Central Reservation Systems
Central Reservation System (CRS) software enables hotel chains to manage information related to Rates, inventory, reservations etc. in a centralized location. Reservations can be received from multiple properties, the hotel’s own web site, other Global Distribution Systems(GDS), call centres, travel agents in real-time. The CRS provides interfaces to various divisions of the hotel chain like Sales, Marketing and Hotel Managers to provide a holistic view of the Status of the hotels at any point of time.
In general, any Central Reservation System has some or all of the following features
- A Central database with data on the various properties in the chain, their rates, inventory, guest profiles, availability, promotions, Reservation details etc.
- Web-based booking engine to view details on various hotels, availability and make reservations using Credit Card payment gateway,
- Booking engines and interfaces for GDS, Call Centres, Travel agents etc.,
- Interfaces to Property Management Systems (PMS),
- Interfaces to Revenue Management Systems (RMS),
- Report Genaration tools
- Two way interface applications to synchronize inventory and reservations between Property Management Systems and the CRS
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software to build a database of customers, their preferences, their spending pattern in the hotels etc.
Property Management Systems
A Property Management System (PMS) is a Hotel Management software that is used by Hotel Managers, Rates and Reservations managers, front office, back office, Reservations, catering, laundry etc. It manages the various rates, offers, inventory, guest related services like room reservations, guest check in, checkout, room move, room service, telephone, laundry and other amenities. It also integrates the front office, back office, point of sale and Customer Relationship Management System.
The PMS communicates with the Central Reservation System (CRS) in a hub and spokes model with the CRS as a hub and the PMS of various hotels in the chain as spokes. This model of communication enables the hotels in the group to synchronize the various rates, room inventory, guest reservations and guest profile over a WAN or LAN network.
The PMS interfaces with the hotel’s Central PABX using a RS232 Serial communication link or a TCP/IP link to get the telephone usage billed to the guest.
Depending on if the room is checked in or checked out the telephone line can be locked to deny unauthorized use. The PMS also interfaces to the Voicemail system for guests and hotel managers.
The PMS also interfaces with other third party systems like in-room entertainment system etc.
The PMS can also interface with Yield or Revenue Management Systems to maximize the hotel’s revenue over a period of time.
The various features of any PMS are as follows
- Reservations: individual, group, block bookings, cancellation, wait listing, cashiering and deposits.
- Rate Management : Manual, Automatic, Yield Management system interface
- Guest Management : Guest demographics, contact details, group and agent details, guest preferences
- Front office : walk-in guest booking, guest check in, checkout, guest messages, wakeup calls, guest services, cashiering including multiple payment methods
- Back office : Daily revenue reports, reservation reports
- Configurations screens, multiple user logins,
- Central Reservation System (GDS, IDS Distribution)
- Interfaces to third party systems like in-room entertainment, in –room chargeable amenities like mini bar, POS, key lock, switching systems etc.
- Interface to hotel web site to enable online hotel booking
XML, SOAP, HTNG, OTA
XML stands for EXtensible Markup Language and it is much like HTML. XML was designed to describe data. XML tags are not predefined but one must define tags depending on how the data has to be organized. XML uses a Document Type Definition (DTD) or an XML Schema to describe the data. XML with a DTD or XML Schema is designed to be self-descriptive. XML is a W3C Recommendation.
XML has been adopted by a large number of software vendors as a standard. It is believed that XML will be as important to the future of the Web as HTML has been to the foundation of the Web and XML will be the most common tool for all data manipulation and data transmission.
SOAP is a simple XML-based protocol to let applications exchange information over HTTP.
SOAP stands for Service Oriented Access Protocol. SOAP is a communication protocol. SOAP is for communication between applications. SOAP is a format for sending messages. SOAP is designed to communicate via Internet. SOAP is platform independent. SOAP is language independent. SOAP is based on XML. SOAP is simple and extensible. SOAP allows you to get around firewalls.
SOAP was created to enable communication between applications over HTTP, because HTTP is supported by all Internet browsers and servers. SOAP provides a way to communicate between applications running on different operating systems, with different technologies and programming languages.
HTNG stands for Hotel Technology Generation Next, a trade association that facilitates the development of next generation, customer centric technologies to better meet the needs of the global hotel community.
