For properties with an Owner Rental Program component - approximately 30% of all SMS|Host installations - few things are more important than maintaining a demonstrably equitable balance of usage between rooms of the same type. Their owners expect it as it is usually mandated within the Rental Contract, so properties look to their SMS|Host system to provide the tools enabling them to meet their obligations.
Properties without owners also have a responsibility to minimize concentrations of wear and tear on their inventory by rotating occupancy and the same system tools, used in a slightly different manner, are applicable to them, as well.
The concept is based on the system keeping track of individual unit occupancy, understanding which rooms have received less and then assisting users, in as seamless a fashion as possible, to select an appropriate room number for a reservation. Mathematically, this is not a difficult exercise but, of course, the hospitality business brings a number of other factors into play and they all need to be taken into consideration. Fortunately, SMS|Host is all over this with the industry’s most comprehensive usage/rotation program.
Consider all the factors that go into selection of a room for a guest - the unit type they’ve reserved, the maximum occupancy of a given room, the dates of availability, requested features (e.g. high floor, near elevator, etc.) – all of these need to be satisfied before choosing a unit number. At that point, assuming there is still more than one room that fits, the responsible choice between them would be that which has received the least usage..
Use of the F4 – Autobook function automatically selects the number with the lowest usage value that meets the requirements of the reservation. This should be your default action for the majority of guest bookings. For those with extraordinary needs (e.g. neighboring rooms or close to a specific location) the F9 – Available Unit scan displays all units that meet the submitted requirements of the reservation in usage/rotation order with the lowest value at the top when correctly configured. This notion of rotation should be embedded in your method of room number selection and reinforced by a simple procedural understanding of its importance.
Next time, we’ll dig a little deeper into the options for measuring usage and why some are more effective than others.
