Attention! The protel Air upgrade in Summer 2020 brought about changes to the user interface and also to many functions. You can find the updated instructions for them in the new protel Air Online Help. Please note: The migration process is still ongoing. Therefore you may still be able to use some functions as described in this Online Help. For this reason, we will not delete this Online Help yet. If you have any questions, please contact your support!
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protel Air profiles: The clearly structured tabs allow easy and fast access to address and contact data and provide the reservation and invoice history of each guest. Also included is the display of all generated revenues up to date (Sales Report). Individual notes and keywords (e.g., VIP codes) facilitate personal and individual guest service.
In order to be able to better categorize your various contacts, protel Air divides all of your profiles into certain groups, each displays a certain "contact type".
Icon |
Description |
Private |
Individual guests / private individuals, who book rooms - for the most part to their own private accounts. |
Company |
Companies / entrepreneurs who book rooms for their employees. |
Travel agency |
Travel businesses and travel agencies by which the room is booked. |
Group |
Private travel groups or groups of employees, i.e., groups which most often have shared arrival and departure dates and similar booking details. |
Source |
Reservation offices, which are neither companies nor travel agencies, e.g., central reservation systems. |
The guest search is the first step for every action. It helps you to find already existing guests and also helps you to create new guest profiles.
By means of the quick access bar in the upper left, you can search for an explicit guest profile tab. Just enter the name of the tab and protel will display appropriate results:
[Guest profile > Overview]
The overview tab shows all of the general guest information such as salutation, address, nationality, etc.
The guest's first and last names will be entered.
The entries on the profiles for companies, travel agencies, and sources are a bit differently structured. This is where additional information such as company name, company owner, or the name of an employee from a certain department can be saved as the contact person. Such contact persons can be employees from reception or bookkeeping who make reservations for the company. They also receive invoices which are then paid for via bank transfers.
Entry fields marked with * are mandatory fields.
Profile information |
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Set a check mark in order to edit the profile type which had been selected when creating the guest profile. |
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Name* |
Only for company, travel agency, source, and group profiles. Name of the travel agency's company/group/source. |
Department |
Only for company, travel agency, source, and group profiles. Providing the contact person's department. |
Last name* / First name / Middle name |
The guest's last and first names (and middle name) or when dealing with companies, the name of the owner or contact person. |
Gender |
By default, this field is preset with "n/a" for the guest's gender and can be set for each guest individually. Providing information about gender will be especially required for interfaces such as Customer Alliance or municipal registration interfaces. |
Salutation* |
This is where you select the salutation which has been saved to the system data. If another language, such as German, is selected in the drop-down list below, the German salutation Herr or Frau appears. NOTE: You can also use academic titles for the salutation (e.g., "Dear Dr..."). |
Pers. Salutation |
The personal salutation is automatically filled in when you have made a selection in the "Salutation" field. It comes into use when printing correspondence and can be overwritten, if desired. This information is also helpful when greeting a person on the telephone. |
Guest's language: important for the language used in invoices and documents. NOTE: When the respective template has been saved in the respective language, the booking confirmation will automatically be printed in the guest's language. Create a text template in every language used and save it in the system data under "text templates". |
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Citizenship The nationality can differ from the place of residence (country). |
Additional information |
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Company |
You can link private guest profiles with a company. The company name entered is only for informational purposes and is not a company reservation. With just a simple click of the mouse on a company, you can directly access the linked company profile! |
Occupation |
Governments in some countries require the recording of the guest's occupation. |
Enter the guest's birthday here. The date entered will be double-checked to avoid mistakes. |
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Country of birth |
If necessary, this is where you keep the guest’s country of birth. To make the search easier, you can also resort to using country favorites. To add countries to the “Favorites” list, select the respective ones in the system data under “Guest profile > Countries.” Enter the first letters of a country into the list and protel Air will skip to the respective country. In order to be able to access countries which are used less in the country selection, click on the “All” option in the dialog box. |
Place of birth |
If necessary, this is where you keep the guest’s country and city of birth. |
License plate |
When the guest arrives with their own vehicle, you can save their license plate number, if you want to. |
Passport number |
This is where you save the personal ID/passport number. |
If you want a certain rate code to be pre-selected for a guest when creating a new reservation, you can set the desired rate code here. If this rate code has expired or does not have a valid calculation, the selection will be respectively marked as expired. |
