Newsletter 11/6/2009

Enhancements in your system now

• A new report!  Report 5 shows the names of guests in each room for each day in the range you choose.  This is an on-screen report (which you can print), like report 0.  (The other reports are all spreadsheet downloads).

• HTML fields now have an easy editor.  Where this is part of an email, a test button allows you to check what it looks like in inboxes.  Don’t forget it can look different in an email compared to what the browser is showing you, so testing a new email format is essential.  Data fields that are included can be dragged and dropped into the email from the icons in the toolbar at the top.  N.B.  at this stage the graphics for the icons are not complete and are just placeholders.  When you hold your mouse over each icon, the field name is shown.  Soon we will replace the temporary icons with designs that remind you what field is represented by each icon.
• You can now send reminder emails a few days before people are due to arrive.  Set the number of days in the site configuration, leave it at zero to suppress reminders.  N.B.  the email format is created by you using the new easy editor.

Enhancements due later this year

• Provide you with an option to require that members must login to the booking site in order to obtain members’ rates.  At the moment any anonymous customer can claim members rates, but this hasn’t caused any problems and this makes it convenient for members to make a booking.  However, using the new option has these benefits:
  • Encourage members to read the members-only pages of the Club website.
  • Prevent non-financial members from claiming members rates for a booking (note this will work in with the next enhancement listed below).
• Keep track of “paid-up” date for each member.  The administrator will update this date (usually via a button which advances the date by 1 year), when dues are paid.  Members will be able to pay their dues on-line (this option will be available to members at your choice).  You will have the option to deny non-financial members the right to obtain members rates.
• You will be able to set a maximum number of people in a single booking.  Does not stop a large group from making two separate bookings covering the same period however.