News in 2019

• December

  18 December 2019

  Release Version 246

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

   

  Reservations Checking out reservations with open balance Check out reservation > New button: Check out reservation with open balance A specific user right allows checkouts without closing the invoice. Scenario: A guest checks out of their room, but decides to remain at the hotel for a while because they still want to use the hotel’s spa before departing. Using this new function enables you to check out the guest while keeping their invoice open to book the spa’s services. Since the system registers the room as checked out, housekeeping can go in and prepare the room for the next guest. As soon as the guest returns from the spa, all services and payments are posted and the balance in the invoice is closed. At the end of day routine, open balances in invoices will be displayed as tasks which still need to be completed. New user right A new user right has been introduced to control access to the feature: PAirCheckOutWithOpenBalance: The user gains access to the Check out reservation with open balance button located in the checkout window. The right enables the user to check out a reservation without having to close the invoice. Role: This right is automatically included in the PAir Front Offic user role, i.e., every employee with this role has access to the function. When working with your own roles, you can add the right to the respective role: More information about editing user rights

   

  Minor changes System data > Housekeeping > Room configuration: Improved user experience: With the [tab] key, you can now jump from column to column with ease when entering the room configuration. protel Air MICE: The MICE Event Plan now appears in the selected system language.

   

  Resolved issues Guest profile: If a profile was linked to a company reservation, the allocated company was lost in some cases in the profile [‘Company’ field in a private profile]. This issue has been resolved. Profiles > Match & Merge: An error when merging guest profiles has been resolved. System data > Hotel management > File export / mailings: The export of profile data is again possible without any restrictions [among other things, the export did not work if certain rate codes were selected as export criteria]. System Data > Reservation > Rate availability: Blocking arrivals on certain days of the week [rate strategy Closed To Arrival] is working properly again. Example: Set strategy for Sa. thru Th. in order to allow arrival only on Friday. Legal Requirements in Italy: The report required by Italian authorities regarding the registration of foreign guests [police report] has been adjusted and now meets all legal requirements. Among other things, the city codes have now also been included. protel WBE: Fixed issue with regards to WBE payment settings.

   

   

  06 December 2019 | Interim Update

  Release Version 245.6.9154

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

   

  Commission Clearing Configure various commissions in protel Air and link them to a specific guest profile or reservation. A commission is a flat fee or a percentage typically paid to travel product distributors for selling the property booking to the customer. Commissions are calculated after the guest checks out from the property and are usually based on accommodation charges incurred during the stay - plus possibly the value of other charges for F&B or extras. Currently the feature includes the following functions: Create Commission Codes in the System Data Attach Commission Codes to profiles. Set Commission Codes on reservation level. Please note: The calculation of the amount of any commission payments that are owed to companies or travel product distributors will be released in the future (Commission clearing phase II). How is the applicable commission code determined? Commission codes may be directly linked to agent profiles or reservations. Commission Code Setup Select System data >POS >Commissions. The Commissions dialog box displays a list of existing commission codes. How to setup commission codes: Attach Commission Codes to Profiles You can add a commission code to a travel agent or company profile. Open the profile and select the Commissions tab. Click Add and select an appropriate commission code - see the following screenshot. Then set the validity of the commission codes - this is mandatory - by defining a From and a To date. Click OK to attach the code to the profile. Here are some facts about the Commissions feature you should be aware of when adding a commission code to a profile: Each Commission Code can only be attached once to a profile Commission codes can only be associated with travel agency or company profiles If two profiles are merged then the commission of the target profile is taken An expired commission code cannot be attached to a profile. Set Commission Code on reservation level You can assign a different commission code than the company/travel agent-assigned commission code to a reservation by attaching this code in the reservation dialog. The set code overrides the company/travel agent-attached Commission Code. Open the reservation Go to the Reservation tab Select the applicable commission in the Commissions drop-down list.

   

  04 December 2019

  Release Version 245

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

   

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

   

  Enhanced credit card handling Overview Pre-filling authorization amounts before check-in Reminding users of CC top-ups during EOD + possibility of topping up pre-authorization amount Adding token referral records for multiple credit cards Automatically propose (or make mandatory) pre-authorization after check-in Use case: When checking in a reservation where the payment method has been set to credit card, the (pre-)authorization dialog box opens automatically to pre-authorize the provided credit card up to a pre-filled amount (or another manually entered amount) Pre-authorisation is a common process followed within many hotels at check-in. If you also require your guests to provide valid credit or debit cards on check-in, our new pre-authorization feature can simplify your daily work significantly. When checking-in a guest, protel Air can automatically suggest a pre-authorization in order to reserve the expected costs on the guest's credit card. The amount to be pre-authorized is already pre-filled - this is the total amount to be expected: Accommodation + Fixed charges - Deposits - other pre-authorizations. The Pre-Authorization feature is optional. You may enable or disable this feature by using the following system settings. XSetup: Offer pre-authorization at check-in XSetup name: enablePreAuthorizationPopUp Category: Reservation Configuration path: /currentProperty/propData/CCAuthorization/enablePreAuthorizationPopUp Directory: Configuration - Client - Reservation When this XSetup is activated, the Credit Card Authorization pop-up automatically opens when checking-in a reservation where the payment method has been set to Credit Card*. If no pre-authorization is to be performed, the user can exit the window and proceed the check-in process. *In the Reservation tab of the reservation, credit card has to be selected in the Payment pull down box. XSetup: Force pre-authorization at check-in You can use the following system settings to go one step further and make pre-authorization mandatory for reservations where the payment method has been set to Credit Card*. XSetup name: forcePreAuthorization Category: Reservation Configuration path: /currentProperty/propData/CCAuthorization/forcePreAuthorization Directory: Configuration - Client - Reservation When this XSetup is activated, the guest can only be checked in if pre-authorization has been performed. *In the Reservation tab of the reservation, credit card has to be selected in the Payment pull down box.

  Read our new user manual that will walk you through the basics of processing credit card payments in protel Air!

  Top-up authorizations during end of day routine Office > End of day > Execute end of day You can increase the value of the original pre-authorization if the expected amount of the final transaction is higher than initially pre-authorized, e.g., if additional charges are made during the stay. protel Air can actively support you if you want to increase pre-authorizations on a regular basis: On request, protel Air generates a list at the end of day routine containing all reservations for which a pre-authorization top up is recommended, because additional revenues which are not covered by the previous pre-authorization have been booked in the meantime - see the following screenshot: Ill.: During the end-of-day routine, a list can be accessed that suggests reservations for top-up authorization - optional. The top-up amount is calculated automatically and can then be added manually by pushing the Top-up button - see the following screenshot: By the way, top-up authorizations do not replace the original pre-authorization; they are added to the previously approved amounts. XSetup: Automate pre-authorization top-ups during end-of-day routine If requested, you can even go one step further and automate the processing of pre-authorization top-ups during the EOD: When the following XSetup is activated, a further pre-authorization top-up is automatically taken for each reservation to cover any incidental charges which have accrued in the meantime. Please note: This Xsetup can only be activated by protel Support staff! Customers wishing to activate this setting are therefore kindly requested to contact the Cloud Support Team. XSetup name: forceAuthorizationAutoIncrementOnEOD Category: Reservation Configuration path: /currentProperty/propData/CCAuthorization/forceAuthorizationAutoIncrementOnEOD Directory: Configuration - Client - Reservation

  Read our new user manual that will walk you through the basics of processing credit card payments in protel Air!

  New 'Credit card management' dialog box | Managing more than one credit card for a reservation Reservation Summary > Reservation tasks > Credit card management You can manage several credit cards per reservation in one centralized dialog box. Store new credit card information manually, read in new credit card information by means of a connected payment terminal, or delete credit cards if these are not used.   Please note: The Credit card management dialog box does NOT replace the payment organization, but rather provides the possibility to quickly enter several cards into the system. Credit cards entered can be used for pre-authorization and payment purposes. If you want to save various credit cards for a single reservation we recommend using the Payment Organization feature.

  Read our new user manual that will walk you through the basics of processing credit card payments in protel Air!

• November

  20 November 2019

  Release Version 244

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

   

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

   

  Reset (undo) no-show reservations Lists > No-shows Reservation > Reservation summary > Reset no-show If a guest reserves a hotel room and fails to arrive on the arrival date without cancelling, the reservation is usually set to No-Show status during the end of day procedure. If the guest should appear at the hotel at short notice and want to check in, you can easily undo the no-show status of the reservation with a simple click of your mouse. To do this, the reservation is reset to Reserved status which practically means that the reservation is sold to the guest again. No-Show reservations can be restored directly in the Reservation Summary dialog box or in the No-Show reservations active list. Example System Date = 15.11.19 Original Reservation = 15.11.19 - 18.11.19 This reservation is then run as a No Show during EOD. When the No Show is reset on the 16.11.19 [next business day], the reservation stay dates will be: 16.11.19 - 18.11.19 Business rules Each time a No-Show reservation is reset, protel Air checks availability. The reservation is always reset to the reservation status which it had before it became a No-Show. No-Show reservations booked and reset for only one night will be moved one day forward [arrival and departure dates will each be moved forwarded by one day].

   

  System data / Pricing New: Discount group types System data > Reservation > Pricing > Discount groups In addition to the conventional age groups, types can now also be entered into the pricing setup located in the Flash system data. The two types Child and Adult allow the user to define the age groups according to predefined ranges. This allows you to distinguish between prices for children and adults more precisely and also improves the exchange of business information with third-party vendors when using the OpenTravel schema [OTA].

   

  Minor changes Enhancement of the back office export: Ability to identify transactions from a 3rd party vendor / Ability to automate accounting by being able to refer the transactions from a hotel's accounting system uniquely to the corresponding transactions in the acquirers back end respectively acquirers exports. Enhanced logging and error handling for emails sent during EOD routine - Automatic Report Transmission Ability to subscribe meal plan codes from protel Central

   

  6 November 2019

  Release Version 243

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

   

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

   

  Allotments NEW: Creating payment instructions for room allotments Reservation > Allotments > Allotment dialog box > New tab: Payment instructions Define one or more payment instructions for your allotments which are then automatically valid for all reservations that are posted via the allotment. BENEFIT: All revenues from the allotment reservations are transferred directly to the defined target accounts. As a result, the creation and management of large allotments is much easier and more efficient. This is how it works Create a new allotment. You then set a payment instruction for the allotment, which is to apply to all reservations within this allotment.

  NEW:  Manually enter rooming list Reservation > Allotments > Allotment dialog box > New button: Rooming list / Enter manually In addition to importing the room list, you can now manually enter all guests and reservations for an allotment in just a few easy steps. This gives you another method for naming multiple reservations for an allotment in a single step. BENEFIT: The creation and management of allotments is supplemented by an additional useful feature which particularly benefits you when dealing with larger allotments.

   

  Overbooking New: Printing / exporting overbookings Options > Overbooking > New button: Print Tasks Using the Options > Overbooking function, you can enter flexible overbooking limits for each room type or for the entire hotel. NEW: To keep track of which overbooking limits have been set over which period, you can now print out the overbooking values in the form of a PDF or Excel list. Cleverly solved: The information is printed out the same way as they appear on the screen. This has the advantage that you can print different lists, i. e., an overbooking list for a certain room type.

   

  Minor issues Guest profile | Reservations tab | Date filter: If you click on the From date and then press the <Tab> key, the cursor now jumps to the To date. Replacement codes for displaying user-defined fields work again. Related code: ${guest.udf.fieldname} - ('fieldname' has to be replaced by the name of the relevant user-define field).

   

• October

  23 October 2019

  Release Version 242

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

   

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

   

  Login dialog box Re-Login or switch user After logging out, you can either log back in with the same user or change the user. To log in to protel Air with another user, click on Switch user. Then, enter the user's name and password and click on Login. It is not possible to overwrite the name of the last user logged in. To log in again with the same user, simply click on login (the login details of the last logged in user are automatically loaded).

   

  Back Office Interface Export Due date We are happy to provide a new option for issuing the due date of debtor payments in the Back Office Interface Export. The date comes from the reminder date in the payment reminder function and can be issued in various formats. The following codes are available for the generic back office export script: DUE_DATE for exporting the due date REMINDER_CODE for exporting the reminder code Example <FAField active=”true” field=”DUE_DATE” sortorder=”16”/> <FAField active=”true” field=”REMINDER_CODE” sortorder=”16”/> Please contact protel Air Cloud Support or your protel Partner for assistance in configuring or adjusting your generic back office export!

   

  User mapping Government ID System data > System > User mapping Bug fix: The Government ID in the user mapping was not saved correctly. This has been fixed. This fix is of particular importance for protel IO fiscalization in Slovenia.

   

  Active lists | In-House Display error in the in-house list when moving items Lists > In-house The following error appeared when an item was moved: If an item was moved from one invoice to another in-house invoice, a display error occurred in the in-house list. Instead of displaying only checked-in reservations, all reservation were shown in the inhouse list. The view was only updated once the button "Search" was pressed. This inconvenient bug has been fixed.

   

  16 October 2019 | Interim Update

  Release Version 241.6.8682

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

   

  Office | Reporting Business Intelligence Data Reporting > Front Office > Business Intelligence Data The report provides useful information for business analytics (Business Intelligence). It  can be accessed for different communication channels, distribution channels, and market segments and therefore allows for deeper dives into the data to explore different questions. Where? Go to Reporting to call up the report (Office > Reporting). What? Hotels work online and offline with a variety of channels. The report provides you with data to evaluate the performance of your sales channels, market segments, and communication channels. What for The report is aimed at users who want to know which sales come from which channels and market segments, thus enabling them to draw appropriate conclusions (e.g. for marketing purposes) and make well-founded decisions based on the data. The report is also suited for exporting to external BI or analysis tools.

  CRM Export Report Reporting > Front Office > CRM Export Report The report lists all reservations based on market segment, broken down into individual reservations and group reservations. The report can be called up for a specific market segment or for several market segments. Where? Go to Reporting to call up the report (Office > Reporting). What? Most hotels divide guests into two categories: group travelers and transients (non-group). The report shows the number of group travelers and transients for each market segment. What for? The report allows you to create links between the market segment and transient or group reservations. From which market segment do the most and least group reservations come from. Does the hotel accommodate more group or transient travellers in total? The report is also suited for exporting to external CRM tools.

  Company/Travel Agent Production Reporting > Manager > Company/Travel Agent Production The report contains all revenues from reservations made by companies and travel agencies. Where? Go to Reporting to call up the report (Office > Reporting). What? In many hotels, reservations are made by companies or travel agencies. This report contains the number of reservations posted on a certain date or in a certain period via companies or travel agencies, and which revenues were made for which particular product group. Further details provide information about the company/travel agency, the market code, the booked rate code and the day of the week. What for? The report is intended to provide users with information about, e.g., what revenue was generated by company reservations for a specific day or period. Which company had the highest turnover, which rate code was booked most frequently, and which market segment did the bookings come from?

   

  09 October 2019

  Release Version 241

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

   

  Integration of Generic External Fiscalization interface into the business logic of protel.I/O With the new logic, protel Air will be able to fulfill important legal requirements for fiscalization in various countries (e.g., Belgium, Norway, and Slovenia). Features: Easy connection to external fiscalization services. Interface messages are displayed directly in protel Air. E. g., the user receives an alert if the external fiscalization service does not respond or other problems occur. Forced fiscalization at check-out and EOD if required. Create QR codes for fiscalized invoices (in the making).

   

  Reservation enquiry Reservation > Reservation enquiry New: Select company or travel agent You can now include a company or travel agent profile when doing a reservation enquiry. Hence, this will return the associated rates attached to the selected profile. Benefit: This will help you to streamline the process of making corporate or travel agent reservations. Note: In order to use this feature properly, make sure to attach a special rate code to your company and travel agent profiles. Autosize column width Enhancement: The column width for displaying the room type name is now automatically adjusted to the content. Longer room type names are no longer "cut off".

   

  Invoices Invoice dialog box > Item tasks > Split item/package > Split number Resolved issue: 'Split number' led to differences in reporting. When splitting the number (e.g., 2 out of 4 dinners), the split items were posted with a wrong date. This could have led to differences in the display of revenue in reporting.

   

  Active lists | Group reservations Lists > Group reservations Display of total persons in new column The new Total persons column displays the number of persons making up a group. The new Persons per Age Group column shows the number of persons by age group (discount groups). Print group reservations in the order selected on screen The group reservation list can be displayed in any sort order (click on the column header of any column). Resolved issue: If you print the list, the list is now printed in the order it appears on the screen.

   

  Office | Reporting Reservation Allocations Report Reporting > Front-Office > Reservation Allocations The Reservation Allocations Report is a list of all bookings and cancellations by a pAir user (agent) or a Central Reservation System (CRS), along with a total net amount of bookings. Example: Result of the Reservation Allocations report:

  Rate overview Reporting > Reservation > Rate overview Enhancement: The rates that can be selected in the rate code filter are now displayed in ascending alphanumeric order.

   

  Back office interface Unzipped export of back office data at end-of-day The back office data can be automatically sent as a file to a pre-configured delivery communication type or as an email attachment to a pre-configured email address for each end of day procedure. Enhancement: The export format of the data is now configurable. Previously, the data was sent as a ZIP archive by default, now the export file can be sent as an unzipped file, if required.

   

  Implementation of the German Cash Register Security Regulation (KassenSichV) According to a federal regulation, as of 1 January 2020, all cash registers in Germany must be protected by a certified technical security module. Of course, the timely implementation of this regulation is of utmost priority for protel. protel has already successfully implemented similar requirements in several European countries, most recently for the Austrian Cash Register Security Ordinance (RKSV). So users in Germany will continue to be on the safe side with protel. Official customer information

• September

  25 September 2019

  Release Version 240

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

   

  PCI Compliance | Retention period for credit card tokens In protel Air, you can set a retention period for the storage of unused credit card tokens. Unused tokens are tokens that are no longer in use, for example, because the respective reservation has already been checked out or cancelled. The preset value encompasses 90 days, by default. As need arises, this default value can be adjusted. Your protel Cloud Support Team will gladly make the respective settings for you.

   

  New: Connect protel Air to Amazon S3 System data > System > Delivery Communications Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) is storage for the Internet. It provides a simple web services interface that you can use to store and retrieve any amount of data, at any time, from anywhere on the web. Customers can now connect protel Air with an Amazon S3 buckets and upload their EOD reports or back office exports to Amazon S3. This allows protel to provide file handlers as lambda functions and transform to whatever format a customer may require. The connection to an Amazon S3 Account is configured in the system data under "Delivery communications". Users can define which reports and lists they want to send to Amazon S3 in the end-of-day settings.

  Please note: The logged-in user has to have been assigned the pAirCustomerAdminRole in order to access the Delivery Communications menu entry and to setup the Delivery Communications types! You can make the function available to other users by granting the appropriate privileges to them.

