RDPWin

CRM - Configuration

CRM Tutorials
CRM Overview

(Customer Relationship Management (RX) module required.)

CRM Configuration Tabs

Points Payments

Transaction Types

Overview

The Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is only available if the Customer Relationship Management (RX) module is installed. The Configuration screen is used to add or modify the Rules, Member Levels, Contact Types, E-Mail Types, and Phone Types. Configuration can be accessed using the CRM main menu, the System main menu, or the Navigation page. If any configuration settings are directly connected to a system switch, that switch number is displayed on the Configuration screen.

Properties Tab

The CRM provides customers with multiple properties a single source for guest information. The CRM allows customers to have a separate guest history at each property and one parent database to tie each location together. For example, Jane Doe can be assigned Guest# 26 at the Los Angeles Hilton Grand and Guest# 5427 at the San Francisco Hilton Grand. Those linked guest history records can then be linked and managed by the Hilton Grand Corporate CRM under CRM# 14241. With the CRM, all properties connect on one server (multiple servers coming soon) to the one parent database. The properties tab configures which properties are considered by CRM.

Add Property: Click the "Add Property" button to create a new row in the grid. Identify the unique serial number and property name. Define the data path and server name where the parent data resides and save.
Delete Property: Right-click and select "Delete Selected Row" to delete a property list. The system prompts with, "Deleting current record...Continue?". Click Yes to delete the record, or No to cancel the request. There are NO RESTRICTIONS. When a property is deleted while in use on any record, the property is automatically updated or made blank the next time the record is updated.

Rules Tab

Rules are used to determine when and how many points are awarded to guests. CRMUpdate supports a "points per night" rule and a "points per reservation" rule. Any starting points to be added to a new system for current reward members must be added manually to each guest history record.

If points are used as a payment method for reservations, a (DY) transaction code must be added as G/L Account 50900 (for example Type = Expense, and Description = "Expense – Frequent Guest Points"). This must be done on each data server.

When points are selected as the method of payment, the system checks the guests points balance first. If the balance is greater than zero (0), the dollar value of the points (based on the configured rules) is displayed. Enter up to that amount as a points payment which shows up on the folio as a DY transaction. The points are subtracted from the guests CRM account which shows up as a ~DY under CRM. When totals are generated, the points payment amount is in the 50900 "Expense – Frequent Guest Points" G/L account.

The RDPWin Update adds the DY transactions, but the customer must add the G/L account manually.

Add Rule: Click the "Add Rule" button to create a new row in the grid. Define the Type (rule), Criteria, Starting, Ending, Exchange Rate information, and save.
Delete: Right-click and select "Delete Selected Row" to delete a rule from the list. The system prompts with, "Deleting current record...Continue?". Click Yes to delete the record, or No to cancel the request. There are NO RESTRICTIONS. When a rule is deleted while in use on any record, the rule is automatically updated or made blank the next time the record is updated.
Property: Define rules by property column. Configure for ALL properties or only one and offer a different award scheme for different properties. If more than one rule applies to a reservation, the one that awards the most points is used.
Type (Rule): Describe to which category the rule belongs. RDPWin allows two types: redemption and award rules. Redemption rules pertain to dates and circumstances that control when guests can use points toward room nights. Award Rules control when guests are awarded points for room night charges. EXAMPLE - properties may wish to restrict guests from using points to book reservations during spring break. Define that rule as Criteria=Date Range, Starting=03/01, Ending=04/20, and Exchange Rate=0.00. Translation: guests points are worth zero between March 1st and April 20th.
Criteria: Set criteria to restrict points. Redemption and Award Types can be restricted by default, date range, day of week (checked-out), member level, and guest type. Award Types can also be restricted by rate plan, room type, and "new member". Criteria definitions cannot be changed or added. As an example, properties may wish to restrict guests with particular rate plans from accruing points for room charges. That Type=Award rule would be Criteria=Rate Plan, Starting and Ending =Low, and Exchange Rate=0.00. Translation: guest point accrual is zero for those with the Low rate plan.
Starting and Ending: Once the Type and Criteria are defined, the Starting and Ending fields adapt based on the Criteria selection. For example, when Criteria=Date Range, the Starting and Ending fields require entry of a date in mm/dd/yy format. When Criteria=Rate Plan, then the System Rate Plans are available in the drop-down list. When set to Default, see below.
Exchange Rate: The value of a point is based on the Type, Criteria, Starting, and Ending conditions. For an example of this, see example below.
Per: When designating the exchange rate, select Room Charge, Night, and Reservation from this drop-down. For example, award 100 points for a reservation made between 9/15 and 10/25. Type=Award, Criteria=DateRange, Starting=9/15, Ending=10/25, Exchange Rate=100, Per=Reservation.

