Paper Diary Anymore?

[gillumhouse]

You bring this up at a time in my life I am reliving a very horrific time in my life. The hell began 10 yrs ago this 8/29 when Karrina hit the gulf coast. The stories have begun airing on TV and have reminded me of so much of the hardship this area went through.

Now getting to this post. We were without power for 3 weeks and were some of the first residential areas to not be in the dark. But internet access was months down the road. And phone service was hit or miss.

With known reservations on the books but no way to see them, I was with Webers. back then, I was able to go to the public library where one of the companies had come in to set up internet access but everyone was given only a certain bit of time. I logged in and was able to send a message to the owner at the time (before homeaway purchased). He took it upon himself to send each of my guests an email telling them the status of our business and that I would be in touch. Nice to remember the kindness of others.

Had I had a print list, I could have written them letters, but without mail service for 2 mths (at least) I would have still had to travel about 100 miles to get to an operating PO. But I think it would have had me less panicked over that aspect.

For a long time after, I kept paper but became comfortable once again with the wonderful paperless office. This anniversary has me thinking once again about having back ups in place..

I logged in and was able to send a message to the owner at the time (before homeaway purchased). He took it upon himself to send each of my guests an email telling them the status of our business and that I would be in touch. Nice to remember the kindness of others.
It was a different world then, when we could message Willie (Weber), Randy (BBonline), Eric (BandB) and get a personal answer. Sigh
I am so sorry you had to go through all that. We have been blessed as being the "port in the storm" with the disasters concerning weather and power here. We were able to provide rooms for a couple families for a few days (free of course as it was the decent thing to do) when the derichio hit and the temps were in the high 90s. Electric and water - the 2 major necessities.

 

[Copperhead]

In these days of online bookings and property management systems, etc. does anyone still keep a paper diary?
I have done just as a backup in case of a system problem/failure, but it's a PITA and all I'm doing is copying from the screen to paper so this is my last paper diary.

I tried to go paperless last year and it was a disaster. I need the whole week laid out in front of me (all the dietary crap, all the add ons, number of guests, which rooms are booked, etc). Without that I'm lost .
Plus, we lose power enough here to worry there is no paper info to fall back on.
So, I tried it. It doesn't work for me.
Yes, I can see the whole week online, but that does not give me everything I listed above in one place..

Perhaps a good generator...
.

e

 

[Morticia]

In these days of online bookings and property management systems, etc. does anyone still keep a paper diary?
I have done just as a backup in case of a system problem/failure, but it's a PITA and all I'm doing is copying from the screen to paper so this is my last paper diary.

I tried to go paperless last year and it was a disaster. I need the whole week laid out in front of me (all the dietary crap, all the add ons, number of guests, which rooms are booked, etc). Without that I'm lost .
Plus, we lose power enough here to worry there is no paper info to fall back on.
So, I tried it. It doesn't work for me.
Yes, I can see the whole week online, but that does not give me everything I listed above in one place..

Paper back-ups were discussed a while ago when RezKey kept losing our Manual Reservation info. Funny, they just lost another one yesterday....
Another inn in town lost there entire online reservation system into the ether when we first bought. They had no paper backup and their season was a disaster because they had no idea of who, what, when was booked. Can you imagine?
We have a Yearly Date Book with enough lines on each date for each of our six rooms for each month. I just block off the grid when a room is reserved. I carry said book everywhere, so if a call rolls from our phone to my cell, I know what's available... but there are no guest details.
So in case RezKey loses data, we have another power failure, etc. I simply hit the Print button on RK and file a copy of each reservation by date in a pendaflex. We pull them out that day and Poppa and I have immediate and easy access w/o depending upon technology that is not always dependable either locally or in the cloud. We also staple the signed credit card receipts to the printed reservation sheet.
In case of disaster, we can just grab the pendaflex and run.
.

So you're saying that Rezkey data is loaded on your computer, not cloud-based? Or both.

 

[Momma Smurf]

In these days of online bookings and property management systems, etc. does anyone still keep a paper diary?
I have done just as a backup in case of a system problem/failure, but it's a PITA and all I'm doing is copying from the screen to paper so this is my last paper diary.

I tried to go paperless last year and it was a disaster. I need the whole week laid out in front of me (all the dietary crap, all the add ons, number of guests, which rooms are booked, etc). Without that I'm lost .
Plus, we lose power enough here to worry there is no paper info to fall back on.
So, I tried it. It doesn't work for me.
Yes, I can see the whole week online, but that does not give me everything I listed above in one place..

