Setting up Advanced Packages

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[System Data > Reservation > Pricing > Advanced pricing > Calculations]

Advanced packages is an enhanced function which needs special consideration when enabling this functionality. If you would like to use advanced packages in your business, feel free to contact us or your local protel partner. You can reach the protel Cloud Support team at: cloudsupport@protel.net.

This article will take you through the steps needed for setting up advanced packages.

The function first needs to be activated by protel Cloud Support or by your local protel Partner. (XSetup: "Advanced packages").

The following section explains how to create a package in the system data, so that it can be selected for reservations in the Front Office.

 

1. Create items for package bookings

The special thing about advanced packages is that the consumption of a package item needs to be offset either manually or by the POS interface and balanced with a previously determined allowance. To allow the posting of the consumption of packages, a corresponding item will need to be created in the system data. This item will later be added to the advanced package as a package element (see further down: 3. Create rate code for advanced packages).

When using a POS interface, the package item must also be linked to the relevant item or product group in the POS System.

Example

Assuming you offer your guests a package for a 1-night stay with dinner. The dinner will be consumed in the hotel's restaurant and posted with the POS system. These postings are then transmitted to protel Air and charged against the "dinner" package price. In the following example, the "Restaurant Garden POS Postings" item to be used for posting the consumption, is created. This item bundles all of the product groups from the restaurant POS into a single item. This means that the restaurant items will be posted to this item. Skip the following steps if you have already created such items in your system.

In protel Air, open the System Data menu and click on POS > Items.

Switch to th Item tab and create a new item by clicking on the [Add] button.

Edit item dialog box

System data > Cash Register > Items > "Items" tab > [Add]

 

Field

Selection / Entry

Posting text

Enter a descriptive posting text, such as "Restaurant Garden POS Postings"

Description

Optional: If you want, you can enter a description. This can be information such as which cash register / POS is used to record booked items.

Product group

Select an appropriate product group, e.g., "POS Restaurant", or something similar

Price

A price should not be assigned to the item (price = 0.00).

Tax rate

Assign a valid tax rate.


Further information about creating items:
System data > POS > Items > Add item / Edit


2. Create item for Profit and Loss

If you would like to measure the profitability of your packages, you can book the package profits or losses to an item created just for that. You can create a mutual profit and loss item for all packages, or create them individually for each package (enabling the individual evaluation of each package).

The evaluation of the items occurs in reporting.

Example

The following example demonstrates how to create a package profit item. Later, all of the profits from a package can be posted to this item.

Edit item dialog box

System data > POS > Items > "Items" tab > [Add]

Field

Selection / Entry

Posting text

Enter a descriptive posting text, such as "B&B Profits"

Description

Optional: Here you can enter a detailed description, such as which package profits are going to be posted under this item.

Product group

Select an appropriate product group, e.g., e.g., "Packages"

Price

A price should not be assigned to the item (price = 0.00).

Tax rate

The item is not allowed to be assigned a tax rate (tax rate = 0%)

The item for posting losses is created in the same manner as the item of posting profits - see figure:

You can now calculate the profits and losses for your packages in Front Office.

Instead of creating a mutual profit and loss item for all packages, you can also create a profit and loss item for each individual package (e.g., profit dinner package, etc.).

3. Create rate code for Advanced Packages

The actual package is created and managed by means of the rate code.

  1. In protel Air, open the System Data menu and select the Reservation > Pricing.

  2. Then select the Rates tab.

  3. Under Advanced pricing in the tree view, you can now create a new rate code or edit an existing one. For the sake of completeness we describe how to create a new rate code.

First, select the group to where the rate code is to be loacated -  e.g., Packages. Then click on the + sign at the bottom of the dialog box - see the following figure:

protel Air adds a new rate code.

  1. Set the basic settings for this rate code (see following example).

Example

System data - Rates

System Data > Reservation > Pricing > Advanced pricing
The dialog box shows an example of the "Dinner Package" in the "Packages" group

Field

Selection / Entry

Name

Enter an expressive name for the package, i.e., "Dinner Package". This term is shown in the reservation dialog box.

Short name

Enter a meaningful short (for internal purposes), e.g., "DIN"

Description

Enter a description, for example describing which items are contained in the package. Example: Accommodation including dinner. The description is displayed for online bookings.

Rate Group

Select a suitable rate group, e.g., Packages

Rate Code Type

Select a rate from the selection box. The rate types are preset by the system and are divided into the following (please click).

