RoomRaccoon’s 2024 Highlights: Innovations That Empower

Summary

• A celebration of RoomRaccoon’s recent award win as the World’s Best Hotel Channel Manager.
• A review of the RoomRaccoon platform functionalities and enhancements built to simplify hotel operations and drive revenue in 2024.
• A summary of the partners we’ve added and connections we’ve enhanced to the RoomRaccoon integrations hub in 2024.
• A glimpse into what’s coming in 2025 for RoomRaccoon hoteliers.

🏆 World’s Best Channel Manager 2024

(Oops, we did it again)

RoomRaccoon has been named the World’s Best Hotel Channel Manager for the second year in a row at the prestigious World Travel Tech Awards. Thank you to every hotelier, industry expert, and guest who voted to secure our top spot.

Our CEO, Tymen van Dyl, says it best:

“Winning this award again reaffirms our mission to provide industry-leading solutions to independent hoteliers. It’s the perfect way to celebrate a year of growth and innovation.”

In-platform enhancements 🛎️

Making hotelier life easier

We’ve rolled out some fantastic new functionalities and enhancements this year, all designed closely with independent hoteliers in mind. Let’s take a look:

1. Child policies for seamless family stays

Managing kids at your property shouldn’t be a headache. Enter child policies, allowing you to create age buckets, surcharges, and city taxes for your youngest guests—all automated and customizable.

2. 2FA: Because your security matters

Cybersecurity is no joke, and we’ve stepped up our two-factor authentication (2FA) requirements. By the end of 2024, it’ll be mandatory for all users to ensure that your data (and your guests) is safe and sound. By using Google or Microsoft authenticator, you can easily authenticate your device for secure use.

3. Closing daily revenue

You can now track revenue accurately by the day it’s consumed. No more guesswork—just actionable insights for better financial planning. We also improved our management reporting to provide you with better insights into those end-of-day metrics.

4. Add-ons with precision

Add-ons aren’t just extras; they’re revenue drivers. Now, you can schedule add-ons to specific dates within reservations, making service delivery smoother and your team’s day easier.

What’s in it for your team:

• Schedule add-ons like spa appointments or champagne deliveries by date in the reservation card.
• Sync add-ons with F&B service lists to improve operational efficiency for the rest of your team.
• Offer personalized services that elevate your guest experience

“By centralizing our inventory management and invoicing in one system, we’ve not only streamlined our operations but also unlocked new opportunities to maximize revenue through add-ons.”

Danielle, General Manager at Miracle Manor

5. Automate your rate adjustments with Dynamic Pricing

With Dynamic Pricing, you can automate your room rate adjustments based on occupancy and guest booking window. More revenue, less manual work—what’s not to love? The only thing that makes this tool even better is that it’s available for all hoteliers at RoomRaccoon, no matter which subscription you have.

A glimpse of the magic: Your occupancy hits 80% for the weekend, and a dynamic pricing rule automatically triggers increased rates for the remaining available rooms.

“In my view, having access to a dynamic pricing tool is invaluable. I would dread to think of the countless hours I would spend each week on competitive analysis and setting up all these dynamic tools.”

Jake Berridge, Owner of the Bull Auberge

6. Financial insights

We introduced Deposit Dashboards to give you real-time insights into prepayments and liabilities. From tracking deposits to managing in-house reservation balances, these dashboards and reports are designed to make your management reporting clearer and less of a scramble.

7. New booker profile capabilities

At the end of the day, it’s not reservations that pay for a stay—it’s the bookers behind them. That’s why, in 2024, we reimagined the booker profile to become your ultimate financial hub, putting all the tools you need to manage payments, balances, and statements in one streamlined place.

With our most recent enhancements, you can now:

• Request and Store Funds: Send payment requests to bookers for deposits or prepayments not linked to a specific reservation. Once received, these funds are stored in the booker’s virtual wallet.
• Allocate Payments: Use the stored balance to cover future reservations, additional expenses, or services such as weddings, corporate events, or group bookings.
• Track Financial Activity: Monitor outstanding invoices, payment history, and recorded sales within the booker profile, ensuring all transactions are up-to-date and properly documented.

Pssst! Keep your eyes peeled for more exciting updates from January 2025 onwards as we continue to enhance booker management inside the RoomRaccoon platform.

Expanding RoomRaccoon’s integrations hub 🔗

This year, we’ve strengthened our integrations hub, adding value-driven partnerships designed to meet the unique needs of independent hoteliers. Here’s a quick look at which integrations we enhanced and some of our newest partners to join our hub in 2024:

Lightspeed POS

Perfect for properties with F&B services or those properties with a restaurant looking to switch providers, Lightspeed helps streamline restaurant operations by offering guests a charge-to-room option. It’s a lifesaver for hoteliers juggling room and dining management, ensuring smooth service and accurate revenue reporting.

Did you know?

RoomRaccoon enhanced a feature called the Full Revenue Push, which expands the POS integration beyond room charges. It ensures that all revenue generated by the POS (including transactions by non-hotel guests) is pushed not only into RoomRaccoon, but also to your accounting integration at the end of each day. This feature simplifies reporting for properties by including cash and card payments from bar and restaurant transactions in the RoomRaccoon platform.

Vrbo

Designed for vacation rentals and family-focused properties, the Vrbo integration makes managing long-term and group bookings effortless. While it’s not for every property, it’s an essential channel for those offering serviced apartments, vacation homes, or villas looking to attract long-stay guests. If that sounds like you, Vrbo is a must-add to your RoomRaccoon setup for 2025!

Pxier

This event management solution is a game-changer for properties hosting conferences, weddings, or large gatherings. It’s perfect for hoteliers who need tools to manage bookings, track payments, and organize seamless events. Plus, Pxier has a spa integration that puts spreadsheets to shame.

Zennio

For properties looking to deliver cutting-edge guest experiences, Zennio integrates room controls like lighting, climate, and keyless entry. It’s the ultimate tool for properties wanting to stand out with personalized, tech-savvy stays. Zennio puts the vacation, in property automation.

Smartpricing

Dynamic pricing made simple, for those looking to grow their automated pricing strategies. Smartpricing adjusts your rates automatically based on demand, helping you maximize revenue without the stress of manual updates. It’s perfect for any independent hotelier ready to step up their revenue management.

With these powerful partnerships, we’re not just adding integrations—we’re helping you grow your property’s potential. With RoomRaccoon, you can get started with the basics, or you can grow your businesses by plugging into a variety of additional upgrades and integrations!

Looking Ahead to 2025 🚀

This year, we’ve celebrated incredible milestones alongside independent hoteliers worldwide. We’re deeply grateful to our dedicated Raccoons, who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make it all happen—all driven by a shared love of hospitality.

Expect even more exciting updates in the new year, like enhanced add-ons, event-focused tools, booker profile management, advanced group booking functionalities, reporting, and so much more.

To every independent hotelier who has trusted us to help run your property, thank you for being part of this journey. RoomRaccoon exists to make your work easier, your guests happier, your revenue juicier, and your dreams of hospitality success a reality. Here’s to another year of growth, innovation, and independent hospitality at its finest!