Paper back-ups were discussed a while ago when RezKey kept losing our Manual Reservation info. Funny, they just lost another one yesterday....
Another inn in town lost there entire online reservation system into the ether when we first bought. They had no paper backup and their season was a disaster because they had no idea of who, what, when was booked. Can you imagine?
We have a Yearly Date Book with enough lines on each date for each of our six rooms for each month. I just block off the grid when a room is reserved. I carry said book everywhere, so if a call rolls from our phone to my cell, I know what's available... but there are no guest details.
So in case RezKey loses data, we have another power failure, etc. I simply hit the Print button on RK and file a copy of each reservation by date in a pendaflex. We pull them out that day and Poppa and I have immediate and easy access w/o depending upon technology that is not always dependable either locally or in the cloud. We also staple the signed credit card receipts to the printed reservation sheet.
In case of disaster, we can just grab the pendaflex and run.
.

So you're saying that Rezkey data is loaded on your computer, not cloud-based? Or both.
.

RezKey is cloud based, so if we lose power for our computer that's the local outage. When RK starts losing cloud data, that's a cyberspace outage and doesn't matter if we have power.

 

[Copperhead]

In these days of online bookings and property management systems, etc. does anyone still keep a paper diary?
I have done just as a backup in case of a system problem/failure, but it's a PITA and all I'm doing is copying from the screen to paper so this is my last paper diary.

I tried to go paperless last year and it was a disaster. I need the whole week laid out in front of me (all the dietary crap, all the add ons, number of guests, which rooms are booked, etc). Without that I'm lost .
Plus, we lose power enough here to worry there is no paper info to fall back on.
So, I tried it. It doesn't work for me.
Yes, I can see the whole week online, but that does not give me everything I listed above in one place..

Perhaps a good generator...
.

Perhaps a good generator...

$3k for a generator vs a few cents for paper. Given how loud they are, we've used one a couple of times, it wouldn't really save us any business because no one would stay with the noise. Plus, unless it runs the entire building and comes on automatically, it wouldn't help.
The one we have can run the heat and some lights.
.

Yea, I meant to access your electronics. It would be expensive for a whole house situation. In the temp situation we are living now, we have no internet (just cable). And it is quite inconvenient having to go out to use the laptops. Cellphones are good for some stuff, but it is not the same
On that note, does anyone use Rezkey via mobile?
.

On that note, does anyone use Rezkey via mobile?

Yes I do. Works well for general use. You can not go to reports but it does provide basic needs like guest contact info. so if need be I can email or call. And was one reason I went to ResKey in the first place.

 

[Morticia]

In these days of online bookings and property management systems, etc. does anyone still keep a paper diary?
I have done just as a backup in case of a system problem/failure, but it's a PITA and all I'm doing is copying from the screen to paper so this is my last paper diary.

I tried to go paperless last year and it was a disaster. I need the whole week laid out in front of me (all the dietary crap, all the add ons, number of guests, which rooms are booked, etc). Without that I'm lost .
Plus, we lose power enough here to worry there is no paper info to fall back on.
So, I tried it. It doesn't work for me.
Yes, I can see the whole week online, but that does not give me everything I listed above in one place..

Paper back-ups were discussed a while ago when RezKey kept losing our Manual Reservation info. Funny, they just lost another one yesterday....
Another inn in town lost there entire online reservation system into the ether when we first bought. They had no paper backup and their season was a disaster because they had no idea of who, what, when was booked. Can you imagine?
We have a Yearly Date Book with enough lines on each date for each of our six rooms for each month. I just block off the grid when a room is reserved. I carry said book everywhere, so if a call rolls from our phone to my cell, I know what's available... but there are no guest details.
So in case RezKey loses data, we have another power failure, etc. I simply hit the Print button on RK and file a copy of each reservation by date in a pendaflex. We pull them out that day and Poppa and I have immediate and easy access w/o depending upon technology that is not always dependable either locally or in the cloud. We also staple the signed credit card receipts to the printed reservation sheet.
In case of disaster, we can just grab the pendaflex and run.
.

So you're saying that Rezkey data is loaded on your computer, not cloud-based? Or both.
.

RezKey is cloud based, so if we lose power for our computer that's the local outage. When RK starts losing cloud data, that's a cyberspace outage and doesn't matter if we have power.
.

So, if the power goes out, how are you printing anything?

 

[Joey Camb]

In these days of online bookings and property management systems, etc. does anyone still keep a paper diary?
I have done just as a backup in case of a system problem/failure, but it's a PITA and all I'm doing is copying from the screen to paper so this is my last paper diary.

I tried to go paperless last year and it was a disaster. I need the whole week laid out in front of me (all the dietary crap, all the add ons, number of guests, which rooms are booked, etc). Without that I'm lost .
Plus, we lose power enough here to worry there is no paper info to fall back on.
So, I tried it. It doesn't work for me.
Yes, I can see the whole week online, but that does not give me everything I listed above in one place..