Posting text

Preferrably, enter the name of the package as the posting text, e.g., "Dinner Package". If need be, you can also create a new posting text:

Save your changes by clicking on the [Apply] button.


Further information about creating new rate codes can be found here:
System Data > Reservation > Pricing > Rates > Advanced pricing > General settings


  1. Afterwards, determine the package elements that are going to make up the package (in our example accomodation and dinner):

Room rate calculation

Create a room rate calculation for the accommodation posting - see next figure:

First, enter the general settings.

If necessary, limit the calculation to certain room types (e.g., if you only want to offer single or double rooms).

In the Rates tab, you determine the rates - see following illustration:

Although only the room rate is determined here, you can determine the pricing for the entire package. If the accommodation and dinner together cost, i.e., 200 Euros, you can create the dinner in the item calculation (see next section) as an inclusive price, so that the price of the dinner is contained in the accommodation price.

The first components of the package - the room rate - has now been created.

Item Calculation

Create an Item calculation for the posting of the dinner- see next illustration:

Enter a name in the general settings:

If necessary, limit the calculation to certain room types (e.g., if you only want to offer single or double rooms).

Then select the Item tab.

At the bottom of the dialog box, click on the [Add] button, to enter the actual package element that is to be posted together with the price.

The Edit items dialog box then opens.

Edit item dialog box

[Advanced pricing > Calculations > Add [+] > Item calculation > "Item" tab]

Field

Selection

Item

This is where you select the items that you created in step 1: "Create items for package bookings". In our example, we see the following item: "Restaurant Garden POS Postings". This is the item where the actual consumption is booked.

Type

Normal: With this setting, protel Air adds the price of the package element to the price of the accommodation.

Example:
room rate = 100 Euros
dinner rate = 15 Euros
total amount = 115 Euros  |  the room rate (accommodation) total is 115 Euros. The dinner does not appear in an exclusive entry on the invoice.

Inclusive: With this setting, protel Air subtracts the price of the package element from the price of the accommodation.

Example:
room rate = 100 Euros
dinner rate = 15 Euros
total amount = 100 Euros  | the accommodation is posted internally for a price of 85 Euros.

Posting text

As far as possible, select the same posting text which you have already used for the superordinate rate code and in the room rate calculation (in our example: "Dinner Package").

This is because the package is supposed to appear in a single line of the invoice.

Posting per:

Specify whether you want the article to be posted per room, per guest or per specified age group. Postings per room are independent of the number of persons in a particular reservation.

Rate

Enter the actual price for the package element (e.g., the special price).

Example: According to the menu, the price of the dinner is 25 Euros. Because the Dinner package is a special offer, you can set the price for the package element to 15Euros.

Allowance

The "Package Allowance" checkbox has to be selected so that this field is active!

If the package has an allowance, this is where you enter the amount of the allowance. This is the amount the guest is allowed to consume against without having to pay extra for it. Based on the example above, you would enter 25 Euros for the dinner.

As soon as the amount exceeds the allowance amount, the difference is posted to the guest's invoice. 

If you do not want to grant a guest an allowance, enter the same amount that you have entered for the price (allowance = price).

Based on the price and the allowance, protel Air can calculate a package's profits and losses. For example, if a guest uses up the allowance, you have a loss. If the guest does not use up a package element, or only uses part of it, you have a profit.

Package Allowance

In order to create an advanced package, you will need to activate this checkbox. The following fields will then be available: Allowance, New day, Package profit, and Package lost.

Next Day

Optional: Activate this checkbox if you want the package element to be posted for the following day (e.g., breakfast). For example: Bed and Breakfast is charged on the day of arrival however consumption of the breakfast occurs after the arrival day.

Package Profit

Select the item to be used when recording any profit from unconsumed allowances.

Package Loss

Select the item to be used when recording any package loss from over-consumed allowances. If the guest consumes a higher amount than the package element price but below the allowance amount, the difference between the package element price and the guest consumption amount is the package loss

Then click [OK] to save your changes.

If a guest is allowed to consume an item at various POS throughout the hotel, each POS will need to be set up with a separate item with the respective allowance.

That's it! You're done! Your rate code has been created for the Advanced Package.

Basically, a package can contain several package elements, for example a breakfast, a dinner, a parking ticket, and a fixed charge such as city tax.

To add an additional package element to your package, you can simply create another item calculation for the package rate code (see above), or assign an existing item calculation to that code.  

Related topics

Advanced Packages | Introduction

Advanced Packages | Switch to Advanced Packages

Advanced Packages | Front Office Use