Member Levels Tab

Configure different member levels based on total points accumulated. When points are awarded, the system automatically updates the membership level when appropriate. Membership levels are only updated when points are awarded, so when a new level is entered, records are not updated with the level until points are awarded for that individual member.

Add Member Level: Click the "Add Member Level" button create a new row in the grid. Define the level, description, point value, and save.
Level: Rank guests based on point totals such as Gold or Platinum. This user-definable field allows up to 12 alpha-numeric characters.
Description: Enter or change the brief explanation (up to 30 alpha-numeric characters) of the membership level. For example, Gold can be assigned to guests with more than five stays since 2001, while Platinum represents guests with more than five stays within the last 12 months.
Points: Enter the number of points required (up to nine characters) to qualify for the level such as 5,000 points for Platinum; 3,000 points for Gold, etc.
Delete Member Level: Right-click and select "Delete Selected Row" to delete a level from the list. The system prompts with, "Deleting current record...Continue?". Click Yes to delete the record, or No to cancel the request. There are NO RESTRICTIONS. When a level is deleted while in use on any record, the level is automatically updated or made blank the next time points are updated.

Contact Types Tab

Contact Types describe different contacts within one guest history record such as guest, family, spouse, etc. The maximum characters allowed is 30.

Add Contact Type: Click the "Add Contact Type" button create a new row in the grid. Define the contact type (up to 30 alpha-numeric characters) and save.
Delete Contact Type: Right-click and select "Delete Selected Row" to delete a type from the list. The system prompts with, "Deleting current record...Continue?". Click Yes to delete the record, or No to cancel the request. There are NO RESTRICTIONS. When a type is deleted while in use on any record, the type is automatically updated or made blank the next time points are updated.

E-Mail Types Tab

E-Mail Types are entered to describe the different types of addresses within a single guest history record. Configure the types of e-mail addresses to track (up to 30 alpha-numeric characters). For example, John Andrews could have two e-mail addresses: (1) jandrews@freeemail.com (Home) and (2) jandrews@professional.com (Business).

Add E-Mail Type: Click the "Add E-mail Type" button create to a new row in the grid. Define the e-mail address type (up to 30 alpha-numeric characters) and save.
Delete E-mail Type: Right-click and select "Delete Selected Row" to delete a e-mail address description from the list. The system prompts with, "Deleting current record...Continue?". Click Yes to delete the record, or No to cancel the request. There are NO RESTRICTIONS. When a type is deleted while in use on any record, the type is automatically updated or made blank the next time points are updated.

Phone Types Tab

Phone Types are entered to describe the different types of phone numbers within one guest history record. For example, John Andrews has a home telephone number of (555) 555-1212, a business telephone number as (555) 555-6724, and a business facsimile number as (555) 555-6725. Business, Cell, Fax, and Home are the default options available. The maximum characters allowed in this field is 30.

Add Phone Type: Click the "Add Phone Type" button create to a new row in the grid. Define the telephone number descriptions (up to 30 alpha-numeric characters) and save.
Delete Phone Type: Right-click and select "Delete Selected Row" to delete a telephone description from the list. The system prompts with, "Deleting current record...Continue?". Click Yes to delete the record, or No to cancel the request. There are NO RESTRICTIONS. When a type is deleted while in use on any record, the type is automatically updated or made blank the next time points are updated.

Guest Types Tab

Specify what stage of the reservation process the guest is in at that time. For example, as potential guests call in for brochures or information, designate the guest type to "Brochure Request." When the guest calls to book a room, change the guest type to "First-Time Guest". When the guest books and checks out again, change the type to Returning Guest.

