Let’s start with a quick history on why this technology has become such a popular tool:

It is not uncommon for a Bellperson to wander off or cut line to get ahead in tip money for the day. This can cause Human Resources issues within the workplace that is dealt with on a daily basis. BellDeskPro assigns/retrieves fronts fairly and without any bias. Also, when doing any type of reporting, claims, or audits, currently supervisors and dispatchers have to sift through boxes of handwritten service logs, activity logs, and claim tickets to find pieces of information to aid in their reporting. This type of information gathering takes anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours to process – resulting in time taken away from performing primary tasks. BellDeskPro can produce these reports in seconds, not hours.

While the core system only requires a couple of PC, scanners and monitors, utilizing smart mobile technology can further enhance your belldesk solution with curbside ticket scanning, luggage inventory accounting and the dispatching of front requests. With the swipe of guest’s luggage ticket guests can expedite their service with convenient and easy-to-use request kiosks. The request is sent to the baggage room dispatch terminal, expediting the delivery of the guest’s bags to a location near the originating request kiosks, or an alternate location specified by the guest.

The kiosk input screen can provide feedback on the retrieval process. Guests can see the current average wait-time, while managers can use kiosks to oversee their bell desk operation. The BellDeskPro tracks unlimited number of kiosk locations with flexible kiosk designs. Our sleek kiosk line offers elegance and designs that can match any hotel décor. (Color Choices)

In large hotel operations, self-serve luggage request kiosks are a convenient solution for bell desk operations that service expansive locations. Guest can request their luggage from their most convenient point and wait for their luggage delivery. Hotels with multiple pick-up and drop-off entrances also benefit from the convenience that self-serve kiosks provide guests and bell staff. Bellmen can deliver luggage at various designated and convenient points such as taxi and valet terminals.

ADDING FRONTS !

The call to deliver a guest’s luggage is received by dispatch or the belldesk and the information is immediately entered into the system. Rather than use hand written log books to record pending jobs, dispatchers or bell captains use the ADD FRONTS screen. All information input via the Add Fronts screen will be printed on the slips printed for the bellmen when they scan at the Bell Queue.. An interface to your HMS will populate the name based on room number. Dispatchers can record guest name, room number, claim check number, bag count, and special comments. All recorded information will be printed on the slip for the assigned bellman. Fronts can also be manually assigned to a particular bellman (password protected), flagged as VIP, or scheduled for the future.

THE BELL QUEUE – Who’s up next ?

When bellmen arrive to work, they scan their bar coded ID badge to enter the queue where they wait for fronts to become available. The Bell Queue automatically maintains a First In First Out order, but can be manually adjusted by captains or managers with password access. When fronts become available, bellmen names light up in the queue, indicating that fronts are available for those bellmen. The bellmen have a fixed amount of time in which to scan their badge to be issued the next front in the queue, but they don’t know what the job is until it is assigned to them. When the bellman returns from his assignment, s/he once again scans his ID badge to add himself back into the queue and waits for the next front. BellDeskPro can be configured to offer bellmen more than one front at a time (usually when there are more fronts waiting to be assigned than there are bellmen in the queue).

Fronts are grouped together based on intelligent logic that defines gradually expanding common areas in the hotel (e.g. bellman has a front on the 10th floor, BellDeskPro will seek first another front on the 10th floor, then on floors 9 and 11, then on floors 5 to 20, etc.).

Services such as floral deliveries, dry cleaning pick-up and delivery are included within the system as minor fronts and also become assigned through the intelligent logic system. Conversely, VIP bellman services that need immediate handling are moved to the top of the Front list for rapid service.

PENDING & ASSIGNED FONT MONITORS – What jobs are waiting ?

Once a front is entered, it moves on to the Pending Monitor – waiting to be assigned. When dispatchers create fronts, they become available to bellmen via the Bell Queue, and until assigned to bellmen, can be monitored in the Pending Fronts Monitor. From here, fronts can be watched, manually assigned, or canceled (with password access). The Pending and Assigned Progress Monitor below allows you to understand current work-loads, delivery times and staffing considerations at a glance. Entries can be color coded once they reach certain threshold times defined by you, so that you can respond and make decision quickly to pre-empt customer service issues. It shows when the front was generated, how many minutes have elapsed since, name of the guest, front type (Check-in), the bellman, claim check number, total # of bags and destination room number.

HISTORY GRID

BellDeskPro maintains a real time history file that makes all historical front information available on demand with a few mouse clicks. Instead of flipping through pages of a book, or through a pile of post it notes, you’ll be able to immediately find the information you need to solve guest service problems. The History Grid files all fronts that have ever been entered into the system. Search tools and a variety of column sorts allows for on-demand reporting. Virtually any report can be user defined by selecting the desired column heading, sort order search criteria and start/end and date/time range. There are a number of reports available from the Bell Desk Reports screen. Here is a sampling of the 6 most popular ones.