   

  Office | Reporting Hotel status & Manager report | Enhanced calculation Office > Reporting > Reservation > Hotel status Office > Reporting > Manager > Manager report When generating the House Status Report, the count of Pseudo rooms was included in the calculation for areas relating to inventory, e. g. Rooms Occupied, Room Sold etc. New Logic: Pseudo room count is not taken into consideration in the calculation as it is not a physical room. The filter option "with/without pseudo rooms" has been renamed to "with/without pseudo-rooms revenue" and therefore only affects revenue: Pseudoroom revenue is added in the report when with pseudoroom revenue filter is set Pseudoroom revenue is not included in the report when without pseudoroom revenue filter is set This applies to the house status & manager report. Example Manager report, total accommodation revenue without pseudo rooms revenue: Manager report, total accommodation revenue with pseudo rooms revenue:

   

  protel CENTRAL connection protel CENTRAL allows simple management and reporting across complex technological landscapes. It is directly connected to all and any PMS within the hotel group. Designed to provide easy management of any number of hotels, protel CENTRAL controls the following operational areas: Configuration Management Profile Management Central Reservations protel Air can be connected to the mentioned operational areas via an individual licence (Reservation, Profile and Configuration Services licence). When protel Air is connected to a protel CENTRAL Service, the corresponding configuration items in the protel Air system data are disabled. Items not being fully configurable in protel CENTRAL can still be viewed and edited directly in the system data. Find out more about protel CENTRAL

   

  11 September 2019

  Release Version 239

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

   

  Announcement: New protel IDS connect version As protel Air has constantly grown in functionality, features and popularity, we have developed a new version of protel IDS, our direct interface for connecting online booking channels. With the new solution, we expect the IDS data exchange to become faster and have lower resource requirements. As soon as all beta tests have been successfully completed, protel Support will be activating the new version of the protel IDS interface in the coming weeks. As a customer, you do not have to do anything and benefit directly from all of the advantages offered by the new interface. The exact time of delivery will be announced here soon. Please also note the information from the Update News from 28 August 2019!

   

  Office | Reporting New: Daily Transaction Report Office > Reporting > Front Office > Daily Transaction Report The report provides a detailed listing of all posted services (expenses) and received payments (receipts) for a selected business day. This includes: Transaction accounts (revenue and non-revenue relevant), grouped by product group (accommodation, F&B, extras) Received payments grouped by payment type (cash, credit card, non-cash, accounts receivable) Example: Tip: The report can be used in addition to the Trial Balance report Reports to balance against: Guest ledger from the Trial Balance report

   

  Country-specific requirements Invoice dialog box | Summarizing similar taxes Tax amounts for similar invoice items ( = same price and same item) can now also be combined in the invoice dialog box. This feature was developed specifically for countries where several exclusive tax rates are levied on one price (e.g., US). The feature is an extension of the Summarizing similar taxes when printing invoices option which was introduced with the last protel Air update (28 August). Together, both features form a further improvement for the use of exclusive taxes. The feature is activated with the following XSetup: XSetup System data > System > XSetup Name: ConsolidateTaxOnInvoice Directory: Configuration > Client > Invoices NOTE: Please contact protel Air Cloud Support or your protel Partner for assistance in configuring and using exclusive taxes!

  Print invoice | Mark invoice as copy for repeated printout Invoice dialog box > Print In some countries, an invoice must be marked as a copy if it is printed out more than once. If required, activate the following XSetup: Name: Config allow Copy Of Invoice At Invoice Type Directory: Configuration > Client > Invoices > Print Result: If an invoice is printed out more than once, this is automatically indicated by the ${invoiceType} replacement code - see following figure: Of course you can  also activate this setting if it is not a legal requirement in your country.

  Profiles | Entry Point documentation System data > Hotel management > Guest profile > Localization > Entry point Guest profile > Extended > Localization There are two new fields in the guest profile: one for recording the guest's entry point (airport, boarder crossing, seaport, etc.) and the other for recording the entry date. Since this is a country-specific requirement (e.g., Bulgaria), the fields must be activated by an XSetup. XSetups System data > System > XSetup EntryPoint EntryDate Directory: Configuration > Client > Guest profile

   

  protel Apps Voyager | New setting: Deactivate credit card information entry Online-booking > Voyager-Settings In the Voyager App, guests can enter their credit card details as required, e.g., for the Online Self-Check-Out. This option can be deactivated in the Voyager settings, if required.

• August

  28 August 2019

  Release Version 238

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

   

  Announcement: protel IDS connect | Export of second level virtual rate codes will be discontinued As protel Air has constantly grown in functionality, features and popularity, we have developed a new version of protel IDS, our direct interface for connecting online booking channels. With the new solution, we expect the IDS data exchange to become faster and have lower resource requirements. This goal was achieved, in particular, by redesigning the calculation function for protel Air rates and availability. During development, we focused on the rate configurations most frequently used by our customers and eliminated some special IDS configurations, which were used rarely or not at all. This is why, for example, second level virtual rate codes will no longer be exported to third-party channels in the future. For customers, who export such rate codes via an IDS instance, the rate configuration will need to be adjusted. If this does not occur, the IDS export will be automatically paused as soon as a second level virtual rate code is found. What does this mean? If you use an IDS interface (direct interface for connecting online booking channels) and also use second level virtual rate codes in protel Air, which you export to the IDS interface, you will be contacted by a protel support consultant. They will help you make the necessary adjustments, with the primary focus on ensuring that no second level virtual rate codes are transferred to the IDS interface. Our analysis report shows that this is only necessary for a very small number of customers. If you are affected by this, you will be contacted by the protel Support Team or your protel Partner in the near future. What is a second level virtual rate code? A second level virtual rate code is a virtual rate code, which itself has been allocated a virtual rate code as its base rate code. How to configure virtual rate codes

   

  Reservation Reservation enquiry Reservation > Reservation enquiry Resolved issues In some cases, incorrect rate codes were shown in the reservation enquiry, if multiple guests per room were enquired (particularly, if the enquired number of people exceeded the permissible occupancy). Although complimentary rates were shown in the reservation enquiry, they were not bookable. This issue has been resolved.

   

  Office | Reporting New: Integration of the Generic Report into Reporting Office > Reporting > Exports > Generic Report Many countries require resident accommodation facilities to transmit data on arrivals and departures at regular intervals. The data and data format may vary by country. In order to meet the different requirements, protel Air provides a generic report (also known as police export), which is adapted to the country-specific requirements via a script. Usually, the report is created as part of the end of day routine. New: We have integrated the generic report into the general reporting. This means that the report can now also be printed for a selectable period, which was previously only indirectly possible. NOTE: The generic report is only displayed in reporting, if the GenericExport license is set.

  Manager report Reporting > Manager > Manager report Resolved issue: The manager report enables the comparison of the current business figures with the figures from the previous year in a dedicated section. Here, the calculated figures for the comparison of room and bed occupancy with the previous year were corrected.

   

  Profiles New: Country-specific settings (Localization) System data > Hotel management > Guest profile > Localization Guest profile > Extended > Localization There is a new tab in the guest profile's system data that enables you to configure country-specific settings. This new tab will enable you to display special fields, e.g. for tax-relevant information. Currently the input of different tax types is available (country-specific requirement for Slovenia - see following images): Localization tab in the profiles system data Localization tab in the individual profile XSetup The Localization tab for configuring country-specific settings is activated with the following XSetup. The logged-in user needs to have access to the XSetup entries in the system data. System data > System > XSetup XSetup name: ProfileTaxType XSetup path: Configuration > Client > Guest profile

   

  Improved handling of exclusive taxes Since protel Air is designed for worldwide use, the system offers extensive options for configuring the calculation of taxes. In this regard, the handling of exclusive taxes was significantly improved. This enhancement only affects countries/businesses that levy exclusive taxes (e.g. Canada & USA). Exclusive taxes are not included in the product prices, thus the tax is added on top of the price on the bill. NOTE: Please contact protel Air Cloud Support or your protel Partner for assistance in configuring and using exclusive taxes!

  New: Summarizing similar taxes when printing invoices Invoices > Check-out / Print invoice Tax amounts for similar invoice items can be combined for printing invoices. This feature was developed specifically for countries where several exclusive tax rates are levied on one price (e.g., US). NOTE: This option has to be activated with an XSetup (see below). Benefits The feature achieves fundamental improvements for printing invoices, especially when the room rate varies due to restriction values or when they have been adjusted manually. Example: Due to a rate restriction, $35.00 is added to the price of an overnight stay. Due to the internal calculation logic, the corresponding tax amounts (lodging tax and sales tax) are printed twice on the invoice: once for the original posting and once for the difference item - see following illustration: For a better overview, the items on the invoice can be combined when activating the Summarize taxes checkbox during checkout / printing the invoice: Result: Taxes on similar invoice items (=same price and same item), are combined in the invoice printout - the invoice is much easier to understand than above: XSetup The Summarize taxes option has to be activated with the following XSetup. The logged-in user needs to have access to the XSetup entries in the system data. System data > System > XSetup XSetup Name: Summarize invoice taxes per day XSetup Directory: Configuration > Client > Invoices > Print Result: If the XSetup is activated, the Summarize taxes checkbox is available when printing invoices and checking out the invoice. The checkbox is set by default, i.e., similar taxes are automatically combined on the invoice per day.

  New: Allotting a tax item to a tax System data > POS > Taxes Taxes can be allotted to certain items. The allotted item is then used to post this tax to the invoice. Example: The tax item which is to be allotted can be created accordingly in the system data. The default item in the system data is called "Exclusive tax" (ID = 5).

  New option: Reduced System data > POS > Taxes The tax amount is deducted from the item price on the invoice by using the Reduced option. The item's net price then appears on the invoice and the tax amount will then be displayed separately. Example: The gross price for an overnight stay is $100.00, the tax is 10% (= $10.00). If the option "Reduced" is activated, booked items are displayed on the invoice as follows: Accommodation $  90.00 (Net amount) Tax $  10.00 (Tax amount) Total $ 100.00 (Gross amount) NOTE: This option is only available if a tax is set up as exclusive tax.

  New text replacement codes For hotels operating with exclusive taxes, we recommend using the following text replacement codes to issue the gross and net price per item: ${item.netAmount} issues the net amount ${item.grossAmount} issues the gross amount Example of use in the invoice template: If you have any questions regarding the use of text replacement codes, protel Cloud Support or your local protel partner will be happy to be of assistance.

   

  Interfaces Financial accounting exports compatible with Sage 50 Options > Interfaces > Financial accounting export New: Financial accounting data can now be exported in a format, which is compatible with Sage 50. Sage 50 is a third-party solution for order processing, accounting and inventory management.

   

  protel Apps Voyager: Display the hotel location Online Booking > Hotel information > Show map Solved problem: The option Show map now shows the correct location of the hotel.

   

  14 August 2019

  Release Version 237

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

   

  General improvements New: By right clicking on the registered hotel, the hotel's name and Cloud ID is copied to the clipboard. The data can then be quickly and easily inserted into another application (editor, email client, bug tracker, etc.). 1. Right click the registered hotel in the menu bar 2. Insert the name and ID of the hotel into the desired application with Ctrl+V.

   

  Genius Search Bar Optimized Search The search function of the Genius Search Bar has been optimized and extended. Amongst other things, you can now also search for a guest's first name. New: Using the shortcut Ctrl+Alt+G, you can jump directly to the search bar and immediately start typing the desired commands. You get a detailed list of all commands by typing the #help command into the search bar. You will find the search bar at the bottom of the protel Air window:

   

  Room plan Resolved issue: When the red protel Air Design (protel crisp) was used, the room status icons did not appear. This issue has been resolved. Hint: The design can be changed here: User icon > Change theme

   

  Active lists Arrivals list Lists > Arrivals Resolved issue: In special cases, the arrivals list did not load properly. This issue has been resolved.

   

  Office | Reporting New report: Hotel Status by Booking Type Office > Reporting > Reservation > Hotel Status by Booking Type Daily record of revenue and room nights grouped by transient, groups and allotments. Similar to the hotel status report, this report provides a daily display of capacity utilization and sales that are differentiated according to transients, groups and allotments. Example

   

  Replacement codes Print Fiscal Closure ID and Fiscal Code Using the following two new replacement codes, you can integrate the Fiscal Closure ID and the Fiscal Code of an external fiscal system (e.g., fiscal trust) into your documents (e.g., invoices): ${externalFiscalClosureID} ${externalFiscalCode} PLEASE NOTE Fiscalization is only relevant for countries with statutory fiscalization requirements. Fiscalization is directed towards the seamless archiving of transactions generated in protel Air and to protect these archives from manipulation.

• July

  31 July 2019

  Release Version 236

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

   

  Reservation Allotments | Automatic search in the overview switched off Reservations > Allotments Until now, the search was always triggered automatically when the Allotments dialog box was opened. This could take quite a long time with large amounts of data. If the user now opens the allotments overview, it will be empty. With the help of the filters, users can now decide for themselves which allotments they want displayed.

   

  Invoices Payment Organization | Delete authorized card payment Reservation summary dialog box > Reservations tab > Payment type and Payment Organization button In special cases, there were problems opening reservations where credit cards were added using Payment Organization function. If an authorized credit card had been deleted, the reservation could no longer be opened. This issue has been resolved.

  Fixed charges could not be set to zero Reservation dialog box > Fixed charges tab Fixed charges could previously be set to a lower amount than set in the system data, but could not be set to zero. Previously, the price always jumped back to the price which had been previously defined in the system data. Now it is also possible to set fixed charges to €0.00, e.g., for creating complimentary items (free of charge) that are to appear on the invoice.

  17 July 2019

  Release Version 235

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

   

  New: protel Genius Search & Command bar The Search & Command bar provides a fast and efficient way to access frequently used functions and search for reservations directly from the protel Air main window. Benefits Fast searching of a number of different parameters Ability to open different windows based upon codes entered into the search bar Speed up your workflow in protel Air with the new Search & Command bar. The Search & and Command bar is always available to give you access to the most important reservation data and functions. Simply enter a search term and you will be presented with matching results in a flash! For example, enter the name of a particular guest (or part of it) and all of the current bookings the system finds for that guest appear. Or enter a reservation number to open a specific reservation. You can also access the most frequently used functions via the search bar. To do this, we provide you with a series of commands which you simply enter into the bar to directly execute that respective command. A few examples The command #ci 100200 checks in the reservation with the number 100200. With the command #cci 100200 you undo the check-in, etc. Truly clever: You get a detailed list of all commands by typing the #help command into the search bar. You will find the search bar at the bottom of the protel Air window: Please note For the new dashboard element to appear in your protel Genius Dashboard, you may first need to clear your browser's cache and do a hard reload. A detailed user guide will soon be available in this online help!

   

  New: Pick Up Pulse in protel Genius Dashboard The protel Genius Dashboard now has a new Pick Up Pulse display which shows reservations on the books. You need more than just sales-related key figures to be able to make a clear statement about demand. The number of bookings and cancellations also provides crucial information about the hotel's current booking status. Pick Up Pulse shows you future bookings and cancellations on a daily basis (e.g. the current week or a longer period of time). You can also analyze bookings from the past (historical data). Features: Quick and easy-to-understand overview of your current booking situation. Show or hide various key figures for your booking situation (key performance indicators, KPI ) with just one click. Evaluation by room type, member type, and booking channel possible. Display booking-mix (proportionate display of which distribution channels were used). In the long run, you can use Pick Up Pulse to proactively track booking status development for a specific period of time. If, for example, the first bookings for the Easter holidays usually come in four months in advance and you notice that only a few reservations are on the books three months in advance, you can intervene at an early stage and, e.g., offer and market the appropriate Easter-packages, or check your rate structure. Successive roll-out strategy protel Genius Dashboard and Smart Widget (see update news from 19 June & 22 May) will not be made available to all protel Air customers at once, but instead will be introduced successively. Properties using protel Air in Europe will start first, soon followed by properties in the USA, Australia, and Asia (separate info pertaining to this will be announced in due course). The step-by-step introduction minimizes the data load associated with the switch over and enables a controlled roll-out of the Genius features. Basic information about protel Genius and how to obtain and install it via the new protel Services Marketplace (protel SMP) can be found here: Installation guide with product information (PDF)

   

  Reservation Reservation enquiry: extended Tool Tip Reservation > Reservation enquiry The new Minimum / maximum advance booking of x days rate strategies are now displayed in the tool tip located in the reservation enquiry if they have been set for a rate - see next figure. Min advance booking of x days: With this strategy, a reservation must be booked at least the specified number of days in advance to receive that rate. Example: If the guest books a reservation at least 20 days before arrival, they will receive a 15% discount. Max advance booking of x days: Specifies the earliest possible time of booking. Example: A discount price should be bookable up to 6 months in advance, but not beyond that.

   

  Interfaces Interface messages Resolved issue: A bug that caused the unnecessary display of interface messages ('invalid reservation') has been fixed.

   

  03 July 2019

  Release Version 234

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

   

  Reservation | Group reservations Rooming list | Entering a series of guests Group reservation dialog > Group members > Rooming list Resolved issue: If several guests were entered manually one after the other, it could happen that the data of the previously created guest was lost when entering the guest data. This issue has been resolved.

   

  protel Air Hotel Apps protel Voyager 2 App supports statutory fiscalization requirements Since the last release version, the Voyager 2 App meets all legal requirements for fiscalization. NEW: Five new XSetups have been developed for the activation and configuration of fiscalization in the App. Please note The XSetup entries can only be executed and edited by members of the protel Support Team! Customers wishing to activate the implementation of fiscalization in the App, are therefore kindly requested to contact the Cloud Support Team. The feature is only relevant for clients using the Voyager2 App and who are required to fulfill the statutory fiscalization requirements (e.g., Cash Register Security Regulation in Austria).

   

  Flash system data Since the beginning of June, you can connect a Dropbox account to protel Air (System data > System > Data transmission). Learn more... Therefore, the deprecated option to create Dropbox as communication method has been removed from the Flash system data (it is no longer possible to open the Options > User communications window).

   

  Interfaces Financial Accounting Interface | Financial Accounting Export Options > Interfaces > Financial accounting export Financial accounting export works again as expected in all business cases.

• June

  19 June 2019

  Release Version 233

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

   

  New: Smart Widget powered by GENIUS Important key figures at a glance. The new Smart Widget powered by GENIUS provides you with up-to-date information about your hotel's occupancy as well as the course of your occupancy figures for the last 7 days. Successive roll-out strategy The Smart Widget will not be made available to all protel Air customers at once, but instead will be introduced successively. Properties using protel Air in Europe and the USA will start first, soon followed by properties in Australia and Asia-Pacific (separate info pertaining to this will be coming soon). The step-by-step introduction minimizes the data load associated with the switch over and enables a controlled roll-out of the widget. The Widget is directly displayed on protel Air's start screen: The Manager Info section informs you about the following: Rooms: Number of arrivals and departures Inhouse Status: Number of checked in rooms and guests VIPs: Number of VIPs (arrivals, inhouse, and departures) Members: Number of guests participating in bonus programs (e.g., customer loyalty programs) The History Diagram section gives you a look at the past: Here you can see the percentual occupancy for the past 7 days as well as the average value. The history is read from left to right, starting with today's date - see figure: A User Guide will soon be available in this help - watch out for upcoming update news. The data shown in the widget are made available by protel Genius which is a new type of data-analysis tool used to intelligently evaluate and visualize data from the hotel industry's big-data environment. protel Genius made its debut in March 2019 at the ITB in Berlin and was received with much interest and excitement by hotel-industry specialists. Basic information about protel Genius and how to obtain and install it via the new protel Services Marketplace (protel SMP) can be found here: Installation guide with product information (PDF)

   

  Office | End of day Office > End of day > Execute end of day Solved problems: Accessing the end of day procedure resulted in an error message if a delivery communication type had not been saved (System data > Delivery communications). The sending of reports and lists failed during the end of day procedure if a faulty SFTP connection was stored in the System data under Delivery communications. Both of this issues have been resolved.