Add Guest Type: Click the "Add Guest Type" button create to a new row in the grid. Enter a brief explanation of the guest type (up to 30 alpha-numeric characters) and save.
ID: Enter the identification number (up to six alpha-numeric characters) to be associated with the guest type.
Delete Guest Type: Right-click and select "Delete Selected Row" to delete a guest type from the list. The system prompts with, "Deleting current record...Continue?". Click Yes to delete the record, or No to cancel the request. There are NO RESTRICTIONS. When a type is deleted while in use on any record, the type is automatically updated or made blank the next time points are updated.

Market Codes Tab

Configuration includes a Market Codes tab for configuring ID numbers and descriptions of the markets where guests originated. These user-definable fields help identify the guest, such as sports group, corporate transient, guest of owner, etc. The codes (stored in Table CF) help analyze the market segments frequenting the property and assist with future marketing programs.

Add Market Code: Click the "Add Market Code" button create to a new row in the grid. Assign a unique ID, enter a description (up to 20 alpha-numeric characters), and save.
ID: Enter or change the unique identification number (up to six alpha-numeric characters) associated with the market code and save.
Delete Market Code: Right-click and select "Delete Selected Row" to delete a code from the list. The system prompts with, "Deleting current record...Continue?". Click Yes to delete the record, or No to cancel the request. There are NO RESTRICTIONS. When a code is deleted while in use on any record, the code is automatically updated or made blank the next time points are updated.

Transaction Types Tab

The CRM provides different ways to post points activity. When a CRM guests points transactions are listed (either in the Points tab or on a statement), the transaction type and description are shown to identify what the points represent. The Assign a code and Type, enter a Description. A Minimum Value can be assigned, as well as Report Name (as used when printing gift certificates). If a reservation is required for processing the points, check the "Res Num Req'd" checkbox. If a Rule is defined to process a transaction type, check the "Use Rules" checkbox.

Award transactions are added to the point total and various types of awards can be defined (points for room charges, a signup bonus, etc.). "Redeem" transactions are subtracted from the point total. Again various type of redemptions can be defined (redeeming points for a gift certificate, an airline voucher, etc.). When the "Use Rules" box is checked, the rules are followed when points are updated. Otherwise, points are posted as is (for example, if reversing a mistaken transaction, no rules should be applied; just reverse the points).

Add Transaction Type: Click the Add Transaction Type button to create a new row in the list. Assign a Code, Type, Description, Minimum Value, Report Name, and update the "Res Num Req'd" and "Use Rules" checkboxes.

To "grandfather" a flat amount of points, create that Transaction Type, specify the (points transaction) Code, set Type=Award, enter a description, and optionally set a minimum value.
Delete Transaction Type: Right-click and select "Delete Selected Row" to delete a type from the list. The system prompts with, "Deleting current record...Continue?". Click Yes to delete the record, or No to cancel the request. There are NO RESTRICTIONS. When a type is deleted while in use on any record, the type is automatically updated or made blank the next time points are updated.

Labels Tab

Configure the CRM comment table with user-definable descriptions. CRM records hold 20 custom fields and 17 comment fields. These fields can be included on the Add Guest portion of the property's website using Configure Optional Fields.

Select Comments or Custom Fields from the Label Type drop-down list. Click the Save button to file or the Close button to abandon any changes. Use the Reset button to restore the label fields to the last-saved settings. This DOES NOT reset the labels to the default settings (i.e., Comment 1, Comment 2) unless set to the default during the last save. When changes are made and the Label Type drop-down is changed before saving changes, confirmation is required before abandoning the changes and switching types.

CRM Update Tab

The CRM Update automatically adds guests from guest history into CRM and awards points for checked-out reservations. Configure how CRM Update makes these additions. Each property can have the same settings or can be configured separately via the "Property" drop-down at the top of the screen. Properties may wish to configure the CRM Find grid to include the NoRewards column to easily set apart reward members and non-members when looking up a guest. New guests are added with the "NoRewards" flag off and are awarded points for checked out reservations.

CRMUpdate automatically adds new guests to CRM. If the property prefers not to include the new CRM guests to be part of the rewards program, then CRMUpdate can be configured to add them with the "NoRewards" flag on and no points will be awarded. This flag (in FrqGuest.dat) can be used to distinguish award program members from non-members in reports or on the CRM Find screen, etc.

