Hotel Front Desk Management Software: Everything You Should Know About This Solution

At any given time of the year, especially during the peak season, a hotel reception desk can be crowded and become a reason for chaos and confusion for the hotel management. Manually maintaining the records of all guests, keeping track of the inventory, storing invoices, and invoicing the customers might be a hefty task. 

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A Hotel Front Desk Management Software has steadily become the savior of hotel managers and an out from the “would be” chaos. Imagine the inevitable confusion that every hotel administration may face, relying entirely on pen and paper and Spreadsheets to assign rooms, maintain invoices, and keep records of the guests checking in and out of the property. Hotel Front Desk Management Software has equipped the hotel staff with an automated system to handle mundane administrative tasks, increasing productivity and efficiency. 

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Features like facial recognition for guests, self-check-in, and pre-stay emails are becoming increasingly popular with hotels because they save a lot of time and resources that can be otherwise utilized to serve the guests better. But before delving into that, let's understand what is a hotel front desk management software first. 

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What is a Hotel Front Desk Management Software?

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The hotel's front desk is where all the information is collected from the guests and stored for future reference. It also has updated data about the rooms, reservations, prices, staff attendance, and more. A hotel front desk management software not only saves the staff’s time by automating tasks like check-ins, check-outs, and updating the availability of rooms but also saves the guests’ time by pacing the processes. It is a centralized platform where you can safely store all the data and enhance your customer service experience. 

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Besides providing efficiency and automation to aid the hotel administration, the software offers beneficial functionalities such as Pre-Stay, Check-ins, Guest Services, and Post-stay operations for the hotel staff to utilize. Additionally, the software is recommended for revenue management since it has built-in capabilities for connecting the operations and financial processes of the hotel. You can also add integrations to the software as per your requirements. 

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What are the benefits of implementing a Hotel Front Desk Management Software?

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As mentioned above, implementing a Hotel Desk Management Software can provide efficiency to the staff and relieve them from routine tasks to concentrate on enhancing the guest-stay experience. Besides, there are also some other benefits of implementing a front desk management software for your hotel; they are:

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• Better Internal Communication: Since hotels promote their services on multiple online platforms, it is difficult to keep track of the reservations and cancellations and update the staff about the incoming guests and departures at such short notice. Implementing a front desk management system can make such operations more accessible and faster for a hotelier. 

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• Reduced Front-desk traffic: Features like facial recognition check-ins and check-outs are proving to be more effective in enhancing the experience for guests. The best part about front desk software is that guests don’t have to stand in a crowded line to make a reservation at the hotel. All they have to do is make a reservation online, and the software will do the needful, allotting rooms and taking care of the payment, thus making the room reservation process more convenient for guests, not to mention the staff. 

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• Organized Multitasking: It is embarrassing for hotel staff to keep their valued customers waiting for service. With the front desk software, the team can access all data about their guests, from the room number to payment status, check-in details, and lots more, with just a few clicks. 

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• Staff Efficiency: The hospitality industry thrives on staff efficiency and fast customer service. The front desk management software ensures that administrative tasks that the staff performs manually, which is time-consuming, can be taken care of automatically within seconds. 

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• Secured Data: The software stores all guest data under one centralized, highly secured, encrypted platform. The data is saved on cloud servers and is protected and backed up by the latest technology. 

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• Enhanced customer service and experience: Overall, the front desk software ensures a top-notch, memorable customer experience due to staff efficiency and consistent, quality service. Additionally, the software also has a feedback analysis feature that collects guest feedback and provides detailed analysis, helping the hotel serve its guests better in the future. 

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Must-have Functionalities of a Front Desk Management Software

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A front desk management software is developed to cater to a hotel's “front desk needs.” It takes care of all the phases of a guest's stay at a hotel. From Pre-stay to Post check-out, the software has various modules that handle guest data, interact with them, manage guest bookings, and take care of the payments and discounts. 

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• Pre-Stay Operations: Like a receptionist, the front desk management software also makes online/ offline bookings for guests, allots rooms, shows reservation status, and reminds the staff about upcoming check-ins and check-outs. Most applications available in the market come with features like - an availability calendar, automated confirmation emails, a delayed confirmation manager, and a periodic list of arrivals and departures.

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• Check-in Operations: This particular feature aids the receptionist in locating reservations using the confirmation number or guest’s name. It also enables guests to check-in and make payments using their mobile phones to confirm their reservations at the front desk without standing in line.

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• Stay Operations: Usually, the front desk is responsible for managing the additional charges, such as in-house restaurant, bar, spa, gift shop bills, etc., and charging them to the guest’s reservation tab. The front desk management software makes it so quick and convenient for the receptionist to apply the additional charges on the bill.

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• Check-Out Operations: Probably one of the most important functionalities of the front desk software is the ability to provide a clear breakdown of the customer’s bill, along with information about any advance payments, gift vouchers used, and outstanding invoices.

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• Post-Stay Operations: The hotel front desk management software is developed to close guest booking at check-out or post cancellation from the guest’s end. It also updates the availability status of the rooms and sends an automated feedback form on the guest’s registered contact details (email and phone number). After collecting the feedback form, the software also provides a detailed report about the overall performance, helping the staff serve its guests better.

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Conclusion

While purchasing a hotel front desk management software for your hotel, you might want to consider the difference between that and a hotel management system. While a front desk management system manages all the reception duties of a hotel, a management system manages all possible operations. At CognitiveClouds, we offer exquisite, bespoke solutions to your hotel management needs. Reach out to us to discuss your requirements today!

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