   

  Office | Reporting EFT Transactions Office > Reporting > Invoice > EFT Transactions Solved issue: Credit card payments with MasterCard are now generally displayed as MasterCard payments in the EFT transaction area. Note: The report is only available if the EFT interface is being used (License IFC_EFT).

   

  Interfaces | Back Office Interface System data > External applications > Back Office Mappings Solved issues: Corrected Back Office Mappings | A mapping code was corrected so that inhouse guests and inhouse rooms can now be properly exported. Corrected sign for deposit ledgers | Deposits were temporarily exported with a reversed sign; this issue has been resolved.

   

  protel Air Hotel Apps protel Voyager 2 App supports fiscalization requirements NEW:protel's Voyager 2 App has been successfully adapted to the legal requirements of fiscalization (especially Cash Register Security Regulation in Austria). To enable fiscalization, special settings for the app need to be activated and the hotel's respective requirements need to be adjusted. Customers wishing to activate the fiscal requirements in the app are kindly asked to contact the Cloud Support Team. PLEASE NOTE Fiscalization is only relevant for countries with statutory fiscalization requirements. Fiscalization is directed towards the trouble-free archiving of transactions which have been generated in protel Air and in the Voyager App, and to protect these archives from manipulation.

   

  Legal requirements (country-specific) CSV-Export for Belgian Statistical Office Options > Interfaces > Police report In order to record the number of overnight stays, every Belgian hotel must issue a monthly report about the number of guests that have stayed at the hotel. The CSV file required by the Belgian Statistical Office can now be created in protel Air.

   

  05 June 2019

  Release Version 232

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

   

  New: Send end of day reports from protel Air to Dropbox or SFTP Server You can now connect protel Air with a Dropbox account or a SFTP Server! With the integration of Dropbox or the connection to a SFTP Server, you can save your end-of-day reports online and access them from all linked devices. Dropbox and the SFTP Server connection are configured in the system data under "Delivery communications". You can define which reports and lists you want to send to the SFTP Server or Dropbox in the end-of-day settings. PLEASE NOTE: The logged-in user has to have been assigned the pAirCustomerAdminRole in order to access the Delivery Communications menu entry and to setup the Delivery Communications types! You can make the function available to other users by granting the appropriate privileges to them.

   

  Reservations Rate availability: New rate restrictions System data > Reservation > Rate availability Min advance booking of X Days Using the new strategy, you can determine how many days in advance a reservation must be booked in order to obtain a certain price (for example, early booking discounts, etc.). Example: If the guest books a reservation at least 20 days before arrival, they will receive a 15% discount. Max advance booking of X Days Define how many days in advance a certain rate can be booked (example: a discounted rate should be bookable up to 6 months in advance, but not beyond that). NOTE ABOUT ONLINE PRICES: The new restriction logic works with WBE, however IDS changes will be applied in coming updates. Related topics: Rate availability

  Room move Resolved issue: Rates updated to an incorrect amount after room move When moving a room to another room type the original rate amount was overwritten even though the user responded with No when prompted to update the rate. This has been resolved.

   

  Active lists Reservations: 'Fix rate amount' renamed to 'Fix lodging amount' Lists > Reservations > Context menu > Fix lodging amount For a better understanding we have renamed the Fix rate amount option to Fix lodging amount. The Fix lodging amount option can be used to prevent the lodging amount of a rate code from being overwritten when the Update Rates function is applied (the Update rates function is used to apply changed rate code business logic to already existing reservations). The original purpose of the Fix lodging amount option is to help properties switch their rate configuration to a new tourism taxation ordinance. If you intend to use this option, please check the following help topic: Reservation list > Fix lodging amount If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact our Cloud Support staff.

   

  Office | Reporting New: A/R Ledger Activity Office > Reporting > Invoice > A/R Ledger Activity The new report offers a detailed list of the movements for the A/R ledger with information grouped by accounts receivable and date. The accounts receivable balance for the previous day is displayed under Opening balance. All accounts, which were checked out with the payment method Debtor or Credit card and thus merged in the A/R ledger, are displayed under New debts. All accounts, which were paid off out of the A/R ledger, are displayed under Debts paid off. All credit card accounts, which were paid off out of the A/R ledger, are displayed under CC paid off. This results in the calculated accounts receivable balance (= Closing balance). Reports to balance against: Trial balance (Accounts receivable ledger) Example:

  Trial balance Office > Reporting > Front Office > Trial Balance Enhancement: The Deposit ledger section in the Trial Balance is now displayed as a negative value (credit posting with a minus sign). Example:

  Accounting report: Consider tax changes Office > Reporting > Manager > Accounting Enhancement: If a new tax has been introduced, the differently taxed items are now displayed in two lines: one line with the old and one line with the new taxation. Example: Reduction of VAT in Austria from 13 to 10 percent as of 1 November 2018. 1 line: accommodation 13% (all postings up to 1 November 2018) 1 line: accommodation 10% (all postings from 1 November 2018)

• May

  22 May 2019

  Release Version 231

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

   

  New: protel GENIUS Dashboard protel GENIUS Dashboard is a new type of tool for the intelligent, cross-vendor analysis and visualization of the hotel's data sources. It bundles all data traversing the protel.I/O infrastructure and outputs actionable insights based on business strategy. The intuitive dashboard shows all important KPIs at a glance. protel GENIUS made its debut in March 2019 at the ITB in Berlin and was received with much interest and excitement by hotel-industry specialists. Since the ITB, we have been receiving several enquiries on a day-to-day basis with regards about how to obtain it in the new protel Services Marketplace (protel SMP) and its subsequent installation. Installation guide with product information (PDF)

   

  Active lists New column for the primary guest's language A new column has been added for the following lists which issues the primary guest's language from the profile: Housekeeping, Arrivals, In-House, Departures, Reservations, and Meal Plan. Example HINT: The Language column always shows the primary guest's language and not the language of guests who are not the primary guest! You can display the new language column by using the Show or hide columns function.

   

  Office | Reporting New: Detailed account analysis (accounts receivable) Office > Reporting > Invoice > Account Analysis Detailed The new report lists all outstanding accounts receivable including the name of the account, guests' first and last names, invoice number, and outstanding amount based on due date. Each A/R Ledger contains a separate section under which all payments and postings that are part of the account are displayed in descending order by date. Beneath each account, a summary of the outstanding amount on the day the export was executed is displayed. Example Reports to balance against Account analysis A/R Ledger Trial Balance Available user rights The same right applies as with the 'Account analysis' report: PAirPrintAccountAnalysis (group: Pair_FO_AR) Learn more: Account Analysis Detailed

  EFT Transactions Office > Reporting > Invoice > EFT Transactions Resolved issue: The EFT transactions report can be generated again (exception when generating the report has been fixed). Note: The report is only available if the EFT interface is being used (License IFC_EFT).

   

  System Data Online Pricing | New logic behind virtual rate codes System data > Reservation > Pricing In the system data under pricing, individual characteristics can be defined or each price, i.e., whether a price code is offered for booking online via protel Air WBE or WBE5. With a virtual rate, the corresponding characteristic (bookable online) is set at the base rate code level and automatically inherited by the virtual rate codes. As of this protel Air release, the Bookable online characteristic can be set for Individual virtual rate codes - i.e., dependent of the base rate code - so that the hotelier has more pricing flexibility in the online business. Since the change in logic can affect the availability of online prices, hotels that use virtual rate codes and offer them online will need to review and adjust their price configuration accordingly. Related topics: Virtual rate codes

   

  Add-ons Messenger: Automatic transfer of reservation confirmation Messenger > Transmission rules With protel Messenger, you can automate individual tasks and adapt them to your own workflow by setting certain rules. Resolved issue: The transmission rule for the event-based transfer of reservation confirmations by email are working again. Learn more about Messenger

   

  Legal requirements (country-specific) Save occupation in guest profile Profile > Overview > Occupation Governments in some countries require the recording of the guest's occupation. A new field has been integrated for this purpose into the protel Air guest profile.

  User mapping: Saving Government ID and Employee ID System data > System > User mapping For tax purposes, the government ID and the employee ID can be stored in the user mapping. These IDs can then be forwarded to the respective authorities, if requested.

  Police export | Country of residence as 4-digit code In order to meet legal requirements in Switzerland, the police export has been extended to include the country of residence. The country of residence is determined by the primary address that has been entered into the guest profile and exported as a 4-digit code (in accordance with the requirements of the Swiss Federal Statistical Office).

   

  Interfaces | Back Office Interface Back Office Mappings | New: Rename column headers System data > External applications > Back Office Mappings Note: This menu item is only available if the Back Office Interface is being used (Financial Accounting License). The columns available in the Back Office Mappings can now be individually named thus adapting it to the needs of the hotel/financial software being used - see following screenshot:

   

  Online help Revised 'Invoice overview' help topic We have revised the 'Invoice overview' help topic by adding a new section about printing proforma invoices. Your feedback is always welcomed and appreciated.

   

  08 May 2019

  Release Version 230

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

   

  Invoices Exclusive Taxes (country-specific) Applies only to countries/ businesses using exclusive taxes (e.g., some US States). Exclusive taxes are not included in the prices of the products. Resolved issue Gross amount, tax amount, and tax value are issued correctly after an item or package has been split. New text replacement codes Two new replacement codes have been developed to issue the gross and net price per item: ${item.netAmount} issues the net amount ${item.grossAmount} issues the gross amount Example of use in the invoice template: Include the new replacement codes in the invoice templates if you want to use them to display the gross and net price per posted item. Of course, you can also continue to use your previous templates without having to change them. If you have any questions regarding the use of replacement codes, protel Support or your local protel partner will be happy to be of assistance.

  Accounts receivable management Cash register > Accounts receivable Resolved issue: Preselected language for reminders Cash register > Accounts receivable > Payment reminder By means of the [Payment reminder] button, all of the payment reminders can be created and sent for a selected debtor. Resolved issue: In the dialog box used for creating the payment reminder, the system's default language is always preselected (some versions of protel Air in other languages did not have any preselected language here).

   

  Office | Reporting Enhanced Guest Ledger Office > Reporting > Invoice > Guest Ledger New: The payment method now appears in a separate payment column in the Guest Ledger. The payment method defined as the default in the payment organization is always displayed. For a better overview, the column for displaying the balance moved to the right margin and the info column has been removed. Example:

  Enhancement: Revised Spanish and Italian report versions In the course of checking all reports in the Spanish and Italian language versions of protel Air, numerous translations have been extended and corrected.

   

  Office | End of Day New warning message if last end of day (EOD) has been executed within the last 8 hours Office > End of day > Execute end of day When executing the EOD, a warning now appears if the last EOD was performed less than eight hours ago. The warning informs the user about when the last end of day procedure was executed and serves to avoid accidentally executing the end of day procedure. By clicking on Yes, the end of day procedure can still be initiated.

   

  System Data Payment methods / Items System data > POS > Payment methods (Flash) System data > POS > Items In the system data for the payment methods and items, you can assign in which area of the system a payment method / item should be available (e.g., in the Front Office, Mini Bar, MICE, ...) see illustration below. Resolved issue: Due to a bug, it's possible that the assigned availability ("available in...") was lost when opening and exiting the dialog.

  Announcement: Online Pricing | New logic behind virtual rate codes! In the system data under pricing, individual characteristics can be defined for each price, i.e., whether a price code is offered for booking online via protel Air WBE or WBE5. With a virtual rate, the corresponding characteristic (bookable online) is set at the base rate code level and automatically inherited by the virtual rate codes. This behavior will change in one of the upcoming release versions. In the future, it will be possible to individually set the "Bookable online" status, so that the hotelier gets more flexibility for pricing online. Since the change in logic can affect the availability of online prices, hotels that use virtual rate codes and offer them online will need to review and adjust their price configuration accordingly. Additional information about this can be found in the respective Update News.

   

  Interfaces Financial Accounting Interface | Include or exclude exported data during export Options > Interfaces > Financial accounting export Depending on which template (i.e., interface) has been selected for the financial accounting export, the Incl. exported data checkbox is shown or hidden. The checkbox can be used to set whether already exported data should be re-exported if a financial accounting export has already been executed for the selected period. The checkbox is only available for TYPE_3 and TYPE_4 interfaces which are able to flag already exported items in the database. If you re-run the export for a TYPE_3 or TYPE_4 interface and the checkbox is not set, all previously exported items for this date will be ignored. If you activate the checkbox, all items for the date are exported, regardless of whether they have already been exported or not.

   

  Add ons MICE Only relevant for properties using protel Air MICE (Add on for planning and managing events, subject to a charge) New replacement codes for MICE Function Sheets New replacement codes are available to issue net amounts on the MICE Function Sheet The new codes and the values they issue: Replacement code Description ${sc.singleNetPrice} Item unit net price ${sc.minNetPrice} Item total net price (number of items multiplied by net unit price) for the minimum expected number of participants ${sc.maxNetPrice} Item total net price (number of items multiplied by net unit price) for the maximum expected number of participants ${sum.minNetPrice}  Net sum of all items for minimum expected number of participants ${sum.maxNetPrice} Net sum of all items for maximum expected number of participants NOTE: The value of the minimum and maximum expected number of participants is calculated on the basis of confirmations provided by the participants: Min = price for all participants who have definitely confirmed (confirmation = "yes") Max = price for all participants who have not cancelled (confirmation = "Yes" and "Maybe") Example template: If you have any questions regarding the use of replacement codes, protel Support or your local protel partner will be happy to be of assistance.

• April

  24 April 2019

  Release Version 229

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  New: Cancellation policies Reservation dialog box > Policies > Cancellation policies System Data > Reservation > Policies > Cancellation policies In protel Air, you can now manage an arbitrary number of cancellation policies and allocate them to various rate codes. Once assigned, the cancellation policies are automatically attached to the reservation at the time the reservation is made. The cancellation policy appears in a separate tab in the reservation dialog box. If a reservation is cancelled after the cancellation deadline, the cancellation fee defined in the cancellation policy is automatically calculated and posted to the guest's invoice. The cancellation policy and the resulting fees can already be viewed during the reservation enquiry, ensuring that you can inform your guests accordingly. A cancellation policy determines: The amount of the cancellation fee to be charged when cancelling the reservation. There are several ways for calculating the cancellation fee: as flat rate, as a percentage of the rate for the entire stay, as a percentage of the first night's rate, or based on the provided number of nights. The number of days prior to the arrival date where the reservation can still be cancelled without being charged with the cancellation fee. The date is additionally linked to a time (e.g., 5:00 PM) before which the guest needs to cancel in order to avoid having to pay a cancellation fee. Even multi-level cancellation policies are possible, e.g. cancellation up to 8 days before arrival, at the latest: 60% of the agreed upon total price; cancellation less than 8 days prior to arrival: 70% of the agreed upon total price, etc.

  Cancellation Policy Setup (System Data) Display cancellation policies in the reservation dialog box Display cancellation policies in reservation enquiry Cancelling a reservation with cancellation fee Display cancellation fees in Policy collections list

   

  Reservation New: Designating guest as primary guest If a room is booked for several guests, one guest must be defined as the primary guest for the purpose of statistical evaluation. The primary guest's data is used i.e., for statistical evaluations such as the guest nationality report. In the new version of protel Air, the primary guest is automatically determined for each reservation. For reservations that are already in the system, protel Air determines the primary guest based on the following logic (in the order described): If a guest has already been designated as the primary guest If the booker is among the guests, the booker is the primary guest If a guest is named (otherwise only anonymous guests), this guest is considered the primary guest If several guests are named, the following order shall apply when determining the primary guest: If a private guest file is available, it is considered the primary guest to which the following sequence applies Company > Travel office > Group. If several (private) guest profiles are available, the guest profile first inserted into the reservation is regarded as the primary guest When a new reservation is created, protel Air proceeds as follows: Booker and guest are identical: The booker's guest profile is the primary guest Booker and guest are not identical: The first guest profile that is entered as a guest is considered as primary guest. In the reservation dialog box, you can identify the primary guest by the check mark - see following screenshot:   HINT: If necessary, you can change the main guest and set it manually: Mark the respective guest in the reservation's guest tab and select the Make primary guest command located in the context menu.   Use primary guest for printing the registration form If the primary guest is to be used when printing the registration form, select the primary guest checkbox - see following illustration: The following XSetup sets the checkbox by default, which means that primary guest's data is used by default when printing the registration form: RegPrimaryGuestDefault = True

   

  Active lists Policy collections: Displaying cancellation fees Lists > Policy collections The list now also displays the amounts that are payable based on the cancellation policy.

   

  Office | Reporting New MICE Reports: Market code - MICE Office > Reporting > MICE > Market Code Hint: Only available when using the MICE add-on The new report lists all MIC events by market code. As a result, you always have the perfect overview of how many events have been booked for which market code. All events whose starting dates / times are within the selected period are taken into consideration.

   

  Office | End of Day Create and export tables and lists as Excel file Office > End of day > End of day: Reports and lists Until now, the majority of reports and lists could only be created and sent as PDFs for the EOD procedure - now you can also select the Excel file format (xlsx) as the desired output format. The advantage is that lists and reports created in Excel file format can be modified using other programs. Note: Some reports (i.e., Back Office Export) have their own formats and therefore do not offer any format selections.

   

  System data | Pricing Announcement: Online Pricing | New logic behind virtual rate codes! In the system data under pricing, individual characteristics can be defined or each price, i.e., whether a price code is offered for booking online via protel Air WBE or WBE5. With a virtual rate, the corresponding characteristic (bookable online) is set at the base rate code level and automatically inherited by the virtual rate codes. This behavior will change in one of the upcoming release versions! In the future, it will be possible to individually set the "Bookable online" status, so that the hotelier gets more flexibility for pricing online. Since the change in logic can affect the availability of online prices, hotels that use virtual rate codes and offer them online will need to review and adjust their price configuration accordingly. Additional information about this can be found in the respective Update News.

   

  Interfaces EFT Interface | Display error messages during payment Enhancement: If a payment transaction fails, the corresponding error message is displayed on the screen and additionally printed on the receipt (PDF).

   

  Housekeeping list Print Resolved issue: In the print output of the housekeeping report, the number of arrivals was displayed as 0.

