In early 2023, InnQuest sent out an email to all users of its hotel property management system (PMS) roomMaster 2000 to notify them that the on premise version of the software would stop working at the end of 2024. All hotel clients would have to migrate to roomMaster Cloud or roomMaster Anywhere. One of my hotel clients changed over to roomMaster Cloud recently. There has been several issues with the process from start to finish. Below are some things to be aware of during the transition to help hotels make an informed decision.

What is roomMaster Cloud?

Let’s start at the beginning with a quick overview of what is happening.

roomMaster 2000 is an on premise hotel PMS that is ideal for medium-sized properties up to 100-150 rooms. That means that the hotels have a main computer acting as the server for roomMaster with a central database, and then additional workstations that would access that server over the local network. This allows for multiple users to be accessing the hotel database (i.e. two front desk computers and an office administrator/General Manager) but also allows housekeepers to update the status of rooms being cleaned by dialling from the in-room phone. There were many benefits to having on premise server, but the main one was the ability for the hotel to still function during a power outage as long as the computers were connected to a UPS power backup. The main downside is anyone away from the hotel did not have access without using remote desktop software to connect to the server.

That setup is familiar to anyone who worked in hotels in the late 1990s and were using Opera, Maestro, or a lot of other hotel PMS systems around the world.

roomMaster Cloud takes the server away from the hotel and makes it accessible remotely through the internet using a web browser. This is how most modern hotel PMS systems are now, in addition to the internet in general. Not only does that allow hotels to have as many users as they want connected to the hotel PMS, it allows for InnQuest to upgrade the software more easily. With the on premise version, a support tech would have to set a scheduled time to log into the hotel server and perform the software upgrade manually. With the Cloud, the support team can upgrade more easily at night automatically.

The downsides to using a cloud-based PMS are generally going to be that the system is slower (dependent on your internet connection speed) and the system will be unaccessible if the internet or power goes out completely. In a larger city, this is less of a concern, but in more remote locations, it is something to be aware of.

With the on premise version ending, hotels will have to decide whether to buy a different on premise system (Maestro and Opera being two options) or go through with the conversion to Cloud. The primary reason to go to Cloud is the hotel database will be fully intact – reservations, rates, direct billing accounts, guest profiles, etc. With a new system, there may be a lot of manual entries unless they can import the roomMaster database (which is unlikely). Manually entering the reservations would be a major chore, but doable. The biggest loss if going to a different PMS, in my opinion, is all the guest information and company history disappearing.

Differences

There are very minor differences with Cloud versus roomMaster 17 (latest on premise version). The first difference is accessing the software. At front desk workstations or other computers at the property, there will be a launcher on the desktop. This will open up roomMaster Cloud automatically through the default web browser. Nothing too different there besides the web browser.

With people not at the hotel and want to connect remotely, they will have to first access a different website, sign-in, and then it will redirect them to roomMaster Cloud where you have to sign in again. It behaves differently than expected, and a bit clumsy compared to all the other interfaces we have come to be comfortable with on the web. What appears to happen is a person accesses the first website, enters their credentials, and the system pulls up the correct location of the Cloud server to have you remotely access that computer. There is a Windows log-in screen, but you don’t have access to anything else on that server except for roomMaster (which is understandable).

After you sign-in, the look of roomMaster Cloud is going to be almost identical. There are some minor differences to the look and how things function, but instead of writing them out, it will be best to watch some of the short videos InnQuest prepared. There are 9 videos, roughly 30 mins in length in total, which covers all the differences. I compiled them into a playlist to make it easier for people to watch.

Besides the differences in the software, another difference will be the requirement of a separate keypad to be used to record credit card numbers. A regular keyboard won’t work when entering the credit cards on roomMaster. There are two keypads included with the installation, and it is critical that they be on site before migrating to the Cloud. Be sure to follow-up about the keypads being sent and ask for a tracking number.

The final annoyance has been with file exports. Sending the PDFs by email worked well for guest folios and company statements. In order to save the PDF or CSV files to a computer, a user will have to go through OwnCloud, which is a private OneDrive/Dropbox for companies. From roomMaster Cloud, the file will be exported to OwnCloud, and then 5-20 minutes later, the file is available to transfer from a folder on your personal computer. The delay is a major nuisance and there is no workaround right now. InnQuest support did tell me that they are working on integrating a new solution, but there is no timeline for that to occur.