CRMUpdate does not add guests to CRM if there is no address or telephone information and checks for duplicate entries (using guest name and a corroborating phone number or email address). Any duplicates found are linked to the same CRM account. Note that although CRMUpdate only requires configuration on the CRM data server, the CRMUpdate program must run from each data server. Data is "pushed" from each data server (could be multiple data directories) to the CRM data server.

Add Guests to CRM: Add guests automatically with CRM Update and/or manually with RDPWin or CRMWeb. New guests can be added without rewards or can be skipped when updating points with CRMUpdate. In general, CRMUpdate can only award points for reservations to guest history when linked to a CRM record. Establishing this link is a manual process for guests with existing reservations.

Since duplicate entries are identified using guest name and a corroborating phone number or email address, CRMUpdate cannot add guests to the CRM without address or phone information. Any duplicates found are linked to the same CRM account. Note that although CRMUpdate must only be configured on the CRM data server, the CRMUpdate program must run from EACH data server. Data is "pushed" from each data server (could be multiple data directories) to the CRM data server.
Use the Same Configuration For All Properties: When checked, all configuration on the CRM Update tab is used for all properties. When unchecked, select a Property from the drop-down list and set configuration for each property separately.
Property: Each property can have the same settings or configure separately using the Property drop-down (if properties are being used).

Guest History

Phone 1 and 2 Type: Select from the drop-down list to designate which phone type is assigned to Phone1 and Phone2 when added to the CRM. The list is dependent on Phone Types configuration.
E-mail Type: Select from the drop-down list to designate which e-mail type is designated as the primary e-mail type. The list is dependent on E-mail Types configuration.
Skip Add Guests: Check update points and suppress the automatic addition of new guests to the CRM. When checked, existing CRM guests (manually added via CRMWeb or RDPWin) are awarded points and only for reservations made with a guest history number linked to CRM. Guests added via CRMWeb need to be manually linked to their existing reservations/guest history in order to receive the points.
Primary Contact Type: The name in guest history is added as the primary contact type, which must be configured on this tab. Select a contact type from the drop-down list to designate which contact type shall be used as the for primary contact type. The list is dependent on those configured on the Contact Types tab.
Include Guests with Entry Date >= (Greater Than or Equal to): Select a date for how far back to look for new guest history entries. This only applies when running the CRM Update for the FIRST time, after which the CRM Update keeps track of when it last ran and only adds new guest history entries based on that date.
No E-mail: Check the box to set the default for sending information by e-mail on each CRM record to No. The box can be unchecked on an individual basis for each guest during entry or change. This does not affect the Guest History record: only the CRM record.
No Paper Mail: Check the box to set the default for sending information by mail on each CRM record to No. The box can be unchecked on an individual basis for each guest during entry or change. This does not affect the Guest History record: only the CRM record.
No Rewards: Check the box to set the default for automatically adding guests to the property's reward program on each CRM record to No. The box can be unchecked on an individual basis for each record during entry or change. This does not affect the Guest History record: only the CRM record.

Award Points

CRMUpdate only awards points for reservations with a guest history number linked to a CRM record. Establishing this link is a manual process for guests with existing reservations.

CRMUpdate supports points per room charge dollar, points per night, and points per reservation rules. Enter a starting or existing point balance with either a flat amount or a per stay amount. To assign a fixed amount, the points must be awarded manually. Create a points transaction type, then for each CRM guest receiving the points, choose the Award/Redeem points option and award the desired number of points, choosing the transaction type just created.

Points are redeemed on checkout and can be used to offset certain types of charges (like spa treatment or upgrades). Other types of charges are not qualified for points redemption (phone charges, offsite excursions, …). The rate of redeeming points must be set. The Default Redemption rule is set to 1 point per dollar. To control which charges are eligible for points payments, see detail on the Points Payments tab.

Rules Tab

Member Levels Tab: Different member levels can be configured for increasing total points accumulated. Whenever points are updated, the system checks to see if the guest's level has changed. Not all properties need this for reward programs.
Transaction Types Tab: To grandfather a flat amount of points, a transaction type must be created. Specify a points transaction code for Type = Award, Description = Flat, and possibly specify a minimum value. Leave the remaining fields blank.

