News in 2020

protel Air Upgrade

Because we are working hard on the further development of a new major release version of protel Air, no further changes to the existing software are planned at present (exception: bug fixing). Not only will there be new features, we have some magic changes coming up for the look & feel as well!

This change will take place as part of the regular bi-weekly upgrade that you are used to, however, because visual changes can feel dramatic,  we wanted to make sure that you and your teams have the chance to check it out before it happens.

Here are some of the new features you can look forward to:

• Intuitive - easy to learn, easy to teach and best of all easy to use

• Integrated - direct access to 1,000+ integrations, some with free trials!

• Mobile - you will now be able to access protel Air on almost any type of device

Can't wait to learn more? We can't wait to show you:

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!

Resolved issues

Housekeeping: Create attendant sheets for your housekeeping attendants

Housekeeping > Attendant sheets > Attendant type: "Defined"

In the housekeeping module you can create daily sheets for one or more selected attendants by using the "Defined" option.

Resolved issue: When selecting the "Defined" option, an error message occurred when trying to create the attendant sheets and the sheets were not created. This issue has been resolved.

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!

WBE 5: Create your own imprint

The following information is only relevant if you use the protel Web booking engine (WBE 5).

You can now store your own imprint for the hotel's own booking engine (WBE 5). Visitors of WBE 5 will find the imprint in a separate area.

How to open the new setting

In protel Air / protel Cloud Center, open the menu item Online booking > Channel configuration

Switch to the Documents > Imprint tab

In the editor area, enter the text for your imprint - see following screenshot.

Result: In the footer of the booking engine an additional link to the imprint is displayed under the general terms and terms of use links.

Release postponed

We are currently working on many new features for the new generation of protel Air (protel Air Next Generation). Since relatively few changes have been made to the existing software since the last update, we have decided to suspend the release planned for today. The next release will take place every two weeks as usual.

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!

Minor issues and enhancements

This update mainly contains bug fixes and technical changes “under the hood” that neither directly affect the behavior of the program, nor are visible on the user interface. Here’s a small selection.

• Multi Currency Support - an issue with calculating the local tax in a multi-currency environment has been resolved.

• Reservation enquiry - an issue with displaying the rate in the reservation enquiry has been resolved.

• End of Day - the automatic report dispatch to a configured AMAZON S3 bucket is working again as expected. | Find out more...

• Many ongoing enhancements for protel Air Next Generation, e.g. multi property functionality, maintaining sales organization structures for profiles, new user interface for IDS mappings, optimized rate calculation (speed & performance), and much more.

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!

Small improvements and lots of work “under the hood”

This update mainly contains bug fixes and technical changes “under the hood” that neither directly affect the behavior of the program, nor are visible on the user interface. Here’s a small selection.

Credit card management /Tokenizer

Acceptance of China Union Pay credit cards has been improved.

protel Air for iPad

The digitally signed registration form is now stored in the guest profile of the reservation’s primary guest.

protel Air Next Generation

Many technical adjustments for the development of new features in the new protel Air product release (Launch 2020), e. g. multi property functionality, maintaining sales organization structures for profiles, new user interface for IDS mappings, optimized rate calculation (speed & performance), and much more.

Country specific requirements: Slovenia

Sign invoices with QR Code (Fiscal Requirements - Act on Fiscal Verification of Invoices)

In Slovenia, signing of invoices with a QR code that can be verified by the tax authorities is a statutory requirement.

The protective mark of the invoice issuer can now be printed on the invoice in the form of a QR code in accordance with the technical characteristics published on the Slovenian eDavki state tax portal. The QR Code is printed in accordance with ISO/IEC 15415 standard.

The QR code contains a data record spanning 60 numeral places, which includes 4 parts:

• ZOI iz sestnajstiskega zapisa pretvorjen v desetiski zapis (dolzina 39) / ZOI converted from hexadecimal notation to decimal notation (length 39),

• davcna stevilka zavezanca (8 mest) / tax number of the person liable (length 8)

• datum in cas izdaje racuna v obliki LLMMDDUUMMSS (12 mest) / date and time of issuing invoice in the form DDMMYYHHMMSS (length 12),

• kontrolni znak, izracunan kot vsota vseh stevilk po modulu 10 / control character, calculated as sum of all numbers modulo 10.

The QR code is only printed if an invoice has been fiscalized by the external solution for online fiscalization.