HTNG is moving information technology in hospitality forward by bringing all industry constituencies--hoteliers, vendors, consultants and others--together to address the most pressing needs. HTNG sets up Workgroups who develop solutions to the technologies needed by the hotel community
Web booking Engine
A major value addition to a hotel’s web site is to enable a visitor book rooms online over the internet and also be able to pay using credit card. Thus the hotel’s web site can generate enormous revenue as the number of internet users is increasing.
A web based reservation system enables visitors to know about the various room types available in the hotel, the rates for a year in advance, current offers etc. It also lets visitors check the availability of rooms and make reservations. Payments can also be made online using credit card, debit card etc.
A web booking engine is an e-commerce software that works as part of the hotel’s website integrating Central reservation System or the Property Management System, to display in an organized fashion the various types of rooms available at a hotel, rates and offers. It interfaces with Payment gateway systems of Credit Card companies. It also sends email confirmations to the hotel and guests about the bookings made online.
Travel agents can also book over this engine.
Any web booking engine has the following features
- Booking facility available over the internet 24/7
- Real time Rates and Room availability
- Quick filling of forms for reservation and guest profile
- Booking / Cancellation for Travel agents, groups
- Booking / Cancellation of special packages, holidays
- Booking / Cancellation at a special Web Rate which is lower as compared to the RACK rates
- integration of Payment Gateways of Credit card / banks
- Facility to book Airport Pickup, other services at the hotel like Spa
- Complete hotel/ room details, Hotel map, directions to the hotel etc.
- Email confirmation to hotel and guest
- Detailed Reporting facility to Hotel Managers, Marketing managers etc.
- CRS / PMS Interface
Voice Mail systems for hotels
The voice mail systems for hotels manage the telephone voice messages of the guests and hotel administrators. A standard telephone with a Message Waiting Indicator (MWI) is used in the rooms as the user interface. The voice mail system consists of a computerized system which integrates with the hotel's PABX via a Computer Telephony Interface Hardware (CTI), the hotel's Property Management system (PMS) via a RS232 interface or a TCP/IP interface. The voice messages are stored on the hard disks or a separate storage device attached to the computer system.
The voice mail system is an Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) that interacts with multiple callers at the same time using prerecorded voice prompts and records the messages in user’s own voice and saves the same in mailbox of the guests. Once a message is received the Message Waiting Indicator in the telephone handset glows and the guest can access his messages using the same IVRS. If the guest is checked out, the PMS sends a command to the voice mail system and the guests voice messages can be either deleted immediately or stored for retrieval at a later stage by the operator
WAP websites for hotels
In-Room Entertainment Systems
The Guest In-Room entertainment system is an interactive television based system that entertains modern day guests with features like High Fidelity Music, movies, internet radio, internet access, Office applications and guest messages and alerts.
A typical in-Room entertainment system consists of the following
- Set Top Box (STB) running on any Real Time Embedded Operating System
- TCP / IP connection to the server where the Media (music, movies etc.) is stored,
- TCP / IP connection to the IPTV server through the Media servers
- IPTV Encoders to encode digital TV channels, connected to the IPTV servers
- Analog / Digital Television tuning cards to show Analog / Digital TV channels
- Interfaces with High Quality Televisions like Plasmas and LCDs using RS232 or TCP / IP communication with the screens
- Remote Controls which are simple and user friendly
- Wireless keyboard with mouse to use the internet and Office applications.
- Surround Sound by using High Fidelity 5.1 / 6.1 / 7.1 Audio systems to give the guest a home theatre effect
- TCP/IP or Rs232 Serial communication interface to the Property Management System to transfer charges and get check in / Checkout details
- Interface with digital cameras of guests, music players or any USB memory devices etc.
The in-room equipment (STB) of this system has an aesthetically pleasing case, small form factor, noise free and generates minimum heat. The STB is maintenance free and enables to have the cost per room as low as possible.
Large screen Plasma or LCD are used as display units. A Plasma Display Panel (PDP) is a flat screen display panel with sizes starting from 32-inches. Many tiny cells located between two panels of glass hold an inert mixture of noble gases (neon and xenon). The gas in the cells is electrically turned into a plasma which then excites phosphors to emit light. Since each pixel is lit individually, the image is very bright and has a wide viewing angle. Contrast ratios for plasma displays are often as high as 16,000:1. But plasma display units suffer from screen burn-in which is caused by prolonged display of a fixed text or image. This causes some parts of the display to loose their luminosity and become visible to the naked eye thus causing a burn-in effect..
