VisBook, VISIT’s property management system for hotels, has been through several technology shifts over the years. This session was about the next one. The new generation of VisBook is web based. It runs in a browser, on any device.
Nathalie Azulay opened with a picture. A housekeeper or a chef arrives for work, opens their phone and sees the day ahead: arrivals, departures, what needs doing. “It’s more than a refresh,” she said. “We rebuilt it from the ground up, on the same system.” You keep your login, your bookings and your settings. Nothing needs to be migrated. New modules arrive one at a time.
Live today: housekeeping
Kristin Jägberger demoed the first module to go live, the new hotel housekeeping app. It is a progressive web app, a web page you can save to the home screen of a phone or computer. Front office adds services and notes exactly as before. Only the display has changed. When she asked, a few people in the room had already started using it.
The manager’s dashboard shows room status at a glance: dirty rooms, stayovers, open tasks and rooms out of order. New settings let managers:
- choose which services housekeepers see, instead of showing all of them
- add icons next to services, which helps where staff speak different languages
- require an inspection before a cleaned room is released to the front desk, useful with new summer staff
- set up public areas such as the lobby, bar or spa, and assign tasks there to a named housekeeper
- mark a stayover room do not disturb, so the front desk can answer when a guest asks why the room was not cleaned (it resets at midnight)
Housekeepers see their own list: rooms, assigned tasks, notes such as an extra pillow, an icon for a pet arriving. They tap to start work and tap again when done, so the supervisor can follow progress.
Notifications for assigned tasks are on the way. They will only work if the app is saved to the home screen. The old housekeeping app still works for now, but it will be retired in time. Kristin’s advice was to start now and send feedback to support.
Open to explore: restaurant planning
Niklas Wideberg showed the second module, restaurant planning, which replaces the kitchen lists. He started there because it is small and simple, and useful on a phone.
A heat map shows when guests will arrive, for one restaurant and one meal. It counts reservations as well as guests, since 200 guests in one booking is not the same as 200 guests in 100 bookings. Large groups are flagged. The view Niklas likes most is the in-house one: how many hotel guests have a table here, how many have one elsewhere on the property, and how many have none. That last number is your likely walk-ins. A breakfast list counts down as guests come in.
You can sign in and explore it now with your usual login. Some parts are still greyed out.
On the way
Niklas also showed what is coming. A QR code on the table bill, suggested by a customer, will let guests check the bill, add a tip and pay on their phone, or ask for the terminal as usual. Niklas does not see why a paper receipt should be the premium option. Custom meal types will go beyond breakfast, lunch and dinner. A new spa booking flow shows which guests are staying on a given date, so a treatment can be added to their order without creating duplicate customers.
Otto Meisingset outlined the rest. Reception and front desk follow, module by module.
How the move will work
Old and new modules will run side by side, so nothing disappears without warning. Settings carry over. The team will update the manuals, record short videos and run live product training. Feedback goes to VisBook support, and sessions with customers shape what gets built next.
A good first step: save the new housekeeping app to a housekeeper’s home screen, use it for a week, and tell support what you think.