Setup Groups

Group Management

Group Search

Group Setup

Managing Group Characteristics

Event Calendar

Group Management

Use Group Management to allocate contracted inventory for a special group of guests, such as wedding parties, tradeshows and seminars. This allocated inventory is ‘blocked’ from the general availability pool. The availability, rates and policies will be customized so they are applicable to each group. The Group Management screen shows the groups associated to the property.

Hotels on a PMS interface can have groups built in the PMS brought into RVNG.

Prior to adding a group, there must be a contract (see Setup Contracts) that would apply to the group, a group rate (see Setting Up Your Rates), and existing guarantee/deposit and cancel policies (see Policies).

Note:  You can sort your list of groups by any column by clicking the column heading.

Use the Right Arrow icon to move to the next set of groups and use the Left Arrow icon to move to the previous set of groups.

Group Search

To search for a specific group, group name or group characteristic, enter at least the first 3 characters (case sensitive) of the name or any part of the name in the Name field in the Group Management screen and click Search. The results will be displayed on the screen.

Group Setup

To set up a group:

1. Click Add New. The Setup Groups screen appears

2. Enter the group Name as it relates to the group contract.

3. Enter the group Description to be used at your property.

4. In Allocation Type, select where inventory for the group will be allocated.

5. In the Group Arrival and Group Departure fields, enter the Group Date Range. It is important to note that these dates are the actual stay dates.

6. From the Status drop-down list, select the group status. Only a status of Definite or Complete will allow bookings for this group.

   • Prospect:  Initial inquiry, no contract has been sent

   • Tentative:  Contract terms have been sent and are awaiting signing

   • Definite:  Contract has been signed and group is live

   • Complete:  Group has stayed and stay dates have passed

   • Canceled:  Contract/Group business was never signed/picked up

7. From the Allotment Type drop-down list, select the Group (only option available).

Note:  Note: The PMS Group Number comes from the PMS. When there is a group set up on the PMS, it creates messages to build group rates in the CRS and transfers the PMS Group Number with it.

8. By default, all days of the week are selected (darkened). Click to select any days of the week this group rate would not be valid.

9. From the Contract drop-down list, select the contract that applies to this group.

10. From the Cancel Policy drop-down list, select the applicable cancellation policy. If a policy is not selected, the property’s default cancellation policy is used.

11. From the Guarantee Policy drop-down list, select the applicable guarantee policy. If a policy is not selected, the property’s default guarantee policy is used.

Note:  If a Cancel or Guarantee policy is not selected, the policy attached to the group rate will be used. If the group rate does not have a policy attached, the property's default policy from Preferences is used.

12. For Rate ID, select a rate to offer this group. To select a rate, do the following:

Note:  The rate assigned to the group can be a generic group rate; it does not have to be a rate built specially for this group. Also, Rates and Items do not have to be added here, they can be added in the Calendar / Rates / Inventory section.

1. 1. Click the magnifying glass in the Rate ID field.

   2. When the pop-up window appears with the list of available rates, select the rate you want to use.

1. 3. Click Ok to load the rate into the Rate ID field.

13. For Item ID, select a room type to offer this group. To select the room type, do the following:

    1. Click the magnifying glass in the Item ID field.

    2. When the pop-up window appears with the list of available items, select the item you want to use.

    3. Click Ok to load the item into the Item ID field.

14. In the Cutoff Days field, enter the number of cutoff days prior to the Event/Arrival Date before unused inventory is returned to general inventory.

Note:  Only use this field if you will not be setting more advanced cutoff days. See Cutoff Dates for more information.

15. From the Auto Release Y/N drop-down list, enter whether used inventory will be automatically released back into general availability after the cutoff date.

16. Click Save Changes to save the group rate plan.  This takes you to the Manage Groups screen.

17. To exit, click the property name at the top of the screen to return to the Property Dashboard.

Managing Group Characteristics

Once a group is created, you can manage the characteristics of the group, such as modify the group information and status, set up a group information page in the RVNG IBE, enter contacts, set up an allocation calendar, create cutoff dates, set up follow up tasks, and create rooming lists.

To edit a group:

1. Click the Manage link to the right of the group you want to edit. The Manage Groups screen appears.

2. Select a link to edit your group as follows:

   • Change Group Information / Status: to add/change information using the Setup Groups screen (see Group Setup)

   • Event Calendar: to add/change the group events calendar (see Event Calendar below)

   • Contacts: to add/change contact information (see Contacts)

   • Calendar / Rates / Inventory: to add/change rate allocation (see Calendar / Rates / Inventory)

   • Cutoff Dates: to add/change your cutoff dates (see Cutoff Dates)

   • Follow Up Tasks: to set up a task reminder (see Follow Up Tasks)

3. Save your changes accordingly.

4. When done, click the <Back button to return to the Group Management screen.

5. Click the property name at the top of the screen to return to the Property Dashboard.

Event Calendar

Use Event Calendar to create a landing page in the RVNG Internet Booking Engine that would provide information to a group regarding events scheduled during their stay.

To add or edit your event calendar:

1. In the Manage Groups screen, click the Event Calendar link. The Setup Event Calendar screen appears.

2. In the Event Calendar screen, do one of the following:

   • To add a new event, click the Add New button.

   • To edit an event, click the Edit link to the right of the event. The Setup Event Calendar screen appears.

3. Enter the name of the event in the What? field.

4. If needed, enter the venue name (this is for reference and will only appear here).

5. Enter a description of the venue that will appear to the group on the RVNG IBE.

6. Enter directions that will appear on the RVNG IBE to inform the group on how to get to and/or attend the event.

7. Enter a description of the event that will be displayed to the group on the RVNG IBE.

8. In the Begin Date field, enter the date this event will begin, or click the Calendar Icon to select the date from a drop-down calendar.

9. Enter the time the event will begin.

10. In the End Date field, enter the dates this event will end, or click the Calendar Icon to select the date from a drop-down calendar.

11. Enter the time the event will end.

12. If providing access to additional information, do one of the following:

To provide additional information via a web site link:

1. 1. In the URL field, select Link from the drop-down list.

   2. Enter the web site address in the field that appears below the drop-down.

or,

To provide additional information via a file attachment:

1. 1. In the URL field, select File from the drop-down list.

   2. Click the button to access the Media Gallery.

   3. In the Media Gallery, select the file to download (or click the Add button to upload a new file)

13. To attach a photo to the landing page:

    1. Click the button to access the Media Gallery.

    2. In the Media Gallery, select the photo to download and click Ok.

14. Click the Save Changes button to save the event, (or the Cancel button to quit without saving).

To add contact information for this event, click the Contacts link in the Event Calendar screen to the right of the event. Follow the procedures outlined for adding contacts.

Note:  To access the group landing page, you must send the URL to the group. (For example, https://secure.netbookerng.com/hseoptx_UZ/hseoid_225660.html?&groupcode=GRP101). The “groupcode” is the contact access code you assigned. The group member would then click the Group Info button to display the group landing page. If there are multiple events, a Select Event drop down list will appear on the left side of the page.

Related Topic

RVNG Navigation