When it comes to travel, today’s guests are looking for personalized experiences and elevated service. It is not just important to meet guests expectations, but to exceed them. A satisfied guest is much more likely to refer family and friends, as well as return for your dependable service. And when a guest is onsite, the front desk is mission control for managing their experience.

Nearly every guest interacts with the front desk reception area. That’s why it naturally becomes the hub of a hotel’s operations - and places front desk staff squarely at the intersection of guest expectations and needs, and internal hotel operations teams and processes. The right software can help the front desk run a smooth front of house, ensuring guest requests - or complaints - are handled appropriately and quickly and ensure that internal ops teams have the information they need to put their best foot forward.

What is front desk software?  Hotel front desk software is the system your team uses to communicate internally with all the various operations teams and manage guest requests, service recovery, and more.

There are several front desk software options on the market today, but not all of them are created equally. Since this is such a critical backbone to the day-to-day business operation and plays such a big role in the guest experience, it is important that you consider these 4 must-have features when selecting your hotel front desk software. 

#1 Easy communication across teams‍

Communication is critical for all teams to be successful and it is important that hotels have a way to efficiently share information beyond the staff at the front desk. The best hotel software has an easy to use Hotel Log which works not only on a desktop computer, but also on a mobile device. This will help teams stay in the loop, no matter where they are in the hotel. The front desk can quickly share out critical information to the entire team such as a large group of guests arriving at the hotel on a bus to check-in, or an unexpected pool closure. The Hotel Log serves as the go-to place to check for information about a package pick-up when someone from FedEx arrives, ask if anyone has seen a valuable item that a guest has lost, or celebrate a big milestone with pizza in the break room. This feature makes sure that all the staff have the same information in a timely fashion, and fosters collaboration across the team.

In addition to large-scale information-sharing, there is also a need to have a bit more personalized communication to a smaller, select group of staff working on a particular project, or for one-on-one messages to ask a member of the team a specific question. This is where a staff chat messaging feature comes in handy. It enables all work messaging to happen in one place without the need to exchange personal mobile numbers or other messaging platform details. It is an inclusive way to communicate with everyone on the team, including new team members who can instantly get up to speed on what’s going on once they are added to the platform.

Perhaps one of the more key features hotels will need in their software is language translation. Some staff members might be more comfortable communicating in their own native tongue. Therefore, it’s really helpful to have an auto translate feature so that there are no language barrier issues between the front desk and the broader team. 

#2 Digital shift checklists

The best front desk software also adds transparency and accountability for the various tasks the front desk staff manage – and greater efficiency across the entire hotel. From opening and closing procedures for cash drawers, to AM and PM task lists, shift checklists provide structure to the staff completing the work – ensuring they know exactly what needs to be done and when. In addition to tracking the work, it also provides managers with visibility into the productivity of their staff, and enables better compliance tracking.  

Also, as the hospitality industry continues to grapple with labor shortages, communication and collaboration tools across shifts is becoming increasingly important. Tools that support hotel staff – like digital shift checklists that enable staff to track what’s been done and ensure critical tasks are completed as staff transition between shifts – are becoming a vital piece of software for hotels. Active, virtual checklists will help with the hotel’s overall efficiency, as it is possible to see exactly where someone left off and it doesn’t require duplicating work that has already been done.

#3 Easily manage guest requests and service needs

The front desk at a hotel manages a lot more than just checking guests in and out of the hotel. They often get busy with a wide range of requests such as more towels, a wake-up call at 4:30 am, or delivery of more shampoo to a room. All of these requests need to be tracked and handled in an efficient manner so that other guests that need to interact with the front desk aren’t kept waiting. This can all be handled with guest messaging software, providing easy ways for guests to interact with staff in a clear, trackable manner. When guest messaging software is integrated with the front-desk and back-of-house software, , it is clear what the request is, who is handling the request and its status, no matter who is working at the front desk.

A ticketing feature is a must-have functionality for your front desk software if you are looking to efficiently manage guest requests. Ticketing keeps your requests documented for everyone to see, as well as providing the ability to check tasks off and prioritize requests based on urgency.

Aside from addressing guest needs, it is also important to close the communication loop with the guest so they are proactively informed when an issue has been addressed. This is where guest messaging can really help boost your customer service. It makes it easy to get in touch with guests staying at the property and provide timely updates on their requests. 

#4 Integrated housekeeping & work orders

When something isn’t working quite right in a hotel room, and it requires someone from maintenance or housekeeping to take a look, having an easy-to-use work order feature in your front desk software is critical. When the front desk enters into the system that the light on the nightstand in room 405 isn’t working, they also have the ability to assign it to someone who is working that day from maintenance. This helps the team stay focused and makes sure those who are responsible for addressing issues are notified in a timely manner. Complaints concerning smells in the hotel room or something not being cleaned properly can be routed in the same way to a member of the housekeeping staff. All of these tickets can then be tracked to completion, closing the loop for your staff and management team.

Work orders and housekeeping requests can sometimes require a team member to gain access to a particular storage area or other secure area. Instead of having a written Key Log that needs to be filled in and is cumbersome to read, a digital one can help speed up the process. With a digital Key Log, management can check out or assign a key while digitally keeping a log of which employee has a key and when it was received and returned.

When staff have access to the necessary tools to help them ensure that the hotel’s operational needs are being met in a timely manner, they can ensure that guests have a positive experience.  

Lucky for you - our software has all of these features and more! Schedule a conversation with us to learn about all of our features!