or buying a new one, it should serve the purpose of what you are investing for. Make sure the investment is fruitful.

There are categorically many benefits of using front desk software. Not only does it automate a lot of work, but it also takes off a load of having to update all the information on the system. Let us look at some of the obvious benefits of using a hotel front desk software:

1. Enhanced check-in/check-out: The whole nightmare of lengthy check-in and check-out process is eliminated. It becomes easier and a lot of time and hassle is saved. Not to mention, there will be lesser human errors.
2. Increase in housekeeping efficiency: Since housekeeping too will be kept under the tab of the updating the status and also assigning work as soon as guests have checked out or are about to check-in, the cleanliness and diligence of staff automatically increase.
3. Increase in back-office activities: All back-office activities will be automated and there will be lesser errors. Reports, inventory analysis, etc. will be automated and that makes chances for human error, lesser and better methods of handling data and work.
4. Better revenue management: Because of the increase in work efficiency, there is an improved working style and better service. Naturally, this adds to the overall customer experience and also you are keeping an eye on customer requirements. This enables them to provide services to them and adds to better revenue management.
5. Increase customer management and guest experience: With automated activities, you are giving lesser hassles to the guests and a better experience. You have the customer data and can provide something extra for their stay – like a complimentary spa session or for birthday celebrations. This adds to the overall customer satisfaction and that gives a positive effect on the business.
6. Better customer-business relationship: When most of the activities are automated, it leaves a satisfied customer and a happy employee. The relation between the business and the customer improves and that adds more value to the business.