What should front office systems achieve for your hotel?

Your front office system should be the heartbeat of your property, organising, and helping to automate many of your daily admin operations. It should save you valuable time and stress when running your accommodation. This includes:

Processing reservations online, via phone, or at point-of-sale.

Managing guest booking details, profiles, and communication.

Managing inventory, rates, and availability.

Processing deposits, payments, and refunds.

Checking guests in and out.

Maintaining a housekeeping schedule.

Handling front office accounting.

Generating performance reports.

Overseeing property maintenance details.

Staying on top of operations on-the-go with a mobile app

Why do you need a front office system?

With the modern day challenges of running an accommodation business, including the changing preferences and expectations of guests, time and flexibility are of the essence.

Your time should be spent on ensuring guest experience is as satisfying and personalised as it can be, and making strategic decisions that help your business thrive.

A front desk system allows you to quickly and easily:

Accept and process bookings

Manage reservation details

Optimise performance with channel manager and booking engine integration

Gain the freedom to interact with all guests and escape the front desk

Get clear and concise insights on business results

Why do you need front desk software?

With the modern day challenges of running an accommodation business, including the changing preferences and expectations of guests, time and flexibility are of the essence.

Your time should be spent on ensuring guest experience is as satisfying and personalised as it can be, and making strategic decisions that help your business thrive.

A front desk system allows you to quickly and easily:

Accept and process bookings

Manage reservation details

Optimise performance with channel manager and booking engine integration

Gain the freedom to interact with all guests and escape the front desk

Get clear and concise insights on business results

What is the best hotel front desk system?

Some key traits of the system you choose should include:

More than a front desk

An all-in-one solution is the best option for your small property, since you won’t have to look elsewhere for a channel manager or booking engine.

Positive reviews

Reviews generally don’t lie. Look at ratings for important aspects like price, functionality, support, and ease of use to determine the objective quality of each software you’re considering.

Flexible payment options

A lock-in contract is the last thing you want and a one-size fits all approach to pricing is also ill advised.

Quick setup

Are you able to be up and running with the software quickly and easily, or even sign-up and start the process yourself?

Attentive customer support

Is there 24/7 support available?

Available integrations

Can you access the vast world of hotel commerce and get connected with leading platforms such as Airbnb, among other hospitality apps?

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Why choose Little Hotelier as your front desk software?

Trusted by more small properties than any other global provider.

Connected to over 450 booking channels.

Backed by SiteMinder’s powerful technology – processing over 100 million reservations each year.

Designed with small properties in mind, prioritising ease of use and putting you back in control.

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Frequently asked questions about front office systems

What does a hotel front office system do?

A hotel front office system allows hoteliers to operate their property from one single interface, and automate the majority of their daily tasks to save time and stress. It can take care of things like bookings, payments, check in, check out, rates, availability, guest communications and housekeeping. In the case of Little Hotelier’s front desk software, it forms part of our larger hotel management system, which also offers features like a booking engine, a channel manager, a website builder and more. A hotel front desk system brings all these functions together in a single, simple online platform. It eliminates many otherwise manual processes, like repetitive daily tasks, to make your operations far more efficient, and to free you up to do higher value activities such as attracting new guests and enhancing the experience your hotel offers.

Why is using a front office management system important?

Front office management systems are crucial for giving property managers and staff valuable time and freedom back, so they can focus more closely on providing guests with a positive experience and making better business decisions. The responsibilities of the front office, or front desk, can be many and varied, which is why most hotels employ a purpose-built front office system to help them organise the chaos. It may seem like overkill to a small, independent hotelier, but the truth is that these systems can prove an incredibly valuable investment for any hotel that hosts more than a handful of guests at any one time. And as the number of guests increases, so too does the value that you can extract from your front office system. Every modern hotel should consider investing in a front desk system, even the smallest of bed and breakfasts.

What are the types of hotel front office systems?

There are a number of different front office systems that may be used, which can make finding the right one a somewhat confusing process, particularly for hoteliers who haven’t done it before. There are three types of front office system, and understanding their differences is key to finding the right one for your situation. The three forms of front desk system are:

  • On-premise: An on-premise front office system is one that is loaded onto your hotel’s computer system, and can only be accessed from within your hotel. These systems tend to be sold with a license, and upgrades and updates must be made manually.
  • Cloud: Cloud systems like Little Hotelier are by far the most popular type of front office software. These systems can be accessed through a web browser on pretty much any device, from anywhere in the world. These systems are usually paid for using a subscription model, and they upgrade themselves automatically.
  • Hybrid: Hybrid hotel front office systems sit somewhere in between on-premise and cloud. Usually this means that many core features and functionality – those that demand more security, or need to work if the internet is down – are on-premise, while others are handled in the cloud.
What are the pros and cons of different front office systems?

An on-premise system is less reliant on the internet which means that many features will still work even when internet connectivity is disrupted. Because the entire system is held on the hotel premises, it may be less vulnerable, though not invincible, to hacking attacks. However, it is a huge investment, particularly for small hotels. These systems are expensive to set up and can cost a lot to maintain. They are also not flexible or scalable e.g. the solution must be installed on individual devices, often at a per device rate. Finally, your data and customer data is vulnerable to system crashes, and backing it up is time consuming.

As for cloud systems, they offer cost-effective subscription models which require minimal upfront and ongoing investment, and you only need a computer and an internet connection on your side. They can upgrade automatically which means you always enjoy the latest and most secure version of the system, but it requires the internet to work, so a stable connection is a must. Regardless, a cloud-based front office management system is ultra scalable–by upgrading your package in a few clicks, the system can grow with your business.

The strength of a hybrid system is in its flexibility and adaptability–it’s built to work when other systems may fail. Simultaneously dealing with on-premise and cloud systems can be a complex affair, particularly in terms of data integrity. This is also another expensive option, where it can even be the most expensive option in some cases because you need to set up and maintain dual systems.

How are hotel front office systems used in different departments?

While the name suggests that the use of a front office system might be restricted to those who sit at reception, that’s far from the case. Modern front office systems offer a wealth of functionality that extends to a number of different departments:

  • Reservations: With the help of Little Hotelier’s booking engine and channel manager, our front desk system captures all bookings in a single, centralised place.
  • Accounts: Take deposits, track and receive payments, and ensure every transaction is recorded for easy bookkeeping.
  • Housekeeping: Streamline your daily housekeeping tasks by tracking room status and leaving helpful messages for changeover staff.
  • Guest experience: Track the experience of each guest, and keep in contact with them to ensure they’re having the best time possible.

When you consider the entire Little Hotelier property management system, of which the front desk is a part, the reach expands to even more departments:

Our cloud-based solution is so much more than a front desk system. It’s a complete hotel management system that is simple and intuitive to use, while delivering an incredible return on investment: up to 63x! What’s more, our streamlined, automated tool can save you 35 minutes per booking – time that you can then spend on enhancing your guest experience and growing your hotel. Start your FREE 30-day trial today!