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NB: This is an whitepaper  written By : HotelTechReport 

The Ultimate Guide to Central Reservations Systems

A central reservation system (CRS) is a platform used by hotels to centrally manage and distribute room inventory, rates, and reservations. The CRS typically receives inventory from the PMS, then distributes rates and availability in real-time to direct and third party channels, including the hotel’s own website booking engine and call center (direct channels), as well as channel managers, OTAs, GDS, and metasearch (third-party channels). Reservations from these channels are sent back to the CRS and subsequently synced into the PMS for room allocation. Hotel revenue managers and marketing/ecommerce managers use the CRS to create various promotions and offers through rate plans for different channels and to adjust pricing quickly to be updated across all channels. Reservation agents also work in the CRS to manage reservations.

Understanding Central Reservation Systems

The concept of a central reservation system is simple. A hotel chain that has a CRO system has reservation offices in different cities, even if they don’t have any physical presence in those cities. All the units of the chain are connected through the CRO/CRS of the chain. Each unit sets aside a certain percentage of their total number of rooms for the CRO/CRS to book. In return for this service, the units pay a commission to the CRO/CRS. It is important for both parties to closely monitor the performance of the CRO/CRS over time.

• If the CRO is unable to book the allocated number of rooms, the unit can withdraw those rooms from the CRO.
• Conversely, if the CRO is able to book more rooms than allocated to them, additional rooms can be given to the CRO for booking.
• Any changes in the allocated number of rooms must be communicated clearly between both parties to avoid double bookings.

In some cases, a CRO may operate independently without any affiliation to a specific hotel chain. This type of CRO offers a wider selection of hotels across a larger geographical area, giving each member hotel access to a broader market of potential customers. One example of such an independent CRO is Omaha (Western International). The effectiveness and reach of a CRO depend on the number of hotels participating in it. The CRO is usually located in the flagship hotel of the chain. CRS can be especially beneficial for units within a chain that are struggling to perform well on their own.

Why Your Hotel Needs a Central Reservation System (CRS)

A central reservation system, also known as CRS, is a software solution that hotels—both big and small—rely on to manage all their reservation-related processes across various distribution channels.

As such, a CRS is nowadays an indispensable tool in every hotelier’s arsenal.

Why?

Simply put, it consolidates all the important reservation data in one place and makes the task of reservation management effortless for you and your staff

Source: WebBookingPro

Without up-to-date, accurate reservation data readily available, the odds of seamlessly running your hotel operations become very slim.

After all, the success of your establishment largely hinges on your ability to properly manage your reservations, no matter what distribution channel they come from.

Imagine a scenario where your staff has to manage your room inventory and update pricing across various distribution channels, as well as input each new reservation—manually.

Firstly, manually handling those tasks—on top of everything else they do around the hotel—would likely rob them of several hours each day.

Secondly, manual processes are error-prone by nature and, as such, carry financial risks.

All it takes is for your staff to incorrectly enter one digit while updating room prices for your hotel to miss out on revenue.