Version 3.2 of the Victorex Resort Property Management Reservation System (RPMRS) software contains many exciting new capabilities and enhancements, all designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Vacation Rental Managers. Most significant is an automatic interface to Buehner-Fry's Operations Management System (OMS), which makes up-to-the-minute information about the housekeeping status of every property available at all times to all users. Information that was either footsteps or telephone calls away can now be obtained with but a few keystrokes. Version 3.2 also includes changes that make it easier to make note of and respond to the preferences of individual guests. A list of the changes made since Version 3.0 was released follows.

The Buehner-Fry Operations Management System (OMS) is a telephone-based system that utilizes telephones designed specifically for vacation rental homes to report the housekeeping status of each rental property. When a housekeeper or inspector enters a property, he or she presses a pre-programmed button on the phone, which initiates a call to the OMS webserver. The housekeeper then enters his or her individual identification code, a one- or two-character task code, and hangs up. When leaving the property, the process is repeated, using a "task complete" or "task incomplete" code. This information is immediately available on the OMS website to the VRM's staff. For more information on OMS, please visit http://www.buehner-fry.com.

RPMRS adds significant value to OMS by providing an optional interface that captures the OMS data on a continuous, "real-time" basis, combining it with RPMRS reservations data. With this option, any reservationist, housekeeper, or manager can, with just a few keystrokes, check the housekeeping status of any property. This information is not limited to a simple "clean" or "not-clean" status, it provides the identity of the housekeeper or inspector, and the date and time in and out of the property of all recent housekeeping activity. When a guest is checked in, the greeter can tell if the property has been cleaned and inspected, or just cleaned. And if it hasn't been cleaned, it will reveal whether or not the cleaning has been started, and if so, what time the housekeeper arrived at the property. With this information, the greeter can make some predictions about when the "not-yet-cleaned" unit will be ready, and whether or not alternative arrangements must be made.

This option also provides reports for the housekeeping department, designed to help managers monitor and manage the housekeeping staff, without the time and effort required to make detailed inquiries of the OMS website.

Many big four- and five-star hotels make much of their ability to save and recall comments and information about guest preferences and special needs. RPMRS has long provided this capability, but recognizing that it has not been used extensively, we've made changes that make it much easier to record and recall comment "memos" for every guest and owner. Now, whenever the owner or renter record is accessed while viewing a reservation in Step 39, the related comments memo is open for viewing and editing. Whether talking with a guest on the phone, or in person while they check-in or check-out, it's just the matter of a couple of key strokes to read what's in the memo, and to add additional comments as appropriate.

Regular use of this new capability will significantly enhance customer service for all repeat guests and all owners. RPMRS users are encouraged to take advantage of this improved capability.

When first introduced, reservation comment memos were an option. This new capability, which includes mandatory comments for all reservation changes and cancellations, is so important and useful we have made it a standard part of RPMRS. It is no longer an option.

We have made numerous changes to make it even easier for "lightly trained" operators to perform month-end and year-end closing processes without "getting into trouble."

• Show number of last check created, so operators won't try to recreate checks when faced with a check printer problem.
• Provide for special "flag" for VRMs that close the year after November statements created, so that all year-end warning and advisory messages display at the proper time.
• Provide more detailed messages advising of all required procedures, and disallow all "out-of-sequence" major accounting processes.
• Somewhat related, provide warning message when reservations are booked in advance of the last date in the rate table calendar, to minimize chance of far-ahead reservations being booked at the wrong rate.

We've added yet another comment memo for each property, this one for comments from past guests, presumably raving about the property. This comments will be added to the property description page on the Victorex vacation rental search engine, helping prospective renters better chose the property that best meets their needs, and helping to distinguish the websites of Victorex customers from those of VRMs which don't use Victorex's vacation rental search engine.