Managing Special Requests

To add a special request, first access the GM Functions module. Then, expand the Rooms and Rates folder on the left and select Special Requests from the bottom of the list (just above the Rooms folder).

Once in the Special Requests menu, you can add a new request by clicking the New button from the upper ribbon menu options. Doing so creates a blank row on the menu below, which can then be filled in by clicking each empty box and typing in relevant information.

Expand each item below as needed for more information on a given column. Be aware that if the request you are building is only informational (such as an “Allergies” notice), you only need to worry about the Code, Description, Override Required, and Upsell columns. All other columns only apply to special requests with an associated fee.

• Code This is the abbreviated short code made of letters, numbers, or both, that will be shown when adding the request to a guest’s reservation or profile. While there are no specific rules governing this field’s format, MSI recommends limiting the short code to 3 - 6 characters. Symbols (!, @, #, etc …) should be avoided if possible.
• Description The full name of the special request as it will appear on reports and anywhere the full name is displayed. Again, while there are no specific rules governing what should be entered here, it is recommended to keep your description shorter for ease-of-reference.
• Per Room This represents a flat dollar fee that will be applied to a specific booking regardless of the number of occupants in the room. Note that if you intend to use this column, you should not use the Per Adult, Child Over, or Child Under columns. If a value exists in the Per Room column (other than $0.00), Chorum will ignore the values placed in these other columns.
• Per Adult This represents a flat dollar fee that multiplies by the number of “Adult” occupants noted in the applied booking. For example, if a guest books a room with two adults and adds this request, and the Per Adult fee is set to $5.00, adding this request to the booking will add a $10.00 (2 x $5.00) fee. Note that this amount will combine with any amounts added in the Child Over and Child Under columns when applicable. Be aware that this column will not be factored in to the total if a Per Room value has been set.
• Child Over This represents a flat dollar fee that multiplies by the number of “Children Over (Cutoff Age)” occupants noted in the applied booking, with the cutoff age being defined by your hotel’s policies. For example, a hotel states their cutoff age is 5 years old. A guest books a room with three children, ages 3, 6, and 8, and adds this request. The Child Over fee is $5.00, meaning that adding this request to the booking will add a $10.00 (2 x $5.00) fee. Note that the fee would not be $15.00, as the 3-year-old child is beneath the cutoff age. Note that this amount will combine with any amounts added in the Per Adult and Child Under columns when applicable. Be aware that this column will not be factored in to the total if a Per Room value has been set.
• Child Under This represents a flat dollar fee that multiplies by the number of “Children Under (Cutoff Age)” occupants noted in the applied booking, with the cutoff age being defined by your hotel’s policies. For example, a hotel states their cutoff age is 5 years old. A guest books a room with three children, ages 3, 6, and 8, and adds this request. The Child Under fee is $5.00, meaning that adding this request to the booking will add a $5.00 (1 x $5.00) fee. Note that the fee would not be $15.00, as the 6- and 8-year-old children are above the cutoff age. Note that this amount will combine with any amounts added in the Per Adult and Child Over columns when applicable. Be aware that this column will not be factored in to the total if a Per Room value has been set.
• Posting Type Decide if the request is meant to be a debit or a credit. A debit adds to the amount the guest owes for their total stay, while a credit subtracts from the amount the guest owes as if a payment were applied.
• Dept Code Choose the department code to be used by this package. Some hotels prefer to make individual department codes for each type of special request to track revenue separately, while others may make a universal account to use with some or all their requests. If you aren’t sure which department code to use, reach out to your hotel’s manager or accountant (if applicable) for further guidance before continuing.
  