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Mark as deleted |
Used to delete profiles which then are hidden from the profile search by default. They are only displayed if profiles which have been "Mark as deleted" are explicitly shown. |
Addresses |
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Click the [Add] button to save a new address or to add new ones. |
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Type |
Display the address type in the selection field (private or business address, post office box). |
Addr. add-on |
Here you can further specify the addressee. Two common address add-ons are, for example, "c/o" (care of) followed by recipient's name or "to the attention of" followed by recipient's name which ensure that your mail gets to the hands of the right person, people, or team. |
Street, No. |
Enter the house number and street name here. Only enter the number of the post office box. |
Free-text fields |
The free-text fields enable you to enter additional address information such as Apartment, suite, unit, building, floor, etc. |
Country |
Select your guest's country of residence. The country entered here will be used for compiling monthly nationality report. Hint:
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Postal code / Zip code entry without providing the country code. When you record a postal code, protel Air will automatically complete the fill-in by providing you with a city after you have finished entering the postal code. NOTE: The country will need to be selected. When the first few digits of the postal code have been entered, a list will appear with the respective cities. After you have selected the city, you can edit the information, for example, by adding additional city districts. |
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City |
City used in the address When entering a city, protel Air tries to automatically fill in the postal code. protel Air has access to an online postal code directory which has comprehensive data for the following countries:
The relevant postal code directory is active as soon as the respective country has been selected. After having entered only the first few letters of a city, the list will show you a respective string of characters. Select the appropriate city from the selection list. |
Regional Statistics |
providing the regional statistics is only required if, for example, you are required to mark your guests with special country codes. The selectable country codes are saved to the system data under "Guest profile > Countries". NOTE: For statistical analysis of the country codes, access reporting. Select the "regional statistics" report. |
The mailing address is used for general correspondence. All additional address are saved for informational purposes. The first address entered is marked as the postal address by default. The address can be edited by removing the checkmark from the address and adding it to the other address. |
By clicking on the [Add] button, you can enter as much contact information as you like. Email address, phone no., etc. Should you want to send your booking confirmations in the form of an email, it is important to save the guest's/booker's email address here. Select a type and then enter the appropriate data (e.g., email address). Mark the preferred contact data as "primary" (for example primary telephone contact, primary email address, etc.) |
[Guest profile > Traces]
This is where all of the trace entries made for a guest will be displayed for information purposes. If the Auto Trace check box has ben activated while creating the trace, the trace will be automatically set for the guest’s next reservation. This will be displayed as an “X” in the “Auto Trace” column.
The status of a trace can be directly seen in the Status column.
By double clicking a trace entry, you will be forwarded to the traces window.
Change status
By clicking the [Change Status], you can change the status from open traces to finished and vice-versa.
Related Topics:
Reservation dialog box: Create and edit traces
Lists > Traces: List for displaying and managing traces
[Guest profile > Reservations]
This is where all of the reservations which the guest has made so far are listed; future reservations will also be added to this list (reservation history). The list contains all of the reservations which have been created or linked to the profile (see here: Reservation summary > linked profiles). Use the context menu or a double-click to open a reservation.
Upon request, reservations originating from an older system (hotelsoftware used before protel Air), can be displayed separately. In this case, you will have two different list types available for the display:
The ''Reservations'' list type shows reservations which have been created in protel Air.
The ''History'' list displays reservations which have been imported from an old system.
The list type must be activated by a special system setting (contact: cloudsupport@protel.net).
[Guest profile > Reservations > From / To]
Field |
Description |
From / To |
Filter the display by entering a time-period. The system shows all of the reservations made within the given time period. |
[Guest profile > Reservations > Status]
You can choose between the following status options:
Field |
Description |
Include cancellations |
Even cancelled reservations are displayed. |
Guest |
The accessed guest profile is a guest (bookers can also be other individuals or companies). |
Booker |
The accessed guest profile is a booker. |
Linked Profile |
Displays reservations, where the guest profile had been linked as an additional profile (more information can be found here). Reservations linked to profiles will be displayed in a separate column (‘Linked profile 1-5’) and can be arbitrarily shown or hidden (see following section on: "Hide and display columns"). |
[Guest profile > Reservations]
Display additional information such as targeted revenues in a separate display. To do this, show the desired revenues column (food/minibar/drinks/extras...) and the respective amount will be displayed in the table.
Find out more about how to display and hide columns here.
