The Room Blocks section is a new feature in Backyou designed for Central Desks and their hotels. It enables Central Desks to create allotment requests, and hoteliers to process them.
An Room Block is a block of rooms reserved in advance by an event organizer, whose task is to market it within a certain timeframe.
Contents :
Introduction:
A Central Desk is contacted by a client who is organizing an event and wishes to reserve a large number of rooms in order to offer them to the event's participants. The Central Desk then creates an Room Block request that groups together the client's requirements, and solicits venues for this request. These venues receive the request and can then process it. They have the option of offering some of their rooms, which creates a contract between the client and the venue. The terms of this contract are defined and can be modified in the Room Blocks tab.
Central Desk view
Status :
Request status:
In progress: The request has been created, venues have potentially been approached and have potentially responded. The request remains in “in progress” status.
Status of Room Block requests (specific to each venue):- Inactive Room Block request: The Room Block request is inactive from the moment the venue is contacted until the request is activated.
- Waiting for proposal: The Room Block request has been activated.
- Waiting for moderation: The venue has made a proposal.
- Room Block ready for client approval: A proposal is awaiting approval, to be sent to the client.
- Request for client approval: The proposal has been sent to the client, awaiting validation.
- Negotiation with the establishment: The proposal was not a perfect fit and you request a modification from the venue.
- Room Block ready for sale: The venue has proposed a contract which has been accepted by the client.
- Room Block declined: Room Block cancelled after passing through “Ready for sale” status.
Create an Room Block request :
To create a new Room Block request > New request > Room Blocks.
There are 7 steps to creating an Room Block request:
- client: Select the client by searching for it in existing clients or by creating a new client account, then validate.
- Manager (optional): Select the person responsible for the request from the drop-down menu. Here you can choose to notify the person responsible for the request of all exchanges linked to the request by checking the “Notify the manager for all exchanges linked to this request” box. It is not mandatory to define a contact person.
- General: Enter event name (mandatory), event location (mandatory), marketing dates (mandatory), event dates (mandatory and included in marketing dates), client requirements (optional), estimated event turnover (optional) and event reference (optional).
- Accommodation and services: Enter the room types requested in the drop-down menu (optional), the services requested in the drop-down menu (optional) and the total requirements per night. To guide venues as to the number of rooms they can offer you, you can also specify a recommendation per venue.
- Release conditions: Enter the release calculation base, the reference base, then add the desired release conditions. The pre-filled condition is mandatory; any addition is optional.
- Finished: You can view the request that venues will receive before creating it by clicking on “Create request”.
Manage Room Block requests :
Existing requests appear in the > Room Blocks section.
For each request, you'll find some information: the reference, name, dates and location of the event, the manager, the client, the stock status, the status of the request and the button that allows you to view the request in its entirety.
Clicking on the button with the open file pictogram provides all the information on the request:
At the top of each file, you'll find the information mentioned above, as well as the button for contacting the client by email.
There are then 4 sections:
- List of venues : This is where you'll find a list of the venues you've contacted. For each venue, you'll find its name, address, your contact, the status of the stock held by the venue, the status of the request, an exchange tab and a tab for viewing and interacting with the proposal. On this page you'll also find the option of adding a new venue, or activating all those on the list that aren't.
- Proposal summary: Here you'll find a list of venues' proposal summaries, with the option of sorting them and viewing the details of each proposal (number of rooms and price for each day).
- Orders: Feature to come
- Mini site configuration: Feature coming soon
From this area, you can request venues, consult the progress of requests in the various venues and process them:
- Create a proposal
- Request a modification from the venue
- Modify the proposal directly
- Decline the proposal
- Send proposal to client
Venue view
Status:
- Waiting for quotation: You have received the request, but no proposal has been created.
- Waiting for moderation: The proposal is sent to the Central Desk, which must check it and decide whether it requires modification or can be sent to the client as is.
- Request for client approval: The Central Desk has sent the proposal to the client for validation.
Processing Room Block requests
Room Block requests appear in the Room Blocks tab.
For each request, you'll find some information: the reference, name, dates and venue concerned, the manager, the status of the request and the button that allows you to view the request in its entirety.
Clicking on this button takes you to the proposal, which must first be completed.
Create a proposal
Please note: there is no “Save” button to exit the proposal and save its contents. This action is automatic, and you can exit the proposal at any time before publishing it, without risking losing the data.
At the top of each file, you'll find the information mentioned above, plus a button for contacting the central desk by email.
You can view the Room Block request to help you respond to it as effectively as possible.
You can then complete the proposal:Please note: the number of rooms in the Room Block request is the total number of rooms required for the event. You can propose a partial proposal.
- Activate or deactivate breakfast, and set the price.
- Set the price of tourist tax per night and per person.
- Add a product with the button
You can choose a product from the drop-down menu, then specify the price and quantity you wish to supply to the event on each date.
You also have the option of specifying the details of each product. For double rooms, you can indicate whether they can be converted into twin rooms (twinables) by ticking the corresponding box that appears when you select the product.
Tip: When you enter a product price or quantity for one day, this value is automatically carried over to all other days when this value is 0. If you wish to modify a price or quantity, and have this modification applied to all days for this product, you can use the copy button next to your value.
Once you've completed the form, you can publish your proposal. Initially, it will be sent to the Central Desk for moderation. If the proposal is acceptable to the client, a Central Desk agent will send the proposal to the client. If not, you will be asked to make changes.