RoomKeyPMS uses the property's email to send Confirmations, Guest Folios, Invoices, Statements, Various Reports, and Error Messages (see following Support Document for configuration instructions: Emailing from the PMS);  In this release we have added the setting for TLS 1.2.

In release 8.26.0.1, we released a feature where RoomKeyPMS would choose the fastest internet route from the property to RoomKey Data server that was available (see RoomKeyPMS Server Connection - Fastest Route).

In this release, we have made two enhancements:

1. On the client computer, RoomKeyPMS will check the response times from each Proxy route to RoomKey Data Server and will select the fastest average route.  This change was put in place due to the fact that the original feature was only looking at the speed when login into RoomKeyPMS but the fastest route at start up may not be the fastest over a longer period of usage.  By selecting the fastest average route, the goal is to have RoomKeyPMS run at a more consistent speed for the user.
2. The second change is to address the fact that any route, even the fastest, can have intermittent outages (this is not RoomKey Data Server being down but just the route that the property's ISP has taken to RoomKey Data Server), thus when a Time Out, occurs in RoomKeyPMS, the next fastest route will automatically be selected.  Then at a later time, if the speed issue on the first routes has been resolved, RoomKeyPMS will once again select that as the fastest route, when the next 5 min check is completed

The following modification applies to property using:

• Windsurfer Interface
• iHotelier Interface
• Booking.com direct connect

**as a side note, these modification were previously applied to the SynXis and Siteminder Interface in 2016**

Throughout the day there are multiple messages (reservation messages, guest profiles, rate changes, etc.) being sent back and forth between RoomKeyPMS and the above mentioned Interfaces. To improve on message delivery, the following modifications have been made:

1. Separation of Availability and Reservation messages from Rate Update Messages - the priority has been given to reservation messages in the interface so that if the property were to have a large number of rate changes being sent, it would not delay the processing of a new reservation from the GDS/IDS interface
2. Separate message Queues per property - previously messages sent from RoomKeyPMS were for the overall interface to the GDS/IDS provider, thus messages were queued for all properties.  As the amount of properties using each interface has grown, queueing per property is the best way to optimize message delivery.  

RoomKeyPMS allows clients to set a Cut-off date in the Groups Module that will release any un-used block, as of a contracted date. Currently, the RoomKeyPMS Interface to GDS/IDS Integrations does not send an updated inventory message on the day the block is released; if there is a modification to the group or a reservation added/removed from group, RoomKeyPMS does send an updated inventory message.  However, being that the property may not make any changes to a group for a few days, the inventory would be out of sync and the rooms would be available in RoomKeyPMS but potentially not available on the GDS/IDS platform.

As of Tuesday, August 28, RoomKeyPMS will start checking group cutoff dates at the end of each day and will send the updated inventory message to the GDS/IDS Integration, should there be a change.

As of Tuesday, August 28th, the SynXis GDS Interface was updated to send the guest's Marketing Opt-In choice to RoomKeyPMS. This modification is to include the additional data provided by SynXisto ensure that the Guests preference to receive additional marketing information is being respected by other applications reading from RoomKeyPMS. This also aligns with property initiatives implementing Guest Privacy policies (such as those required for GDPR). For more information of the Marketing Opt-In from SynXis - CLICK HERE

1. For properties using EMV CC Interface, there was an issue of not being able to post to CASH on City Ledger Invoices
2. For properties using CC Interface, the VOID button has been removed from the authorized transaction window, if there is no authorized transactions
3. When using the Merge Profiles function in Guest Profile, the "Select Credit Card" window was popping up; this window should only pop up when making a new reservation with the profile
4. For properties using Heartland CC Interface, there were some instances when settling a Credit Card, that the card type would default to AMEX (this transaction code was at the top of the list alphabetically), instead of the card type being the original card taken for authorization i.e. VISA or MC
5. When transferring charges to a new folio or different room, this function can only be used for In House guests, there was an issue on the Tape Chart where Transfers on In House reservations was being blocked
6. When using the New Res Add-On function, if a Reservation Note was added to the second reservation, the note was not saving
7. For properties using Heartland CC Interface, there were some instances where errors from the processor were not be handled properly, which was resulting in a double posting on the processor
8. In groups area, RoomKeyPMS would allow the user to change block dates on a group after all reservations were checked out (in this particular case, the property was trying to re-use a group) => this would cause reporting issues by having picked up rooms outside group block dates; change has been made that block start date cannot be changed once rooms are checked in; however, block end date can be changed, in case the group needs to be extended
9. For properties using Heartland CC interface, there was an issue in processing authorizations on reservation of more than 99 nights
10. On the BI Report, Revenue by Rate, the incorrect amounts were showing for Room NIghts, ADR, and Revenue =" the correct amounts were being displayed on the other Revenue by Reports (Room Type, Source of Business, Client Type, and Market Segment)

One of the mandates of such privacy regulations as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is the guest's right to have their personal information deleted or purged from RoomKeyPMS.  In this release, is the feature that supports guest purging and still saves pertinent statistical information that would be important to retain for the hotel.  To learn more about the Guest Purging functionality - CLICK HERE  

1. For properties with Heartland CC Interface, the Transaction Id will now show on the Credit Card Report when performing a reversal in Sundry Sales
2. For properties using Shift 4 CC Interface, in some instances, the guest name was not showing on the Batch Report in Dollars on the Net; a fix has been put in place to ensure the name will always be included, even on tokenized card transactions
3. On Reports => Statistics => Room Nights & ADR by Source of Business (inc. PYTD), there was an issue with the year over year comparisons, where the data would show if the SOB had no production in a certain year; now the SOB will show for comparison, even if production was at 0
4. For properties on Taxes Included Configurations, on Reports => Forecast => Occupancy and Revenue Forecast - Transient vs Group, when a room is picked up in a group, the tax was included in the revenue, on the report; as a side note, when room was still in block (not picked up) the revenue was reported correctly, by not including the tax in the revenue
5. On Operations => Groups => Reports => Group Pick Up, this report was not respecting the Group Cut off date and still showing the block; report has been fixed to respect group cutoff date

When a confirmation email is sent from RoomKeyPMS to the guest, three formats are used in the email: a picture of the confirmation, an HTML attachment of the confirmation, and a link that will point them to a copy of the confirmation on RoomKey server. These multiple formats are used due to the fact that different email providers sometimes block different formats.  

With the recent changes surrounding the rules about the storage of guest personal data, there will be a change to the link that is provided; the link in the confirmation email will only be active for 30 days and will include the following verbiage on the link:

At the end of the booking process on the eRes Booking engine, the guest is given the option to print the confirmation:

On the confirmation email sent to the guest, there is a PDF attachment and a link, to a copy of the PDF on RoomKey server.  We will apply the same verbiage to this email link:

For all past confirmations that have been sent to guests, the 30 day rule would also apply.  Should a guest call to say that the link is "broken", the property would be able to re-send a confirmation from RoomKeyPMS.

Previously message updates on Inventory Availability and Rate Updates were done in the same message through the GDS/IDS Integrations. In this release, the change was made to separate the messages so that a large update on one would not affect the other.  As a second change, the delivery times were optimized so that the integrations will receive the updates more frequently.  

The following integrations were improved:

• Expedia
• iHotelier/TravelClick
• Booking.com
• SynXis
• Windsurfer
• SiteMinder

An internal feature that was released for the RoomKeyPMS Support Team was the improved logging of transaction messages between RoomKeyPMS and the Shift 4 Payment Gateway; this will allow the Support Team to better assist our clients with troubleshooting issues on processing transactions.