Readability of the printed code can be checked by using FURS application for code verification or by using FURS application for invoice verification. Either application should be installed on a smartphone with a max. 5MP camera and an auto focus. Following platforms are supported: Android 4. 1 and higher, Windows Phone 8. 1 and higher, IOS 7.1.1 and higher.

(FURS = Financial administration of the Republic of Slovenia / Finančni upravi Republike Slovenije)

Data record example

223175087923687075112234402528973166755 12345678 150420101332 1

ZOI:  a7e5f55e1dbb48b799268e1a6d8618a3, decimal notation: 223175087923687075112234402528973166755

Tax number:  12345678

Date:  15.04.2020, 10:13:32

Control character:  1

Customize Invoice Templates

To print the QR Code on the invoices, the invoice templates of the hotel need to be adapted. For this purpose, protel provides special sample templates.

Using the replacement code ${signature.caption}, a text string transmitted by the tax authority can be printed as a caption for the QR Code.

In addition, a JOO script is required to create the QR Code. To insert the QR Code into the invoice templates of the hotel, the area marked in the screenshot below can be copied from the sample template and pasted into the templates of the hotel.

JOOScript

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!

Rate configuration

Creating virtual rate codes with individual item calculations (packages)

[System data > Reservation > Pricing]

We are expanding the creation of virtual rate codes and are making pricing even more flexible. protel Air users can create their own item calculations for their virtual rate codes - and thus have the possibility to offer various packages and services for each virtual rate code - regardless of the base rate code.

Virtual rates obtain their rate information from a mutual base rate. However, it is changed by a certain percentage or fixed value. This way you can apply complex pricing strategies which are based on only a few base rate codes. By assigning individual item calculations (packages), additional pricing possibilities broaden the possibilities for pricing.

Notes on proper use

Usually, virtual rate codes inherit any existing packages from their base rate code. If you want to use virtual rate codes that use their own calculations, you need to disable the inheritance function with the following XSetup:

• Inherit Base Items = false

Impact

• Virtual rate codes do not inherit the calculations of their base rate code.

• Second level virtual rate codes are no longer supported (a second level virtual rate code uses another virtual rate code as their base rate code). If you have already configured such rates, we strongly recommend reconfiguring the system accordingly and not to use second level virtual rate codes.

• Second level virtual rate codes created in the system data are no longer available for selection when creating a reservation. If there are reservations in the system already using such rate codes, these reservations cannot be modified afterwards. As a workaround, we recommend creating a new reservation with a different rate code.

Country specific requirements

Moving Items with tax-exclusive tax rates

The following changes only affect countries/businesses that levy tax-exclusive tax rates, e.g. Canada & USA. Tax-exclusive tax rates are not included in the product prices, i.e., the tax is added to the price in the invoice / during the payment process.

• Improvement: If you are moving invoice items with tax-exclusive tax rates to another invoice window, the corresponding taxes, as expected, are also moved to the new invoice. On the invoice dialog where the item was moved to, the item and its corresponding taxes are displayed in the same order as before.

Fiscalization

• Resolved issue: If a closed and fiscalized invoice is voided, the counter invoice with the offsetting entries can also be fiscalized correctly.

Minor changes and improvements

Allotments: Extended action log

Improvement: If you manage one or more payment instructions for your allotments, all related actions are recorded in the action log. Among other things, the ID of the payment instruction, the routing target, the rerouted items, etc., are all recorded in the action log.

Deposit ledger

The handling of deposit ledger imbalances has been improved.

protel Messenger: Use ‘Negate filter’ filter setting

Use ‘Negate filter’ filter setting

Various rules for sending messages can be defined in protel Messenger. With the aid of filters, you can define the range of recipients more precisely. You can also negate a filter. In case of a ‘negation’, all guests for whom the selected filter does not apply will be notified.

Improvement: Negated filters are now taken into account during Messenger transmissions and allow you to create an appropriate transmission rule.

BWI Interface: Save BWR tier Level

Resolved issue: When synchronizing the guest profiles with the Memberweb, the tier level (e.g., "Gold”) is now properly transmitted.

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!

Country specific requirements

Display of exclusive taxes in the invoice dialog box improved

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 has been significantly improved.

Improvement: Consolidate similar taxes

Tax amounts for similar invoice items are consolidated in the invoice window if the ConsolidateTaxOnInvoice XSetup has been activated. For certain use cases, the display of exclusive taxes in the invoice window has been further improved. In the case of subsequent changes to the rate, the tax amounts are now consolidated as expected.

