In this guide, we have outlined some steps you can follow to prepare for scheduled system maintenance, or in the case where you are unable to access your property management system due to unforeseen circumstances.
Overview
In the hospitality industry, ensuring that your property is prepared for upcoming or unexpected events is key to delivering the best guest experience under any circumstances.
A strategic combination of an emergency plan and regular good practices is essential to be prepared during system maintenance. Continue reading below for more details and information about how to take action during system maintenance.
We highly recommend performing the action plan and good practices below during your property night audit.
What to do during system maintenance
If you noticed that Cloudbeds PMS is not working as expected, first consider discarding other possible reasons unrelated to a system maintenance. Check out the following guide to learn more: Cloudbeds not Loading - Troubleshooting
- Reach out to our Support Team if the issue still persists after troubleshooting using the referred guide above, and follow the steps of the emergency procedure suggested below.
- Inform your staff: Even though some of your staff members could be already aware of the issue, inform the whole team about the maintenance at hand and briefly explain how to handle the existing reservations.
- Define a prioritization scheme to determine which reservations require immediate attention: Additionally, check for any VIP customers or groups arriving today that need special consideration.
- During the system maintenance, ensure that all guest information and check-in processes are recorded manually: This will help ensure that no information is missed or misplaced while the system is down and that everything remains in proper order. Once the system is back up, all manual records should be uploaded.
- Keep paper copies of the guests' transactions/payments for later audit.
- Use payment gateways manually and collect receipts for recording payments as records when the system is back online
- Notify your guests about the current system maintenance: Assure them that our team is working diligently to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Guests must be aware of the situation and trust it is being addressed.
Once the system is restored, make sure to review the importance of a backup plan for your property.
Downtime Readiness: Backup Plans and Offline Operations
The importance of a backup plan
Regardless of the nature or duration of downtown events, it is crucial to have an effective backup plan in place for your daily operations to ensure the continuity of your business.
A functional backup plan should have:
- The defined data type to be exported on a regular basis (room status or guest information, for example)
- Specific and regular timelines to determine when this data needs to be backed up
- Secured data storage (a trustworthy system and the applicable access controls)
Remember to: Ensure your staff members are well-informed about the backup plan: They should know its details and procedures.
- Define responsibilities: Each staff member should know their roles and what actions they need to take to maintain the operations.
- Create and print Registration Cards daily to keep control your guests and arrivals.
Downtime Critical Reports Checklist
To ensure your property can continue operating during scheduled maintenance or unexpected outages, we recommend preparing a daily set of critical reports. You can use them as a ready-to-print “grab-and-go” packet for planned or unplanned outages (many hoteliers already do this as part of their nightly process).
1) Guest & Reservation Information
- In-House Guest List — room number, guest name, arrival/departure dates, rate, payment method, notes.
- Expected Arrivals List — guest name, reservation number, rate, payment status, special requests.
- Expected Departures List — guest name, room number, outstanding balance, late checkout notes.
- VIP / Special Attention Guests List — notes on preferences, anniversaries, or high-profile status.
2) Room & Housekeeping Status
- Room Status Report — occupied, vacant, out of order/service.
- Housekeeping Cleaning List — clean/dirty, stayover, due-out, priority cleaning.
- Maintenance Work Order List — active repairs, out-of-service room notes.
3) Financial & Transactional Records
- Current Guest Folios — balances, charges to date, payment method.
- Deposits/Prepayments — amounts received and linked to reservations.
- City Ledger / Accounts Receivable Summary — outstanding invoices.
- Cashier Shift Report — starting float, open transactions, pending postings.
Additional recommended reports:
- Guest and Room Overview
- Housekeeping Details (apply filters to include stay dates if needed)
- Occupancy Statistics by Room Type
You can learn how to access these in the Cloudbeds Reports section or through Cloudbeds Intelligence Explore.
Download or print these reports daily so you have a ready offline backup to keep operations running smoothly during any downtime.
Reservation documentation
Manage your arriving and in-house guest reservations with the following documentation:
- Guests Registration Cards - Learn How to create and manage Registration Cards.
- Arrivals and Departures - It is important to have/print the full list of Arrivals and Departures to control your daily check-ins and check-outs.
- In-house guests - Check who's In-House to have better control and to take care of your current guests.
Check-in procedures
- Check the Arrivals list generated for the reservation documentation.
- Print guest Registration Cards daily for taking manual check-in.
- With a Housekeeping List printed, you can easily know which room your guests can be assigned.
Check-out procedures
- Check and print the Guest Balance Report to find the outstanding balance per guest (for in-house and departure statuses). Use this same report to prepare your guest's folio for their check-out time.
- If applicable, check with other departments and see if there are any charges incurred which need to be collected from the guest.
Remember to check our System Status page for the most up-to-date information on the status of our system.
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