Overview

The Tape Chart screen has four sections: the Navigation menu (Options and Reports), the settings area, the grid, and detail tabs. The Tape Chart displays the room availability based on selected settings. Hovers over a reservation bar in the chart to review reservation details in a Tool Tip format. When scrolling the chart vertically, Tool Tips display the room type and number to show the user's location within the chart.

There are two files that make up the Tape Chart. "Available.dat" contains a calendar for each room in the system and each day is marked as occupied with a letter ("P" for Preassign, "O" for Owner, etc.) HReserve.dat contains the core information about the guest (name arrival, departure, etc.). The Tape Chart shows the Available file and a bar representing the reservation. If names are displayed, the system reads the HReserve file to get the name.

It is possible the files could get out of synch. If the calendar is marked as occupied, but there is no corresponding reservation record in HReserve.dat, the Tape Chart removes the occupied letters for the room calendar if there is no corresponding record.

See also Configuration (specifically for the Tape Chart) or Owner Tape Chart (specifically for owners).

Denial Tracking

When a new reservation is closed without booking after viewing the Tape Chart and Denial Tracking is enabled, the Denial Reason screen displays and requires entry before fully abandoning the reservation. This assists the property in tracking denial information that might be due to room availability.

Settings

The Tape Chart display shows availability based on the settings entered by the user.

Start Date: Enter the start date by clicking on the drop-down list and selecting a date from the calendar. This field is set to the previous day's date by default. There is a bold red vertical line to signify the current date column.
Weeks: Use the up and down arrows or the number keys on the keyboard to select the number of weeks to be displayed based on the Starting Date. The range can be anywhere between 1-52 weeks. The system default is set to four.
Property: For resorts with more than one configured property (different address, different sections of one address, etc.), a drop-down list containing all property locations or descriptions is available for selection (i.e., north wing, south wing, or tower). Click the Property drop-down arrow to select the appropriate location from the list.
Sort By Room Type: To sort the display by room type, select the Room Type radio button. The drop-down table lists the individual types of rooms in the resort availability. The default is set to 'All' until the user selects differently. Click to select which room type that the tape chart should focus on, and click the Display Rooms button. If a Property code is used, only the room types in that particular property are displayed. Once a specific room type is requested, the display filters out all other room types. To return the chart to the default setting, select 'All' from the drop-down list.
Sort By Room#: To sort the chart by Room#, select the Room# radio button and then the Display Rooms button. The display will sort all availability by Room# and then by Room Type. If a Property code is used, only the room numbers in that specific property are displayed.
Sort By Custom: When a custom sort is defined in Table C2, select this radio button and click Display Rooms to view the Tape Chart using this custom defined sort.
Hide N/R Types: When checked, all room types starting with “N/R” are not displayed on the Tape Chart, except in the case where a room type is explicitly chosen in the room type drop-down. The default for this switch can be set in the Res Configuration | Tape Chart tab or directly with Switch 414-07.
Show Preferences: By default, the room type, lock-off type, clean status, and room number are displayed for each room next to the chart. When checked, the guest preferences (number of bedrooms, preferred views, etc.) are also displayed. These are not the preferences of a selected reservation. These are the preferences assigned to the Room Master. See figure above.
Available Rooms Only for Dates: Check the box to enable the Arrival, Nights, and Departure date fields. Set those fields to the desired dates and nights selections and click Display Rooms to view rooms available for those specified parameters. The "Available Rooms Only for Dates" date fields are independent of the Start Date. For example, set Start Date to 01/25/98, check the Available Rooms Only for Dates" box, set Arrival to 01/27/98 and Nights to 2, then click Display Rooms. The Tape Chart displays the rooms available for the reservation arriving 01/27/98 for two nights as well as the two days prior to the arrival date and allows for reservationists to make a new reservation in the "best fit" possible for maximum occupancy.
Display Rooms: Once all the filters have been entered or selected, this button is the trigger to populate the chart.
Today: Should it be necessary to return to the current system date after viewing 'previous' or 'next' date groups, click the <<Today button. The alternative would be to re-enter the starting date and click the Display Blocks again.
<Prev. and Next>: The buttons are tied into the 'Starting Date' and 'Weeks' entries. Once the filters have been entered and the detail reviewed, the user may wish to view the next block of weeks. For example, after reviewing 30 days worth of data, the user may want to see the next 30 days based on the same criteria entered. Clicking on Next will display this data easily. The Previous button presents the blocks previously displayed, regardless of the parameters entered.
Clear: Click to clear the grid area. This option is also available from the Tape Chart right-click menu.
Find Room Button and Room Number Text Field: If the grid is clear, type the room number into the box and hit <ENTER> or click the Find Room button to display a single room in the Tape Chart. If the entered room number does not exist, a message is displayed. To view a complete list of room numbers, use the Room Analysis. If the grid already has rooms displayed when the Find Room button is clicked, the grid scrolls to that room selected without clearing the grid.
Find Res Button: To find a particular reservation, click on the Find Res button to open the appropriate screen. Enter as much information as available about the desired reservation. The system displays the nearest matches. Choose from the grid and hit <ENTER> or click Select to open the display the chart with that reservation selected. That reservation's information displays in the detail tabs, and the reservation highlighted in the Chart by turning the bar blue and the numbers (dates) white. A red line is inserted at the departure date, and the Start Date and Room Number are displayed in the Settings area.