[Guest profile > Reservations]
The number of nights for the time selected in the "From / To" filter is displayed in the dialog below.
Example:
[Guest profile > "Reservations" tab]
In the guest profile's reservation tab, reservations can be created for the guest profile with a simple click of the mouse.
Access the guest profile and click on reservations located to the left.
Click on [New Reservation] to create a new reservation for the accessed guest profile.
The new reservation is generated for a night's stay for the current date by default.
Room type, rooms, as well as arrival and departure date can be adjusted in the reservation dialog box's room tab.
Provide your private guests and companies with a personal WBE code together with their own login data for making online bookings by means of your website (WBE). Having their own access will save your guests the effort of having to re-enter their data for each booking they make. Additionally, already logged in users can view a list of their current bookings and cancel them, should the need arise. Additional advantage: The login enables companies to book their contract rates and regular guest to book their special prices when logging in on the hotel’s website. Of course, the respective rate can be closed and the guest or the agent can book regular rates.
Example of a guest login (please click)
By means of the "Guest login" link, the user can log into the WBE by means of the hotel's website:
For the user name, we enter the email address which has been saved as the primary email address in the protel Air contact information.
The user determines their password during their first login.
To be able to use the “WBE login” some special system settings are necessary. Ask your protel Air partner or contact the Cloud Support Team for more information! |
Attention!
The [Create WBE login as ...] button will be displayed when the accessed guest profile does not have a WBE login.
For private guest profiles, you can create a login as User:
For all other profile types (company, travel agencies, etc.), you can alternately create access as an agent:
We will explain the difference between Users and Agents further down in the section on "Agent or User Login?"
The [Reset WBE login] button will be shown when the accessed guest profile already has a WBE login.
There must be an active email address in the contact information provided in the guest profile. When adding a new email address, close the guest profile and reopen it so that the [Create WBE login as ... ] button appears.
For company, travel agency, source, and group profiles, you can alternatively create an Agent login to the User login.
Unlike “normal” user logins, agents can also make reservations for third parties. This enables companies, for example, to carry out online bookings for their employees and travel agencies to do the same for their clients. An additional advantage is that logged in agents have access to all guest profiles for which you have executed bookings.
Should a special rate have been saved for a guest profile (Guest profile > Overview > Special rates), the special rate will always be automatically proposed, as long as it is available.
Display
The display next to the [Reset WBE login] button will indicate what type of WBE login you are dealing with (Guest or Agent):
Click the [Create WBE login as ...] to create a new WBE login for the guest profile.
Access is created immediately after the button has been clicked on. An email is sent to enable the guest to activate the login. The email contains a short welcoming letter as well as a link which the guest can use to assign an exclusive password for their user account.
In the next window, you determine the details for the welcoming letter.
URL to set password
By means of the displayed URL; the guest can assign a password fo their (new) WBE login. For already existing ones, the old password will be overwritten by a new one. The guest can login to the hotel’s WBE with the email address saved in protel Air, and with the entered password.
[Copy] button
Copies the URL needed for password entry to the clipboard: This option is recommended when wanting to use the URL outside of protel Air, for example when wanting to send the email with your own Mail Client.
Mail recipient
This is where the email address for the guest profile appears by default. When needed, another email address can be entered for sending the email - however the WBE login will always use the email address provided in the guest profile!
Indiv. email body [x]
If you do not want to use the default text from the system data, (System data > Documents > Text templates > Settings > PMS-WBE Login ), select the checkbox here and edit the displayed default text anyway you like. While doing so, please do not edit or change the link in the text!
ATTENTION: The individual email text does not support hyperlinks, which means that you cannot embed images via a link. Links which are embedded in the default text might also not function properly! |
[Send email] button
When clicking this button, protel Air sends an email to the email address provided above, requesting the recipient to enter a password for their (new) user account. The email contains the link by which a new password can be assigned and the saved default text which is configured in protel Air's system data: System data > Documents > Templates > Settings > PMS-WBE login.
For existing logins, click on the "WBE login (reset) button if you want to send an email to the guest about password changes. The guest then receives an email with a link for assigning a new password for their access.
In the next window, you determine the details for the email - like section above: Create WBE login-login.
The commissions tab is only available for travel agent and company 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.
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.
Related Topics:
System data > POS > Commission: How to Setup Commission Codes
[Guest profile > invoices > Invoice list]
In this dialog box, all of the invoices which have been created with this guest profile as the recipient are displayed.
