Common mistakes to avoid while selecting a central reservation software

What is the first thing that you are asked when you enter a hotel and approach the front desk?.  Most of the time it is “What is your reservation number? or “Have you made a reservation?”.  Think about that word for a minute, the word “reservation”.  To the guests, it’s just a random number or a must-do activity before going to any hotel especially the good ones.  Not that much of a big deal when you think about it.

When you think about it from a hotel management perspective it is a very big deal and a monumental task, which can be troublesome if not performed well by the staff and management.  Luckily we live in an age where technology can solve most of the problems that occur in any industry, which of course is not limited to the hospitality industry.  That being said most softwares that helps with the reservation process and create good relationship between the customer and the management in a long term process.  In the year of 2016, there isn’t one software to choose from but an array of choices in the industry.

As good as these softwares are it is difficult for hotel management to chose a software from thin air.  All softwares promise excellent service and fantastic output but very few can provide it, so here are some mistakes to avoid while selecting a central reservation software.

1.    User Friendly
This is perhaps one of the most important aspects of a central reservation software and it hold very important in todays world of online transactions and booking.  The software should be user friendly to both the guests and hotel management.  The last thing that the management would want is a bunch of angry hotel guests showing up at the front desk arguing and the management not being able to explain what the issue is or how to address it.

A central reservation software should be easy to use from the hotel management perspective.  This is why many softwares have fizzled out because it was too complicated. A complicated software makes things very difficult for the hotel staff which might even create loss for the business because of an unhappy guest.

2.    Multi-Tasking and Distribution
Being in hotel management is a tough job because you don’t have to please just the guests, you have to please the travel agents as well as every body contributing to the success of running the hotel and you can’t just perform one task and say everything is taken care of.  The hospitality industry works on the principle of multi-tasking,  which is the only way that a hotel can reap profits.

The same goes for the hotel when using a central reservation software.  It is important not to get a software that can only perform one task.  A central reservation software needs to be able to multi-task, and at a speed that is able to handle the bulk of the hotels activities.  It should have the capability to distribute inventory and rates to Booking Engine, all the OTA's and CRS. The software will need to show how many rooms available, how many are booked in different channels.  It needs to show the discount rates for every agents and how many guests have booked on a particular  day.  All this needs to be done and it needs to function in a smooth way over a long period of time.  If it doesn’t there are about to be a lot of unhappy guests.

3.    Payment Collections
One of the most annoying things that online guests face is the payment page that has limited options of payment and takes you to a page which doesn’t recognize your card.  Nothing annoys a potential guest more than this because they just want to pay the amount and be done with it.  Do watch out for different payment options in the CRS and booking engine.
Other options should also be included as advance payments and certain flexibilities to be levied when paying huge amounts, a method to automatically followup on the payments to the guests and to suppliers.

CRS Technologies wins ‘Innovative Product’ award at TTF

The Travel and Tourism Fair (TTF) was held between 12th to 14th February at Thyagaraj Sports Complex in New Delhi.This time the theme was ‘Sustainability and Responsible Tourism’ and it featured over 205 exhibitions from 25 states and 13 countries displaying tourist destinations and latest trends in the sector.

CRS Technologies won the coveted ‘Award for Excellence for Innovative Product’ for its game changing product ‘WebCRS Travel', a software designed to help travel agents/tour operators automate their back office operations. This win comes after CRS Technologies won the Travelport Hackathon award in Bangalore last year.

The award serves as a testament to the hard work and dedication CRS Technologies continues to put in to promote the travel and hospitality industry and provide affordable quality technology solutions to all players in the industry.This achievement would not have been possible without the support and goodwill of clients across the globe who contributed to making our products better through constant feedback and appreciation.

CRS Technologies (webcrs.com) has changed the travel space by creating an application suite for the travel industry that enables travel/tour operators to respond to enquiries faster, keeping in mind the professional angle for every quotation. WebCRS Travel helps staff to be efficient and productive by easily managing supplier data and producing image rich publishing documents. For more details visit www.webcrstravel.com or www.webcrs.com

CRS Technologies exhibits at SATTE 2016 in New Delhi

CRS Technologies is delighted to welcome you to SATTE on 29th to 31st January 2016 at Pragati Maidan where we will be presenting our latest innovations in Travel and Hospitality.

Our quality products for the industry are set to wow travel companies and hospitality businesses alike. We will be displaying our new products and new features of our updated products.

Our application suite is designed to make the life of travel agents and hospitality businesses easier and efficient. Traditional travel companies will finally be able to leverage the power of technology, provided by CRS Technologies, and the power of personal relationships with their guests to compete with online travel portals and give them a run for their money. On show are our products for the travel industry like WebCRS Travel, Agent Unilogin etc.