Note: When the selected reservation is part of a sharewith and Switch C1HABIT is set to no, the system opens the Find Reservation screen. All reservations, primary and secondary, are displayed and a selection must be made before the reservation is selected in the grid. This allows the appropriate sharewith name and information to display in the details area. When Switch C1HABIT is set to yes, the system finds and displays only the primary sharewith information, even if a secondary reservation is selected.
Change Res Button: Click to highlight a particular reservation on the Tape Chart, then select the Change Res button in the Settings area to bring up the Change Res screen. Make and save any changes necessary, then click the Close button to return to the Tape Chart screen.

Display

The colors available by reservation type is configurable. Groups and Multiple reservation types display in unique colors as well.

Arrows in Reservation Bars: The left arrow displays in the reservation bar if a reservation was checked in on an earlier date than the first displayed in the chart. The chart can only display reservations within the Start Date and Weeks range. Using the sample image shown here, with the Tape Chart set to display with Start Date = 3/15 and Weeks=1, the Ryan reservation is the room until 3/18 but arrived prior to 3/15. Yhe Cunningham reservation is arriving on 3/18 and staying past 3/22.; The left and right arrows indicate the dates of the reservation extend past the view of the Tape Chart. To view those dates, click on the reservation bar to display the detail in the tabs below the chart (when expanded).
Guest Type: Depending on the type of system currently running (condominium, hotel, or timeshare), the following reservation type colors display by default as follows:
Paying Guest: Tape shown in lime represents a resort guest.
Special Reservation: The Tape shown in goldenrod represents any special reservations.
Owner: The coral colored tape represents the owner of the condo.
Maintenance: The red tape indicates the room is down for maintenance (i.e. installation of new carpet or painting).
Lock-Off: The gray tape indicates that this room is part of a lock-off reservation. For more detail, see Lock-off Types.
Owner's Guest: The tan tape indicates the reservation belongs to a guest of the condo or timeshare owner.
Group: The blue/green tape indicates the reservation is part of a group.
Multiple: The cream/light yellow tape indicates a multiple reservation.
TCS Owner: The dark violet represents a timeshare owner.
TCS Bonus: The fuchsia tape represents a timeshare owner using bonus time.
TCS Exchange: The lavender tape represents an exchange reservation.
Change Reservations Using Click & Drag: To change rooms, (not allowed for any reservation type when the R3 Condominium Owner Accounting module is installed) select a specific reservation, hold the left-click button down and drag to the desired available room.

