Reservations and Prearrival Tasks
The front desk distinguishes an inquiry, a confirmed booking, and an actual check-in. A transfer or room preparation task can be assigned with a deadline before arrival.
Custom Development
CRM for Boutique Hotels
In a small hotel, personal service depends on what the front desk shares before guests arrive. We’ll build a CRM for direct inquiries, guest preferences, and team tasks around your booking system.
What Gets in the Way of Sharing Guest Preferences Between Shifts
- Preferences such as a quiet room, an extra pillow, or a lactose-free breakfast stay in one employee’s head.
- Online platforms charge high commissions, while direct guests’ contact details and opportunities to invite them back are lost.
- Contact ends after checkout, and the hotel doesn’t come to mind when the guest plans their next trip.
- Front desk, housekeeping, restaurant, and concierge teams struggle to share information.
- There is no plan to bring regular guests back in the low season.
Stay History, Direct Inquiries, and Guest Services Tasks
These modules can be included in the project. We’ll agree on the scope and workflow rules after reviewing your processes.
Stay History and Guest Requests
The front desk links preferences to a reservation or guest profile. Before arrival, guest services review only the details needed to prepare.
Reconciling Booking Channels
During design, we identify which system confirms the room and stay dates. The CRM can show direct inquiries and tasks while room operations remain in the hotel system.
Additional Features
- Offers for a Return Stay
- The manager can prepare an offer for a guest who opted in. Before sending it, they check dates and terms in the booking system. If the guest requests a different room type, the front desk receives the inquiry along with the prior arrangements.
- Guest Requests Across Shifts
- The front desk can record an in-stay request, its agreed deadline, and the department responsible. If it’s open at shift change, incoming staff can see what’s been done and when to follow up. The department receives only what it needs to fulfill the request.
- Confirming Additional Services
- Staff can link dinner, a transfer, or a spa appointment to a stay. The responsible department confirms availability and timing before the front desk informs the guest. A change to arrival time sends related services back for review.
CRM Workflow Examples
How teams can divide responsibilities and handle exceptions after rollout.
A Late Arrival After Shift Handover
The guest provides a new arrival time, and the front desk assigns a task to the staff member on duty. The next shift acknowledges the late arrival and the agreed steps.
A Guest Returns with a Different Party
The manager looks up the prior stay and checks the guest’s current needs. Preferences for this trip go on the current booking and are shared with the responsible department.
What to Include in the First Release
Limit the pilot to direct inquiries and agreed prearrival preferences. The front desk handles communication, and guest services see their assigned tasks. Decide in advance which system owns room availability and how booking updates reach the CRM.
Once we agree on the requirements, we design the screens, build a pilot, and try it against the agreed use cases. We plan the rollout and follow-on modules with your team.
Discuss the First PhaseDevelopment FAQ
Do We Need a Separate Hotel Management System Alongside the CRM?
It depends on the CRM’s role. For communication and tasks, it is enough to connect it to the existing property management system if the required data exchange is available.
How Do We Record Preferences for Different Stays?
One-time preferences go on the booking, and recurring preferences go on the guest profile under agreed rules. The front desk can check whether they still apply before check-in.
How Do We Migrate Guest Profiles and Future Stays?
We’ll match records by guest and booking IDs. The front desk will sample profile matches, open requests, and which preferences belong to a given stay. We’ll separately agree which contacts and details to move into active records.
What Determines the Estimate for a Boutique Hotel CRM?
Show us a direct inquiry from the first response through room preparation and shift handover. Scope depends on the source of booking statuses, which departments can see tasks, and how extra services are confirmed. The pilot can cover the front desk and one department that receives prearrival assignments.
Let’s Discuss Your CRM
Tell us your industry, describe one process you want to automate, and let us know which tools your team already uses.