The minimum requirements to run GUESTHOUSE MANAGER (GHM) are as follows:
Ø A computer running Microsoft® Windows™ 95, 98, 2000, XP, Vista or 7
Ø 128MB of RAM
Ø 20 MB of hard disk space
The GHM software makes use of the Regional and Language Settings of your Windows operating system to format amounts and dates. Make sure that these are set to your local formats. You can find these settings in the Control Panel of the Start Menu on your Desktop.
The GHM Setup program installs the program and all components necessary to run the program.
1. Open Internet Explorer (or any other internet browser) and go to www.guesthousemanager.net and choose Download from the menu.
2. Enter your details and click Submit. Then Click on the Guesthouse Manager Program icon to start the download.
3. Click the Save button to download the program first. Select ‘Desktop’ for the location to Save the program.
4. After the download is finished, start the program on your desktop to start the installation. Wait until the first set up window is displayed.
5. Click Next to continue installing the program.
6. Click Next to continue installing the program.
7. Click Next to confirm and start the installation of the program
Notes:
Ø To start the program, Click Start on the Windows taskbar , click Programs → Guesthouse Manager → Run Guesthouse Manager. Or double click the Guesthouse Manager icon on the desktop.
After installation of GHM, the program can be used immediately, but it is limited to 50 bookings.
To continue using the program, it needs to be registered. This can only be done after you have purchased a license. You will find more details on how to register your license on your invoice.
Before the program can be used, some information must be set up first:
Ø Room Types
Ø Rooms
Ø Rate Types
Ø Standard Supplements
Ø Third Parties
Ø Users
Ø Languages
Ø Currencies
This information needs to be setup only once but can always be modified in a later stage if necessary (eg. Change of rates).
Room Types:
For each room that has a same rate, a room type must be created first. Some examples for naming Room Types are “Luxury”, “Executive”, “Comfort”, “Budget”,…
For each Rate Type, you will be able to set up a rate structure. By default, a rate is set for 1 night. However it is possible to set rates for multiple nights, week(s) of month(s). This can be set at the level of the rate type.
After defining the Room Types, you will create the different rooms you have and allocate them to a Room Type.
Rooms:
For each unit (room, cottage, flat, …), a room must be created. While creating, you allocate it to a room type to get the right rate structure.
Rate Types:
Most of the establishments only have 1 rate which is valid for a certain date. E.g. B&B rate. In this case no additional rate types must be created. However, I you offer several rates (Bed only, B&B, full board …) , a rate type for each of these rates must be created. They can be named like “BB”, “DBB”, “FB”…
You can also use a different rate type if you work with STO rates instead of a commission % on your rack rates.
Standard supplements:
All the extras you could charge your clients (Mini bar, laundry, transfers, …) must be set up first.
The different items must have a category (eg. MINI BAR) and a description (eg. Sparkling Water).
At statup, there will be a predefined list of supplements loaded.
Third Parties:
The third party is the source of the booking. This can be a tour operator, travel agent, website,…
You can manage the commission, if there is one, but also the invoicing and payment, if it is not done by the guest.
To get most out of your statistics, you should provide a third party for each booking, even if there is no commission or separate invoice involved.
Users:
If different staff members are making use of GHM, then we recommend that each staff member has its own user code and password.
By setting up different users, access to different functions can be controlled and booking changes can be monitored (Audit Report)
Languages:
By setting up different languages, the confirmation sheet, invoice and the email templates can be set up in these languages. The different language layouts will then be used depending of the language of the guest or Third party..
Currencies:
By setting up different currencies, the confirmation sheet and invoice can be converted into any of these currencies at their corresponding exchange rate.