To change dates, click on the existing start or end date, hold the left-click button down and drag to the desired available date (left to change the arrival and right to change the departure date). Release the button to first check for minimum night restrictions in Table QZ and then open the New Reservation (Paying Guest) form.
Make New Reservation: Left-click on the desired start date and drag through the desired end date to add a reservation to the system from within the Tape Chart. Release the button to first check for minimum night restrictions in Table QZ and then open the Make a New Reservation form. Select the Reservation Type to be made and click Continue to access the New Reservation screen for the selected type.

When Show Multiple Folio Reservations on Tape Chart Switch 415-09 is checked in configuration, Multiple is also available for selection.

When Module R3 Condominium Owner Accounting is installed, Owner and "Guest of Owner" are available for selection.
Names: Guest names are displayed on the Tape Chart reservations bars within the Tape Chart. The format is Last Name/First Name such as Maintenance or Jones, Sara . The guest's full name may not display based on length of bar (reservation span).
People Fields: When first entering the Tape Chart and before clicking the "Display All Rooms" button, the people fields display as Ppl1, Ppl2, Ppl3, and Ppl4. Once the "Display All Rooms" button is accessed, the fields display the user-definable names. These field titles can be customized to fit the property's demographics.
Progress Report: The Progress bar located in the bottom right corner of the screen shows the progress of the Tape Chart display. When the Display button is clicked, the first 20 rows quickly display as the remaining bars are being added.
Select a Single Reservation: Click on any reservation within the Tape Chart to display details of that reservation in the tabs below the grid (when expanded). When a reservation is selected, the reservation is encircled in red as shown below with Sasha Berstein.

The room type, lock-off (L), clean status (S), and Room# column information displays in color when a row is selected or specific room or reservation information is being sought, and the background color is also changed to help differentiate. When a reservation has sharewiths, the tab information allows for any reservation within the Sharewith family to be selected.

For example, Res# 277 Graf/Stefi is a sharewith reservation with Res#402 (also in the name of Graf/Stef).
Sort Display by Columns: There are four columns between the Navigation Panel and the Tape Chart : (Room) Type (i.e., 1B, 2B, etc.), L (Lock-off Type: M=Master, L=Mid-level, and S=Sub-level), S (Housekeeping Clean Status: D=Dirty, I=Ready to Inspect, and a blank space represents Clean), and Room# (Number). The Tape Chart is displayed based on the Room Type or Room# selections in the Settings area of the Tape Chart. (i.e., Selecting the Room# radio button in Settings will sort the Tape Chart display by Room#, and by Type when the Room Type radio button is selected.)

Double-Click

D ouble-click on any reservation bar within the Tape Chart to access the Change Reservation screen. If the reservation is a sharewith, the system prompts with all reservations within the sharewith and allows for selection.

Print

Right-click and select "Print Tape Chart". For print quality purposes, RDP recommends the print layout be set to landscape for this report. Click the Properties button, click the Basics tab, and from the Orientation section at the bottom, select Landscape and OK. Click OK to print when layout is set.

Res Detail Tabs

The tabs at the bottom of the screen show specific details for the selected reservation. Use the and icons below the chart scroll bars. See Reservation Tabs for details on specific tabs. Depending on the user's setting in the Configuration, the display can show some or all details. Tabs containing information are highlighted in color. Those with no information are displayed with a neutral color. Each time a reservation bar is clicked in the Tape Chart, the read-only detail tabs are updated for the selected reservation.

Right-Click Options

Click here for general right-click options to view details. Right-click options available from the Tape Chart are:

Change Reservation: Select and right-click any reservation bar in the grid to open the Change Reservation screen.
Clear Tape Chart: Remove all reservations from the grid and return to a blank chart. Enter a room number into the text box and click "Find Room" to view just that room (including lock-offs if associated).
Print Tape Chart: Send the currently displayed grid to the printer.

Click these links for Frequently Asked Questions or Troubleshooting assistance.

Last Updated 11/10/2008

Reservation Tape Chart