Use case 1: Price adjustments

Example: Accommodation costs of $ 229.00 are reduced by $ 55.00 to $ 174.00.

Since the price reduction also has an effect on the taxes being calculated, the corresponding taxes are also reduced and shown in a separate invoice line - see the following screenshot:

For a better overview, these tax amounts are now automatically consolidated - see the following screenshot:

Use case 2: Splitting accommodation

The cost of accommodation (Hébergement) of $100.00 plus tax is split into two identical parts, at $50.00 each.

After splitting, the respective taxes are also split correctly and broken down accordingly - see following screenshot:

Before the protel Air Update, these tax positions were combined, which could lead to problems when moving the amount that had been split off.

Futher use cases

• If identical taxes are configured for different items, these taxes are NOT grouped together in the Invoice window, but are displayed seperately per item.

• If there are identical items on the invoice (e.g. 2x accommodation), the respective taxes are also shown separately and not consolidated.

Invoice Dialog | Improvement: Sorting order of taxes

Improvement: When a tax is comprised of several taxes (for example, Goods and Services Tax, Sales Tax, and Lodging Tax), the taxes now appear in the invoice window, and when the invoice is printed, as specified in the configuration.

Reporting | New: Annual VAT listing report for Belgium

Businesses in Belgium are obligated to submit an annual listing report of all their domestic sales for the previous year to the Belgian tax authorities. The list contains Belgian corporate customers to whom the hotel has supplied goods or services for a total amount of more than EUR 250.00 (not including VAT) in the previous calendar year. The listing contains the total amount of supplies and services for each corporate client and the total amount of VAT invoiced.

Example:

Required license

In order for the new report to be available in the application, the following country license must be active for the hotel:

• CountryPackageBE

Text replacement codes

System data > Documents > Templates

New text replacement codes show number of copies made

In Slovenia, copies of invoices must include the number of the copy on the invoice. If, for example, an invoice has been printed for the third time (second copy), this must be indicated accordingly by a counter on the invoice. We created the following two replacement codes to do this:

• ${printCounter} - Indicates how many times an invoice has been printed in total (original + number of copies made).

• ${copyPrintCounter} - Specifies the number of copies made.

Example

Use the replacement code ${copyPrintCounter} in combination with the replacement code ${invoiceType}.

In combination, you could incorporate both replacement codes into the invoice template as follows:

${invoiceType} ${copyPrintCounter} of ${invCode}

If an invoice is printed a second time, the invoice would display the following information:

Copy 1 of INV_12345

Include the new text replacement keys in your invoice templates if you want to use them to output the number of prints or copies. Of course, you can continue to use your existing templates unchanged.

If you have any questions regarding the use of text replacement keys, protel support or your local protel partner will be happy to help you.

Related information: Replacement codes

Minor changes and improvements

protel Messenger

Disabling the printing of the price ('Print Rate' Feature)

The Print Rate Feature allows the hotelier to hide the amount of specially negotiated rates in correspondence with the guest or to print out an individually adjustable replacement value.

Improvement: If this option is activated, the price information/amounts are not printed in the documents sent via protel Messenger and are replaced by three asterisks (***) or by the set replacement value.

Related Information: Print Rate Functionality

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

Linking passerby invoices and group invoices with market code

The market code is of great importance for statistical evaluations for many hotels. By marking passerby and group invoices with a certain market code, hotels now have an additional data pool on which to base their evaluations.

Selecting the market code in the passerby invoice:

Note: As soon as the passerby invoice has been closed, the market code can no longer be selected or changed.

Selecting market code in the group invoice:

Available settings

If you use a default value for the market code for your reservations, this value is also used in the passerby and group invoices. Default value is set in the protel Air System Data: System Data > Reservation > Reservation codes > “Default settings” tab.

