Map who answers for whom
Separate guest-service calls from new enquiries. Decide which calls remain at the property, which reach a group team and what happens outside opening hours. Staff should know which property the caller intended to reach before answering.
Define extension numbering, transfer behaviour and overflow rules before selecting a shared platform. Include villas without a permanent reception desk and staff covering several locations.
Decide what should be shared
A shared system and separate property systems have different management and failure implications. Compare account separation, administration, reporting, licensing and the effect of an outage at one site.
Keep access appropriate to each role. A reservations agent may need group call handling without access to every property’s administrative settings or call records. Agree retention and recording policies separately if these features are required.
Test the group and the individual site
Assess connectivity, backup power and local equipment at every location. One well-connected head office does not establish resilience for the whole group.
Acceptance should include calls between properties, transfers from reservations, unanswered calls and the agreed behaviour when a site loses connectivity. External numbers and caller identification need carrier confirmation for the intended arrangement.
- List the properties, local contacts and expected room or user counts.
- Identify shared teams, opening hours and language requirements.
- Record which calls must remain local and how staff handle a site outage.
- Agree who owns group-wide changes and site-specific support.