Next Steps

Assuming you have taken the time to research the options, watched a demo of Cloud, and have decided to go through with the migration to Cloud, the next step is receiving the quote. This process is relatively straight forward (number of rooms, any interfaces required like call recording or connecting to a channel manager like SiteMinder).

The primary thing to be aware of is the contract that is sent out is not the full contract. There is a brief mention of their master services agreement which is linked to but the language is not included in the document you sign. The other thing of note is it was a bit slow communicating with the InnQuest representative. It took a few weeks from the initial email stating we wanted to proceed to a contract being sent to us.

There was also no clear guideline of what was to happen after the contract was signed. The assumption was the next steps would be communicated promptly after the contract was signed. There was no contact for three weeks with anyone. I think part of that was a closure for the Christmas holidays, but I expected something, not radio silence.

When you are contacted by an onboarding agent, there are three appointments:

1. First onboarding call to remotely access roomMaster and review the configuration
2. Tokenization of the credit cards currently in the system
3. Migrating the database to the Cloud and switching the hotel on

The first call is to answer any additional questions you may have about the migration. They also test the internet connection to make sure it meets their requirements of 30 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload speeds. During this call, it will be important to try to nail down a schedule of when things are going to happen so you can plan. Be sure to provide the information for all the people who are going to remotely log-in (names and email addresses) so their accounts can be setup in advance.

The tokenization of the credit cards is securing the information so it can be transferred to the cloud from one database to another. It does require no one using roomMaster for 10-15 minutes while the process starts, but otherwise roomMaster remains functional. The only limitation during this process is credit cards can’t be authorized or charged. You may also have to restart the server after it’s done. When the tech was completed, the hotel wasn’t informed and received error messages from the server.

The migration of the database is the most important day in the whole process. During this time, roomMaster will not be able to be used. It’s the biggest inconvenience with switching a PMS to a different one. In the case of this hotel, it required some important preparations. I put the list into a Google Doc for everyone to review and modify for their unique situations. Depending on the size of your roomMaster database, there may be some information that won’t be accessible afterwards. This is dependent on the technician eliminating some older information that won’t affect future reservations. It will be best to clarify with the technician what is going to be accessible and what won’t be after the migration.

When Going Live

After the conversion is complete, the front desk agents will be able to sign into roomMaster Cloud using their old credentials. Before ending the call with the technician, there are a few things to be mindful of:

• verify that an account with Admin level authorizations can log in, in case passwords need to be reset for anyone working that night
• verify that remote access is working
• verify that the keypads for credit card numbers is working
• verify that credit card authorizations are working (create a test reservation and run a personal card for $5)
• verify that all the extras connected to roomMaster are working (key card machines, POS, call accounting, channel managers, etc)

This should all be checked by the technician on the call, but wasn’t in my case, which lead to several follow-up calls in the next few days. Dealing with it all at once will be much better for everyone.

The only other thing to add about this whole process is the support office for InnQuest can be terribly slow. For nearly 15 years, I have been working with the InnQuest Canada support office which has been fantastic. It was a bit of a wake-up call dealing with the US office now through all this. Looking at some of the reviews for InnQuest, I don’t seem to be alone.

Other than the process to changeover to roomMaster Cloud, the hotel using it hasn’t had any challenges. All the reservation data transferred over seamlessly, city ledger accounts were accurate, and guest history was all there. It still remains a solid choice for medium-sized properties. A smaller operation or a simpler structure like a motel will like be better off with Little Hotelier or other cloud-based PMS.

If you have any other questions or concerns about this process, and whether roomMaster Cloud is right for your property, feel free to contact me. I will answer your questions to the best of my ability to make sure your process goes more smoothly than it did for me.

The post Navigating the Shift from roomMaster 17 to Cloud: Key Considerations and Cautions appeared first on Four Sides Hospitality Consulting | Hotel and Airbnb Consultant | Canada.

InnQuest is rolling out their new web booking engine for all hotels using the roomMaster PMS. I watched a demo of the booking engine in action during a webinar the other day and have recorded some screenshots to show to people. I wasn’t able to capture the backend setup pages properly, but it’s fully functional like any other CRS is. All the room rates are controlled through roomMaster, which makes life easier for anyone like me that does not like signing into multiple Extranets to modify rates or booking windows.