   

  Legal requirements (country-specific) Second last name in guest profile Just like in Spain, Portuguese and Brazilian last names are also comprised of two separate names. That is why an additional field for entering the second last name can be displayed for private guest profiles. The following XSetups are required to activate the field for the second last name: XSetup-Name: Show second last name

   

  10 April 2019

  Release Version 228

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  Allotments | Importing Rooming list Improved user feedback Reservation > Allotments > Open allotment > "Room list" button > Upload file If a reservation cannot be imported because the reservation has been assigned to a non-valid rate code the user receives a corresponding message. Examples: MLOS has been set or rate cade has been closed: Message: Rate code not valid for reservation date range. Please check rate restriction in force. Rate code is closed to arrival (CTA): Message: Rate code not valid for reservation date range because closed for arrivals restriction has been set for this rate. Rate code is not valid for the reservation date range. Message: Rate code not valid for reservation date range. Please check configuration of rate setup

  Error message despite valid rate code Reservation > Allotments > Open allotment > "Room list" button > Upload file Resolved issue: If a reservation is linked to a rate code that is invalid for the reservation date range (e.g., because of a previously set pricing strategy), the user receives a corresponding message when importing the rooming list (see section above). If a different valid rate code is then assigned, an error message still appears during import. This has been resolved.

   

  Housekeeping Attendant sheets Housekeeping > Attendant sheets Resolved issue: The sum of the points in the attendant sheet now is displayed/rounded correctly if the points are in decimal format (e.g. 7.20 instead of 7.199999).

   

  Invoices Exclusive Taxes (country-specific) Applies only to countries/ businesses using exclusive taxes (e.g., some US States). Exclusive taxes are not included in the prices of the products. Resolved issues Manually posted items are now posted immediately with the exclusive tax and the tax is displayed in the invoice window (previously, the tax was booked only at the end-of-day procedure). Invoice items containing exclusive taxes are now split properly (Invoice overview > Item tasks > Split item/package).

   

  Active lists Action log: Invoice splittings log Lists > Action log Reservation Screen > Extended > Action log Enhancement: In the invoice dialog box, an invoice item can be split into numerous parts. The executed splits are now recorded in the action log in detail. Questions regarding the composition of certain invoice items can be answered immediately with the action log; splits can be traced in detail. Logged action: Invoice dialog box > Item tasks > Split item/package

  Group reservation list: Cancel group Lists > Group reservations Adjustment: You can use the group reservation list to cancel a complete group reservation. Previously, a group could not be cancelled if a group member's reservation had already been cancelled, and an error message appeared. Now it is possible to cancel the entire group if the reservation contains a group member that has already been cancelled. Note: It is not possible to cancel the entire group if a group member has already been checked in or out. If this is the case, a respective message appears.

   

  Office | Reporting Enhancement: Revised data filter in hotel status report, manager report and revenue to previous year report Office > Reporting > Manager Office > Reporting > Invoice The three reports use similar data filters to control the results of the reports. With similar filter settings, the three reports now produce identical results. In this context, the "Type" filter has been revised and its behavior in the reports standardized: Entire hotel Ignores set room filters and room type filters also takes passers-by invoices into account Room Only takes room(s) selected in the "Room" subfilter into account Ignores passerby invoices Room type Only takes room type(s) selected in the "Room type" subfilter into account Ignores passerby invoices Compare Hotel status, Manager report, and Revenue to previous year reports IMPORTANT: In order to compare the reports with each other in a meaningful way, the following must be specified in all reports: the selection in the Date, Type (with the set subfilters), Filter and Revenue filters must be identical. every status must be selected in the Status filter the Pseudo-rooms filter must be set to With pseudo-rooms The selection in the Out of Order Rooms filter is irrelevant. When comparing the figures, also make sure if you have generated the reports for gross or net revenues ("Revenues" filter).

  Enhancement: Data verification (Only for protel.I/O) Office > Reporting > Configuration The Data verification report is used as an aid for the connection of interfaces via protel.I/O. The report can be used to compare the bookings in protel with the bookings in the third-party system to be linked. For an accurate comparison, some systems require that no-show reservations can be excluded from the verification. That is why the report has been extended by the new "Inclusive No Shows" option, i.e. the report can be created in the future with or without No-Show reservations.

  Enhancement: Spanish & Italian Report - version verified All Italian and Spanish reports are being verified and missing translations will be added in the upcoming updates.

   

  Legal requirements (country-specific) New: 'Issued Documents Report' - (Italy & Spain) The report lists all invoices according to the date of issue and groups them according to the type of fiscal invoice - as required by the legislation on fiscalization. Report for Italy: Issued Documents You will need the following license to use the report: CountryPackageIT. Report for Spain: Issued Documents (ES) You will need the following license to use the report: CountryPackageES

   

  Interfaces Feratel Registration Interface Depending on region, there are varying requirements for transmitting the date of birth. Accordingly, in protel Air you can set whether the transmission of the date of birth should be optional or mandatory. The relevant setting can be set directly in protel Air. Configuration/currentProperty/system/interfaces/registration/feratel/birthdayMandatory By default, the date of birth must be specified (true).

• March

  27 March 2019

  Release Version 227

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  Reservations Block / Unblock rooms Reservation > Block / Unblock rooms > 'Room name' filter Resolved issue: the room name filter for specific input/display of certain rooms is working properly again.

  Reservation enquiry | Show Restriction values for rates that are not available Reservation > Reservation enquiry > Tool tip Feature enhancement: If a rate is not bookable on a certain day due to a set restriction, the respective restriction is displayed in the tooltip. Outcome: As a front desk agent, you always have all the necessary information at hand and can optimally process reservation enquiries. Example:

   

  Active lists Reservation list: Updating rates Lists > Group reservations > Context menu > Update rates Resolved issue: The update rates function is working properly again. If a rate is not successfully updated, a respective error message appears. Additional information about updating rates

   

  Office | Reporting Revenue to previous year (gross | net) Office > Reporting > Manager Resolved issue: If the report is created for only one or more room type(s), the report does not display sales for multi-day reservations that do not arrive on the day being evaluated. This issue has been resolved.

   

  Office | End of Day: Automatic End of day report and list delivery With protel Air you can define a set of lists and reports which are then automatically sent to an individual user or an entire distributor list during the end of day procedure. Managing the distributor list is done in the user administration under the Distributer tab. Resolved issue: If a user was deleted from a distributor list, no automatic email was sent at the end of day procedure. This issue has been resolved.

   

  System Data New domain extensions in email addresses (domain extensions) System data > Hotel management > My property (Flash) When entering and saving e-mail addresses, all domain extensions that differ from the usual top-level domain extensions such as ".de", ".com" or ".eu", are now also accepted. Examples: info@xyz.koeln info@xyz.bio info@xyz.horse info@xyz.london etc.

   

  Processing credit cards (protel Tokenizer) Extension: protel Tokenizer now also accepts credit cards from the Chinese credit card company China UnionPay.

   

  Legal requirements (country-specific) Second last name in guest profile Only relevant for countries / businesses where second last names are needed. In Spain and similarly also in Portugal and Brazil the surname of a person consists of two last names (appelidos). Therefore an additional field for entering the second last name can be displayed for private guest profiles. The following XSetups are required to activate the field for the second last name: XSetup-Name: Show second last name

   

  Add ons MICE Only relevant for properties using protel Air MICE Bug fix: Problem with cancelling reservations in an event has been resolved.

   

  13 March 2019

  Release Version 226

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  Reservations Technical improvements Several technical improvements related to the business logic surrounding reservations. Reservations with optional date Reservation dialog box > 'Reservation' tab > Optional date Resolved issue: Reservations with an expired optional date ("Optional date" is before the "End of day date") could not be saved after editing.

  Allotments | Rooming list Reservation > Allotments > Open allotment > Rooming list > Upload file Resolved issue: After importing the rooming list, it is now possible to delete the data in the following columns: gender, language, nationality, arrival and departure time.

   

  Active lists Save current list view / Save current list view as: New User rights See only what you need and what you want to. In order to improve your list overview, you can decide to hide and move columns, change the column width and sort order, make special filter settings, and save your list view or save the list as a new user defined list. Two new user rights have been introduced to control access to this feature: PairSaveListForAll: This right allows the user to save a configured list-view "for all users". Role: This right is only contained in the pAir CustomerAdminRole role. Group: PAir_Support PairSaveListForMe: Allows the user to save the list-view for themselves. Role: This right is automatically included in the pAir Front Office role. Group: pAir When working with your own roles, you can add the appropriate right to the respective role(s): Additional information about editing user rights

   

  Profiles Addresses | Spanish Online Postcode Directory Profile > Overview Tab > Addresses Feature enhancement: The online postal code directory used by protel Air to simplify address entry, now also supports Spanish postal codes, cities, and regions.

   

  Interfaces Key Interface Integration of mobile keyless access systems via protel.I/O - Enhanced Keys Dialog Mobile keyless access systems provide hotel guests quick check-in and access to the room via a smartphone. With the new I/O integration in protel Air, a mobile key can be encoded for each guest and the key-tag can be directly emailed to the guest's email address. Within this context, there are two new columns available in the Keys dialog box (guest name and guest mail) which are displayed after installing the interface - see next figure: Reservation dialog box > Reservation tasks > Key-Cards Guest name and Guest mail

   

  Legal requirements (country-specific) Fiscalization Only relevant for countries / businesses where fiscalization is required by law! When checking out the invoice and selecting the fiscal code, only the text templates which have been set in the system data are now offered for selection (System data > Hotel management > My property (Flash) > Fiscalization). The language of the guest is also taken into account if a template for the fiscal code is stored in the respective language. Example: Define text template(s) for fiscal code in the system data: The following cases may apply if fiscalization is activated: In the Check-out dialog box: Case 1: Fiscal code is configured with all templates => The default template is loaded Case 2: Several languages have been assigned for the fiscal code => The template assigned to the fiscal code is loaded in the language of the recipient. If there aren't any templates available in the language of the recipient, the default template is loaded. In the Print dialog box (proforma invoice, interim invoice, info invoice): The default template is loaded. If fiscalization is not activated: In the Check-out dialog box: Case 1: The recipient language is the same as the default template language => The default template is loaded. Case 2: The language of the recipient is not the same as the default template language, but there are other templates available in the recipient's language => template is uploaded in the language of the recipient. Case 3: The recipient's language is not the same as the default template language and there is no template available in the recipient language => The default template is loaded.

  New: ISTAT Tourism Statistics (Italy only) Office > Reporting > Front Office The new Italian tourism statistics report is created when executing the end of day procedure and contains all of the guests (arrival, nights, departure) itemized based on country of origin / Italian province. As need arises, the report can also be manually filled in for a selected day (Office > Reporting > Front Office). You will need the following license to use the report: CountryPackageIT Note when using the protel Air Day-Use Features: Hotel rooms sold to day-use guests only appear in the statistics once a day (even if the room was sold twice).

  New: INE Tourism Statistics (Spain only) Office > Reporting > Front Office Spanish accommodation establishments must produce a weekly and monthly report containing information about the hotel's guest movements ( INE report- Instituto Nacional De Estadística). The report is created when the end of day procedure is executed and can also be created manually for a selected day if required (Office > Reporting > Front Office). You will need the following license to use the report: CountryPackageES

   

• February

  27 February 2019

  Release Version 225

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  Reservations Payment instructions | Redirect to another invoice Reservation dialog box > Payment Instructions > Add > Redirect to another invoice > Search When selecting the Redirect to another invoice option, revenues are redirected to another invoice outside of the reservation (e.g., to a passerby invoice, another reservation, etc.). Resolved issue: When entering the invoice recipient's name, the search function freezes. This issue has been resolved.

  Payment organization | Checking out credit card payments Reservation dialog box > Payment organization Resolved issue: Unable to check out a Credit Card (set up to create outstanding debts to Sales Ledger) if the invoice recipient is not enabled as AR posting allowed. Scenario A credit card payment method is set up to create outstanding debts to Sales Ledger by setting the Post to acc. receivables check box – see the following screenshot: This setting turns the method of payment into a debtor and implies that a balance will be displayed in the invoice by default. For example, suppose the Front Office Agent creates a reservation, opens the payment organization window, adds a second invoice window and sets the payment method to credit card. Then she or he changes the invoice recipient of the newly created invoice to a company profile who is not allowed to pay with an accounts receivable payment method – see the following screenshot: When trying to make a payment to the credit card, a message appears stating that account receivables postings to the respective profile are not allowed. This is not correct as checking out a credit card which is set up to create outstanding debts to the Sales Ledger should always be possible. Solution Any Credit Card Payment Method which is setup to create outstanding debts to the Sales Ledger will no longer check the AR Posting Flag in the recipient’s profile so that any invoice can be checked out under the conditions set out above.

  Allotments | Rooming list Reservation > Allotments > Open allotment > Rooming list > Upload file Improved error message upon failed imports: When the import of the rooming list fails, you now receive the following error message: "Unable to import reservation data. Please check all required fields are populated and contain valid data for this allotment (is the entry format of the room types valid for the allotment, etc.?) Resolved issue: It is now possible to set or delete the arrival time after having imported the rooming list.

   

  Housekeeping Attendant sheets Housekeeping > Attendant sheets Resolved issue: If points instead of minutes is used for creating and calculating the attendant sheets, the Max. minutes per attendant dropdown list was displayed by mistake! The dropdown list is now hidden. HINT: If the attendant sheet is to be created on the basis of points, you need to make the following system setting: XSetup: HousekeepingPoints = activated XSetup path = Configuration / Client / Housekeeping

   

  Interfaces IDS Interface Resolved issue: The reservation for a room was not properly processed if the room's room type was subsequently changed and a reservation was booked for the room via the IDS interface shortly afterwards. This issue has been resolved.

   

  13 February 2019

  Release Version 224

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  Reservations Allotments Reservation > Allotments Resolved issue: If a cancelled allotment is copied, the allotment status remains on "cancelled" and is not set to "Enquiry" as expected.

  Payment instructions | Set different invoice recipient Reservation dialog box > Payment instructions | Target invoice: Redirect to existing invoice New: When being redirected to an existing invoice window within a reservation, a (different) invoice recipient can now be selected. The recipient of the relevant invoice will then be changed to the new recipient.

   

  Housekeeping Attendant sheets Housekeeping > Attendant sheets Resolved issue: If it is not possible to create any attendant sheets due to the filter settings, protel Air displays the attendant sheets that were created last. From now on, the view remains empty and no attendant sheets are generated if the filter settings do not provide any results.

   

  System Data Delete rooms System data > Hotel management > Room types/rooms Improved check-mechanism when deleting rooms: If a room is to be deleted from the system data, protel Air checks if there are reservations for the room on the end of day date (today) and in the future.

   

  Legal requirements Dresden Lodging Tax (only for properties in the city of Dresden, Germany) Feature enhancement: Items with a reduced rate of 7 % are now also taken into account in the calculation of the revised lodging tax. The implementation of the Lodging Tax Dresden is thus 100% completed. Please contact the protel Cloud Support if you have any questions regarding the setup of the new lodging tax.

   

   

• January

  30 January 2019

  Release Version 223

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  Housekeeping New: Discrepancies Housekeeping > Discrepancies Check for possible discrepancies between the Front Office room status and the actual status as seen by the housekeeping staff. You can document and trace the following discrepancies: SLEEPS - Rooms that have been reported as occupied by housekeeping, but are listed as vacant in the Front Office. SKIPS - Rooms that have been reported as vacant by housekeeping, but are listed as occupied in the Front Office. Person discrepancy - There may be discrepancies between the number of guests reported by the Front Office per room and the number of guests reported by Housekeeping per room. This option allows Housekeeping to enter the number of guests per room, thus enabling any discrepancies to be further scrutinized. Benefit: The discrepancy feature helps you to detect room status discrepancies and correct them as soon as possible in order to maximize room revenue and detect skippers before it is too late. Resolving room status discrepancies in a timely manner helps you to prevent lost and uncollectible room revenues and omissions in postings.

   

  Allotments Rooming list Reservation > Allotments > Edit Allotment > Rooming list Feature enhancement: When importing the rooming list or downloading the import template (excel sheet), the room type is now a mandatory field. Accordingly, it should be entered when filling in the excel sheet or importing it. However, if the room type is not included when uploading the excel sheet, it can be entered subsequently by hand (rooming list import step 3: Validate and edit). You can find more information about Rooming lists in our help topic 'Reservation > Allotments > Rooming list'.

   

  Office | Reporting Manager report Office > Reporting > Manager > Manager report Resolved issue: Day use reservations were included in the calculated value for "Occupied rooms", i.e. the number of rooms displayed as occupied was too high when one or more day use reservations existed on that day. This has been corrected.

   

  PCI Compliance Session Timeout and Re-login Resolved issue: User is intermittently prompted for credentials when re-logging in after session timeout. If a user is inactive for longer than 15 minutes, he or she is automatically logged out and must re-login before being able to use protel Air again. In this context, some users experienced that they were repeatedly prompted for credentials even if the correct credentials were entered. This issue has been resolved. You can find more information about PCI in our our PCI DSS help topic. Reference: The Prioritized Approach to Pursue PCI DSS Compliance

   

   

  16 January 2019

  Release Version 222

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  Housekeeping New user manual for Attendant Sheets Covers all of the features of the Attendant List - from creation, editing, and saving the sheets, to printing them out in PDF or Excel file format.

   

  Allotments New: Copying allotments Reservation > Allotments > Edit Allotment > Copy It is now possible to copy an existing allotment. The new copy function makes working with frequently recurring allotments (tour series) much easier. You can make a single copy or multiple copies of an allotment. The multiple copy function creates multiple copies of an allotment and assigns the same tour code to each copy. The newly created copies then belong to a mutual Tour Series.

   

  Fixed issue: Editing allotment reservations Reservation > Allotments > Reservation overview In the Reservation overview tab, you can see all of the reservtaions which have been booked for an allotment. Use the Edit button to edit these reservations. Fixed issue: The Edit button is only active if there are reservations for the allotment (previously, this button was available even if there weren't any reservations in the allotment, which then led to an error message).

   

  Deposit policies Reservation dialog > Policies > Deposit policy Improvement: Taking rate code changes into account If you posted a reservation with a deposit policy and then assigned another rate code without a deposit policy to the reservation, or removed the deposit policy from the reservation's rate code and then updated the rate code for the reservation (update rates function), it was possible that the original deposit policy was retained. This issue has now been resolved, i.e. the changes described above are taken into account and all reservations are updated accordingly.

  Displaying deposit amount If a deposit policy applies to a reservation, the deposit amount due is automatically calculated and shown in the following windows: Before or during the booking: In the Reservation enquiry dialog box - see following screenshot: After the booking: In the Reservation dialog box (Policies tab) - see following screenshot: Fixed issue: The amount displayed here is now the same in both windows (previously a different amount was displayed in the reservation dialog box).

