In order to use Flexkeeping, the first thing to do is to set up your property. You set up the property in the My Hotel menu in the Flexkeeping web app. The article is for the Flexkeeping users who set up the property. Sectors represent the floors or different zones within your property, space types are the room types, and rooms are the room numbers. It is important that all of these are set up, because the setup determines how the rooms are displayed in the Flexkeeping mobile app. If you have an integration, the room numbers are automatically pulled from your property management system, or PMS, once the connection is established. After the rooms are set up, you can also set the linen change interval for each room type and add cleaning credits, which determine the standard cleaning time for each room status.

 

In this article, you can learn about:

• How to set up your property in the My Hotel menu in Flexkeeping

  • How to create sectors in Flexkeeping

  • How to add space types in Flexkeeping

  • How to set the linen change interval in Flexkeeping

  • How to add rooms in Flexkeeping

    • How to add rooms manually in Flexkeeping

    • How to import rooms from a file in Flexkeeping

  • How to add cleaning credits in Flexkeeping

 

How to set up your property in the My Hotel menu in Flexkeeping

In the Flexkeeping web app, the My Hotel menu has the following sub-menus:

• Destination: this is the name of your realm. A realm is the top level that groups your properties in Flexkeeping. 

• Properties: in case you have multiple properties under one realm, those properties are listed on this page.

• Sectors: sectors represent the floors or different zones within your property.

• Space Types: on this page you can add the room types.

• Rooms: this is the page where you enter the room numbers. If you have an integration, the room numbers are automatically pulled from your PMS once the connection is established.

The screenshot shows the My Hotel menu with its sub-menus in the Flexkeeping web app.

It is important that all of these sub-menus are set up, because the setup determines how the rooms are displayed in the Flexkeeping mobile app.

How to create sectors in Flexkeeping

The video Creating Sectors shows how to create sectors in Flexkeeping. 

Sectors represent the floors or different zones within your property. To create a sector:

1. In the Flexkeeping web app, go to My Hotel > Sectors.

2. Click the Add new sector button.

3. Enter the name of the sector.

4. Select the property the sector is connected to.

The screenshot shows the form that opens from the Add new sector button, with the name and the property of the sector.

How to add space types in Flexkeeping

The video Managing Space Types shows how to add and manage space types in Flexkeeping. 

On the Space Types page, you can add different space types that are associated with the rooms. A space type is a room type. Follow these steps to add a new space type:

1. In the Flexkeeping web app, go to My Hotel > Space Types.

2. Click the Add new space type button.

3. Enter the name for the space type.

Additionally, you find two options for Is for cleaning:

• Click the toggle to YES to activate this option for all rooms of this space type. Setting the toggle to YES means that the rooms of this space type appear on the room status page.

• Click the toggle to NO to use this option for public spaces like the lobby, the stairs and the lifts. These spaces typically do not appear in the Rooms overview but are managed through tasks.

Storage: this option is used for the Lost & Found module. When an item is logged as lost and found, any space added as storage appears in the dropdown list. The Storage option allows the user to specify where the lost item is stored.

The screenshot shows the form that opens from the Add new space type button, with the name, the Is for cleaning option and the Storage option. 

Note: If you have multiple properties and some room types are the same across all of them, it is highly recommended to create individual room types for each hotel. This allows you to define the linen change cycle for each property separately.

How to set the linen change interval in Flexkeeping

After adding the room types, you can proceed to set the linen change intervals for selected rooms. Follow these steps to add the linen change interval:

1. In the Flexkeeping web app, go to My Hotel > Space Types. 

2. Select the specific room type for which you want to set the linen change interval. Once you have selected the room type, the grey Linen Change button changes to green.

3. Click the green Linen Change button. A pop-up window appears, allowing you to enter the interval for the linen change.

4. Enter the interval for changing the linen in the selected rooms. 

5. Click the Confirm button to save the changes.

When the linen change is due, a circle symbol is displayed on the room view, indicating that it is time to change the linen in those particular rooms.

The screenshot shows the Linen Change pop-up window where you enter the interval.

How to add rooms in Flexkeeping

The video Managing Rooms shows how to add and manage rooms in Flexkeeping. 

Once the sectors and space types have been added, the final step is to add the room numbers. You can add the rooms manually or using the Excel import file, which is a comma-separated values, or CSV, file.

How to add rooms manually in Flexkeeping

1. In the Flexkeeping web app, go to My Hotel > Rooms.

2. Click the + Add new room button.

3. Add the title of the room.

4. Select the space type.

5. Select the sector.

6. Click the green button to confirm. 

How to import rooms from a file in Flexkeeping

1. In the Flexkeeping web app, go to My Hotel > Rooms.

2. Click the Import CSV file button in the top right corner.

3. Select the Download template option.

4. Open the Excel sheet and add the room numbers.

5. For each room, select the sector and the room type from the dropdown list.

6. Once done, save the list.

7. Go back to the My Hotel > Rooms page.

8. Click the Import CSV file button again.

9. Click Import.

10. Select the file.

11. Click Confirm.

When the import is complete, the rooms appear on the list.

The screenshot shows the Rooms page with the room list and the Import CSV file button in the top right corner. 

How to add cleaning credits in Flexkeeping

The video Setting up Cleaning Credits shows how to set up cleaning credits in Flexkeeping.

After creating the room list, you have the option to add cleaning credits. Cleaning credits determine the standard time allocated for housekeepers to clean rooms based on their respective statuses. Each credit corresponds to one minute of cleaning time.

To add credits, follow these steps:

1. In the Flexkeeping web app, go to My Hotel > Rooms. 

2. Select the Space type in the top left corner. Selecting a space type helps you narrow down the rooms to which you want to assign cleaning credits.

3. Click Select all to choose all the rooms within the selected space type. After selecting the rooms, the grey Credits button changes to green.

4. Click the green Credits button. A pop-up window appears, allowing you to enter the cleaning credits for the different room statuses:

   • Stayover: specify the time needed to clean a specific room when the guest is staying over.

   • Departure: define the time required for a housekeeper to clean the room on a departure day when the guest is checking out.

   • Empty: determine how much time it takes to clean the room when it has been vacant for several days. In such cases, the room might only need a quick refresh, considering it was already cleaned days ago. 

   • Linen change: this option adds extra time to the stayover room on the day when the linen change is scheduled. For example, if the regular stayover clean takes 10 minutes, you can request an additional 5 minutes of cleaning time on the day when the housekeeper needs to change the linen.

 

The screenshot shows the Credits pop-up window with the Stayover, Departure, Empty and Linen change fields. 

Note: If your property requires a unique cleaning approach, Flexkeeping offers a cleaning automation feature. For details, contact your sales manager or onboarding specialist, who assists in finding the best solution for your property. You can learn more about the cleaning automation in How to use automated cleanings in Flexkeeping.

 

Once the sectors, space types, rooms, linen change intervals and cleaning credits are set up in the My Hotel menu, Flexkeeping displays the rooms correctly in the Flexkeeping mobile app, shows when a linen change is due and knows how much cleaning time each room needs.