The market code can be included in the active lists as a separate column (e.g., in the invoice and group reservation list) - see following screenshot:

Office | Reporting

Evaluate market code for group invoices and passerby invoices

Office > Reporting > Reservation > Market code
Office > Reporting > Reservation > Market code statistics

Since the market code can now also be entered for group and passerby invoices, the two reports for evaluating the market code have been enhanced with the respective filters. The market code can now be evaluated according to the following additional criteria:

• for individual reservations

• for group invoices

• for passerby invoices

• for all types

Example: New Additional filter drop-down list in the market code report:

VAT control report | New totals line

Office > Reporting > Invoice > VAT control report

The VAT control report now has a new total line. The totals for the following columns are displayed:

• Gross

• Net

• Taxes

Example:

New text replacement codes

System data > Documents > Templates

There are three new replacement codes for your invoice templates:

• ${closingDate}: Closing date of the invoice

• ${fiscalizationDate}: Date of fiscalization (in protel Air)

• ${externalFiscalizationDate}: Date of fiscalization by external fiscalization system

Note: Date format can be defined by the '.format' add-on. Example: ${closingDate.format('MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss')} = 27/01/2020 08:45:10

We have developed the replacement codes to implement legal requirements in Slovenia, however, they are freely available to all users. Include the new codes in the invoice templates if you want to use them to display the mentioned information. 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.

See also: Replacement codes

Country specific requirements

New: Belgian police report (Generic Report)

In accordance with Belgian legal requirements, the report lists every guest staying at the hotel. The report is automatically generated at the end of day routine and delivered as a CSV file. Your local protel partner will be happy to assist you in setting up and using the Belgian police report.

Move combined tax amounts to another invoice window

The ConsolidateTaxOnInvoice XSetup causes tax amounts to be combined to similar taxes in the invoice window. This feature was developed specifically for countries where several exclusive tax rates are levied on one price (e.g., US).

Enhancement: Tax amounts that have been combined into one invoice item can now be moved to another invoice folio of the reservation by Drag & Drop.

Resolved issues

If an invoice was settled in advance and the reservation was subsequently extended (e.g., by one night), it could happen that invoice items that had been already posted were re-booked to a new invoice window. This issue has been resolved.

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 versioning

protel Air rings in the New Year with a new version name! From now on, the name of the release version is based on the year and calendar week.

The first release is 20.03; “20” represents the year 2020 and “03” the third calendar week of the year. The release cycle remains unchanged: bi-weekly release of a new version containing new features, enhancements, improvements, and fixes.

Reservations

Additional verification at check-in

Scenario: There is an arrival and a departure on the same day for the same room.

Benefit: Avoid double checked-in rooms.

The following prompt appears when you try to check a reservation into a room whose departure has not yet been checked out in the system. The message contains the reservation number in the window’s header - see the following screenshot.

If you are certain that the room is available, the reservation can be checked in (click OK). Otherwise, the check-in procedure can be aborted (click Cancel).

More information on checking in reservations

Check sequence

At check-in, protel Air checks whether a room has been assigned to the reservation, what the room’s occupancy status is, and whether or not the room has been cleaned. When checking in several reservations, protel Air checks each individual reservation. The following order applies:

1. Each reservation is checked to see if a room has been allotted. If there are reservations which have not been allotted any rooms, the room allotment function opens, enabling you to assign a suitable room to the reservation.

2. The occupancy status is then checked for all (other) rooms. If there are rooms that are still occupied, a message appears for each individual room (see above). The check-in process for the room in question can then either be continued or cancelled.

3. Finally, the room status is checked for each room. A warning message appears if the room has not been cleaned yet - at the user’s discretion the room can be checked in, or the check-in process can be aborted for that room.

Check-in | Room status check: Displaying room number/name

The dialog which appears during check-in when a room is not clean now also includes the room number or room name - see the following screenshot.

Best Western Interface

• At the end of day routine, reservations that have not received a Best Western CRS number, are resent to the Best Western CRS. This ensures that locally created reservations are transmitted to the CRS and avoids possible differences between protel Air and the Best Western CRS.

Resolved issues

• Lists | Invoices: If you want to display invoices that were closed on a specific date, you can select the Closed on filter and set a specific day or period. In the past, invoices that were closed within a different period sometimes also appeared here.

• protel Voyager: In the past, it was possible to use the Voyager App to check into rooms that were not clean. The checking mechanism has been improved so that the app now displays an error message when a room that is not clean is supposed to be checked in.

• Solved PDF creation issue: If a document (e.g. registration form, report, printout of an active list...) includes characters which are invalid for XML, an error message occurred when creating the PDF document. To be able to create the documents nonetheless, such characters are now replaced by a question mark (?).

• Options | Register moves: Room moves are now correctly registered. Example: If a guest moves to another room during his or her stay, items and services are booked to the correct room after registering the move.