Skip Award Points - Do Not Award Points for Reservations

When checked, new guests are added to the CRM but points are not awarded. The checkbox is displayed when running CRM Update in read-only format. When point awards are skipped, the summary includes the message "Award Points Skipped". Once skipped, those points can NEVER be processed. Uncheck the box to allow points to be processed from the current date forward, but any points skipped in the past are lost.

Award Points For Departures >= (Greater Than or Equal to)

Select a date to designate which checked-out reservations are awarded points during the update. This only applies when running the CRM Update for the FIRST time, after which the CRMUpdate tracks when last processed and only adds new guest history entries based on that date.

Award Points Per Configured Rules

Points are awarded per the Rules tab when checked. When not checked, enter the number of points to be issued per Room Charge Dollar. This box should be checked unless processing for a special instance.

Points / Room Charge Dollar

When Award points per configured rules is not checked, the "Points/Room Charge Dollar" field is enabled. Enter the number of points to be awarded per room charge dollar.

Award Points to Group Members if Group Master Billed

Check this box to award points to a group member even though a group master has been billed.

Award Points to Group Members if Group Leader Billed

Check this box to award points to a group member even though a group leader has been billed.

Award Points to CRM# on Sharewith If None on Primary Res

Check this box to award points to a reservation's sharewith CRM record if no CRM# exists on the leader (primary) reservation.

Pause Between Processing Each Guest (ms): Use the up/down arrows to select how many milliseconds the system pauses in between processing each guest. This prevents "Files in Use" messages for other users. Since CRM Update is a vast function, not pausing would impact other users. If CRM Update is run at a time when there are no other users such as during a night audit, set this to zero "0" and let it finish as fast as possible.

CRM Web

See CRM Web for configuration details.

Points Payments Tab

When the Allow Points Payments box is checked for one or more properties in the grid, points can be redeemed when taking payment for a reservation.

Use Individual Folios A & B (Switch 414-05): See Use Individual Folios A & B for details.
Property: Select the appropriate row(s) in the grid to enable and disable payment by points for certain property(ies). See Configure properties in Step 4 for more detail.
Folio: The Allow Points Payments column is always enabled for Folio I. When Use Individual Folios A & B is NOT checked, then only the Folio I row is enabled for changes. Set allowances by property and by folio to separate points payable charges on multiple folio. For example, set Default Pay Code to Room & Tax on Folio I and uncheck the "Allow Points Payments" box to only allow payments for room charges to be paid with cash, check, or credit card. Set "Default Pay Code" to "Individual Pays" and check the Allow Points Payments box to to only allow individual charges such as dining or gift shop charges to be paid by points.
Default Pay Code: A default pay code can be chosen for Folios A and/or B. The default pay code for Folio I cannot be changed. When a default pay code is configured and a new reservation is made, the configured pay code is applied to the designated Folio A or B. When no pay code is specified a folio, the default is "IP" for individual pays. This code can be changed AFTER the reservations is made.
Allow Points Payments: Select a row in the grid and check the "Allow Points Payments" checkbox to designate individual properties and/or folios to allow deposits and payments to be taken using points earned by guests. This setting is per resort and unchecked by default which results in no point options displayed on Payment screens unless configured here.). To allow duplicate receipts to be printed, see Points Payment Print Settings.
Points Payment Print Settings: When Allow Points Payments is allowed, print receipts for payment by points to the configured credit card receipt printer (does not print to a laser printer). Similar to setting up credit card receipt printers, point receipts can be printed to the same printers used for credit card receipts. Receipt print settings must be configured both within CRM as well as SDC Configuration. In order to print a credit card style receipt when a points payment is taken on a reservation, check the "Enable Receipt Printing" checkbox for the applicable property(ies) in the Points Payment Print Settings grid.

Defaults are set for the number of copies to print, number of blank trailer lines to print at the end of the receipt, and the escape code for a thermal printer to cut the paper. These can be changed as needed. Specify the print settings to be used for each resort directory.