Paper back-ups were discussed a while ago when RezKey kept losing our Manual Reservation info. Funny, they just lost another one yesterday....
Another inn in town lost there entire online reservation system into the ether when we first bought. They had no paper backup and their season was a disaster because they had no idea of who, what, when was booked. Can you imagine?
We have a Yearly Date Book with enough lines on each date for each of our six rooms for each month. I just block off the grid when a room is reserved. I carry said book everywhere, so if a call rolls from our phone to my cell, I know what's available... but there are no guest details.
So in case RezKey loses data, we have another power failure, etc. I simply hit the Print button on RK and file a copy of each reservation by date in a pendaflex. We pull them out that day and Poppa and I have immediate and easy access w/o depending upon technology that is not always dependable either locally or in the cloud. We also staple the signed credit card receipts to the printed reservation sheet.
In case of disaster, we can just grab the pendaflex and run.
.

reminds me of a friend of my sisters - went to stay at Whitby when it was a MASSIVE festival - arrived a the accommodation to discover the manager had been taking all the deposits, cash etc and has done a bunk with the Diary so that no one could tell how much he had gotten away with - people just kept turning up and they had no idea who had booked or not or what! she was able to book somewhere else - but what a complete nightmare!

 

[Momma Smurf]

In these days of online bookings and property management systems, etc. does anyone still keep a paper diary?
I have done just as a backup in case of a system problem/failure, but it's a PITA and all I'm doing is copying from the screen to paper so this is my last paper diary.

I tried to go paperless last year and it was a disaster. I need the whole week laid out in front of me (all the dietary crap, all the add ons, number of guests, which rooms are booked, etc). Without that I'm lost .
Plus, we lose power enough here to worry there is no paper info to fall back on.
So, I tried it. It doesn't work for me.
Yes, I can see the whole week online, but that does not give me everything I listed above in one place..

Paper back-ups were discussed a while ago when RezKey kept losing our Manual Reservation info. Funny, they just lost another one yesterday....
Another inn in town lost there entire online reservation system into the ether when we first bought. They had no paper backup and their season was a disaster because they had no idea of who, what, when was booked. Can you imagine?
We have a Yearly Date Book with enough lines on each date for each of our six rooms for each month. I just block off the grid when a room is reserved. I carry said book everywhere, so if a call rolls from our phone to my cell, I know what's available... but there are no guest details.
So in case RezKey loses data, we have another power failure, etc. I simply hit the Print button on RK and file a copy of each reservation by date in a pendaflex. We pull them out that day and Poppa and I have immediate and easy access w/o depending upon technology that is not always dependable either locally or in the cloud. We also staple the signed credit card receipts to the printed reservation sheet.
In case of disaster, we can just grab the pendaflex and run.
.

So you're saying that Rezkey data is loaded on your computer, not cloud-based? Or both.
.

RezKey is cloud based, so if we lose power for our computer that's the local outage. When RK starts losing cloud data, that's a cyberspace outage and doesn't matter if we have power.
.

So, if the power goes out, how are you printing anything?
.

It's already been printed out at the time the reservation is confirmed, filed immediately in the pendeflex. All of our future reservations are sitting right next to me here in the office, power or no power.
Any reservations taken during a power outage would have to be handwritten...

 

[Morticia]

In these days of online bookings and property management systems, etc. does anyone still keep a paper diary?
I have done just as a backup in case of a system problem/failure, but it's a PITA and all I'm doing is copying from the screen to paper so this is my last paper diary.

I tried to go paperless last year and it was a disaster. I need the whole week laid out in front of me (all the dietary crap, all the add ons, number of guests, which rooms are booked, etc). Without that I'm lost .
Plus, we lose power enough here to worry there is no paper info to fall back on.
So, I tried it. It doesn't work for me.
Yes, I can see the whole week online, but that does not give me everything I listed above in one place..

Paper back-ups were discussed a while ago when RezKey kept losing our Manual Reservation info. Funny, they just lost another one yesterday....
Another inn in town lost there entire online reservation system into the ether when we first bought. They had no paper backup and their season was a disaster because they had no idea of who, what, when was booked. Can you imagine?
We have a Yearly Date Book with enough lines on each date for each of our six rooms for each month. I just block off the grid when a room is reserved. I carry said book everywhere, so if a call rolls from our phone to my cell, I know what's available... but there are no guest details.
So in case RezKey loses data, we have another power failure, etc. I simply hit the Print button on RK and file a copy of each reservation by date in a pendaflex. We pull them out that day and Poppa and I have immediate and easy access w/o depending upon technology that is not always dependable either locally or in the cloud. We also staple the signed credit card receipts to the printed reservation sheet.
In case of disaster, we can just grab the pendaflex and run.
.

So you're saying that Rezkey data is loaded on your computer, not cloud-based? Or both.
.

RezKey is cloud based, so if we lose power for our computer that's the local outage. When RK starts losing cloud data, that's a cyberspace outage and doesn't matter if we have power.
.

So, if the power goes out, how are you printing anything?
.

It's already been printed out at the time the reservation is confirmed, filed immediately in the pendeflex. All of our future reservations are sitting right next to me here in the office, power or no power.
Any reservations taken during a power outage would have to be handwritten...
.

Ah. I misunderstood.

 

[Lee2014]

We have The Book that everything is entered in. The computer is our back up.