  Related Help Topics System Data > Reservation > Policies Reservation > Reservation dialog > Policies

   

  Group Reservations One fixed charge for all reservations Group reservation > "Fixed charges" tab > Add (All reservations) Resolved issue: If a fixed charge was added simultaneously for all reservations, the following was possible: an incorrect room number was displayed next to the fixed charge in the invoice window. an incorrect room number and guest were displayed in the "Fixed charge" dialog box. This issue has been resolved.

   

  Profiles Addresses | Spanish Online Postcode Directory Profiles > Overview tab > Addresses Feature enhancement: The online postcode directory used by protel Air to simplify address entry, now also supports Spanish postal codes, cities, and provinces. Example: If you enter a Spanish postal code, the city and province are automatically added.

   

  Office | Reporting Optimized Guest Ledger Office > Reporting > Invoice > Guest ledger Feature enhancement: In order to provide a better overview, the Guest Ledger has been divided up into various sections. The report now contains the following information: Deposit Revenues (Reservation) + Sub total Deposit Revenues (Invoices) + Sub total Deposit Revenues Total Inhouse / Future (Reservations) + Sub total Inhouse / Future (Invoices) + Sub total Inhouse / Future Total Grand Total

  Related Help Topics Office > Reporting > Guest Ledger

   

  Office | End of day Office > End of day > End of day: reports and lists Resolved issue: In protel Air, you can determine which reports and lists are to be created and sent as an email automatically during the end of day routine. In this context it was possible that the guest ledger, deposit ledger, and A/R ledger were not sent by e-mail, or the sent reports were empty. This issue has been resolved.

  Related Help Topics Office > End of day

   

  User rights | Undo check-in The check-in for an already checked in arrival can be undone in the arrival list. Access to the "Undo check-in" function is controlled by the PairCancelCheckIn user right. Previously, a check-in could also be cancelled if charges had already been posted for the reservation. For a more differentiated assignment of rights, the existing right has been revised and a second user right added: With the PairCancelCheckIn user right, a check-in can only be undone if the corresponding invoice is balanced (exception: RKSV related business logic). The new PAirCancelCheckInPostedItems user right allows the user to undo a check-in if there are posts in the invoice which have not been balanced. If the user does not have this right, he will be notified when he tries to undo a check-in with unbalanced bookings. Consequences: To undo a check-in, the PAirCancelCheckIn user right is required. If all invoices are balanced, the PAirCancelCheckIn user right will suffice. If at least one unbalanced invoice exists, the PAirCancelCheckInPostedItems user right is additionally required. Otherwise, an error message appears.

   

   

  02 January 2019

  Release Version 221

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  Allotments Contract status flow | Changing the allotment status Reservation > Allotments > Add/Edit Allotment > Overview tab > Allotment status NOTE: Applies only if the contract status flow feature has been activated (further details can be found in the section "System data > Reservation > Allotments > Contract status flow"). Resolved issue: It was possible to change the allotment status manually in the allotment overview tab. Now you can only assign the next step according to the defined contract status flow and depending on the processing status of the allotment. The next possible step is always displayed in the NEXT FLOW pane - see the figure below: Once the conditions for the next step are met, click the arrow to assign it.

  Contract status flow | New mandatory fields System data > Reservation > Allotments > Contract status flow > Add/Edit NOTE: Applies only if the contract status flow feature has been activated (further details can be found in the section on "System data > Reservation > Allotments > Contract status flow"). Improvement: When setting up a contract status flow, the input of the allotment status and reservation status is now mandatory. Mandatory fields are always marked with a red asterisk *.

   

  Housekeeping Administration Attendant Sheets | Extended active list for printing Housekeeping > Attendant sheets > Create sheets > Save > Print Improvement: The existing columns for printing have been extended to include the following: Room type, Reservation status, Guest salutation, Guest name(s), Arrival date, Arrival time, Departure date, Departure time, VIP, No. of adults, No. of children, Nationality, Guest preferences, Group / Allotment Name Mobile check in No. of days room is vacant NOTE: Departure Time only populates if Departure Date = Booking Date.  Arrival Time only populates if Arrival Date = Booking Date. Of course, the user is able to select custom fields to print (select/deselect relevant columns and save current list view). Attendant Sheets | Display total points when printing attendant sheets Housekeeping > Attendant sheets > Create sheets > Save > Print Improvement: If points are used as a unit for calculating and planning attendant tasks, the total line at the end of the attendant sheet now displays the total points when printing the sheets. Attendant Sheets | Disable sorting ability Housekeeping > Attendant sheets > Create sheets > Save > Print Resolved issue: Because the attendant sheets are generally grouped by attendant, the sorting ability has been removed from the print list (changing the sort order could cause the grouping to be lost). NOTE: Because some print lists may already have been saved as sorted lists, all of the saved lists are removed as a precaution. If necessary, please reset your lists and save them again!   Housekeeping Setup Sections, Attendants, and Room Configuration System data > Housekeeping > Sections / Attendants / Room Configuration Improvement: The Configuration screens (Sections, Attendants, and Room Configuration) are now printed as shown on the screen. Screen: Print version (PDF): Set Language in Attendants Dialog System data > Housekeeping > Attendants > Add/Edit Since the last update, you can specify which language an attendant speaks. Improvement: In the following dialog language selection has now been added to ease configuration. NOTE: When no language is selected the system data language will be adopted.   Housekeeping Active List Status filter “Departure & Arrival” removed Housekeeping > Housekeeping (Active list) Resolved issue: In specific scenarios additional filters such as  “Departure & Arrival” were sporadically populating. These were displayed in error and have now been removed from the Status drop-down list.

   

  Invoices Invoices were not sent by email Invoice > Print invoice > Dispatch type: Send e-mail Resolved issue: If an invoice was checked out and the relevant invoice dialog box was opened again after running the end-of-day routine, it was not possible to send the invoice by email when printing the invoice. Although the message indicated that the mail was sent successfully no email was sent. This has been fixed. “Always fiscalize” System setting Resolved issue: The “Always fiscalize” XSetup now also applies to HTML5 systems. The XSetup is used in countries where fiscalization is mandatory and makes sure that the “fiscalize” checkbox cannot be unchecked when closing an invoice.

   

  Active lists Meal Plan | Save meal plan with meal plan codes Lists > Meal Plan Using the “only with meal code” checkbox, you can limit the meal plan display to reservations which have a fixed meal plan code (i.e., the board service is booked together with the accommodation). Resolved issue: If you save the list as a user defined list, the activated checkbox is saved as well.

   

  Text replacement codes | Printing of included taxes optimized System data > Documents > Templates PLEASE NOTE: The following improvements are intended only for tax-inclusive tax rates! Tax inclusive indicates that the line amount for an item includes the tax for this item. Tax-inclusive pricing is designed for countries with tax calculations that have a requirement for tax-in totals. Unless you are in such a country, do not use this option. Improvement #1: The following text replacement codes have been added to show the tax amounts per invoice item on the invoice form: Net price: ${item.PTTotalAmount.currencyString} Gross price: ${item.grossAmount.currencyString} Tax amount: ${item.taxAmount} Tax rate: ${item.taxPercentage} Improvement #2: The total amounts of tax can be shown in the invoice footer. If several tax rates apply, they are now displayed separately. The text replacement codes optimized for this are: ${tax.percentage} (Attention: JOO script!) ${tax.name} Example: If you have any questions about using the text replacement codes, our Cloud Support team will be happy to assist.

   

  Legal requirements Dresden Lodging Tax | Amendment of the Ordinance with effect from 1st January 2019 From 1st January 2019, the lodging tax Dresden is six percent of the amount owed for the individual overnight stay, rounded to full euro cents. This has been implemented accordingly. A new formula has been added to the system data and a new “Fix rate” option has been added to the reservation list to help the properties to switch to the new taxation. The “Fix rate” option can be used to prevent the price of a rate code from being overwritten when the "Update Rates" function is applied (the "Update rates" function is used to apply changed rate code business logic to already existing reservations).

   

News in 2018

• December

  19 December 2018

  Release Version 220

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  Extended allotment management Room allotment management in protel Air is currently one of our most advanced features. In this update, we've also added some new features.  This update adds the following enhancements to allotment management: Manage allotment types and assign an individual type to each allotment Contract status flow: Create user-defined workflows for various allotment types Bug fixes: Allotment Traces: If a room allotment in which traces are stored is canceled, the traces are automatically resolved. Manual deletion is no longer necessary. If the number of reserved rooms in a deducting allotment was reduced, errors could occur under certain circumstances. This issue has been resolved.

  Our recommendation Before you implement the new allotment types and the definition and use of user-defined workflows per allotment type into your productive environment, we strongly recommend that you familiarize yourself with the new functions in your protel Air training environment. Each hotel has its own requirements; therefore, consider which 'allotment types' are usually posted in your site and which standard processes are used. Set them up accordingly in your training environment and do some trial runs. If you do not (yet) have a training environment, please contact our Cloud Support Team. They will be happy to help you set one up.

  Help topics Learn everything you need to know about the new Allotment features in our Help Topics! New features overview Allotment types and contract status flow Setting up allotment type and contract status flow in the system data

  Watch the video tutorial on the room list feature!

   

  Housekeeping Administration System data > Housekeeping New: Manage languages In Housekeeping Management, we have expanded and optimized the management of housekeeping attendants. For each employee, you can now specify which language he or she speaks. This means that the attendant sheets will be printed automatically in the attendant's language. System data > Housekeeping > Attendants Optimizations Attendant sheets: It's possible that the sum of assigned minutes located in the "Move to" context menu were not updated correctly after having moved a room to an attendant. Pseudo-rooms are not offered for selection in the attendant list.

  Help topics Further information on housekeeping management can be found here: System data > Housekeeping > Introduction + subsequent sections Detailed information on the use of the attendant sheets will be provided shortly.

   

  Deposit Policies System data > Reservation > Policies Reservation dialog box > Policies tab New replacement codes With the help of new text replacement codes, it is now possible to export assigned deposit policies to the reservation confirmation.  Learn more... Active list for Deposit Policies In the "Policy Collections" active lists, you will find all open deposits. Lists > Policy collections Access to the list can be controlled by the following user right: PAirPolicyCollections. If you do not want the logged on user to be able to access the list, revoke the permission for the user / user role.

   

  Payment organisation Bugfix: Under certain circumstances it could happen that invoices with the "credit card" payment method could not be checked out. This has been fixed.

   

  Reservations | Minimum length of stay (MLOS) Reservation > Rate availability If a minimum length of stay on arrival restriction has been set for a specific room type or rate, this works again as intended.

   

   

  User rights New user rights for moving items and services (invoice window) System > User administration > User roles > Add / Edit The existing user right PAirTransferCharges for moving invoice items has been divided into further rights - each of the actions shown has its own right:   Move to: User right Inhouse invoice PAirTransferChargesInhouse Incoice from invoice list PAirTransferChargesInvoices Invoice from the reservation list PAirTransferChargesReservations New Invoice PAirTransferChargesNewInvoice Passerby Invoice PAirTransferChargesPasserby Group invoice PAirTransferChargesGroupInvoice   By default, this permission is granted to any user who has the PAirTransferCharges user right. The PAirTransferCharges user right will be replaced by the new rights in the future.

   

  Interfaces Feratel Registration Interface (German-speaking countries only) Bug fix: In some cases profiles were not transferred correctly to Feratel (error message: "Gastart (P) beim zuständigen TVB nicht hinterlegt. (Meldeblatt 7000018) (code=26)"). This issue has now been resolved. EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) Bug fix: An error could have occurred when attempting to post an EFT payment to a group or passerby invoice. This issue has been resolved.

   

  5 December 2018

  Release Version 219

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  Big December Update with many new features We've come out with some new and exciting features for your protel Air PMS! Our recommendation Prior to adding the new functions into your live environment, it is very important that you read the corresponding help documentation and use the training environment to familiarize yourself with all of the new functionalities. Because the help topics are subject to constant change, please visit the protel Air Online Help (this page) on a regular basis to keep track of what's new.

   

  News: Day Use Reservations Reservation > Reservation enquiry The Day Use feature allows you to sell and manage day use reservations, i.e. to rent your rooms by the hour not only overnight, but also during the day. Benefit: Easy management of day use handling by removing the need to perform manual tasks, while increasing the automation for these reservations.

   

  New: Extended allotment management Reservation > Allotments The allotment management has been extended with some new features and will be continuously improved and expanded throughout the upcoming updates. This update expands the management of allotments by the following features: Allotment rooming list Allotment action log Allotment traces Ability to apply all changes to allotment reservations Allotment notes

  Watch our new Video Tutorial to find out how to use the new Allotment Rooming List function!

  Read our documentation to familiarize yourself with all of the new allotment features:

   

  New: Housekeeping Management System data > Housekeeping Front Office > Housekeeping > Attendant sheets All new features at a glance: All housekeeping features in the Front Office are reachable via an individual menu - see the following figure. New in protel Air Front Office: Create automated housekeeping room assignment sheets for room attendants on a daily basis. Split tasks by attendant and reassign tasks, if need be. Manage tasks and attendants by time. New in protel Air System Data Manage different housekeeping sections. Manage housekeeping attendants. Room configuration: Allocate section groups and credits to your rooms. Assign "effort" to tasks as time - or points. Segment rooms into section groups, e.g. AM / PM / Location Benefit: The Housekeeping module supports the hotel in automating housekeeping operations, especially making it easier for properties with a large number of rooms to efficiently distribute tasks to their housekeeping attendant teams. Overview In our new housekeeping management, you can flexibly manage the deployment of housekeeping attendant teams in your property. You can divide your property into different sections and assign which employees are to be deployed where. You can also use a points or time system to determine what workload is to be planned for each section to be cleaned. The room configuration feature supports configurable credits (minutes or points) which are assigned to a task performed for a certain room type or number, e.g. 1 point for a standard double room in DIRTY status, 2 points for a deluxe double room in DIRTY status, etc., attendants (configuration of name, default sections, credits, etc.) and sections (ability to assign room numbers to specific sections). At the touch of a button, you can automatically assign the available personnel to the respective rooms and shifts and generate attendant sheets on the basis of the information on attendants, sections, and rooms. It is possible to create these attendant sheets based on various criteria: e.g. maximum number of credits per attendant, ability to organize the task sheets based on floor, section, or room number. The special feature of the protel Air Housekeeping management is its flexibility. The hotel can use either a point system or a time system in minutes, or simply combine the two to plan the deployment of housekeeping staff.

  Read our documentation to familiarize yourself with all of the new housekeeping features:

   

  New: Deposit policies System data > Reservation > Policies Front Office > Reservation dialog box > Policies tab All new features at a glance: Manage deposit policies which can be set to automatically apply for certain rate codes Multiple deposit levels (summarize several policies in a group) Associated deposit collection reporting with the purpose of monitoring due deposit amounts: The active list "Outstanding amounts" shows open/due deposits Benefit: Increased efficiency by applying automated deposit requirement standards. Deposits on an invoice amount are common practice and a prerequisite for guaranteeing reservations. In protel Air you can now create as many Deposit policies as you like, combine them into a group of several policies, and assign them to various rate codes. Once assigned, the deposit policies are automatically appended to the reservation via the rate code. The deposit policy is displayed in a separate tab in the reservation dialog box. E.g., the following are displayed: deposits already made, amounts still open, and the due date. At the end of the day procedure, protel Air creates a list of deposits due - so you can keep track of and actively manage your deposits on a daily basis. Specify whether you want to request payment X days before arrival, or X days after booking. You can also flexibly calculate the amount to be demanded: whether a percentage of the price or the total stay, the first night, a fixed price, or no deposit at all: sky's the limit! If you want to summarize several policies, you must make sure that all follow the same policies - e.g. X days before arrival - no mix!

  A detailed description will be available shortly!

   

  New: Proforma invoices for group reservations Reservations > Group reservations > Invoice For group reservations, there is now the possibility to issue pro forma invoices. They replace the "Info Invoice with Tax", which was previously available. The printed invoice also contains "Proforma invoice", and the new button can now also be found in the invoice tab in the group overview. To help identify the pro forma invoices, there will be a new color for the invoice status display: Pro forma invoices are now marked highlighted purple. Benefit: Improved time efficiency for hotels that handle high volumes of group reservations If a payment instruction is set and the proforma invoice is generated on the target invoice, the payment instruction postings will also populate the invoice.

   

  User rights | Void Invoices We changed our business logic in relation to the voiding of invoices. By using the following user rights, you can take away the possibility to void invoices and individual items on invoices. The following user rights have been added to the user administration: PAirVoidInvoice Lets the user void invoices PAirVoidInvoiceandCreateNew Lets the user void invoices and post all items to a new invoice PAirVoidItem Lets the user void items that have been posted to an invoice PAirVoidItemwithoutReason Lets the user void items without being forced to enter a voiding reason If you want to prevent users from performing one of the above actions, you can remove the respective user right from their user / the respective user role.

   

  General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Anonymized profiles Bug fix: Anonymized profiles could be edited, although they had been anonymized by the GDPR tool. This issue has been fixed.

   

   

• November

  21 November 2018

  Release Version 218

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  New: Extended Allotment Management New status types bring improved workflow The allotment management has been extended with some new features and will be continuously improved and expanded throughout the upcoming updates. This update expands the management of allotments by adding two new status types and an additional filter which simplify searches in the allotment overview.

  New Allotments Features at a glance Reservations > Allotments New 'Enquiry' and 'Cancelled' allotment status types for better workflow support. The new status types enable you to better map and track the different stages in processing allotments. The 'Cancelled' status also allows you to specify Cancellation types. You can choose between 'Cancelled', 'Lost' and 'Refused'. Free text is entered as the reason for cancellation. Enhancements in the Start Window (allotments) Targeted search via new filters The button for deleting allotments has been removed from the Allotments start window (instead, allotments now have the Cancelled status) The "Show cancelled" filter has been removed from the Allotments start window (instead, you can filter by allotments with the Cancelled status) New columns for displaying the assigned Cancel type, Cancel reason, and Status Cancelled allotments can no longer be edited. When you cancel allotments, you must select the Cancel type and enter a Cancel reason. Further changes The button for deleting allotments has been removed from the Allotments start window (instead, allotments now have the Cancelled status) The "Show cancelled" filter has been removed from the Allotments start window (instead, you can filter by allotments with the Cancelled status) New columns for displaying the assigned Cancel type, Cancel reason, and Status Cancelled allotments can no longer be edited. When you cancel allotments, you must select the Cancel type and enter a Cancel reason. Extended active list Lists > Allotments In the active list for displaying allotments, you can filter allotments according to their status and search for the allotment name. Extended action log All actions related to allotments are now recorded in the action log. For example, this allows you to see which user created, changed, or canceled which allotment and when. The contents of the changes are also saved - see next figure.

   

  Reservations Payment organization Reservation Screen > Reservation Bug fix: Since the last update, it is possible to assign a default value to the payment method used during check-out/payment dialog. However, a default payment method was entered even if no payment type was assigned in the reservation dialog box.