One key feature for this web booking engine is it is not installed locally at the hotel, it is a hosted service through InnQuest’s servers. This means any power interruptions or PMS upgrades at the hotel level will not interfere with guests making reservations. It also means the hotel will have one less machine to worry about when doing maintenance and backups. There will be additional fees associated with this extra service, but they are minimal from what I have been told and comparable to other services like InnLink.

Simply put, the Webbook is a massive improvement over the current booking engine for roomMaster. It is sleek, customizable, and very easy to use as a user and as a guest. The booking sequence will be a much more pleasant experience for potential guests, which should help make more sales.

The interface can be customized through some programming, but the default is rather gorgeous. It scales well in a browser window on a desktop, but is fully mobile ready for iPhones or iPads. The default design is one of the better designs I have seen for a hotel, and certainly one of the best basic designs without having to spend extra money for extra features.

As mentioned, the booking experience is going to be wonderful for guests using this new web booking engine. From picking the dates, to viewing information about the hotel, and pictures of the rooms, all the information is clearly laid out and accessible at any point during the booking process.

While the guest advances through the booking, depending on their selections, different can be configured to be displayed. Options for bookings that include children, or staying on the weekend, or longterm stays. Every guest will have the option to select from different packages or room upgrades before they finalize their booking, adding some additional revenue for the hotel or extra incentive for guests to book through the website.

Overall, I am quite impressed with how this booking engine functions. I was not able to determine the pricing options, except that the base GDS reservation fees will remain the same and a small setup fee will occur in the first month of creating the hotel’s profile. It is rolling out for properties based in the United States now, and should be reaching properties in Canada in January or February. Elsewhere in the world is likely to be in spring, but I am not positive about that. 

If you are interested in learning more about roomMaster and the new Webbook engine, get in contact with your local sales office. They will be able to send you demo of the software and run through a demo of the web booking engine to help you determine whether it is right for your hotel. 

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I recently returned from attending the InnQuest Software’s User Conference that was held in Las Vegas at the beginning of the month. I went to represent one of my clients who uses InnQuest’s roomMaster 2000 as their property management system. It was the first time I have attended a conference like this. I had met with the Canadian division in October for some one-on-one training and problem solving, but this conference was much larger than that. I estimated that there were nearly 150 attendees according to the full list in our guide book.
The main focus of the conference is highlighting some features of InnQuest’s roomMaster 2000 property management system (PMS) that some hotels may not be utilizing completely. In addition, they were giving teasing glimpses of the next version of roomMaster, version 15. Since I know there are well over 400 properties in Canada alone using the software, I thought I would run down some of the changes for those interested. I’ve included contact information at the bottom if people wish to request a demo of the current version (14.5).

Version 15 is scheduled to be released at the end of July. It is currently going into a few beta hotels in the United States in May, then a few properties in Canada and Internationally to test for compatibility before being publicly released. There are quite a few enhancements to revenue management features, front desk operations, group blocks, and more. I can’t include screenshots, of course, but nothing has changed with the user interface apart from a few extra checkboxes here and there.

Revenue Management

A big change for the revenue management aspect of roomMaster is going to be the inclusion of Hybrid Rates. A Standard Rate is provided for a given period (range of dates, days), as is a Hybrid Rate, but the Hybrid Rate allows you to specify which Standard Rate is available beyond the dates of the Hybrid Rate. This is going to be useful for groups, special packages, promotions, and seasons.

For example:

CONV Rate is created as a Hybrid Rate for August 5–9th, with RACK as the alternative. CONV is set at $100.00, RACK at $150.00.

A guest calls in to make a reservation for August 4–11th, staying the full week of the convention. Their total stay would look like this:

Aug 4: $150.00

Aug 5–9: $100.00

August 10: $150.00

This change is probably the one feature I am looking forward to the most out of everything. It will make reservations much easier, and help with yield management. The Hybrid Rates can be a Derived Rate, as can the alternative.

• The Availability by Room Type screen will include the colour code of the Yielding Profile. By selecting the Show Rates button, the rate will be displayed with the corresponding Yielding Profile.