As with credit card receipt printing, each workstation to be printing receipts needs to identify which printer to use and whether or not it is a thermal printer. The Receipt Printer drop-down at the top of the Points Payments tab sets the printer for the workstation currently logged into. When a points payment is taken on a reservation when receipt printing is enabled and no printer has yet been configured for that workstation, then the system prompts to select a printer.

Steps

Follow these steps to configure RDPWin to allow points as payment:

To specify a separate pay code for points payments, configure a pay code for "Points Payments" in the FS table (i.e., pay code "PP"). (See Update Tables for assistance.)
Configure which transaction codes are payable with points in Table FT. For example, create sub-record PP and enter "00 19 20 21" in the FT table to specify that Transactions Codes 19 - 21 are associated with Pay Code PP. (See Update Tables for assistance.)
Check the "Use Individual Folios A&B" checkbox located on either the Reservations/Configuration screen or CRM/Configuration Points Payments tab.
In the case of multiple resort directories (and/or multiple remote data servers), Steps 1 - 3 must be completed for each resort.
From the CRM/Configuration Points Payments tab, check the "Allow Points Payments" checkbox for each folio that points payments are allowed.
In the case of multiple remote data servers, Step 5 must be completed for each remote server. When multiple resort directories are on one data server, the Points Payments configuration allows all resorts to be configured at once.
When taking payments, Points is available as a payment option on those configured to allow point payments. When the guest is not a CRM member or does not have any points when this method of payment is selected, the point balance displays 0 and all fields are disabled. Another form of payment must be selected.
When a guest wants to or is required to use a credit card (due to insufficient points) to pay for the Folio A or B charges, the credit card can be run twice: once for Folio I and again for Folio A or B. Alternatively, the Folio A and/or B charges can be moved to folio I prior to payment. Either Find the reservation and use Folio/Change from Options or the Folio/Change button from the Check-Out screen. On the folio screen, check the box of each transaction to be moved and click the "Change" button. Choose Folio I from the Folio Type drop-down and Save.

Remote Server

User the Remote Server tab to configure the RDPWin Clients.

Use RDPWin to access the CRM - Configuration page and click the Remote Server tab. Enter the server name which hosts the CRM Web Service (IRM Server above). Clients logging into the data server where the CRM data resides (Data Server1 above), should leave this field blank. (This needs done on one client for each data server. In the example above, RDPWin clients 1,2 and 3. Additional clients to Data Servers 1, 2 & 3 pick up the configuration from winconfig.dat.)
Verify the configuration:
- Click the Test Connection button to verify that the client can reach the CRM Web service.
- Enter the path of the RDP root directory (such as "CRMDataServer\RDPRoot\").
- Click the Test Root Path Access button verify that the RDP root file path can be accessed on the CRM data server. An error may mean permissions not granted to the ASPNET user.
- Click the Test DataBase Access button accesses the units file in the rdp01 directory on the CRM server.
RDPWin clients "STATION" environment variable must be in the range 1-999. The numbers must be unique for all clients accessing a single data server. Numbers can be reused for clients accessing a different data server.

Miscellaneous Tab

Statements

Default Statement Report Name: Enter or use the Browse button to navigate to and select the default statement report. The system default is set to access the RDPNT/RDP/Reports 10/FrequentGuest folder.

Customize Find Grid

Include NoRewards Column on Find Grid

Check "Include NoRewards" to add this column to the CRM Find grid which appears as a checkbox.

NoRewards Column Heading

Assign a column heading such as "NoRewards".

Reverse NoRewards Column Checkbox Logic

When checked, the NoRewards column is checked when NoRewards is true rather than vise-versa, so members are checked by default rather non-members.

Clear CRM Data Files Utility

USE WITH GREAT CAUTION. Click "Clear Data Files" to completely erase the CRM data files. A password is required. Customers must contact RDP Support for the current password which changes regularly. This utility is available for customers who have entered test CRM data PRIOR to going live with the CRM. Once cleared, use the CRM Update to create all the necessary files and award/redeem points based on configuration and live reservations in the system.

Reset

Abandon any changes by clicking the Reset button. Once the Save button is used, the Reset button has no function.

Save & Close, Save, Reset, and Close

Click here for instruction on how to Save, Reset, and Close forms.

Click these links for Frequently Asked Questions or Troubleshooting assistance.

Last Updated 08/27/2008

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