RoomKeyPMS Enhancements
RoomKeyPMS Server Connection - Fastest Route
When a user opens RoomKeyPMS on their computer, the ISP (Internet Service Provider) follows a "route" to the RoomKeuPMS Data Server; sometimes these connections can be effected by outages or slowdowns on the route to and from the server. In this release, when RoomKeyPMS is opened, several different routes using proxy servers (along with the ISP route) will be activated; whichever route returns from RoomKey PMS server the fastest, will be used for that session. The next time RoomKeyPMS is opened at the property, the routes will again be activated and a different one may be used, again depending on which one is the fastest.
Best Practice - Connectivity Troubleshooting
Should RoomKeyPMS be running slow at the property => close the program => re-open application and fastest route will be chosen => if connection continues to be slow, refer to full Troubleshooting Documentation
Application Slowness Metrics
Tying into our focus on connectivity, we will be collecting metrics on processing times for common functions in the application (new reservations, rate update, loading inventory calendar). With these metrics, we can analyse the success in connectivity with our new proxy servers and identify areas of the application we can focus on for optimization.
New Mandatory Field - Rate Code
A new code field has been added to Rate Plans to better facilitate communication with our offering of interfaces. The immediate effect on the properties will be the need to enter a Rate Code when adding a new or editing an existing Rate Plan. For the implementation of these codes with our integrations, we will be doing a staggered release to each integration and our Support Team will be reaching out to the properties as each integration is converting. For more information on the new Rate Code field - CLICK HERE
Tweaks and Defects
- On eRes, some properties were experiencing with minimum Length of stay being applied to "stay through" reservations; the minimum LOS is designed to be on arrival date.
- Reports => Rate Reports =>Rate Template => by default the "Show all Rates" is checked but the rates are not selected => new default will be that the "Show all Rates" is not checked
- An issue existed for some properties when using the "Print all Reg Cards" feature where the cards would all print blank
- The Lock Out on improper password entry should have only popped up on attempt five, it was appearing after attempt one
- On Profile Match & Merge, blanks should be ignored when comparing profiles; there was an issue related to blank addresses
- On Profile Match & Merge, there was an issue where merged profiles at one property in a chain was not merging at other properties where Profile Sharing was turned on
- When increasing Guest Folio Credit Limit, the guests Credit Card was removing from the display of the reservation but was still stored on the Guest Profile; display has been fixed
- When creating a Walkin Reservation for the previous day, during the rollover period => if reservation was for one night, the displayed average rate would be blank (charge would still post)
Tweaks and Defects -Integrations
Heartland Credit Card Interface:
- Issue when changing to a new Credit Card on the Checkout screen where the folio looks like the original Credit Card was used instead of new card; on Heartland side, it was the new card. Display in RoomKeyPMS has now been fixed
- When doing an authorization, the number of nights for the booking was defaulting to "99 nights" for all bookings; this has been fixed to now send the number of nights on the actual reservation
Duetto Interface
- Automatic message triggers have been setup based on when a group reaches the cutoff date set on the group => at the point of cutoff, as message will be sent to Duetto with block as "zero", effectively releasing the block
- Previously, Duetto was only able to send Extra Person Rates, they are now able to send Extra Adult and Child Rate
Booking.com Direct Connect Interface
- When properties were changing the reservation, the rate was being "refreshed" to what the rate was currently set at and not retaining the rate that was on the booking, when it was originally made
- When phone number on reservation contained spaces, system wasn't able to read phone number so it was saved as NA; RoomKeyPMS now able to read spaces so phone number gets saved
Expedia Direct Connect Interface
1. For properties using "Taxes In" setting, Rates were not holding when changes were applied to a reservation; the Rate was refreshing to what Rate Plan was currently set at and not what the rate was, when the booking was originally made
Update 8.26.0.2
Shift 4 Communication Error
**PLEASE NOTE - for properties that are using Shift 4, where there is a Shift 4 UTG set up on each terminal => this error would not have appeared**
For properties that have several computers that are pointed (by IP address) to one computer where the Shift 4 UTG is located => the following error message was appearing, when processing Credit Cards:
The communication error occurred when the Shift 4 message was being returned to RoomKeyPMS => the transaction did actually get sent to Shift 4 => there are three possible scenarios:
- Transaction went through => message sent back to RoomKeyPMS => posting did not make it back into RoomKeyPMS
- Transaction was declined => decline message sent back to RoomKeyPMS => no action required
- There was a true communication error => no action required
While this would have been caught by properties when doing their Audit of the Shift 4 Batch, we recommend extra attention for the days where 8.26.0.1 was installed.