Meanwhile hospitality providers will be able to use the software we created to connect with travel companies all over the world and sell their properties to a wider market and for better profits. Our hospitality products like Hotel Unilogin, Channel Manager etc. are sure to grab your attention.

SATTE is supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Incredible India, & UNWTO which has hailed it as the biggest travel event and leading networking forum in the region.

We can’t wait to meet you and show you our innovative products @ HALL 9 , Booth - A39B.

Did your travel company make enough profits during 2015?

It’s the new year and maybe you are reminiscing the business your travel company got during the holidays. But what you probably don’t know is just how much more easier and profitable things would have been with WebCRS Travel software.

Ask yourselves this. Last holiday season, did you:

Have difficulty putting together an itinerary for your guests?

Have trouble with costing?

Lose valuable time connecting with various suppliers?

Get tired of keeping track of all those phone calls and emails?

Think you could have made more conversions for your enquiries?

If you answered yes to any or all of these, then what you need is WebCRS Travel.

You still can make a handsome profit next holiday season onwards by signing up now to WebCRS Travel. WebCRS Travel is a web based tour operator software that maximizes productivity for travel companies. It is a total ERP solution that handles many processes that traditional travel companies find difficult like costing, quotations, itinerary creation, enquiry management,accounting,sales reports etc. with ease and efficiency. This online tour operator module is user-friendly and has an intuitive design. It functions as a trip itinerary planner as well as a tour operator reservation system. Once you sign up for the WebCRS tour operator software, you can get connected with hundreds of hotels all over the world and get special promotions from them, giving you an edge over your competition.

WebCRS Travel is the answer to the competition offline companies face today. This tour booking software bridges the technology gap a travel company faces with hospitality providers allowing for easier exchange of information and give online travel portals a run for their money. Even better, now you have the advantage of technology that only online travel portals used to enjoy plus the added benefit of one-to-one relationship you have with your customers. This makes for a powerful combination that your competitors will find very difficult to match.

WebCRS Travel is by far the best tour management software available in the market. Say goodbye to confusing excel sheets and tedious work. Start working smartly with WebCRS Travel!

To sign up or know more about WebCRS Travel, click here.

An evening filled with festivities - Christmas 2015 at CRS

CRS Technologies celebrated 2015 Christmas with great pomp and grandeur. It was a festive atmosphere in the office, filled with joy and excitement throughout the day. The fun and celebrations began in the morning with decorations and rehearsals of shows by the respective groups. The office was abuzz with preparations for the program and everyone was in a cheerful holiday spirit.

The Christmas program officially started at 2 in the afternoon. It was kicked off with Santa Claus, accompanied by the carol group singing Jingle Bells. Next was a group photo of the entire CRS Technologies team. It was difficult to get the entire team in one frame, but it was finally somehow managed.

This was followed by a gifting ceremony to Christmas friends whom everyone had pre-picked from a lot earlier in the week. Gifts and smiles of all shapes and sizes were exchanged.

The program moved on with some amazing song and dance performances by the team. The highlight of the evening was a comedy skit, complete with a Maharaja and his royally comedic court proceedings.

As planned, we started our BBQ event at around 5PM, starting with scrumptious charcoal flame grilled veggies for the vegetarian staff and ending with a delicious chicken BBQ. The event was complemented by a lively Antakshari competition.

The celebrations went on into the night with more food, music and festivities and it was clear everyone had a great time. 

OHRS -Online Booking Engine enables your guests to book rooms instantly through website .

CRS Technologies releases app to help Chennai flood victims

  

As part of our continuing CSR initiatives, CRS Technologies (Web CRS)has created a crowd sourcing web platform as well as Android app called ReachOut2Help to aid the Chennai flood victims. This online service enables those affected by the flood connect with people offering help. It has already gained popularity online, with celebrities and IT professionals spreading the word.

ReachOut2Help is a map based service that shows exactly what kind of help is available at a particular location. Anyone can lend a helping hand by posting what they can offer to those in need. In addition, those in distress can request specific help too. It also contains emergency numbers and is proving to be a great boon for volunteer efforts. Those who want to volunteer online or on field can sign up easily to meet the needs of those in distress.As an online volunteer, you can assist in coordinating the relief efforts and simplify the work and save time and resources of volunteers/aid workers on the field.

The service caters to relief operations in Chennai,Pondicherry and                                                  Cuddalore locations.

Already, an outpouring of support in the form of relief materials, accommodation and services can be seen offered through the app. WebCRS hopes that this app will help alleviate the situation and help better coordinate the relief efforts.It also ensures that efficient distribution is happening where it's needed the most as well as to avoid duplicity and wastage of resources offered. 

The links for the service are shown below:

Web App: http://webcrs.com/reachout2help/

Android App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.webcrs.reachouttohelp