  Be aware that if you wish for your Special Request to include taxes in its total, the department code you select must have the desired taxes associated with it. For example, if you create a request that should have a sales tax associated with its posted fees, the department code you select for the request must have the sales tax applied to it. See Managing Department Codes for more information on the setup and usage of individual codes.
• Posting Night This controls the first night the request will post a charge to the guest’s folio after added. By default, the posting night is always 1, meaning it will always add the fee on the same night the request was added to the guest’s folio. Be aware that this does not necessarily mean it will be the guest’s arrival date - if the guest has already been checked in for multiple days when the request is added, the request will not post a fee before the night it was added. Changing this number will change the number of days Chorum waits before posting the first charge (2 = two days, 3 = three days, etcetera).
• Repeat Nights This controls the frequency Chorum posts the associated fees for the package. By default, repeat nights is always 1, meaning it will post the request’s associated fee every night after the first posting night until the guest checks out. For example, if the hotel sets the repeat nights value to 3, then the request will post its associated fees every third night after the first posting until the request is removed or the guest checks out.
  
  If the request should only post once during the guest’s stay (ie; a one-time fee or credit), change this value to ‘0’. After the request’s associated fees post the first time, they won’t post again for the remainder of the guest’s stay.
• Package Only By checkmarking this option, the request will only be available for use in the Packages menu (see Managing Packages) or as part of a Package Rate (see Package Rates). The option is otherwise unavailable as an upsell option or individual add-on to guest bookings or profiles.
• Override Required By checkmarking this option, the request cannot be added unless the logged in clerk adding the request has the Override Rights permission enabled for their login. If the logged in user doesn’t have this right when adding the request, a user override prompt will display requiring another user with the permission to enter their login, approving the request’s attachment. See the related topic Security Users for more information on adding this permission.
• Currency By default, this will be USD for US Dollars. However, if your hotel has configured any additional types of currency from the Exchange Rates menu they will also display on this menu as a choice. Choose the currency appropriate to the revenue this request should be associated with. See the related topic Exchange Rate Setup for more information about adding and managing currencies in Chorum.
• Upsell If your hotel is using the new (HTML) Reservations module, checkmarking this option will automatically display the special request as an available add-on to the guest’s stay during the check-in process (see Guest Check-In for more information). You can select any number of special requests to show as upsell options, but MSI recommends limiting your displayed options to your top three choices. Keep in mind if the request is a Package Only request (detailed above), this column does not have any effect during check-in.
  
  Any non-Package Only requests that do not have this checkmark will still be available for selection during check-in but will instead be listed within the More Options selection instead of being displayed on the check-in form.

Once you have finished filling in all necessary options for your request, click Save in the top-left corner of the Special Requests menu. Your special request is now ready for use in Chorum! If at any point during the creation process you decide you no longer wish to create a new request, click either the Cancel or Refresh buttons in the top-left corner of the menu to remove any unsaved work.

To change details of an existing special request, simply access the Special Requests menu from the GM Functions module (listed beneath the Rooms and Rates folder, as noted in the previous section) then locate the request you wish to modify on the menu. Click on the cell containing the information you wish to change and update it as needed, then click Save in the top-left corner to complete your changes.

If you instead need to delete an existing special request, select the request you wish to use by clicking anywhere on its row, then click the Delete button at the top of the Special Requests menu. Be aware that this is primarily intended for use with requests that were created in error and have thus not been used yet, as Chorum will prevent you from deleting a Special Request that is attached to any guest bookings, profiles, rates, or packages. If you still intend to delete the Request, you will need to locate anywhere your hotel has mapped the request and remove it from that section of Chorum before you can delete it (this includes past checked-out guests as well).

If you wish instead to take the request out of normal use, but otherwise not delete it, simply add or change the description of the request to something like DO NOT USE or DISCONTINUED, and checkmark the Override Required option for the request. This will limit the number of users who may accidentally add the request to a stay without affecting any of your hotel’s past reporting.

Here are some examples of common Special Requests a hotel might create for use in Chorum.

• Early Check-In The hotel offers guests the ability to check-in to their rooms earlier than normal, assuming availability allows. In exchange, the guest pays a one-time fee of $20 due at the time of check-in. To achieve this, the hotel creates the “Early Check-In” special request and adds a Per Room fee of $20. The Posting Type is set to debit, the department code is set as needed, the Posting Night is set to 1, and Repeat Nights is set to 0. No other settings are changed.
  