Invoices marked with a green point are still open; those marked with a red dot have already been closed.
Open an invoice by double-clicking, on the context menu or by clicking the [Open invoice] button.
There is even the possibility for displaying invoices to which charges for this guest has been posted where the invoice recipient is another guest. Should you have any questions, please contact your protel partner or protel Support.
[guest profile > invoices > Receivables]
In the Receivables section you can make settings for transmitting to a possibly connected financial accounting system as well as Reminders.
Field |
Description |
Debtor account: |
If the guest profile belongs to a client with a debtor account, the allotted account will be entered here. The account can be edited here, as need arises. |
VAT ID |
This is where the value added tax ID is managed (entry / editing, etc.) - only if available. |
Tax 2 |
This is
where you can save an additional tax number - if available. |
Reminder code |
Each guest can be allocated an exclusive reminder code for payment reminders. During invoicing, the payment code is taken into consideration and displayed in the debtor management. By allotting this code as "not to be reminded", the guest profile will be blocked out for payment reminders. NOTE: If a reminder code has not been saved here, the default reminder code applies (go to: System data> Guest profile > Reminder codes). |
Extras / IATA code |
Only for travel agencies - IATA number entry. IATA = International Air Transport Association. A travel agency with an IATA agency sells air tickets at original prices and renders service charges. Each travel agency with an IATA agency has an IATA number which you can enter here. |
In the credit limit area, you can make settings for the Accounts Receivable (AR) credit limit. By means of the AR credit limit, you can allow payments to a guest profile up to a certain amount. Once the AR credit limit has been used up, the guest can, for example, be asked to pay in cash or card.
Field |
Description |
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AR Credit Limit |
This is where you enter the AR Credit Limit, you want to grant to the guest for their receivables payments. The AR Credit Limit is the credit line to which the debtor is allowed to accumulate receivables. |
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Current Balance: |
This value provides information about how much of the credit limit the debtor has used up. |
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Guest Ledger Pre-Auth |
The Guest Ledger Pre-Auth limit is a credit line a debtor is allowed to accumulate during his stay. Amounts granted to the amount stated here can be settled with a debit balance method of payment (e.g., invoice). |
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Current Balance: |
This value provides information about how much of the Guest Ledger Pre-Auth the debtor has already use. |
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Credit authorizer |
This is where the name of the user who has saved the Guest Ledger Pre-Auth. |
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Date and time |
The date and time of the changes made last is entered here. |
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AR Posting |
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Select this checkbox to allow the guest / guest profile to make accounts receivable postings. |
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By removing the checkmark, you disable the guest the right to pay with an accounts receivable method of payment. |
The settings regarding the AR Credit limit in the guest profile are part of the feature for entering and checking AR credit limits which is currently available in the basic version. The basic version is initially limited to the creation of accounts receivable credit limits in the guest profile and its display and management in the credit limit forecast. Additional functions such as the automatic management of accounts receivable credit limits are being developed. |
Related Topics:
Active lists > Credit Limit Forecast
Information about how to configure (methods of payment with a debit balance
[Guest profile > Extended]
Guest profile > Extended > Preferences/Notes]
Field |
Description |
Notes |
This is where you can leave notifications for the restaurant or general comments about a guest. Should the guest decided to reserve a room again in the hotel, the information saved here can be accessed by all of the colleagues who will later access this profile. Eventual guest preferences can be as follows: daily newspaper, shuttle service on day of departure, babysitter, etc. |
Room facilities |
You can now enter room amenities preferred by the guest which will be taken into account when making a reservation. - All wishes come true! The respective room features are generated in the system data where they can be individually allocated for each room. NOTE: In the room allocation, you can explicitly search for available rooms which have special features and allocate them respectively, see section: Reservation > Room allocation > Display free rooms with specific features. |
Preferred room |
If applicable, enter the guest's preferred room here (popular function with regular guests). |
[Guest profile > Extended > Marketing]
Allot certain VIP or marketing codes to a guest:
Field |
Description |
VIP codes
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VIP codes can be useful to assign guests to certain customer groups with specific privileges. VIP codes can also be used for evaluations and for creating mail merges. Create these codes in your system data under “Guest profile,” in the tab “Codes.” |
Marketing codes |
With the aid of marketing codes, you can for example enter what the origin of the guest address is (advertisement, brochure enquiry, golfer, etc.). Marketing codes can be used as filters "guest profile > data export / mailings" (i.e., "Create a list of all of the guests who have a marketing code x"). |
Guest profile > Extended > Documents]
Serves to record travel document information (e. g. passport, visas, etc.). Click on [Add] to add a new document for the guest.
