Hotel Lina has been operating in Bucharest since 2008 and has a 3-star rating with 27 rooms available. It is centrally located and is often selected by companies for their employees who are attending delegations, training, and accreditation courses.

 

Because their time is always limited, Hotel Lina guests want a smooth experience, from booking to check-out.
 

For such an experience, Hotel Lina has aimed and managed to have a prompt and efficient Reception.

 

 

Business Challenges

 

For an extended period, Hotel Lina used a traditional Property Management System (PMS) installed on a PC in Reception. However, this program had many limitations and integration bugs, constantly disturbing the activity and causing discomfort to the staff.

 

The program did not automatically take over reservations or process invoices, and manual data processing consumed time and left room for error. Since it was not very easy to use, the four Reception employees were permanently dissatisfied and paid more attention to operating the program than interacting with guests and meeting their requests.

 

Because it was locally installed, the program was not accessible from other devices, and the data was not kept securely.

 

"The program we used before gave us a lot of headaches, both because it was complicated to use, and a new employee needed time to learn it, as well as because it was not integrated with online booking platforms, and for this reason, frequent errors occurred in the manual registration of reservations. These reasons made us look for an alternative to simplify and streamline the work in Reception, especially in the context of staff turnover," confesses Dana Pană, Hotel Manager, Lina.

 

Such a situation did not correspond with the hotel's goal of offering fast and efficient services.

 

The Solution

 

 

For Hotel Lina, the solution to these problems came with a presentation made by a Pynbooking representative, in front of the management team. The platform's functionalities were so convincing that the decision was made immediately.

 

"We started looking and testing other solutions, but Pynbooking was the first cloud PMS that was presented to us. It convinced me from the presentation, and I insisted on making the change," says Dana Pană.

 

Hotel Lina selected the Pynbooking platform due to its 100% cloud-based PMS, which eliminates the need for local installation. The platform seamlessly integrates with all relevant online booking sites and facilitates automatic synchronization of all reservation-related data.

 

Shortly after the presentation, Hotel Lina signed a contract with Pynbooking, and within a week of creating the account, the platform was already functional.

 

"Both the initial configuration and the actual use of Pynbooking are very intuitive. I needed support only for connecting Booking.com's extranet and integrating the cash registers. However, Pynbooking's support team was very prompt, and all ambiguities were easily overcome." Dana Pană.

 

 

Hotel Lina integrated Pynbooking's Channel Manager with multiple online booking platforms, and all data is automatically synchronized and processed in PMS Cloud Hotel.

The hotel's website has been integrated through the Booking Engine and now has a dedicated page for direct bookings and displaying reviews received from guests. They automatically receive an invitation for a review through the Pynbooking GuestApp after check-out.

 

Also, PMS Cloud Hotel is integrated with the cash register and the SAGA management system for the automatic export of billing data.

 

All reservations are centrally managed in Pynbooking, with the management team having access to various activity reports, such as tariff evolution, income sources, or occupancy rate. Currently, the hotel has five active users, who can access the platform regardless of location or device.

 

Results

 

 

For Hotel Lina, Pynbooking brought simplification to Reception activity and a major efficiency gain, with estimates showing a reduction of over 70% in operational effort.

 

The integration of the Channel Managerul with booking platforms and automatic data processing is of great help to the hotel staff. Both the time spent on manual registration of reservations and the inherent errors of manual data processing were eliminated. Previously, such errors led either to overbooking or to the actual confusion of some reservations and the deterioration of relations with guests.

"I estimate that Pynbooking reduced the operational effort in Reception by over 70% by automating the processing of reservations coming through online platforms. People no longer waste time with manual data entry or subsequent correctness checking. Work has been simplified, confusion has disappeared, and the team is more satisfied," Dana Pană told us.

 

Pynbooking brought a simplification of work procedures and relieved employees of manual operations that consumed their time, which should have been allocated to interacting with guests.

 

 

Direct bookings on the site have increased, and the commissions paid to third parties have been consistently lower.

 

Another essential aspect for Hotel Lina is the stability of the Pynbooking platform, the functionality of services even in case of a power outage, as well as the security of the data, which cannot be lost in the event of a hard disk failure.

 

"We had situations where the power supply was interrupted, but I completed the reservation on a mobile phone, and the guest was able to continue their program. It is a significant gain, both operationally and in terms of image." Dana Pană.

 

Also, the training time required for a new employee to understand procedures and work on the platform has been reduced by at least half compared to the previous application. This is an essential advantage in the context of the high staff turnover in the Horeca field.

 

"I appreciate very much the planning and centralized management facilities of reservations in Pynbooking. It is an easy-to-use system and accessible from any device. From a managerial perspective, it also helps me with reports on rates, posts, income sources, housekeeping... because I can make informed decisions," concludes Dana Pană, the manager of Hotel Lina.