Front Desk Operations

• Upgrades/Wait List is being changed to help you determine whether there is a possibility to upgrade a returning guest to free up a room valued at a lower amount. This will help develop brand loyalty by rewarding guests who stay frequently with a complimentary upgrade to a higher priced room. The Rate Code on the reservation will also be changed to green so the agents can easily determine that the room was upgraded and the rate should not be increased.

Housekeeping

If a room is marked as “Dirty” and there was no revenue posted to that room for the previous audit date, the “Normal” cleaning status is changed to “Normal-Not Sold” on the Housekeepers Report. This will help management of possible improper room usage.

For example, a Front Desk agent takes a walk-in at 10 PM, has the guest pay cash. The same Front Desk agent is returning at 7 AM to check that guest out. Instead of checking them into the system, they set the room status as “Dirty,” and pockets the cash. Management will be able to see that the room was cleaned beforehand and can approach the staff as to why it was marked as dirty.

A nice feature, but one of those features you really hope you don’t need to use that often, if ever.

roomMaster.net

roomMaster.net is the backend service that allows bookings to happen through the website and be downloaded into the PMS automatically. The system is in sync with roomMaster, meaning room rates and availability are exactly the same – no chance of the hotel being oversold by accident. If a hotel receives a large amount of bookings through the website, this is a great service to use as it is commission-free.

With the new version of roomMaster.net, it is being optimized for touch screen devices and becoming mobile-ready. Guests can make bookings through their mobile devices easily, and the hotel can offer special discounts for people that book through their mobile devices, as well.

The next version goes a step further than that though. Once the guest has checked into the hotel, the mobile version of roomMaster.net will allow them to view their folio on their mobile, and allow them to do an express checkout.

The mobile version will allow users to get directions to the hotel using their GPS-enabled device, and quick access to the property’s phone number from the Contact Us screen.

iQ-Anywhere

iQ-Anywhere is the service that allows management/owners to access the roomMaster system through a web browser (mobile or desktop). It only provides access to the essential services, to get a quick snapshot of the hotel’s occupancy, the arrivals coming into the hotel, seeing maintenance issues, and look at the upcoming availability. You can also change the status of a room to clean/dirty/unavailable or enter in a maintenance issue. Useful if you want to provide your Housekeeping Manager with a mobile device to update rooms immediately, instead of returning to the Front Desk or their office to make the updates.

Groups

Using Group Blocks is incredibly easy in roomMaster, and they have made an impressive amount of changes to make it even better.

• Tentative Groups allow for block information to be entered, without blocking off any rooms.
• Discounts to be added to a group block, instead of creating a new rate code. Enter 15% off RACK instead of the normal procedure of creating a new Derived Rate and using that rate code within the group.
• Comp Factor is used to determine how many complimentary rooms a group gets per number of rooms booked. I wasn’t positive whether it makes the adjustment from the folio automatically or whether it was only for reference purposes.
• Billing Type is used to let the Front Desk know whether guests pay on their own, all charges go to a Master Folio, room and tax goes to a Master Folio, or just room charges go to the Master Folio.
• Online Promo Codes can be setup in the new version to allow guests to book through the website, if the hotel is using roomMaster.net
• Booking Pattern is a screen that displays how well the group block is being used, plus highlights the dates the group is using outside of the original dates blocked.

In Summary and Contacts

There are probably going to be even more changes made in the coming months – in fact Robert Paresi, the President and main developer of roomMaster, made a coding adjustment during one of the breaks in the day. According to others, it wasn’t the first time he has made changes on the fly like this before. I also left out some of the new features for the iQ Scheduler and PoS system that I am not familiar with.

I am quite excited over what I did see presented, and am suggesting that most hotels strongly consider upgrading to the Premier Edition of roomMaster. The features available, plus the new changes, make it worthwhile in my opinion. The Yield Management system alone is worth the upgrade price as it has the potential to increase your revenues easily without much work.

To learn more, I would suggest getting in touch with the sales representative for your region. If you would like to hear more about the benefits of using roomMaster or my preferred CRS solution SiteMinder please contact me.

United States

sales@innquest.com

Phone: 813–288–4900

Canada

sales@canada.innquest.com

Phone: 1–888–477–0344

For other regions, check out the website: InnQuest

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