Home Page
Overview
Features
Channel Management
Screenshots
Testimonials
Pricing
Download A Demo
Suppliers
Logon
Help & Support
Frequently Asked Questions
Contact Us
Perspective
Strait.Blog
Allied Member 2010-11
Trade Member 2011-12
|
|
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
General
How much does it cost to use Strait.PMS?
Our software is sold as a service - you do not have to stump up several thousand dollars up-front for a license to use our system, unlike most of our competition.
We other monthly, six monthly and twelve monthly pricing plans, making our system affordable no matter what your budget.
Channel management is an optional extra on top of the base PMS system as (a small) number of our customers do not wish to sell their rooms online.
There are no additional charges to set you up with individual websites/systems.
There are no setup charges, unless you want us to do an on-site setup for you, import data from an existing system/database or wish to use the system to track phone calls or wish to install the system on multiple computers.
Please see our Pricing page for full details.
Can I trial Strait.PMS?
We provide a FREE demo/trial version which allows you to see exactly how the system works and allows you to have a good play with the features.
Note that the demo/trial version is limited to 20 reservations and does not update websites in this mode.
If you decide to buy a license you will not need to re-install a different version of the software.
Does Strait.PMS run on my computer or is it web-based?
Strait.PMS runs on your computer. It runs on windows computers or Apple Macs using windows emulation software. The system is built on the SQL-Server database platform -
a very fast and powerful database that we use to power our massive websites/systems.
We would never recommend using a web-based system for your property management system as the internet can be unreliable. You don't want to be in the situation where you have guests wanting to check-out and you can't because the internet is down!
Will I have to pay for system updates?
No - as we sell the system as a service you are always running the latest version of the system.
Updates are made automatically. However, we normally will warn you by email first which allows you to choose a quiet time to restart the system (and apply the update).
Why is Strait.PMS so much cheaper than the competition?
Simple - we don't have the large overheads of our competitors. We don't have fancy offices, just a small team of dedicated, hardworking people delivering a quality product.
The other key part of our services is that we have deliberately spent a lot of time making sure that our software is designed to be really easy to use, with lots of support material available for those people that need it.
This means that we have to spend less time providing training and support.
What is the minimum/maximum recommended property size for Strait.PMS?
There are no real constraints on the size of property. A single room B&B should find the software useful (especially the automatic channel management), whilst we already have some very large hotels using our PMS system (especially in London).
Do you offer an online booking service for my own website?
We do not offer this as there are a number of low cost suitable services already available in the market. We recommend using the Holiday Guide or Jasons system for your own website as it is very popular and (most importantly) commission-free.
AA Travel is the next best, as again is popular and whilst not commission-free the customer pays just the credit-card commission fee.
BookIt (at 3% commission for bookings via your own website) is the last recommended option.
Setup
Can you import data from my existing system into Strait.PMS?
In most cases, this is possible - it all depends on whether the system you are using allows you to export your current data in a sufficient level of detail or we can gain direct access to your database.
We would recommend importing historical customer and reservation details into Strait.PMS only if you have a significant amount of data that you wish to keep. For many smaller properties, it may take you only a couple of hours to manually enter your forward reservations into the system (which will also give you good experience using the system!).
A number of our customers have used students to do the data entry - mostly with good standard of results.
Note that we charge our standard hourly rate to import data from other systems - we will be happy to provide a cost estimate once we see samples of the data that needs importing.
How long will it take to setup Strait.PMS for my business?
Strait.PMS is designed so that you can easily setup the system yourself. We provide 1 hour worth of training FREE of charge, which in most cases should be sufficient to get you up and running. However, if you require additional help or need us to import data from another system then further assistance is available at additional cost.
The setup process involves 3 steps:
1. Entering all of the details about your property, rooms, rates and deciding how you want to use the system.
2. Entering all forward bookings. These can (in most cases) be imported from your existing system, or manually entered.
3. Setup channel management and synchronising systems.
Channel Management
Do I have to use channel management?
No - it is an optional extra in our system (although it is highly recommended).
Which websites/sales agents does Strait.PMS interface with?
Please see our Features page for a full list of every system that we interface with.
Note that this list is subject to change at little or no notice depending on the availability of third party services that our outside of our control.
Do I have to pay commission or any per reservation fees on bookings from system updated by Strait.PMS?
No. We do not charge any additional commission, charges or fees (commonly called 'distribution fees'). You only pay the commission (if any) set by the websites / sales channel.
Does Strait.PMS link up with GDS/CRS systems?
Strait.PMS does not link with the global distribution systems (GDS) or central reservations systems (CRS) used by some companies and travel agents as this type of link is very expensive to setup and for the majority of NZ properties is unlikely to be cost effective.