  When the guest checks in, the clerk adds the “Early Check-In” special request to the guest’s stay. That night when the guest’s rate posts, Chorum will also post a single line item for $20 to the folio’s posted revenue. This fee will not post again for the remainder of the guest’s stay.
• Parking Fee The hotel that creates this request is located next to an airport, and as such proper parking is an often-sought commodity. The hotel has a secure parking garage guests can store their vehicles in for the duration of their stay and decides to charge a weekly fee for checked-in guests who would like to use the garage. To achieve this, the hotel first creates the “Garage Parking” special request, with a Per Room fee of $15.00. The Posting Type is set to Debit, the department code is set as needed, the Posting Night is set to 1, and Repeat Nights is set to 7. The hotel also decides they want to make sure guests are properly advertised this option during check-in, and checkmark the Upsell option.
  
  When the guest first arrives at the hotel and checks-in, the clerk notices the Parking Fee and prompts the guest for the upsell. Provided the guest accepts, the Special Request is added to the guest’s stay. On the first night of the guest’s stay, an additional $15 surcharge is added to the guest’s folio. Every seventh day after that until the guest checks out, another $15 charge is added to the guest’s total balance. If the guest checks out on the 6^th day, no additional fees are posted.
• Premium Service Fee In this example, the hotel creates a special rate that includes membership access to a nearby golf course. The membership fee is an additional $10 per adult sharing the room, each night they spend with the hotel. To achieve this end, the hotel must first create the “Service Access” (or something similar) special request, with a Per Adult fee of $10.00. The Posting Type is set to Debit, the department code is set as needed, the Posting Night is set to 1, and Repeat Nights is also set to 1. Lastly, the Package Only option is checkmarked, so they can make sure that the request is only included as part of either the offered rate, or a separate add-on, but can’t be added directly to a guest’s reservation or profile otherwise. Once this has been done, the hotel can go on to create their offered rate and add this request as part of the bundle, as detailed in the related topic Managing Packages
• Quiet Area Requested A large hotel often has ADA guests stay with their property. Due to the hotel’s high guest turnover, the main hallways often have chattering guests coming and going, and in other locations the sound of elevators moving up and down between floors is somewhat common. While these noises aren’t a bother for most guests, some of the hotel’s ADA guests are notably sensitive to sound. To accommodate for this, the hotel creates a “Quiet Area Requested” Special Request, which they honor to the best of their ability. They do not add any fees or discounts to the request, but they do checkmark the Upsell option to make sure the request displays automatically during check-in, so they always remember to ask the arriving guest if they need a quiet area if one is available.
  
  As an added function, the hotel also creates a room feature “Quiet Area” and assigns this feature to any rooms in the hotel that are far enough away from hotel’s main traffic areas that they remain (mostly) quiet throughout the day and night (see Room Features for more information). During check-in, the clerk checks the available rooms matching the guest’s booked room type to see if any have the Quiet Area feature attached and chooses one if available.
• Special Event Coupon In an effort to maximize occupancy over the weekend of a major local event, a hotel offers a special coupon that provides a one-time $20 per guest discount on stays that are three days or longer, with a note that the coupon is only available for use when booking on or through the noted weekend. While a similar feature can be achieved with promotional rates (see Promotional Rates for more information), this hotel wants the coupon to be available regardless of the guest’s booked rate choice. To achieve this, the hotel creates the “Special Event” request, and sets the Per Adult fee to $20.00. They set the Posting Type to Credit, set the department code as needed, set the Posting Night to 3, and Repeat Nights to 0. Lastly, they checkmark the Override Required option, as a manager must verify the coupon before the request can be added to the guest’s stay.
  
  On the third night of the guest’s stay, Chorum automatically adds a $20 credit to the guest’s stay for each adult listed in the room, regardless of their rate choice. The rate otherwise posts normally for the remainder of the stay. It should be noted here that if the guest decided to check-out early (before the third day), they would not receive the discount as it never had the opportunity to post, ensuring guests don’t attempt to take advantage of the coupon in some way.