Entering a New Reservation

In the Reservation System Master Menu, select the room(s) and date(s) to be booked by left-clicking in the room and date grid for the rooms you want to reserve. The box(es) will change color to show that they have been selected:

To enter guest information, right click anywhere on this screen's chart area and the "Guest Reservations" window will appear. The "chart area" is anywhere below the Dates, and between the Room Names & Rate List.

The "Guest Information" and "Guest" tab is where you begin entering guest information.

If this is not a repeat guest, the finder box will eventually disappear as the information becomes unique.

If this is a repeat guest, the guest name will appear in the finder box.  As you type the guest's last name, the finder box (the green and yellow box) will appear and start to search for that last name.  In this case, click on the guest name in the finder box. This will automatically fill the fields with the information from their last visit. Once the fields are filled, you can make additional changes.

Note: If you have to make a room unavailable for a period of time, use the word "Closed" anywhere in the last name.  The Reservation System will not include it in statistical reports and it will be ignored when you run the Transient Tax Worksheet report, so you won't have to pay taxes on that room.

Continue entering all other pertinent guest information, using the Tab key to move through the fields.  If the repeat guest has moved since their last reservation, just type in the information and the system will be automatically updated. In any case, the window might look like:

Special instructions for some of the fields:

Coupons:

Select the Guest Has a Coupon From field and scroll to select any special offering coupon you offer. (Select Edit to maintain your own list) This coupon selected will automatically appear on the confirmation reminding the guest to bring that coupon.

Cancellation Policy:

Number of Days indicates the grace period for a room refund.
Charge Per Night is the amount that will be charged for canceling the room prior to the grace period.

Dietary Restrictions / Handicaps:

If guest has dietary restrictions, add any remarks, like "One is a Vegan, and needs Soy Milk".  These remarks will show up in many places to remind you of their restrictions.

Notes:

If applicable, you can add notes that apply to the guest, every time they book a room.  Note: These notes are not related to this particular reservation, just to the guest.

Special Tickle Dated:

The purpose of this chart is for you to keep track of special happenings and have the ability to send them an email from the "Correspondence by Tickle Dates" in the Reports program. The system automatically makes an entry every time they "book" a reservation and sets the "Tickle Month" to one month before they booked.  Your can also add items like the guest's anniversary, and set the Tickle Date to a month or so before the event.

Then when you go to the "Correspondence by Tickle Dates" in the Reports program, you can send them (and other previous guests) emails inviting them back to stay again.

At the bottom of the screen:

Check "Guest will be arriving late!" (if applicable).  The "late Arrival" memo will automatically be added to the confirmation of the guest.

The "Explained:" area is a reminder for you to explain your policies, cancellation procedures, check-in times and other inn policies to the guest.  Click the boxes once you have explained them to the guest.

Click on the down arrow on the right side of the "Special Occasion" and "How'd You Hear About Us" fields to fill them in.  If the options are not listed, use the edit button to make your addition and then reselect the option.

The "Guest, Agent, Group, and Donor check boxes will be automatically updated when you send a Confirmation.  If for what every reason you do not send them a Confirmation (because perhaps they were a "walk-in", you can click on the check boxes manually if you like. This check boxes are just a reminder of whether you sent them a Confirmation or not.

Now choose the "Dates, Rooms & Rate Information" tab:


Here, the system displays the following fields:

Adjustments to most of these fields can be made manually, as needed.

Special instructions for making changes to existing reservations:

Ok: column is automatically bulleted when a new reservation is made. This indicates that this room is active in the reservation.

De: click the button below to completely delete a specific room night from the reservation. A pop-up box will appear asking if you really want to delete that room for that night. Click Yes or No to confirm. Deleting a reservation will not charge the guest or show up as a cancellation.

Ca: click the button below to cancel a room night. If the cancellation is within the grace period, the system will automatically charge the cancellation fee per night. If the room is cancelled within your number of cancelation days prior to the stay, the system will show the entire charges as due.

NS: click the button below to indicate that the guest was a No Show for this stay.

Re: click the button below to indicate that this stay will be rescheduled. This will credit the guest's previous payment towards a future booing and will not charge the guest a cancellation fee. When they call to schedule their new dates, use "Find A Reservation" off the Reservation System Master Menu to search for their old reservation or switch the screen into "Reschedule" mode if you know their original dates.  Once their old reservation appears, add the new dates.