   

  Invoices Program behavior during check-out / invoice printing improved From now on, each check-out will record in detail which invoice was printed using which data. If an invoice is reprinted, the system always accesses the data valid at the time of invoicing. This is particularly important with regard to the invoice recipient (name and address!). To print completed invoices that were created before the update, the system accesses the data currently stored in the guest profile to export the recipient data. New system configuration (XSetup) If necessary, an invoice can be reopened as long as no end of day has been performed. After the end of day, all invoices are closed and blocked for any further processing (legally compliant invoicing). This behavior can be further restricted if required, so that the invoice is blocked for any further processing immediately after the invoice has been closed (same behavior as after the end of day). In this case, the invoice cannot be reopened at all. XSetup: 'Allow reopening of invoice up to end of day', Type: Boolean (true or false) By setting the XSetup to 'false', the invoices can no longer be reopened for editing once they have been closed. The following still applies: If an invoice that has already been posted and closed needs correcting, you will need to cancel the invoice and create a new one.

  Print invoice: User-defined default template for different guest language Bug fix: If the invoice is to be exported in a language for which no invoice template has been defined, the form defined by the hotel as the default is used for printing the invoice.

   

  Accounts Receivable Cash register > Accounts receivable Overview Tab The column name of the Account column has been renamed to "AR No." The column name of the Name column has been renamed to "Account Name"

  Incoming Payments & Payment History Tab AR No. and Account Name are now displayed in separate columns (previously, both information was displayed together in the "Account No." column). The Last Name and First Name columns have been renamed to "Last Name Guest" and "First Name Guest" and now always show the name of the guest (previously only the name of the booker appeared).

  AR Statement Cash Register > Accounts receivable > Overview > Print tasks > Print AR statement The first and last name of the guest are now also displayed in the AR statement.

   

  General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Improved guest file report Guest profile > Extended > Privacy settings > Guest Profile Report > [Export]" In the guest profile report, some information was not exported as full text, but rather as abbreviations. In addition, inconsistencies in upper/lower case have been corrected and missing translations have been added to the German report.

   

  7 November 2018

  Release Version 217

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  New: Payment Organization Managing several payments per reservation We are pleased to introduce you to our new Payment Organization feature. This brand new feature allows you to save several payments per reservation. When you create the reservation, you can already specify the payment you require, which then becomes the default payment for the entire reservation. Further payments can be assigned in additional invoice windows prior to check-in. When checking out, the payment defined for the respective invoice window is selected by default. The bottom line is that the feature helps you to better prepare your reservations prior to check-in and to check them out faster on departure. Some highlights: Assign default payment directly in the reservation dialog box. In the new Payment Organization dialog, you can manage additional payments and invoice windows per reservation. A separate payment can be stored for each invoice - several credit cards are also possible. Assigned payments can be changed later or swapped between two selected invoice windows. Supported payment groups are the following: Cash, Credit Card (Card payment), Debitor (Direct bill), and Noncash (Other). A default payment is defined for each payment group that is selected by default when posting the payment / when checking out the reservation. Credit/debit cards are automatically marked with the appropriate card logo in the reservation and invoice windows. The payment groups are highlighted by special icons in the reservation dialog box as well as in the respective invoice window. New options for payment instructions: Possibility to select an existing invoice window as routing target. Upon request, the assignment of the payment can be changed into a mandatory entry in the reservation dialog box (XSetup)

   

  Reservations Payment instructions Reservation dialog box > Payment instructions New option in the payment instructions: Ability to select an existing invoice window as target invoice.

   

  System data | Optimize payment method configuration System data > POS > Payment methods (Flash) In our new help chapter, read about how changes made to the system data can optimize the organization of your payments and speed up the payment posting process.

   

  Replacement codes System data > Documents > Templates New text replacement key for displaying gender in the registration form: ${gender} Add this code to your registration form text template(s) if you want to display gender. See also section: System data > Documents > Templates

   

  protel Air WBE Displaying Images for Room Type System data > External applications > Online booking In the protel Air online booking engine, you can deposit images for your room categories which will then also be available "online" during the booking process. Bug fix: This feature is now working properly.

• October

  24 October 2018

  Release Version 216

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  Reservations Group reservations Bug fix: After a member of a group reservation was cancelled, new reservations could no longer be added to the group. This issue has now been fixed.

   

  General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Guest profile report contains all fields Guest profile > Extended > Privacy settings > Guest Profile Report > [Export] The guest profile report now also contains all of the information about the specified contact methods. PLEASE NOTE: The guest profile report is part of the GDPR implementation. With its help, you can give your guests a precise overview of what information is stored about them at any given time.

   

  Office | Reporting Cancellations Office > Reporting > Invoice > Cancellations The cancellation reason is now displayed in a separate line. This makes the report - especially with longer texts - much more compact and clear.

   

  Interfaces PBX Interfaces Bug fix: Some wake-up calls were not correctly transferred to a telephone interface, although they had been successfully entered in Front Office. This issue has now been fixed.

   

  10 October 2018

  Release Version 215

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  PCI Compliance protel is PCI DSS certified! protel has again been certified according to the latest international credit card standard PCI DSS version 3.2.1. The certification gives our protel Air users the advantage of working with PCI-compliant hotel software that meets all technical requirements for the protection of sensitive credit card data. We are very proud that we have again managed to meet all the requirements and offer you, our users, the best possible protected software solution. Did you know? Although credit card security is a widespread issue, the majority of companies that undergo the PCI audit and associated security scan do not get certified every year. All the more reason for us at protel to be proud that we are able to meet the demanding standards year after year.

  Automatic session timeout Bug fix: As implemented in the last update, the user is automatically logged out of protel Air after 15 minutes of inactivity. This could lead to problems with pop-ups. This issue has now been resolved. This feature was added as part of protel's PCI compliance. You can find more information about PCI here.

   

  Active lists Action log Changes to XSetups are now also logged in the action log which lists who has made which changes to the XSetups.

   

  Guest profile Add an address or communication method When creating a new guest profile, it was previously necessary to confirm by clicking the [Apply] button before the address and communication channels could be entered. With the new update, this data can now be directly entered. Important: However, do not forget to confirm the changes you make to a profile by clicking the [Apply] button.

   

  Reservation Group reservations Bug fix: After a member of a group reservation was cancelled, new reservations could no longer be added to the group. This issue has now been fixed.

   

  Invoices Cancelled Invoices Bug fix: Voding invoices will not longer send an email to the invoice holder and the hotel.

  Move items Bug fix: If items had too long a description, there could be problems moving the items between two invoices. This issue has now been resolved.

   

  Reporting "Accounting" report The accounting report has been adjusted. There were inconsistencies in the title of the printed report in English; this has been corrected. The report is now called "Accounting" in protel Air's overview, as well as in the print output. Furthermore, the column "Not revenue relevant" has been renamed to "Non revenue relevant". There is now also an extra column for taxes in the areas "Revenue" and "Non revenue Relevant" for improved clarity.

   

• September

  26 September 2018

  Release Version 214

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  PCI: New Session Timeout Being a PCI-certified company, protel is committed to designing its software solutions so that they can be operated in compliance with PCI requirements. After initial certification, the system is regularly tested and recertified according to the latest safety standards. In the course of the current recertification, an additional security feature has been implemented as protection against unauthorized access to your hotel software. This update will contain a mandatory change to the time-out settings that reduces the maximum allowable value to 15 minutes. This change is required by the PCI Security Standards Council in PCI DSS Section 8.1.8: " If a session has been idle for more than 15 minutes, require the user to reauthenticate to re-activate the terminal or session." What does this mean? If a user session is inactive for longer than 15 minutes, the user is automatically logged out and must log in again before being able to use protel Air again. These changes not only comply with the PCI Security Standards Council regulations, but also offer increased security, especially with regard to the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which came into effect on May 25, 2018. If you have any questions with regards to this change, please feel free to contact the Cloud Support Team. Reference: The Prioritized Approach to Pursue PCI DSS Compliance Further technical changes As part of the upcoming PCI DSS 3.2 recertification, various technical changes have been implemented to improve and comply with PCI security standards.

   

  Reservations No-Show Reservations No-show reservations can no longer be copied. Allotments Bugfix: Changing a non-deducting allotment to a deducting allotment could lead to negative availabilities.

   

  Invoices Credit Card Payments: Last 4 digits of credit card number displayed The following change is only relevant if you are using an EFT interface! The last four digits for credit card payments are now displayed in the invoice window. If a guest pays with different credit cards (e.g. private VISA card and company VISA card), the different payments can be better identified.

   

  Overbooking Logging of authorizations A message appears with the option for authorization if users without any overbooking rights try to overbook. Another user to whom the corresponding rights have been assigned (for example, a manager, front office manager, etc.) can grant the user without rights the permission to overbook. The user performing the authorization and the type of authorization (house overbooking or category overbooking) are recorded in the Action log. Of course, every overbooking made without special authorization is also logged in the Action log.

   

  12 September 2018

  Release Version 213

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  Overbooking New: User documentation for overbookings In protel Air's Online Help, you can now find detailed user documentation about the subject of overbookings. There you will learn how to set up overbooking limits and how overbookings are used in the Front office. The documentation also contains numerous examples and background information.

  Overbooking | Bug fixes and Improvements Allotment reservations could not be checked in if the hotel was sold out (100% occupancy). Additional guests could not be added to a reservation if the hotel was sold out (100% occupancy). The overbooking dialog (Options > Overbook) now shows the correct availability throughout..

  Overbooking | Display of non-deducting reservations in the Overbooking dialog box Options > Overbooking If the Non Deducting Res checkbox is activated, reservations which do not reduce availability are taken into account when displaying the availabilities (allotments and reservations with the "non-binding / optional-without-deduction" status, etc.). The figures displayed in the dialog box can then change.

  Overbooking | User rights and user roles To be able to set or execute an overbooking, there are various user rights and user roles available. The PAirOverbookingSetUpViewOnly user right is required to access the dialog for setting up overbookings (Options menu > Overbookings). This right is automatically included in the pAir Front Office role, which gives the user access to all functions in the Front Office by default (including newly developed ones). When using this role for your hotel, it's important to know that all of the users with this role can access the dialog box, but they cannot make any settings there. The PAirOverbookingSetUp user role allows the user to set appropriate overbooking limits in the overbooking dialog (Options > Overbooking menu). This role should only be assigned to employees with administrative tasks (managers, etc.). The PAirOverbookingOverrideRoomType user role allows the user to overbook at the room type level (room type overbooking). This role should only be assigned to employees with the appropriate authority (FO Manager, or similar). The PAirOverbookingOverrideHouseLevel user role allows the user to overbook at house level (house overbooking). This role should only be assigned to employees with the appropriate authority (FO Manager, or similar). PLEASE NOTE: f you do not want to use the overbooking function in your house, make sure that the above rights/roles are NOT assigned. Learn more about user rights and user roles here:  User administration If a user who does not have any overbooking rights tries to overbook, a message with the authorization option appears. Another user with the respective rights (for example, a manager, front office manager, or similar) can then grant permission to overbook to the user without rights.

  Overbooking | Action log The following actions related to the overbooking function are now logged in the action log: the original overbooking limit and the new / changed limit to which it was set. Room type and / or house level selected when setting the overbooking limits. Date, time and user of the action performed Source from which the setting originates (manual setting in FO or interface such as IDeas) User performing an authorization and type of authorization (house overbooking or room type overbooking).

   

  Reservations | Rate by day grid (RBD) Reservation dialog box > RBD tab Bug fix: If a reservation was changed in the RBD dialog, the assigned codes for the market segment and the distribution channel were overwritten with the default values from the system data.

   

• August

  29 August 2018

  Release Version 212

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  New: Overbooking Options > Overbooking Previously, the following procedure was used to enable overbookings in the hotel; the corresponding overbooking values could be entered directly in the room types in the Flash system data. This allowed you to define a fixed overbooking value which, however, was static and could not be changed as the current used capacity required. With the new overbooking function in protel Air, it is now possible to enter flexible overbooking values per room type or for the entire hotel (room type level and hotel level). [Options > Overbooking] Overbooking values can be set per day, period or even weekday. You can also decide whether to overbook the entire hotel or only certain room types. When wanting to create an additional reservation despite a room type or perhaps all of the hotel's rooms having already been booked out, a respective message appears indicating for which day and in which room type the overbooking will occur. Who is allowed to overbook? To carry out an overbooking, the user right "PAIR_FO_Overbooking" must be assigned. If a user without any overbooking rights tries to execute an overbooking, a message with the option of authorization appears. Another user with the respective rights (for example, a manager, front office manager, or similar) can then grant permission to overbook to the user without rights. Enhanced reservation enquiry So far, the reservation enquiry shows no result if there are no availabilities for the selected period. The new overbooking function now always displays results. Unavailable room types / rates are marked in red. Now, if a rate or room type marked in red is selected, the Enquiry for overbooking appears after selecting the guest profile. In addition, a new line has been introduced in the reservation request which shows the availability per room type. The new "Pseudo Rooms only" check box only displays room types for pseudo rooms. Pseudo rooms cannot be overbooked. The sorting of rates and room types in the reservation enquiry depends on the sorting that has been set in the system data. Enhanced room type plan There is now an "Incl. Overbooking" checkbox in the room type plan. When activated, the overbooking values are displayed in the room type plan. There is also a new "Total Overbooking" line which displays the overbookable rooms for the day in question. Overbooking values to date The "old" values which had still been entered under room types in the system data, will be transferred to the new dialog box by 31 December 2019. As of 01 January 2020, overbooking values will need to be entered manually. Notes for Best Western Interface Customers The new dialogue will also be adopted for our BWI customers. However, the "Overbooking at hotel level" option is not available. This is because only overbooking values per room type level can be entered into the Best Western Interface.   Note Detailed instructions on overbooking are coming soon.

  
  

  Invoices Improvement: Notes with Tooltip If two invoice windows are open at the same time, reservation notes and guest requests could not be completely displayed if too much text had been entered. For example, the reservation or guest profile had to be opened in order to view the information in full. Now, these hints and notes can also be viewed in full in the invoice overview with the help of a tool tip.

  Automatic blind copy to the hotel System Data > Documents > Text templates > Settings > E-mail settings For sending e-mails out of protel Air (for example when an invoice is completed or a reservation confirmation is issued), a copy of the message can be automatically sent to the hotel. You can now also see which recipient the message was originally sent to. This gives you a precise overview of which customer received which message and when - and, if necessary, you have a copy for your files. You can send messages to the guest directly from protel Air - e. g. by checking out an invoice. The hotel receives the message as well, with the "original" recipient in the recipient line.

  Extending reservation when items have already been booked Bug fix: Pre-posted items were incorrectly reposted to the invoice for extended reservations. This issue has now been fixed.

  
  

  Reservation Personal salutation in guest's language Guest profile > Personal salutation Up till now, the personal salutation of a guest was always automatically selected in the hotel's language. With the help of an XSetup, the salutation can now be published in the guest's language.   Set the "Export Salutations in guest language" under [System Data > System > XSetup > Configuration > Interfaces > onSiteInterfaces > guestdata].

  Allotments When creating allotments, only the market code and the distribution channel are adopted from the rate codes. Up till now, the travel reason and communication channel had also been set automatically. However, these fields will no longer be filled out automatically, but instead are to be filled out individually.

   

  Reporting Miscellaneous bug fixes and improvements Office > Reporting Bug fix: The "Origin" column in the "Deposit Accounts" report contained false values. This is now fixed. Instead of the invoice status, the invoice type is now displayed. Improvement: The "Total" line in the "Rate overview" report now also shows the "total number of rooms, nights and guests. Reservations with the status "Canceled", "No Show" or "Option" are also taken into account. For this reason, the totals can differ when compared with the manager report or the market segment evaluation. Bug fix: If the hotel status report was published for several days, incorrect percentages were displayed for the available rooms. This issue has now been fixed. Bug fix: In the Hotel Status and Manager Report, no shows were mistakenly counted as arrivals. This falsified the figures. This has now also been fixed.

   

  15 August 2018

  Release Version 211

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  Office | Reporting New: AR Ledger The new report "AR Ledger" displays all open balances on each account per chosen date. It shows a sum of all invoices per account. Decide whether you would like to display 'All balances', 'Open balances' or 'Zero balances'. All balances: any account profile with an A/R number Open balances: any account profile with an A/R number and balance <> 0 Zero balances: any account profile with an A/R number and balance = 0 Users can add the "A/R Ledger" report to the end of day reports to check A/R ledger balances.

  Guest Ledger New column for deposit tax revenues The "Info" column has been added to the guest ledger report to indicate with deposit tax revenues posted. If this is the case, a small asterisk * indicates this. Please note! The "Info" column only appears in reports from hotels that handle their deposits in combination with certain tax requirements (e.g. RKSV, Efsta).

  Payments In the "Payments" report you can now choose whether or not to take paidouts into account. Please note! If you decide to include paidouts, please keep in mind that the report will not balance with the trial balance > guest ledger > payments total because paidouts are non revenue items and not payments.

  Deposit Ledger Bugfix: The "Deposit Ledger" prints again as intended.

  Trial Balance Improvement: A message to contact support is prompted if there is a difference between closing and calculated balance in one of the ledgers on the trial balance report

  Market code Bugfix: The print output of the "Market code" report displayed an incorrect report name. This has been fixed.

   

  Allotments Market code and Distribution channel inherited from rate code Reservation > Allotments In the last two sprints the function has already been introduced that the reservation codes can be taken over from the price types. Previously, this function was available for individual reservations and group reservations. This function has now also been adopted for allotment reservations. When you create the allotment, the system automatically sets the default distribution channel and market code when you select a rate code. To improve user flow, the order of the fields on the Allotment Overview screen have been altered. The "Rate code" field precedes reservation codes (e.g. Market Code / Distribution Channel Codes). Of course, the reservation codes can be changed at a later date. If a reservation is now created in this allotment, these default values are automatically set. Only codes that have been defined at rate level are inherited for the allotment dialog. If you want to assign different codes for a stay, set this in the reservation. (Reservation > RBD) If the distribution channel and market code have been defined as mandatory entries, we recommend that you set default values. Please pay attention to our notes in section "Inherit Market code and Distribution channel from Rate Configuration"

   

  Interfaces Feratel (Liechtenstein) Improvement: Passport IDs couldn't be transmitted via the interface Feratel. However, since this is necessary due to lega regulations in Liechtenstein, this error has now been corrected.

   

  RKSV (Austria) Invoices Bugfix: Signing incoices works again as expected.

   

  01 August 2018

  Release Version 210

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  Group reservations Apply market code und distribution channel from the price configuration Reservation > Group reservation dialog box Since the last update, it has been possible to specify the market code and distribution channel via the rate code. This feature was initially limited to individual reservations and is now also available for group reservations. Please note The group master inherits the distribution channels/market codes defined at the rate code rule level. Distribution channels / market codes defined at the calculation level in the rate code are not taken into account for group reservations. If varying market codes or distribution channels are to apply to a group reservation, this can be set in the group reservation dialog box at the group member level (Select group members > [Edit] > [RBD]) In the Group overview tab, the distribution channel and market code can be centrally set for the entire group. In general the following applies: If market code/distribution channel are defined as mandatory fields (XSetup system setting), a default value must be defined in the system data (System Data >Reservation > Reservation codes > Default settings > Hotel management). Please pay attention to our notes in section "Inherit Market code and Distribution channel from Rate Configuration"

   

  Reservation enquiry Reservation > Reservation enquiry Solved: If several reservations are created one after the other via the reservation enquiry, the guest search opens for each of the new reservations.

