Report on a digital solution for a resort

AFILIATION

Though small, a boutique resort operates much like a combination of a grocery, hotel and a restaurant. It has a high intensity and requirement of personal interaction between the front-line staff and the customer. Several aspects of the operations cannot at all be automated or digitized. So, it is of utmost importance that all aspects of operations that can be done so.
For a small resort to succeed, it cannot cut on its customer service costs. On the contrary, it must invest more heavily in it. It is in this area wherein it enjoys great advantage. It cannot compete against big resorts with regard to great facades, lobbies, and other physical amenities. However, it is definitely with regard to service where it can carve a niche in.
While keeping service at a very high level, a boutique or small resort need to cut on certain costs in order to compete and profit. Since manpower can be a very huge part of costs, some portions of these may be cut by way of automation digitization. Even some aspects of service may actually be digitized.
One area that can be automated is the accounting and bookkeeping aspects of operations. Even the billing and check preparation functions can be automated. A small resort can practically cut the cost of an entire department with the use of a software and computer. Specifically, the software to be considered is the General Store.
The General Store system can count mainly from the operations of two key persons on the front line—the front desk clerk and the cashier. This point of sale entries will practically provide all the information that the system would process. In particular, the system would be able to provide the resort with key functions such as inventory control, customer tracking, accounts receivable, accounts payable, general ledger (The General Store). From these, of course, the company’s financial statements including the balance sheets, and income statements could be derived. The resort needs only a CPA consultant and no longer a full-time accounting staff.
The General Store is very cost effective and works very much like more expensive systems like those of ASI’s (Anand Systems) and NCR’s (NCR). It does not come out cheap but still costs much less than the two other brands considered. Compared with the cost of an entire accounting department’s operations, it definitely costs much less to run. More importantly, it would provide a more efficient and very professional front desk operations which would at the same time count as good customer service.

References

Anand Systems Inc (2010). ASI point of sale. Anand Systems Inc. Retrieved 19 Jan 2013 from http://www. anandsystems. com/hotel_software/point_of_sale. htm
The General Store (2012). The point-of-sale you can depend on. The general store. Retrieved 19 Jan 2013 from http://www. thegeneralstore. com/.
NCR (2011). Aloha restaurant point of sale software. NCR. Retrieved 19 Jan 2013 from http://www. ncr. com/products-and-services/software/hospitality/restaurant/pos.