GBCORP BLOG · IT SERVICES
Hotel Management Software: Bookings, Guests and Rates in One App
A hotel that takes most of its bookings through third-party sites pays a commission on its own guests. Hotel management software worth the name gives the hotel a direct channel under its own brand and the console to run it.
Hotel management software covers two jobs: selling rooms and running the stay. Most systems do the second and leave the first to booking sites that charge a commission on every guest. GBCORP’s white-label booking and hotel app does both under the hotel’s own brand, on iOS, Android and the web, with payments settling to the hotel’s own gateway account and no commission on bookings.
What the software contains
| Part | What it does | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Rooms and rates | Room types, photos, occupancy, seasonal rates, packages, minimum stays | Console |
| Availability | Live calendar, blocks, overbooking rules, channel sync where an API exists | Console |
| Booking | Search, select, pay or hold, confirmation, modify or cancel by policy | Guest app and web |
| Guest account | Stay history, invoices, preferences, loyalty card in the wallet | Guest app |
| Requests | Housekeeping, late check-out, room service, transport, messages | Guest app to console |
| Reports | Occupancy, revenue per room, direct share, cancellations, exports | Console |
Direct bookings and the commission
A guest who books through the hotel’s own app costs the hotel nothing but the flat monthly plan. A guest who books through a third-party site costs a percentage of the stay, every stay. Hotels that move returning guests to their own app, with a small direct-booking benefit shown on the rate, typically see the direct share rise steadily within a season. The software makes this possible; the front desk makes it happen by mentioning the app at check-out.
The front-desk console
Arrivals and departures by day. Check-in that creates the folio, check-out that closes it. Requests from guests appearing as tasks for housekeeping or the concierge, with status visible to the guest. Rates and blocks changed in seconds. Invoices generated and sent from the hotel’s own domain. Nothing requires training beyond a morning, because the console was built for the people who stand at a desk.
Multi-property and multi-market
A group runs several properties in one console with one guest account across them. Languages, currency, tax rules and the payment provider are configured per property, so a chain in two countries runs one app with two configurations. Right-to-left layouts are a setting. Guest loyalty carries across properties, which is the reason groups want one app rather than several.
Configure or build
Hotels, guesthouses, serviced apartments and small chains fit the white-label booking and hotel app and are live within days at a flat monthly plan. Groups with a revenue-management system, a central reservations office or unusual rate logic commission custom hotel management software, scoped in a week and quoted per release on the same engine.
Checklist before launch
- Room types with photos, occupancy and base rates; seasons and packages listed.
- Cancellation and payment policies written down.
- Payment-gateway account in the hotel’s name.
- Which channel-manager or property system, if any, must stay and whether it has an API.
- Store developer accounts in the hotel’s name, or a note for GBCORP to create them.
- The three numbers to watch: direct share, occupancy, revenue per available room.
The numbers to expect
Live within one to five working days on the web, store listings after review, a flat monthly plan with no commission on bookings. Customised or more complex functionality is quoted separately before any work starts.
The guest’s stay in the app
Before arrival, a message from the hotel’s own domain with the booking, directions and an early check-in offer. On arrival, the guest’s details already on the folio, so check-in is a signature. During the stay, requests from the phone: towels, a late check-out, a table, a car, each visible to the right department with a status the guest can see. At departure, the invoice in the app, and a loyalty card in the wallet that recognises the guest next time. Hotels find that the requests feature alone changes the review scores, because a request that is tracked is a request that is fulfilled.
Reports the general manager reads
Occupancy by day and by room type. Revenue per available room. The direct share of bookings against the third-party sites, which is the number that decides the commission bill. Cancellations by rate plan. Requests by department and time to fulfil. Loyalty members and their repeat rate. Exports for the accountant and the owner. All of it in the console, and none of it needs a spreadsheet.
Serviced apartments and long stays
Serviced apartments book by the week or month and need deposits, utilities and inventory checks rather than housekeeping schedules. The same software handles it as configuration: minimum stays, deposit rules, a check-in inventory with photos, monthly invoicing and a request flow for maintenance. Operators who run both hotel rooms and apartments do so in one console with one guest account.
Direct-booking benefits that work
The benefit that moves guests from a third-party site to the hotel’s own app does not need to be a discount. A free late check-out, a room upgrade when available, a welcome drink or points on the loyalty card cost the hotel little and are shown on the rate as a reason to book direct. The console lets the hotel change the benefit by season and see which one produced bookings. Front-desk staff mention the app at check-out, and the guest who downloads it books the next stay without a commission.
Questions we hear first
Does it replace our channel manager?
It can sit beside it where the channel manager has an API, or replace it for hotels that sell direct and through one or two partners.
Can guests pay on arrival?
Yes. Hold with a card, pay on arrival, or prepay, by policy per rate.
Is there a loyalty programme?
A wallet card with points or stays is included, and it carries across properties.
Can we send our own confirmations?
Yes. Confirmations, invoices and pre-arrival messages go from the hotel’s own domain.
Where to start
The GBCORP Booking and Hotel App is the product; the GBCORP white-label app range shows the loyalty and portal engines beside it. For the wider white-label picture, read white label apps explained.
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