   

  New: Guest ledger report Office > Reporting > Invoice > Guest Ledger The Guest Ledger balance list shows the open balances for all of the reservations and financial accounts for a selected day. The Guest Ledger balance list clearly summarizes current balances and can be used in conjunction with other reports, e.g., to help account for the difference between any amounts charged and payments received on a specific date. The total of the report must be the same as the one that appears in the Trial Balance report under Guest ledger. Features Details about all of the checked in or open/outstanding invoices per reservation or invoice number. Informs the hotelier about all of the hotel's outstanding sums Can be executed for past and current business days. Can be generated with each end of day (Office > End of day > Reports and Lists: Add list)

   

  Trial Balance optimized Office > Reporting > Front Office > Trial Balance The former Balance and Revenue Management report has been revised and is now called 'Trial Balance'. The report deals with the balance occurred at the end of day. New: Recording of deposit payment transactions in the Guest Ledger, i.e., if a deposit has been paid or refunded. A detailed description of how to read the report and compare its figures with the results of other reports will follow shortly.

   

  Journal by date Office > Reporting > Invoice > Journal by date Solved: Postings made on the current date (business day) appear in the Journal by Date.

   

  Market Code Office > Reporting > Reservation > Market code In the "Market code" report, the name in the "Call for" filter area has been corrected (call for market code).

   

  Replacement Codes System data > Documents > Templates Solved: The ${averagep} replacement code was behaving irregularly in certain scenarios. The replacement code displays the average room price (including fixed services and item calculations). See also: Replacement codes

   

• July

  20 July 2018

  Release Version 209

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  Reservations Improvement: Ability to change reservation codes for checked-out reservations Reservation > Reservation dialog box Market code and Distribution channel can now be changed again for checked out reservations. This applies to checked-out single reservations and group members. Please note: If you export the market code to a back office system, you should not subsequently change it, as this inevitably leads to discrepancies. A user right that controls the ability to change reservation codes on checked-out reservations will be available at a later stage.

   

  Reservations New: Inherit Market code and Distribution channel from Rate Configuration Since the last update from 04 July, you can save various market codes or distribution channels for the individual days of a guest's stay in the RBD grid. This feature has been enhanced with the new ability to default market codes and distribution channels in the rate settings. The default values will automatically copy to the reservation when a reservation is made in protel Air. Benefit: This feature allows hotel management to predefine default values that shall be populated automatically during the manual booking process, improving accuracy and statistics, while reducing risk of user error and increasing workflow efficiencies. Please note This enhancement applies to advanced pricing rate codes and virtual rate codes (simple room rates are not supported). The function is currently limited to single reservations (groups and allotments will be supported in future Sprint releases).

   

  Group Reservations / Deposit Handling As part of the ongoing improvements to the deposit handling we have implemented the following enhancements: The ability to add an 'invalid' reservation to a group in a specific scenario has been restricted. It is no longer possible to add cancelled, no-show and checked-out reservations to future group arrivals. This prevents the risk of having an imbalanced system. When a user adds a checked-in reservation to a group which has a deposit which is not matured, a message will appear: “Adding this reservation will mature deposits on the group master invoice. Do you want to continue? Yes / No”. If the user selects 'No', the process is cancelled, if he selects "Yes", the checked-in guest is added to the group and the deposit matures.

   

  Invoices Technical performance improvements relating to print handling.

   

  Office | Reporting Office > Reporting > Front Office > Trial Balance The former Balance and Revenue Management report has been revised and renamed and is now called Trial Balance to indicate it is the financial balance sheet produced at Business close day (end-of-day-process).

   

  Interfaces KeyCard Interfaces Technical performance improvements relating to key card handling. Registration Card Interfaces The AVS registration card interface now also includes accommodation revenues (special requirement Germany).

   

   

  05 July 2018

  Release Version 208

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  New: Advanced Packages Benefit: This feature allows hotel management to manage package absorption for a connected point of sale and improve reporting based on the actual guest’s consumption. Advanced packages allow you to setup package rates where charges can be posted manually or from an external interface (e.g. a POS System) and offset against a consumption allowance amount. The allowance is the amount which the guest can consume against. Any overage above the allowance amount will be posted as an overage charge to the guest’s invoice. With advanced packages the exact consumption of the package is evaluated, a result can lead to a profit or a loss, and the hotelier can see if the package pays off. Please note: Advanced packages is an enhanced function which needs consideration when enabling this functionality. E. g., current functionality handles one outlet. If you would like to use advanced packages in your business, ask your protel Air partner or contact us here at protel at: cloudsupport@protel.net. Further information Watch our Video Tutorials: Introducing Advanced Packages Creating an Advanced Package A detailed user and configuration guide can be found in our new Advanced Packages Help Topics.

   

  New: Confidential Rate Functionality Benefit: This feature enables hotel management to hide "non-disclosed" rates, reducing the risk of sharing confidential information with the hotel guest. protel Air now accommodates new functionality which hides the rate amount throughout the application. When the Confidential Rates function is set to "TRUE" and a rate code has been configured as a confidential rate, a 'CR' by default displays in the field where the rate amount would otherwise display ('CR'=Confidential rate). We are also pleased to announce you have the ability to change the default CR value to a custom value based on hotel needs. Please note: The Confidential Rate functionality is an add-on which needs to be activated by means of a special system setting (XSetup). Please contact your protel Cloud Support Team or your local protel Air partner if you would like to use this functionality and have the respective settings done for you. Further information A detailed user and configuration guide can be found in our new Confidential Rates help topic.

   

  New: Print Rate Functionality Benefit: This feature provides the hotel management the possibility for negotiating the pricing of rates and limiting the printing of such rates to the guest view. The new Print Rate functionality enables you to define if the rate amount for any reservation should be printed on guest-facing stationery such as confirmation letters and registration cards. Hotel management has the ability to define the text which populates in place of the rate amount, when it is set to 'not print'. This is particularly useful when working with travel agent contracted rates that may not be disclosed to the guest. Please note: The Print Rate functionality is an add-on which needs to be activated by means of a special system setting (XSetup). Please contact your protel Cloud Support Team or your local protel Air partner if you would like to use this functionality and have the respective settings done for you. Further information A detailed user and configuration guide can be found in our new Print Rate help topic. Combining Print and Confidential Rates functionality The Confidential Rate functionality relates to what the user sees on Screen, the Print Rate functionality relates to what is printed on guest-facing stationery, e.g., Confirmation Letters, Registration Cards, etc. Both logics are intended to compliment each other.

   

  Reservations Reservation enquiry| Tax Summary Breakdown via Tool Tip Reservation > Reservation enquiry In the Reservation Enquiry a new Tool Tip provides the Tax Breakdown for an amount. When hovering over the Rate Amount the value populates the tax breakdown. Example 1 - Prices Including Tax Rate Amount Populated on Reservation Enquiry Screen = 100.00. This rate includes 10% Tax. Therefore the tool tip populates: Net 90,00 Tax 10,00 Total stay (incl. Tax): 100,00 Example 2 - Prices Excluding Tax Rate Amount Populated on Reservation Enquiry Screen = 90.00. This rate includes 10% Tax. Therefore the tool tip populates: Net 90,00 Tax 9,00 Total stay (incl. Tax): 99,00

   

  Reservations Rate by day grid: Define different market codes and distribution channels Reservation > RBD tab New: In the RBD grid, you can now save various market codes or distribution channels for the individual days of a guest's stay. Once a code has been changed in the RBD grid, the respective code is displayed in bold in the reservation overview to indicate that various codes exist. If you then change the code in the reservation overview, you will be notified that several codes exist and that the codes stored in the RBD will be overwritten. If there are several codes, the code valid for the respective day is always displayed. The codes are also transferred to the RBD grid when a reservation comes in from an interface, such as the protel Air WBE, IDS connect, WBE5, etc. Examples Assigning market code and distribution channel in the Rate by day grid: Figure: Reservation dialog box > Rate by day grid > Edit > Add/change market code and distribution channel Displaying new market code and distribution channel columns in the Rate by day grid: Figure: Reservation dialog box > Rate by day grid > Show columns   Please note: The ability to export the market code via an existing back office interface will be introduced in future release versions.

   

  Active lists Maintenance list and Mealplan The room type and rate code filters now work as expected.

   

  Reporting Deposit ledger Office > Reporting > Deposit ledger The deposit ledger report has been revised and improved.

   

  Text templates System data > Documents > Templates Improvement: The replacement Codes ${dayPrice.price} and ${dayPrice.date.short} are now available on the extended confirmation template. The code ${entry.dailyprice} is creating one average amount.

   

• June

  20 June 2018

  Release Version 207

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  Important changes when creating new users Previously, a Flash user had to be created for each HTML5 user and linked to the HTML5 user. This is now done automatically. This means in concrete terms: When you create a new HTML user, you no longer need to create a user in the protel Air Flash system data. Neither do you have to link the HTML5 user to a Flash user - protel Air also does this for you. Important: For security reasons, the automatically created Flash user DOES NOT HAVE ANY access rights to the Flash system data! If you want the new user to be able to access the system data, you must assign them the respective user rights. Log in with a user with administrator rights and open the user administration (System Data > System > User management (Flash)). Then assign the desired rights to the user. Find out more...

   

  Invoices Tax exclusive prices | Show forecast of tax amounts in the invoice overview Improvement: Tax amounts which are placed on top of the sales price are now always displayed in the invoice overview for the entire stay (before, the tax was only displayed after executing the end-of-day process). For example, if a sales or lodging tax is levied on the cost of the stay on a per night or per person basis, the corresponding amount is always displayed as a separate item on the invoice.

   

  Active lists Housekeeping list: Totals display Lists > Housekeeping > Housekeeping Improvement: The printed Housekeeping list shows the sum of the respective arrivals, departures, moves, checked-in guests and empty rooms per department on each page, and on the last page the corresponding total amounts - see following figure.

   

  GDPR New icon for background task Office > End of day > Execute end of day The anonymization of the guest files takes place as a background task. During this process a cogwheel is displayed in the Tasks dialog. If the process was successfully completed, a check mark appears.

   

  06 June 2018

  Release Version 206

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  Data security | GDPR and training databases Important: In order to completely fulfill the statutory requirements, any personal data will also be removed from your training database when GDPR takes effect! This means: All existing guest profiles will be anonymized in your training database(s). Moving forward, when training databases are updated from your live system, all profiles will be anonymized within that process. This ensures that you are not storing any data against the legal regulations. The functionality of the training databases remains the same as before: Existing reservations and future reservations will remain but profile information will be masked ('xxx'). Of course you can add details to the profile once again. Further information about implementing GDPR in your hotel software can be found in our GDPR info pages especially for protel Air.

   

  Reservations Reservation enquiry| New Price display mode Reservation > Reservation enquiry By default, the price shown in the reservation enquiry is the total amount for the requested room in a particular room type and according to a particular rate code. New: As an alternative to the overall rate amount, the average price per night can now be displayed. You can switch the price display mode using the new Price Display dropdown-list - see the following figure. The default price display mode can be set via a special system setting. Our Support or your protel Partner will be happy to make the appropriate settings for you. Please contact us! Reservation enquiry| Improved Performance The speed of executing a reservation request has been improved for certain queries.

   

  Cash Register Login Bug fix: The browser's autofill function caused the data of the logged in user to be pre-filled in the cash register dialog box, instead of the register number. The bug only occurred in connection with reservations that were created using the room plan.

   

  Active lists Bug fix: Attempting to change the departure date could result in an error message. The bug only occurred in connection with in-house guests in the reservation list, the in-house list, and in the reservation dialog box

   

  System Data Item number (TAA) in items now mandatory System data > POS > Items For organizational reasons, it is now mandatory to enter the Item number in the item system data. If you do not assign your own Item numbers, the internal system ID will be used as the Item number instead. [ "Account" Information removed from market segment and taxes In view of the new financial accounting mapping, the now obsolete field for storing account information has been removed from the market segment and tax system data (release in planning).

   

  Housekeeping-App | Images Bug fix: Images uploaded via the Housekeeping app were lost when the corresponding maintenance task was processed in protel Air.

   

• May

  23 May 2018

  Release Version 205

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  New GDPR guidelines taking effect this week! The countdown has begun: On Friday, 25 May 2018, the new EU-wide General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) takes effect. This version of protel Air enables you to activate the anonymization of personal data in accordance with GDPR. To find out more information about how to proceed and which preparations you need to execute to make your database GDPR compliant, go here. Important: In order to completely fulfill the statutory requirements, any personal data will also be removed from your training database when GDPR takes effect! This means: All existing guest profiles will be anonymized in your training database(s). Moving forward, when training databases are updated from your live system, all profiles will be anonymized within that process. This ensures that you are not storing any data against the legal regulations. The functionality of the training databases remains the same as before: Existing reservations and future reservations will remain but profile information will be masked ('xxx'). Of course you can add details to the profile once again. Further information about implementing GDPR in your hotel software can be found in our GDPR info pages especially for protel Air.

   

  Active lists Wake-up calls Lists> Wake-up calls > Add Bug fix: Wake-up calls can once again be created properly.

   

  Active Desktop Improved performance The speed of loading lists into the active desktop has been improved.

   

  Reporting Revenue report Office > Reporting > Revenue report Bug fix: Revenue reports can once again be created and printed properly.

   

  Invoices Moving invoice items Invoice window> Item tasks > Move Bug fix: Items grouped into a package could not always be moved to another invoice. Packages are now moved easily e.g. to another invoice window.

   

  System Data Save exclusive ID for methods of payment System data> POS > Payment methods (Flash) Up till now, an internal ID was automatically issued by the system for each method of payment being used in protel Air. Now you can issue an exclusive ID for each method of payment. This enables you to perfectly organize your methods of payment, e.g., using specific number sequences. Additionally, we are introducing this feature in preparation for upcoming improvements in reporting.

   

  Add-on modules MICE Bug fix: The logic for creating rooms with superordinate rooms has been improved.

   

  9 May 2018

  Release Version 204

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  Privacy GDPR is coming Starting on 25 May 2018, the new data protection law GDPR will come into effect. Being a provider of a platform managing our client's data, protel hotelsoftware assumes this responsibility head-on. That is why we have evaluated and optimized our software's functions with regards to data privacy protection. We are glad to provide you with the respective tools to help you attain GDPR compliance with regards to your data privacy protection. In the following sections, we have compiled an introduction to how protel sees the GDPR requirements. Please take the necessary time to read the information before starting with the direct implementation within your protel PMS. How to make your hotel GDPR ready GDPR for protel Air GDPR User guide (PDF)

   

  New Language Turkish protel Air is now also available in Turkish. Choose your desired language from the dropdown menu.

   

  Reservations Fixed charges Reservierung > Fixleistungen When adding a new fixed charges, an indication error occured while zooming in or out the window. This has been corrected. Group reservations There has been a performance improvement concerning the cancellation of group reservations. It works now as expected. Changing the room type Bugfix: After switching from Res1 to Res2 several problems occured when changing the room type of a room. This has been fixed.

   

  End of Day Office > End of day > End of day: reports and list In the "End of day delivery" window you will find an improved view of the reports and list. The window will now open in a bigger view by default. This gives you a better overview over the available filters while configuring the reports.

   

   

  Invoices Deposit handling We have improved our deposit handling. With the help of the updated behaviour we want to support you to keep a better overview of your deposits and to keep a clean reporting. As already implemented in Sprint 202, you can only transfer deposits to invoices or reservations with the same status. If the guest has payed a deposit, it matures as soon as the guest checks in. In the case of a group reservation, the following applies: the deposit matures as soon as the first guest of the group checks in. No show If a no-show occurs, there are the following options: Post revenue to balance the invoice with deposit and close the invoice. This action will mature the deposit to guest ledger. Post a reverse payment to balance the invoice with deposit and close the invoice. In this scenario the deposit will not mature and only impact the deposit ledger. Cancellations If a reservation is cancelled, the deposit will be transferred to the guest ledger. Cancelling a group reservation will mature the deposit as soon as the last reservation of a group is cancelled. Past deposit transfers Deposits that are in the past are now handled in exactly the same way as new deposits. To ensure that the reporting system can also be kept clean for the past, the date of check-in is included as the transfer date in the reporting for all "old" deposits. Important: This does not change anything in your inventory, only the reports have been updated.

   

  Reporting New reports on deposit handling Office > Reporting > Invoice We have introduced two new reports to improve your control of deposits. Under the main topic "Invoice" you will now find the reports "Deposit Transfers" and "Deposit Ledger". In the "Deposit Transfers" report you will find the reservations whose deposit payments were transferred to the invoices on a certain date at check-in - according to the new behavior introduced for the transfer of deposit payments (see above). You can display the reservations up to one day before the current business date (protel EOD - 1 day). The "Deposit Ledger" report shows the outstanding deposits for the selected day. The two new reports help you to get a more detailed overview of your deposits. They reflect what is listed in the "Balance and Revenue Management" report in the field "Deposit ledger".. For example, the "Deposit Transfers" report shows in the line "Transfer of guest ledger" (= Deposits transferred to the guest ledger on that day), the "Deposit Ledger" report appears under "New Deposit Ledger Balance" (= Deposits accrued on that day).

• April

  25 April 2018

  Release Version 203

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  New Video Tutorial Our new video tutorial shows you how to create a non-deducting allotment and how this effects the room type plan. Creating a non-deducting allotment Video tutorials | Landing page

   

  Reservations Error message when trying to print a document without selecting a template Reservation dialog box > Print tasks Improvement: When trying to print a document without a selected template, the user receives a respective message. Copying reservations with adjusted rates Reservation dialog box > Reservation tasks > Copy reservation New: If a reservation has been copied and it's rate has been overwritten in the RBD, the original rate is used for the copy. Unchanged: If the original reservation of the rate code has been changed in the RBD, the changed rate code is used for the copy. Group reservations The editing performance for group reservations continues to improve.

