Hotel software during power cuts and slow internet

Every hotel in Nigeria plans around power and the internet. The generator coughs, the network slows at 6 pm, the router needs resetting. If you use cloud-based programs, the question owners ask is fair: what happens to my hotel software during power cuts, or when the connection drops?

We will answer it plainly. Xenia needs the internet. It is not built to work without a connection today. So the work is not to hope the connection never drops, but to make a short drop a non-event. A good plan has three layers: power, connection and a paper fallback.

Layer 1: keep the power on for what matters

You do not need to power the whole hotel from a battery. You need the front desk equipment to ride through the gap between the mains going and the generator starting.

• A small UPS on the front desk computer, the router and the modem. A UPS is a battery box that keeps them on for several minutes. That covers the switch-over, so the computer does not shut down in the middle of a booking.

• Put the router and modem on the UPS too. Many hotels protect the computer and forget the router, then wonder why the internet is gone for ten minutes after every outage.

• Charge a phone and a power bank. A phone with data is a backup connection and a backup screen.

• Know how long your generator takes to start. If it is three minutes, make sure the UPS lasts at least ten.

Layer 2: a second way online

One connection is a single point of failure.

1. A second SIM or a second provider. A phone or a small router with a SIM from a different network gives you a spare. Networks fail separately, so having two helps.

2. Share the connection from a phone. In an emergency, a phone's hotspot can connect the front desk computer for a few minutes.

3. Keep the router where it gets good signal. A router hidden in a cupboard behind a concrete wall performs worse than the same router on a shelf.

4. Test it on a quiet afternoon. Disconnect the main line on purpose and see if the backup works. You do not want to find out on a busy Friday.

Layer 3: a paper plan for the front desk

Sooner or later there will be a stretch when nothing works. Decide in advance what the desk does.

1. Keep a printed sheet at the desk for each room, with the guest name, dates and amount paid. Pre-printed forms are quick to fill.

2. Write every payment down as it happens: the time, the room, the amount, how it was paid and the receptionist's name.

3. Give a handwritten receipt with a number, and keep the carbon copy.

4. Do not skip the record. When the connection returns, enter every paper entry, in order, and tick it off. Never throw the sheet away until the entries are checked.

5. Cash is counted as usual at the end of the shift. The cash-up still has to balance. See a cash-up routine for the end of every shift.

What to tell the front desk

Give your staff a one-page plan, and practise it once:

• Who decides that it is an "outage" rather than a slow minute (the shift supervisor).

• The first three things to try (check the UPS, restart the router, switch to the backup connection).

• When to start the paper plan (for example, after five minutes).

• Who to call, and the number.

• What to do when the system returns.

Think about the whole chain

An internet failure can be your router, your provider, a cable cut outside, or the service itself. Ask your software company how it handles its own problems, how quickly it responds, and how it tells you. A company that answers these questions plainly is a company you can plan around. Our post on moving to cloud hotel software lists the other questions to ask, and how to choose a hotel PMS puts them in one checklist.

The real goal

You will not stop power cuts or network drops. You can make them boring: a short pause, a quick switch, and the hotel carries on. If you want to see how Xenia behaves on a normal connection, you can book a demo or start the 14-day free trial, no card needed, and test it on your own front desk.