For Properties with any Credit Card Interface - Receipts Options
Receipts Options: Additional Receipt options have been added to System Configuration => Property => OLP Tab => this allows the property to set Merchant and Customer copies => by setting to zero, the receipt does not print:
Receipt Information: The second change we made to the receipts was to add more information about the transaction from the processor. Having this information can help with reconciliation of batches or general troubleshooting:
Update 8.26.0.3
Tweaks and Defects
- For properties using Shift 4, part of the text from the processor was being cut off, the signature line dissapeared, and in some cases the Card Holder Name was not showing
- In Rate Wizard, the Rate Name field was reduced to 80 character limit
Update 8.26.0.4
Rate Audit Report
The Rate Audit Report was designed to support the recently added new Rate Code field (for more information on Rate Code CLICK HERE ) that was added to the system. The Rate Code field is mandatory when creating or editing a Rate Plan but there would still be Rate Plans created in the past that do not have Rate Codes attached.
Step 1 - Ensure all properties are setup on the latest version of RoomKeyPMS (need to be on at least Version 8.26.0.1 or above).
- If a Rate Plan is created in the new version of RoomKeyPMS (8.26.0.1 or above), the system will require the user to enter a Rate Code
- If a Rate Pan is created in an old version of RoomKeyPMS (8.25.0.7 or below), the user will be able to create a Rate Plan without a Rate Code
For more information on the Rate Audit Report - CLICK HERE
Heartland Interface Update
In a typical workflow for a reservation, the property would authorize or charge guests Credit Card on check in. If at some point the proerty needs to refund back to the guest, typically the refund would be done towards the card on file.
In some instances, the guest will want to refund to a different Credit Card than the one on file. In this case the property will post as a negative payment => Heartland allows for this type of transaction to go through and will return a Transaction Id but no Credit Card data will be sent back to RoomKeyPMS. If the property needs to go back and Reverse this Credit Transaction, it can only be done directly in the Heartland portal. For more information on this type of Reversal - CLICK HERE
Update 8.26.0.5
Tweaks and Defects
- For properties using a credit card interface on version 8.26.0.4, when making a reversal on some charge transactions, an error message was appearing, that would not allow the user to reverse the transaction
- For properties using Shift 4 Credit Card interface, the information that the clerk was entering into the reference field was not flowing through to the receipt
- On Rate Code Report, for properties that have Rate Plan in old rates area => if the Rate Code was missing, RoomKeyPMS should be displaying **Rate Code is Empty**
Update 8.26.0.6
RoomKeyPMS Enhancements
Guest Privacy Services - Marketing Opt-in Default Settings
Many of the rules and regulations about guest privacy and the option to be marketed to (such as with GDPR) indicate that the Marketing OptIn must be explicitly given by the guest; for the hotel PMS, it is mandated that the OptIn default be set to un-checked. Currently, RoomKeyPMS is defaulted to have the Marketing OptIn checked but for this release, a default setting has been added so that the property can configure the default to be un-checked. For more information on the Marketing OptIn defaults - CLICK HERE
Guest Privacy Services - Guest Request for Information
Another part of the ongoing trends in Privacy Policy, is the mandate that a guest should be able to ask for the personal data that the property has stored in their system. In this release we have created the Guest Profile Export; for more information on the Guest Profile Export - CLICK HERE
Guest Privacy Services - eRes Marketing OptIn
We have made two modifications to the eRes Online booking engine:
- Marketing OptIn - check box has been added to the eRes Booking form, for the guest to agree to be added to Marketing list. For more information on the Marketing OptIn on eRes - CLICK HERE
- Wording Change - we have changed the wording on the Property Policy check box from "I have read and agree with the Property Policy" to "I have read and agree with the Property Policy and Terms and Conditions". As a recommendation, properties should be outlining the Privacy Policy as it pertains to the storage of guest data. The Policy setup area in RoomKeyPMS allows for links to be added using HTML; for more information on how to create an HTML link - CLICK HERE
Tweaks and Defects
- For properties using Credit Card Interface, the space on the receipt for cmmoents was increased to mathch the size of the field in RoomKeyPMS; there were some cases where the note was too long and was cut off on receipt
- Once a Group is checked in, the start date of the group cannot be moved to a later date; there was an issue with a property "recycling" groups that was making it appear as though the reservations disappeared from certain reports
- In some instances when looking on the Cancelled screen the CC fields appeared to be empty but if Advance Search was used, the CC details would show; has been fixed so that card will show on Cancelled screen