   

  Office | Reporting Paid out and tips Correction: Since the protel Air release of 11 April, Paid out and Tips are no longer evaluated in the Payments report, but instead in the Accounting report (under "Revenue") and Revenue to previous year report (located under Extras). Additionally, paid outs and tips are displayed very clearly in the Cash report and in the Revenue report - see the following figures. Accounting report (Backoffice report) Revenue to previous year (Revenue by TAA) Cash report Revenue report

  Evaluate revenue in gross or net Improvement: Gross or net revenues can now be accessed for the following reports: Market code statistics Distribution channel statistics Travel reasons statistics Communication channel statistics Example:

   

  Bugfix: Display of room nights in the month column The room nights displayed in the month column have been corrected for the following reports so that the numbers shown correspond to the numbers shown in other reports: Market code statistics Distribution channel statistics Travel reasons statistics Communication channel statistics Example:

   

  Interfaces PLEASE NOTE: Each interface requires their own license! IDS Interface Improvement: With reservations coming in via an IDS booking portal or channel manager, credit card information that has been subsequently modified, are adopted without any problems. Back office interface Executing financial accounting export: Improved user experience Options > Interfaces > Financial accounting export Improvement: During the financial accounting system export, the [Start Export] button is deactivated (prevents repetitive data export activation at the same time). Fig.: As long as the export is in process, the [Start Export] button is grayed out. Improved handling of deposits Deposit items are now transmitted as a sum during the financial accounting system export, if the following checkbox has been selected: System data > External applications > Back Office Interface Accounts for all items that have been marked in the system data as deposit items - see following image: System data > POS > Items

   

  Add-on modules MICE | Extended event list Improvement: The event list configuration can now be saved per user and for all users ('save current list view'), and as a user defined list ('save current list view as'). This allows you to create and save various event lists for various departments, thus easing event organization. In addition, the event list can be added to the end of day procedure.

   

  11 April 2018

  Release Version 202

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  New languages Hungarian and Romanian Users in Hungary and Romania can now use protel Air in their own languages.

   

  Reservations Room assignment Reservation > Room assignment Bug Fix: The data displayed in the Guest details ribbon are complete again. Among other things, the guest's preferred room and the guest's preferred features are displayed here - see the following figure.

   

  Register / show credit card data Reservation dialog box > Reservation tasks button > Register/ show credit card data Bug Fix: If the same credit card number has been entered for several reservations or invoices, an error message appeared when trying to re-enter it.

   

  Invoices Invoice overview: Transferring deposits Invoice dialog> Context menu of the invoice item> Item tasks > Move With the aid of the Item tasks > Move function, you can also transfer a deposit from an invoice dialog box to another one. New: Remember that deposits can only be transferred to reservations/invoices which have the same reservation or invoice status. Example: A deposit for a checked-in reservation can also only be transferred to a checked in reservation.

  Accounts receivable management Cash register > Accounts receivable Improvement: The speed for accessing the payment history has been improved (Cash Register > Accounts receivable > Payment history) Bugfix: It was possible that an error message appeared when setting filters, e.g., "Payment method = EC Card" and "Status = Booked" (Cash register > Accounts receivable > Payment history or Incoming payments). Bugfix: Open receivables could not be balanced in accounts receivable management if the possibility for paying with a debit balance has been revoked for the respective guest (Guest profile > "Receivables" tab > the "AR Posting" checkbox has been unchecked). An error message appeared when trying to write off the account (Cash register > Accounts receivable > Posting incoming payments).

   

  Office | Reporting Bugfix: Split postings | The revenue on reports in the past is no longer changed when splitting a posting after end of Day. Bugfix: In the Payments report, Cash flow & Tips are no longer included. These movements are recorded on the Cash in hand report (Office > Reporting > Front Office > Cash in hand).

  Support user on reports New: "Support" user can now also be selected as an evaluation criterion for the following reports. Cash on hand Action log Booking journal by date Payments

   

  Interfaces BWI Interface Bugfix: Reservations which have been cancelled in Best Western CRS can once again be correctly imported by protel Air.

   

• March

  28. March 2018

  Release Version 201

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  Performance improvements Since providing our clients with the most efficient products is our greatest aspiration, we have implemented several performance improvements to support you and your work with protel Air.

   

  Active Lists Displaying Prices To improve the display of the pricing, the following improvements have been made in the reservations list, arrivals list, in-house list, and departures list. Changes: To simplify things, the original Price column displaying the average price per night has been renamed to Avg. Price (= average price). New: The new Price (Day) column shows the price for the day you have selected in the active list's "From" field. For reservations for only a single night and for reservations where the prices do not vary, the amounts in both columns Price (Day) & Avg. Price are identical. To ensure that the new Price (Day) column is displayed, you must activate it by checking the relevant checkbox - see the following figure: NOTE: The entry for the column is located relatively far down in the list! Changes: The Rate code column now shows the rate code for the day that was selected in the active list's "From" field (previously only the rate code for the first night was displayed here).

   

  Active Lists Sorting after check-in / check-out Bugfix: After sorting an active list, e.g. the arrivals list, and performing a check-in out of this list, the sorting was not sustainable. It had to be sorted again after the check-in was performed. This issue has been fixed and the sorting will remain after check-in.

   

  Profile Creating new reservations out of profiles Profile > "Reservations" tab > "New reservation" button The "New reservation" button in the profile's "Reservations" tab no longer opens a new reservation and opens the reservation enquiry instead. Until now, a new reservation for a one-night-stay was created - room type, room number and a different number of nights had to be manually changed. By means of the reservation enquiry which is opened directly assigned to the respective profile, the creation of a new reservation is much more comfortable.

   

  	Reservation Reservation enquiry In the reservation enquiry there is a new column named "Rate description", which shows the description assigned to the rates. To show the column in your front office, simply activate it via the menu from the small arrow next to the column title.
  	Allotments Bugfix: In the allotment dialog, we have improved the handling of time periods when editing an allotment. You can only edit an allotment if a valid time period is chosen. Otherwise an error message appears
  	Fixed charges Bugfix: Items marked as 'Reduces Cash' in the System Data are no longer available as fixed charges in the reservation dialog. They can, however, be posted directly to the invoice or via the cash register.

   

  Invoices Moving items to new invoice Invoice dialog> Context menu of the invoice item> Item tasks > Move In the invoice dialog box, we have changed the possible actions concerning the moving of an item. Until now, when moving an item to "New invoice" a passerby invoice was created. Now, the item can also be moved to a new invoice. The new menu point opens a new invoice window in the guest's invoice - just like the "New invoice" button in the invoice dialog.

   

  Reporting Report Account analysis Improvement: Thanks to the new "sum line", the "Account analysis" report is now even clearer.

   

  protel Air HTML5 Benutzerrechte New user rights for editing room plan / room type plan System > User administration > User roles > Add / Edit Two new user rights now allow the user to edit the room plan / room type plan, i.e., hide and show rooms. The user rights are called: PAirOpenRoomTypePlanSettings and PAirOpenRoomPlanSettings.. All of the new rights are added to the "pAir Front Office" default role. This means all users with this role automatically receive the right to use this function. Please advise your clients to withdraw the rights for certain users, if need be.

   

  System data Mandatory fields Bugfix: Setting the "Travel reason", "Communication channel", "Distribution channel" and "Market code" fields as mandatory in the system data, not only applies to single reservations like before, but now also applies for group reservations and allotment reservations.

   

  14 March 2018

  Release Version 200

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  Performance Improvements The following improvements have been made to further optimize performance: Quicker reservation enquiry. Especially large amounts of data can now be processed in a considerably shorter amount of time. Improved speed when cancelling group reservations.

   

  Hotel Status Widget Active Desktop Various improvements for displaying the new hotel status widget (e.g., the position of "Total Rooms" in the circle diagram)

   

  Reservation and Invoice Dialog Boxes Bugfix: A minor error while closing the invoice and reservation dialog boxes has been fixed.

   

  Office Reporting Improvement: The print title has been adjusted for the market code statistics, communication channel statistics, travel reason statistics, and distribution channel statistics reports, when printing them. Up till now, when printing reports, all of the reports had the same title. Now they each have their own name. Bug fix: In some cases accommodation amounts displayed in the Balance and Revenue Management report did not balance with the amounts shown in the revenue report, accounting report, and journal by date.

   

  System data Improvement: Display of disabled elements in selection lists If you deactivate a certain element in the system data, the element is preserved in profiles or reservations if it was assigned before deactivating it. However, other disabled items are no longer available for selection.

   

  protel Air HTML5 User Rights New user right for saving list view System > User administration > User roles > Add / Edit This right allows the user to save a configured list view "for all users". User right name: PairSaveListForAll All of the new rights are added to the "pAir Front Office" default role. This means all users with this role automatically receive the right to use this function. Please advise your clients to withdraw the rights for certain users, if need be.

   

• February

  28 February 2018

  Release Version 199

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  New Video Tutorial Our new video tutorial shows you how to create an allotment reservation: Creating an allotment reservation Video tutorials | Landing page

   

  Enhanced performance The following improvements have been made to further optimize performance: Shorter loading times for various actions in the reservation and invoice dialog More speed when editing group reservations (e.g., when altering departure date, reservation status, or rate code for an entire group) Improved performance when creating and editing long-stay reservations.

   

  Hotel Status Widget New Design Active Desktop The Active Desktop's Hotel Status Widget has taken on a new, distinct and sophisticated look! The new display highlights and distinguishes between open arrivals and guests who have already arrived better than before - the same is true for open departures and guests who have departed the hotel. Even the occupancy display has a clearer structure and is easier to read.

   

  Reservations Reservation enquiry Reservation > Reservation enquiry New: Due to performance reasons, the reservation enquiry can be executed for a length of stay (LOS) of a maximum of 365 days. A variable system setting is planned for the future.

  Daily Rates Reservation > Daily Rates Bug Fix: The correct rate is displayed in protel Daily Rates if a rate code contains several rate calculations for varying lengths of stays.

   

  Cash register Entering negative postings Cash register > Post charges New: When posting items or charges, you can now also enter negative amounts. This has the effect that the price appears with a "minus sign" - which means that it represents a type of credit - see following screenshots. 1. Enter negative amount in the QTY (quantity) column and press the tab key: 2. Der Preis erhält ein Minus-Zeichen:

   

  Options | Registering moves Options > Register moves Bug Fix: Reservations can now also be moved to a room which was recently canceled.

   

  protel Air HTML5 User Rights New user right to allow users to post a Debtors payment System > User administration > User roles > Add / Edit If this permission is granted, the FO User can select Payments in Invoices and pay off to a Debtor acccount. User right: PAirAddDebtorPayment In this context, the following user right has been edited: PAirAddPayment This right allows the user to post payments and "automatically" contains the right to post methods of payment with a debit balance (PAirAddDebtorPayment). All new rights will be added to the  "pAir Front Office" default role, i.e. all users with this role will get the right to use this function automatically. Please advise your customers to possibly remove the rights for selected users.  Revoke the user the "PAirAddDebtorPayment" right if they are not to be able to post any Debtors payments.

   

  Interfaces AVS Registration Form Interface protel Air has implemented a new interface to AVS, which is an electronic registration form process used by many hotels in German speaking countries. The interface automatically transmits the relevant data for guests obligated to register to the AVS Web service. Within a few seconds, AVS sends a digital registration form including the visitor's tax and registration number back to protel Air. Once there, the registration form can be displayed and printed out. The digital registration form is sent as a PDF and automatically saved to the guest's text history. The AVS interface requires a fee-based license. If interested, please contact the protel Sales Team (sales@protel.net).

  Feratel Registration Form Interface The interface to the Feratel registration system automatically transfers the relevant data to Feratel for guests obligated to register and then creates the respective registration form. Bug Fix: A minor error occurring during the transfer of departing guests has been fixed.

   

  Further improvements and bug fixes Group reservations Various bug fixes Moving rooms in the room plan during a guest's stay Under certain circumstances, the wrong price was displayed in the reservation dialog box (room tab, guest tab, and RBD tab), when partially moving a room to another room type. Invoices Fixed problem in connection with the invoice's API IDS interface Discrepancies with availabilities fixed RKSV (Cash Register Security Regulation - only applicable for Austria!) RKSV business logic improved and problems with the start receipt signature have been fixed. Data transfer from third-party systems When switching systems from an old system to protel Air, the data stock from the old system can be transferred to the protel Cloud. Various improvements for importing guest data have been made.

   

   

  14 February 2018

  Release Version 198

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  New Video Tutorial Our new video tutorial shows you various ways to create a reservation: 8 ways to create a reservation Video tutorials | Landing page

   

  Reservation enquiry New Enquiry Groups You can now group your rates into enquiry groups for the purpose of selling. General sales (by default), contracted rates, and other rates. This makes the reservation enquiry much more efficient and considerably improves the selling process. When performing a reservation enquiry, the enquiry is limited to the selected enquiry group, which helps you to always offer the right rate. Additionally, this can provide a big performance gain, especially for hotels with many rates, as the query is only looking for those rates in the selected group and what's more, the search results list on the reservation enquiry screen becomes much more compact. The enquiry group can be selected in the corresponding dropdown list: Reservation > Reservation enquiry The default preselection is always General. Open Reservation Enquiry Help Topic Configuration (System data) System Data > Reservation > Pricing > Rates Tab A new dropdown list with three enquiry groups (general sale, contracted rates, other rates) is available in the rate configuration screen - see the following figure.   Enquiry group Description General Rate codes for general sale will appear by default when checking rate availability in the reservation enquiry screen. NOTE: On live update, all rate codes for existing hotels will default to General (to match existing functionality as it was before the update). Contract rate Rate codes which have pre-agreed contracts with third party companies and travel agents need to be re-assigned from General to Contract rate. This means if you need to select one of these rates you will initially need to select from the dropdown list in the reservation enquiry from General to Contract rate Other Rate codes for internal use or anything not fitting into GENERAL or CONTRACTED.   In order to use the feature and improve your selling process, please review existing rates and assign/reassign suitable enquiry groups to each rate. Open Price Configuration Help Topic

  
  

  Reservation enquiry | Performance optimization Reservation > Reservation enquiry As performance optimization is always top priority, some further improvements have been made in this area: The initial availability check in the reservation enquiry screen has been removed. protel Air does not start searching until the user clicks [Check availability]. Before the update, protel Air initiated an immediate search when opening the reservation enquiry dialog box. As a result, the user had to wait until the screen loaded all rates before being able to perform a specific availability check.

   

  Office Reporting | Bugfixes Printing issues resolved, any report can be printed as expected.

   

  Profiles Text history: Display of multiple printed stationery Profiles > Text history tab If guest-facing stationery is printed several times, each created document is saved with the corresponding file name as expected.

   

  Interfaces ARIANE Kiosk Interface Bugfix: Check-out via key card is possible again.

   

   

• January

  31 January 2018

  Release Version 197

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  New Video Tutorial Our new video tutorial will show you how to post items or charges to a room / an invoice. Post items

   

  Reservations Show hint if a rate restriction has been ignored If a reservation has been booked despite a rate restriction, a corresponding note is displayed in the reservation dialog box - see the following figure:

  Reservation Confirmation | New External Print Mode Reservation dialog box > Print tasks > Reservation confirmation > Print Mode "External Print" protel Air has implemented a new option to trigger the sending of guest-facing documents in a third-party application. Example By choosing the new "External Print" print mode in the Print Tasks screen, the external system will be triggered to create the respective email/document - see the following figure: To print your reservation confirmation locally, please select the "Local Print" Print Mode. If you would like to "externally" print your reservation confirmations or other guest documents, you require an interface to a compatible 3rd party vendor's software, e.g., the Serenata integration via protel I/O. After the tool has been connected to your protel Air, the feature can be activated for use.  — For more information, please contact our Sales-Team.

   

  Room plan The scrolling speed in the room plan has been significantly improved.

   

  Active lists All lists Bugfix: If more than one address was stored for a guest, the price for the relevant reservation(s) was displayed incorrectly in the active lists (e.g., in the arrivals list). This display error has been fixed. Meal plan Lists -> Meal plan Improvement: The differences which occurred between the room view and the daily view have been resolved.

   

  Invoices The calculation of the City tax amount has been optimized.

   

  Office New report: Items, payment methods, and taxes configuration Office > Reporting > Items, payments and taxes protel Air has implemented a new standard report which displays the entire financial items configuration. This report is particularly suitable for audit purposes. The report shows a list of all of the configured items, payment methods, and taxes in the system.

  End of day delivery Office > End of Day > End of day: reports and lists > Add/Edit list or report > Offset The offset value which can be set in the date slider has been increased to 31 days - see the following figure: This means that you can create each report an entire month in advance/in the past. This is especially helpful for reports with month to date figures, such as the manager report.

   

   

   

  17 January 2018

  Release Version 195/196

  Where can I find the release version?

  To find the latest version of protel Air, you will need to open the stack menu located in the protel Air menu bar and then click on System Version.

  If the first digit (highlighted in the illustration in green) corresponds with the release version of the Update news, the installed update has been successful.

  

  General advice!

  Please make sure to always empty your browser's cache after your protel Air property management software has been updated! Only then will you be able to properly use all of the new functions!

  Specials

  Our "Specials" are only available in the context of a special database version of protel Air HTML ("Res2").

   

  Browser-Zoom | New user prompt All current web browsers offer zoom features to scale the size of your pages. Choosing a zoom level of anything other than 100% (the default) can cause row misalignment or other irregular behaviour in some dialog boxes, such as the room plan, the room type plan, the daily rates screen, and the event plan (protel Air MICE). Therefore, a popup message advises you to reset the browser zoom to 100%. Tipp: The quickest way to return your browser to this zoom setting is to use the keyboard shortcut [Ctrl] + 0 (Windows) or [Cmd] + 0 (Mac).

   

  12/24 hour time format setting In the system data, you can choose between 12 hour (AM/PM) and 24 hour time format. The chosen format is now adopted throughout the entire system (active lists, reports, text templates, time format tooltips, etc.)

   

  Profiles New middle name field Profile > Overview tab > Guest information The profiles dialog box contains a new field for entering the middle name of a person.

   

  Room plan General performance improvements and fixes Improved speed when loading the room plan Tooltips are loaded and displayed correctly again

   

  Group reservations Delete optional date Group reservation dialog box > Group overview tab > Optional date Bugfix: The optional date can be deleted from the group overview tab as expected.

   

  Office | Reporting BaselTourStat (only applies to hotels in Basel/Switzerland) Bugfix: The BaselTourStat report works again as expected.

   

  MICE Improvements and fixes Event plan: Save selected zoom setting. The event plan now always opens with the last saved zoom setting. Event plan | Basket: New trash bin icon for deleting individual agenda items. Event plan | Room information window: Display and download attached files (see the following screenshots): Fig.: Open room information in the event plan screen Fig.: Open attachment by double-clicking it

   

  Interfaces Best Western International Interface | Reservation Sync Reservation dialog box > Reservation or Rooms tab > Reservation tasks > Sync A reservation can be resubmitted to Best Western, for example if the reservation has not received a CRS number or if reservation changes have not been submitted to the Best Western Member Web - see the following figure:

   

  RKSV / EFSTA features Invoice printing | Print signature date Invoice dialog box > Fiscalization/Print Invoice There is a new text replacement code for printing the date of invoice signing: ${invSignDate} Please include this text replacement code in your invoice forms so that the correct date (namely the date of the signature) always appears on the invoice - even if an invoice is printed at a later date. The replacement code returns only a date if the invoice is signed correctly, otherwise, it will return an empty string on the invoice. Print Documents list Lists > Documents > Print tasks > Print Bugfix: The documents list can be printed again.