Click on the "Location" column to change the room that the guest is staying in. Any available rooms for that night will appear. Scroll down to select the new room.

Click on the "Discount Percent" column to offer the guest a percentage off the regular room rate.

Click on the "Full/Calc/Zero" column to determine the type of tax to be applied. By clicking on "Full", the tax amount will use the standard rate without any room discounts. By clicking on "Calc" (the default), the tax will be calculated on the actual room amount being paid. By clicking on "Zero", no tax will be applied.

Example: If a guest is using a discount coupon, you may want to charge the guest "Calc" tax for your tax records. In the case of a donation by your inn, you would choose the "Full" option for your tax records.

Entering Payments

Below the Rooms grid table, enter guest deposit and payment information:

To add a method of payment, click on the "Add Payment Type".  This will add a line into the grid on the right and the cursor will jump to the "Payment Type ID" field.  Use the pull down menu to choose a credit card or other method of payment.  Depending on which "Payment Type ID" you choose, fill in the "Credit Card Number" and "Expiration Date" fields. (If you chose "Check", you can put the check number in the "Credit Card Number" field. Choose the Deposit Type and enter its related information.

Next, click on the "Enter" button in the "Payment Action" column after you have received the deposit/payment. This will enter a payment line into the grid below, along with the current date (which can be modified).  This does not physically run the charge through your credit card terminal.  You have to run the charge manually and attach the charge slips to the Reservation Card.

You can also add items to this grid (ex. Champagne, Cookbook) by clicking on "Add An Item" and choosing from the pull down list.  The charge for that item will be added to the total balance of the reservation.

Entering Notes & Additional Charges

Enter any additional information you may have about this guest/reservation. Information entered in the "Reservation Card Instructions"  field only prints on the reservation card. The box marked "Confirmation & Reservation Card Instructions" will print on both the reservation card and the confirmation notice (for the guest).

Finalizing the Reservation

Printing a Reservation Card

When all information has been entered, click on the down arrow on the "Reports" field and choose "Print Reservation Card": 

Click on the Go! button.

A box will pop up giving you the option display a preview on the screen or print the reservation card. You may want to preview the reservation card prior to printing, to verify it is correct. The reservation card will print on a half sheet of paper (8 ½ wide by 5 ½ high). After the reservation card has been printed, the next step is to send the confirmation to the guest.

Sending a Confirmation

In the "Reports field, choose "Send Confirmation to Guest":

Click on the Go! button.

The pop-up box will give you the option to display a preview, print/fax, or email. Choose the appropriate confirmation method. If the confirmation is emailed, it will go automatically using the email address entered in guest information. The "Confirmation Sent" box at the bottom of the screen will be automatically checked for all methods except preview.

Confirmation Received: If you want to keep track of confirmations received from guests, click on this box when confirmation is received back from the guest.

Canceling a Reservation

If the entire reservation is being cancelled (i.e. all room nights have been marked in the CA column), the following will occur:

The confirmation number changes to a cancellation number (ex. CALVO418).

The report field at the bottom of the screen changes to allow you to send a cancellation notice (as opposed to a confirmation notice) to the guest.

Rescheduling a Reservation

Clicking on the Re buttons will mark each room of the reservation as a rescheduled reservation in the system. Note that the system does not charge the Guest for the rescheduled rooms, and the deposit amount now shows as a credit.  When they rebook, bring up this reservation, click on "Add a new Room Night" to add the new stay, change the date and the room to the new dates and rooms they will be staying in.  The system will then apply the original credit to the guest's new stay.  This procedure helps track the complete reservation for both you and the guest.  If there is a charge for rescheduling, then add the charge by choosing from the "Add an Item" button.  Any special conditions for the rescheduling can be noted in the "Edit Memos" menu (Chapter 2).


Completely Deleting a Reservation

Click on this button to completely remove any trace of that reservation in the system, as if it had never occurred. This option is rarely chosen, because you normally would want to track No Shows, Cancellations, and Reschedules.  The guest(s) names will remain in the system but all other information will be deleted.  If you have run a charges through your Credit Card terminal and need to refund monies, you will have to do it manually.

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