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Room Ready Notification

Setup > Configuration > Housekeeping > Room Ready Notification

This option allows you to send a remote notification (either by Email or SMS Text Phone Message) to a guest when their arriving room (today) is switched to a Vacant/Clean status. It is important to note that a room can change to a Vacant/Clean status in many different areas of the program.

  • Housekeeping (Manual change)
  • Housekeeping (Batch Clean)
  • 3rd Party Interface (Remote Phone/Tablet device)
  • EPI Housekeeping (Dialed clean from the telephone in the room)

Requirements

  • A valid SMTP server setup (MAPI not supported)

Click on the Allow Remote Notification when Room Vacant checkbox to turn on / allow this feature to be used.

If the arriving guest reservation is accessed and the assigned room(s) is dirty, a button will appear next to the room assignments which enables you to assign a Remote Notification. This can be either by Email or by SMS (Short Message Text) to the guest's phone.

warning

Because many recipients pay a fee for each text message they receive, text messages should only be sent to those who explicitly request them.

Notifying the guest when room becomes clean

When the guest arrives and the room(s) assigned to their arriving reservation is not ready, click on the cell phone button if the guest wants to be remotely notified when their room is cleaned. Ask the guest if they prefer Email or Text Message and select the appropriate button. The email address will be populated with the email address on the reservation (if it exists) as well as the phone number.

  • If the guest decides on Email, enter a valid email address and press OK.

  • If the guest decides on Text Message, enter a valid Cell Phone Number and press the Providers button. The provider originally assigned to that phone number will appear in the pull-down. Verify the Provider with the guest to ensure accuracy. If it is not, change to the correct provider in the list. (Google Voice is not a valid provider)

Understanding how SMS/Text Messages work

Why will the provider not always be correct? This can result in a situation where a specific phone number is shown as allocated to one provider, but in actuality that user has switched to a different provider. For example, a user may have originally purchased a phone and service with AT&T and then later switched to Verizon, but decided to keep their phone number. In this case, if Verizon was not specified as the proper provider, the guest will not receive the text message.

Why do you have to specify the provider? SMS/Text messages are sent over a network DIFFERENT than the internet. It costs money to use this network (GSM, 3G, etc.) and when you send one from your phone, you are allocated these with your phone service bill, including all regulations and taxes. You cannot send an SMS Text message directly from a non-phone device without purchasing an SMS Text Message service (contract) in addition to your internet service provider, and must pre-pay for text messages. However, most phone companies in U.S. and Canada allow Gateways to bridge the connection between the Internet (computers) and their customers (cell phones). What roomMaster does is sends an internet short message (SMS_SHORT_MESSAGE) directly to their phone service provider (AT&T, Verizon, etc.) SMS Gateway and once it receives it, it will forward it on directly to their customer's cell phone.

The provider's server imposes a limit on the maximum number of connections that can be established and the maximum number of requests that can be issued per minute. If this is called multiple times over a short period, the system will shut-down and is not designed to accept many requests in the same minute. Otherwise, the provider may see you (your IP Address) as Spam.

What is Required?

It is required that an SMTP Server is setup properly. (Setup > Configuration > System > Internet Settings)

When a room is marked as Vacant/Clean, the system will look to see if Remote Notification is needed for this particular room. If it is, the SMS Text Message or Email is immediately sent. This means that when marking a room as Vacant/Clean, an hour-glass may appear and it may take 5 to 10 extra seconds.

Configuring SMS Text Messages

Allow SMS Test Message should be checked if you are going to allow both Email and SMS Text Message. If you are outside of U.S. and Canada, you should not check this box.

Test Message - Enter a short test message that can be sent if you want to optionally test a message immediately when the guest is giving you the information to be informed. The message should be short (50 characters or less) and can say something such as "We will notify you when your room is ready!"

Guest Message should be 160 characters or less. Not all phones will accept messages larger so your message should be short and sweet! They are expecting it, they asked for it, so there is no need to be elaborate. You can use the variable ROOM and the text message will convert it to the actual room number. If you are going to only use EMAIL - then your message can be longer, up to 512 characters.

NOTE: The same message is used for both Email and Text!

Examples:

  • Your Room Is Ready - Come to the Front Desk!
  • Room ROOM is now Ready! Call us at 813-555-1212

Note: Some service providers may prevent messages from being sent through their gateway to a user that does not have unlimited text messaging as part of their service agreement.