Picture this. It’s Friday evening and three bookings came in in a row. One of your guests has eyes that look tired and a suitcase that’s been dragged through two airports. The other is phoning from the car park to check if their room is ready. And you — you’re somewhere between writing in a register, flipping through a paper booking sheet and trying to remember which room was given to which name.
Sound familiar?
This scene may not require very much imagination if you’re running a guest house, small hotel, or short-stay rental. For decades, manual check-ins have been the standard for decades, and for a very long time, they worked–or at least, it appeared that they did. However, the hospitality industry has changed. Visitors have higher expectations, staff time is limited and the room for error is becoming smaller. It’s as if “the way things are done” is sneaking up on you from behind and eating away at your operation.
Lets discuss what is really happening — and why it’s more important than most guest house owners think!
Time is not the only cost of a bad experience.
Talk of slow manual check-ins typically ends at the queue at the front desk. That’s just the beginning.
The true price is much more. Each minute your employees waste copying data from a booking email to your paper register is a minute they’re not greeting the guest warmly, answering a question or doing something that needs a person. When a reservation detail is incorrectly recorded (a name misspelled, a room number mixed up, an arrival date off by one), it has a ripple effect that can take longer to resolve than the initial check-in.
Then there is the problem when the “person who knows the system” isn’t around. The manual processes are in the heads of the people and hand-written notes. If your most senior member of the front desk is sick on a busy Saturday, will the other staff members know where all things are? Are they able to locate the family’s booking at 11pm? But does it come to a grinding halt?
This is the invisible tax of manual check-ins — the stress, the reliance on individual people and the mistakes that impact your guest experience, one stay at a time.
What guests are really feeling.
This is one to ponder. Your guests have just come from somewhere and may have been traveling for a long time. They’re either coming from two cities or two countries away and they want to go to their room. They don’t care to see you look through a folder for your booking. They do not want to fill out paperwork where they have already completed forms online.
If the check-in process is slow or chaotic your first impression is ruined, even before you’ve entered the room.
Google and Booking.com are merciless when it comes to reviews. Comments such as “check-in took forever” or “they couldn’t find our reservation” are a constant feature of otherwise fine properties. These aren’t unfair criticisms. They’re positive indications that the operation has not matched the expectations of the guests as they have become accustomed.
The place where Respanda Changes Everything.
That’s the challenge Respanda is designed to address.
Respanda’s check-in feature is targeted at the small hospitality property — not the enterprise hotel with a dedicated IT department, but the independently run place where the owner is likely to also be the manager, receptionist and the one who fixes the boiler.
Guest information is added into the system automatically when a guest books. When they arrive you know who they are, where they are and if they want anything specific. Check-in is a confirmation instead of a data entry.
The user interface is clear and truly easy to use. There’s no need for weeks of training for your employees. A new member of the desk can walk through the process without being overwhelmed, that is, your operation does not fall apart if one member is gone. All the information is visible from one spot: arrivals, departures, room status, and guest notes — the left hand knows what the right is up to!
These add up to a smoother and quicker experience for guests. For staff it eliminates friction and the guessing game. For you as the owner, it’s reduced errors, less complaining and more time to concentrate on what really makes your business successful.
The Numbers Behind the Frustration
No more anecdotal! Studies reveal that a key challenge for independent properties is often an inefficient front desk. Manual processes have been discovered to cost up to 15% of revenue in indirect costs, due to errors, rework and the time staff spend in trying to work out problems which a connected system could have avoided altogether.
This is no small number for a guest house with moderate occupancy. It’s funds that could be allocated to improving your home, marketing your business, or just kept in your wallet at the end of the year.
A Smarter Way to Welcome Your Guests
But the reality is that it’s not just a tech-for-tech initiative to get rid of manual check-ins. It’s about safeguarding two things that are really difficult to get back after you lose: The first impression of your guests, and the time of your team.
Respanda’s check-in function isn’t too complex. It simply eliminates any unnecessary duplication of your process — the data entry, the paper chase, the times of having to apologize to an exhausted guest for a lost reservation.
You have guests who selected your property. Send them a welcome message that is a positive first impression instead of a hurdle in the way.
Ready to see how Respanda transforms check-ins at your property?
Try Respanda free — no credit card required. Set up takes less than a day.