LCD
A liquid crystal display (LCD) is a thin, flat display device which is used commonly as computer monitors. With advances in LCD technology, large screens which are thin and have wide viewing angle are available. A LCD display unit uses very small amounts of electric power and hence is a good choice for battery powered devices.
Two sheets of polarized transparent material, one with a special polymer coating that holds liquid crystals, are adhered together. Electric current is passed through individual crystals, which interpret the information from the broadcast signal to allow or disallow light through them to create an image. The crystals themselves do not produce light, so the technology is "non-emissive" and therefore does not give off radiation like an older television does. Fluorescent tubes housed behind the transparent material illuminate the image. They require less power to operate than CRT and plasma televisions which require powering hundreds of electrodes to stimulate the phosphorous.
The LCD and Plasma display units interface with the in-room equipment (STB) using a RGB input or DVI input for video. The STB controls the display unit using either a RS232 Serial communication interface or a TCP/IP interface to exchange handshake commands for operations like switching ON / OFF, changing channels, changing input selection between TV and AV, volume control etc.
Surround Sound - High Fidelity Audio Systems (5.1, 6.1, 7.1)
The in-room Entertainment system playbacks multi channel audio to speakers that surround the guest’s room. The various speakers placed around the listener play audio coming from different directions or channels. The bass content in the audio is directed to low frequency speakers or subwoofers.
The distinguishing factor between the various surround sound formats like 3.0, 4.0, 5.1, 6.1, 7.1 etc. is the number of channels encoded in the original signal and the number of channels reproduced for playback. Another distinguishing factor is between the number of channels reproduced for playback and the number of speakers used to reproduce.
High Speed Internet Access in rooms and in common areas using WiFi and WiMax technologies
High Speed internet access has become the need of the hour for a connected traveler. The same is provided in hotel rooms and common areas using wireless technologies like WiFi and WiMax. This enables a guest to connect to the internet just by using his laptop computer near a wireless hotspot.
WiFi
Wi-Fi is a wireless technology intended to improve the interoperability of wireless local area network products based on the IEEE 802.11 standards.
Using a WiFi wireless network a host of devices like a PC / laptop, mobile phones or PDAs can be connected to the internet without the hassle of getting into the mess of network cables. These devices just need to be WiFi enabled and when they are within a hotspot. The area covered by one or more interconnected access points is called a hotspot.
A Wi-Fi hotspot can be installed in any place say home, restaurants, offices, hotel lobby etc.
WiFi enabled devices can also be connected in peer-to-peer mode where they can connect with ach other directly and also connect to the internet and digital cameras can transfer images wirelessly
Wi-Fi allows LANs to be deployed without cabling for client devices, typically reducing the costs of network deployment and expansion. Spaces where cables cannot be run, such as outdoor areas and historical buildings, can host wireless LANs.
Wi-MAX
WiMAX, the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a telecommunications technology aimed at providing wireless data over long distances in a variety of ways, from point-to-point links to full mobile cellular type access.
It is based on the IEEE 802.16 standard, which is also called WirelessMAN. WiMAX allows a user, for example, to browse the Internet on a laptop computer without physically connecting the laptop to a wall jack.
The name WiMAX was created by the WiMAX Forum, which was formed in June 2001 to promote conformance and interoperability of the standard. The forum describes WiMAX as "a standards-based technology enabling the delivery of last mile wireless broadband access as an alternative to cable and DSL."
RFID based Guest Identification system
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is a method used to identify automatically objects, products, animal or person using radio waves. Devices called RFID tags or transponders are stuck to the object to be identified. The tag can send and receive radio frequency signals. Each RFID tag stores unique identification information for any object / person. The automatic identification method relies on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices.
Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader.
Most RFID tags contain at least two parts. One is an integrated circuit for storing and processing information, modulating and demodulating a (RF) signal and can also be used for other specialized functions. The second is an antenna for receiving and transmitting the signal.
Hotels issue RFID based cards to its guests and can identify VIPs and High Net Worth Guests when they reach the hotel premises. The hotel can immediately retrieve the guests’ preferences stored in their Customer Relationship Management System (CRM) and make necessary arrangements to match the guests preferences.
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