Why does Strait.PMS not link up with more websites/systems?
Strait.PMS links with the key websites/systems only - there is no point in linking with websites which are likely to give you 1 or 2 bookings a year (if any).
For most NZ properties, the websites/systems that we link with equate to approx. 99.5% of their online bookings.
Does Strait.PMS guarantee no overbooking?
Whilst Strait.PMS will significantly reduce the occurence of overbooking compared to manual updating of websites/systems, we cannot guarantee it will never happen.
No system can guarantee 100% no overbooking as we are reliant on 3rd party systems that are outside of our control.
Strait.PMS does display warnings whenever updates to a website are delayed or cannot be made - this at least alerts you to take additional care before accepting bookings.
Does Strait.PMS support all features on websites/sales channels?
As there are few standards in how websites/sales channels work, and some features of systems are not made available to us, Strait.PMS does not offer all functionality that websites/sales channels offer.
For instance, some websites do not allow us to access your reservations, so in such cases we cannot automatically import reservations and display them on the booking sheet - you will have to manually enter reservation details from faxed or emailed reservation confirmations.
The level of detail provided by some websites/system about customers in particular is often extremely limited. Strait.PMS attempts to automatically import as much information as possible, but is limited of course by what is made available.
Our help system contains details of any known limitations.
What is your linking policy?
Strait.PMS will generally link with websites/systems that meet the following criteria:
1. Generate sufficient reservations to make it worthwhile for our customers.
2. Provide a freely available interface to allow the two way link between systems to work.
3. Have reasonable policies/terms and conditions.
Telephone / Internet Systems
Which PABX / Telephone systems does Strait.PMS interface with?
Strait.PMS links to most common PABX / Telephone systems. Please email us through the make/model of your PABX to see if your system is compatible.
Does Strait.PMS offer a managed wireless internet system?
Strait.PMS does not currently offer this facility, primarily because there are already a good number of providers of good quality services available in NZ, eg: Zenbu, Volia, Hospitality internet etc.
We are also following with interest the overseas trend of accommodation providers offering this service free of charge for their customers. If this gains in popularity (as it has in the USA and in many parts of Europe) then you may not be able to charge a premium for these types of services.
Support
Is Strait.PMS properly supported?
We have made a significant effort to ensure that the system is properly designed and tested so that it does not cause you any problems.
This includes comprehensive help and FAQ information so that it many cases you should be able to find the answer yourself - especially helpful if you hit a problem late at night!
If you do have any issues or require any help or training, then we offer full NZ based support.
Our support policy is that we offer the first 10 minutes of support free during office hours. In addition if the problem with the system is our fault then the resolution is (as you would expect) free of charge - if the problem is due to a fault with something at your end outside of our control then we will charge you.
We give you the first hour of training FREE, additional training is available at extra cost.
Please see our Pricing page for full details about our support hourly rates.
Is support available out of hours?
Support is available on a 24/7 basis on a best endeavours basis - ie we will do our best to help you out whenever we can.
Note that the system automatically backs-up your booking sheet so that even if the system for whatever reason cannot be started you will still be able to check-in/out guests and take bookings.
This means that you are not left stranded with no system.
Does the system include backup features?
Yes - backup is critical, without it you run the risk of losing all of your business data!
Strait.PMS gives you the ability to automatically backup the entire system database overnight to a USB stick or network folder. This enables you to easily keep an offsite backup so even in the event of fire, flood you will not lose your data.
I have some suggestions/comments to make about your software..
Fantastic - we truely love to hear from our customers as to how we can improve our software.
In fact, many of the best features of our software originated from suggestions made by our customers.
While we can't guarantee that we will add your suggested feature, if it is likely to be popular with the rest of our customer base and it is not too technically difficult to do then watch out for it in a future release!
Please Contact Us with all of your ideas, suggestions or comments.
Security
Is Strait.PMS PCI DSS Compliant?
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) require all of the systems that store/process card data electronically in your business to be secure and robust.
Some banks may refuse to offer your merchant facilities if you are not PCI DSS compliant.
Strait.PMS gives you the choice whether you want to store card data in the system or not.
If you choose NOT to store card data in Strait.PMS (or on any other part of your computer) then you are PCI compliant.
Strait.PMS meets the requirements of the PCI standards if you choose to store card data, you will of course have to ensure that your computer/network meets the requirements as well before you can self certify yourself as being PCI compliant.
Note that if you choose to store card security codes (the 3 or 4 character codes on the back of most cards) then you CANNOT gain PCI compliance - this is strictly prohibited.
We recommend that businesses avoid storing card data whenever possible.
|