Field |
Description |
Type |
This is where you select the document type. The document type you have available in your system is determined in protel Air's system data (Guest profile > Codes > Document types). |
Number |
Enter the number of the document (e.g., passport number, etc.) |
Expiry date |
Enter the expiry date (good thru). The date is noted on the respective document. |
Date of issue |
Enter the date of issue here (when was the document created?). The date is noted on the respective document. |
Select the country where the document was issued. Enter the first letters of a country into the list and protel Air will skip to the respective country. In order to be able to access countries which are used less in the country selection, click on the “All” option in the dialog box. |
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Place of issue |
This is where the authorities' place of issue can be entered. |
[Guest profile > Extended > Membership cards]
Here you can save a membership card for your guest, for example if a guest is a member of a special hotel loyalty program.
Click on [Add] to add a new card.
In the Name field, select the card which you would like to allot.
Fill in the remaining fields and confirm with [OK]
Related Topics:
Compiling Membership Cards: System data > Profiles > Codes >Membership Cards
Configuring Membership Cards: System data > User defined fields > Membership cards
[Guest profile > Text history]
The text history in the guest profile serves to manage the correspondence being done via this guest profile. All reservation texts, written correspondence, mail merges, etc., are listed according to date created, name of author, formula names, and storage location.
Double-click the application to open it.
Guest profile > “Text History” tab > [New Document]] button.
Click the [New document] button to create a personalized guest correspondence (e.g., invitations, birthday cards, side letters or brochures, etc.). Contrary to reservation texts, invoices, and registration forms, guest letters do not have direct reference to a reservation.
The Print Tasks window opens:
Field |
Description |
Language |
The guest’s language is preselected by default. Should the written correspondence you are trying to create not be available in the respective language, you can select a different language here (e.g., German). |
Template |
Select the desired template for the written correspondence. NOTE Individual templates for guest letters can be saved to the system data (Options > System Data > Text templates > Guest letters). Should the selection field remain empty, it is possible that you may not have any texts in the preselected language saved in the system data. |
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Determine the file format and the type of transmission for your written correspondence: Print as PDF: Creates a guest letter in PDF format. Save as an Open Office file (.odt): Creates the guest letter in odt format. Email preview (PDF):Sends an e-mail with the guest letter (PDF) attached to the e-mail address of the selected recipient (see below). The email address has to be saved to the contact data of the respective guest profile! Send as email: Creates a PDF as a preview. Select this option when wanting to check the contents of the PDF, before sending it as an email attachment (see “email transmission”). NOTE The standard email text can be entered into the system data at: Text templates > Settings > Default settings > Hotel management (guest letters). |
Recipient
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Determine the recipient of your written correspondence: a) This guest - transmits the guest letter to the currently selected guest profile. b) Search guest profile - any other guest profile can be selected to be the recipient. c) Email address: When necessary, an email address can be manually entered for the email transmission |
Additional text |
Select the additional free texts check box, if a more personal text is to be additionally printed with the written correspondence. The desired text can than be written into the additional free text field. NOTE In order to insure that the additional free text is going to appear in the written correspondence, the following replacement code ${freetext} will have to be added to the respective text template! |
User Defined Fields (UDFs) are very helpful for saving additional contents and can be individually created and designed exclusively by each hotel. Example: Save additional information for a guest, e.g., information about allergies or a pet.
User defined fields are only available when they have been created in system data (go to system data > User defined fields). If there have not been any user defined fields created for your system, this window remains empty. |
For example, should a picklist have been defined for a user defined field, you can allocate one or more element from this list to the guest.
User defined fields can also be used in and exported to text documents.
Replacement code for fields from the guest profile: ${guest.udf.Anzeigename}
Replacement code for fields from the booking: ${guest.udf.Anzeigename}
Example: Assuming, you have generated the "Pet info" user defined field for the guest profile. The respective replacement code would be: ${guest.udf.Pet-info}
You can create a report which shows you all of the revenues generated by the respective guest. After the total revenues, a summary of the monthly revenues per product group is displayed.