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How the hotel side works

Add-on

Hotel & Rooms is an add-on. If Hotel isn't in your sidebar, it isn't on your plan — see What's included, and what's an add-on.

What this is for​

Running rooms as well as covers, in the same system — so a guest who eats in your restaurant can put it on their room, and one bill covers the stay.

The chain​

  1. Room typesDouble, Suite — the kinds of room you sell
  2. Rooms201, 202 — the actual rooms
  3. Rate plansWhat a room costs, and when
  4. ReservationA booking for specific dates
  5. Check-inThey arrive and the stay opens
  6. FolioThe bill builds while they are here
  7. Check-outThey settle and leave

Each step needs the one before it. You cannot price a room before the room exists, and you cannot check someone in without a reservation.

Everything hangs off that line. A stay is the period a guest is actually in the building, and a folio is their running bill.

The pieces​

ThingWhat it is
Room typeA category of room — Double, Twin, Suite — with occupancy, base rate and amenities.
RoomA physical room, with a number, a floor and a housekeeping status.
Rate planWhat a booking costs, and its cancellation terms.
GuestThe person, with their details and documents.
QuotationA price offered before it becomes a booking.
ReservationA confirmed booking for dates and rooms.
StayThe live occupancy, from check-in to check-out.
FolioThe running bill for a stay — charges and payments.
Housekeeping taskCleaning work against a room.
EventA banquet or function in a venue.

The daily rhythm​

Front Desk Dashboard is where a receptionist lives. It shows:

  • Today's Arrivals — who's expected.
  • Today's Departures — who's leaving.
  • In-House Guests — who's here now.
  • Occupancy Rate.

Check in from the arrivals list, check out from the departures list. Most of a shift happens on that one screen.

Where the restaurant joins​

Two connections, and they're the reason to run both in one system.

Room service. An order taken on the POS with a room as its context can be posted to the room — it lands on the guest's folio instead of being paid at the till. See Room service.

One bill at check-out. Room charges, taxes, extras, restaurant charges and payments all sit on the folio. The guest settles once.

Your restaurant carries on working exactly as it did. The hotel side adds a place for charges to go.

What you set up, and in what order​

  1. Room types — the categories, with base rates and occupancy.
  2. Rooms — the actual rooms, each assigned a type.
  3. Rate plans — pricing and cancellation terms.
  4. Hotel settings — booking taxes, extra services, bank details for invoices.
  5. Then start taking bookings.

Guests, quotations, reservations and folios all follow from there.

The rest of this section​

Good to know​

  • Hotel permissions are extensive and separate — a receptionist can run the front desk without reaching your restaurant reports. See What each role can do.
  • Hotel reservations are a different thing from table reservations, which are part of the restaurant. See Taking reservations.
  • Room Service appears as a POS order type only when this add-on is on.
  • Bookings can carry their own taxes, set separately from restaurant tax under hotel settings.

Next​

Room types and rooms