Guides
Guides
Step by step, for the person doing the work. Pick the part you play in the hotel.
For owners
Setting up the hotel, and keeping an eye on the money.
4 min read
Door cards guide, part 1: what you need and how it fits together
What the card encoder, the lock bridge and Xenia each do, what to buy or find before you start, who does which step, and how long it takes.
4 min read
Door cards guide, part 2: add the bridge in Xenia and set up your rooms
Sign in, add a lock bridge to get its one-time code, and set the building, floor and area of each room so the locks can find it.
4 min read
Door cards guide, part 3: put the bridge on the hotel computer
Download the Xenia bridge installer from the Door locks page, run it on the encoder computer, paste the one-time code, and watch the bridge come online.
4 min read
Door cards guide, part 4: connect the encoder
Plug in the encoder, let the setup window find its files, authorise it once from Xenia, test it, and confirm the bridge survives a restart.
5 min read
Door cards guide, part 5: make room cards
How the front desk makes a guest's room card, what each status means, what to do when it fails, and how to handle a lost key.
5 min read
Door cards guide, part 6: special cards and the card register
Make master, emergency, building, staff, floor, check-out, lift, clock and lock-setting cards, see who may make which, and keep track of every card in the register.
4 min read
Owner setup, part 1: create your account and trial
Sign up as the hotel's Owner, choose a plan, start the 14-day free trial, and find the checklist that guides the rest of your setup.
3 min read
Owner setup, part 2: hotel details and business rules
Add the address, phone, tax ID and receipt line printed on every bill, then set the time zone, VAT, check-in times and night audit time.
3 min read
Owner setup, part 3: rooms, buildings and rates
Create your room types, add every room with its nightly rate, describe the buildings, and learn how rate plans change prices.
3 min read
Owner setup, part 4: roles and inviting your staff
Understand the built-in roles, make a custom role if you need one, and invite your front desk, managers and accountant by email.
3 min read
Owner setup, part 5: guest payments and account security
Choose how guests can pay, understand where the money goes, and protect the Owner account with two-step sign-in.
4 min read
Owner setup, part 6: first booking and going live
Make a first booking to test everything, read the bill Xenia works out, then use this launch checklist to hand the hotel to your staff.
7 min read
Owner setup, part 7: what to do next
Your hotel can take bookings. Now add the bar, restaurant and store, set up the books, and learn what to check after day one and every week.
For general managers
Running the hotel day to day.
3 min read
General manager guide, part 1: your overview and your role
Sign in, read the overview that shows how the hotel is doing right now, learn what the menu holds, and know what only the owner can do.
4 min read
General manager guide, part 2: approvals and keeping control
Approve or refuse a request from the desk, give a colleague a one-time code, read the alerts, and use the audit trail and cashier shifts to see what happened.
4 min read
General manager guide, part 3: running the day
A morning routine, then the reports that tell you how the hotel, the bar and the restaurant did, the daily report, and the night audit.
5 min read
General manager guide, part 4: menus, rates, stock and your team
Change a menu price or a room rate with a reason, set rate plans, receive and count stock, and look after the people who work for you.
For the front desk
Bookings, bills, check-in and check-out, and your shift.
3 min read
Front desk guide, part 1: signing in and finding your way
Accept your invitation, learn what the front desk screen shows and what each menu item is for, and keep your own account safe.
4 min read
Front desk guide, part 2: bookings, reservations and guests
Check in a walk-in, make a booking, reserve a room for later, and find or add a guest, with every box explained.
4 min read
Front desk guide, part 3: the guest's bill
Read a bill, add a charge, take a payment in cash, card or transfer, and void a charge the right way, with a manager's approval.
4 min read
Front desk guide, part 4: the stay, check-out and your shift
Extend a stay, change a guest's room, keep the room board and housekeeping right, check a guest out, and open and close your cashier shift.
For accountants
The books, the ledger and the statements.
4 min read
Accountant guide, part 1: your overview and how the books work
Sign in, read the accountant's overview of what needs doing, and understand how a guest's bill becomes a posted entry in the books.
3 min read
Accountant guide, part 2: setting up the books
Review the standard hotel chart of accounts, add the bank account the hotel uses, and tell Xenia which account each kind of money goes into.
4 min read
Accountant guide, part 3: posting, vouchers and the ledger
Post settled guest bills and supplier deliveries, write a journal voucher, understand the approval limit, and follow any ledger line back to its source.
5 min read
Accountant guide, part 4: bank reconciliation and statements
Import a bank statement, see what the bank and the books disagree on and why, and print the income statement, balance sheet, VAT report and trial balance.
For the bar and restaurant
Menus, orders and the kitchen.
3 min read
Bar guide, part 1: signing in and opening a tab
Sign in, learn the order screen, open a tab for a guest or a table, add drinks and a note, and fix a mistake the right way.
3 min read
Bar guide, part 2: tickets, happy hour and getting paid
Work the bar ticket board, understand how happy hour prices apply, split a tab, and take payment by cash, card, transfer or a room charge.
3 min read
Bar guide, part 3: the menu, stock and closing the bar
Take a drink off when it runs out, see what is in stock, ask the store for more, and close the bar properly at the end of your shift.
4 min read
Restaurant guide, part 1: signing in and taking an order
Sign in, learn the three panes of the order screen, open a table, add dishes with a note for the kitchen, and fix a mistake the right way.
3 min read
Restaurant guide, part 2: the kitchen, the bill and getting paid
Move a ticket through the kitchen, split a table's bill, and take payment by cash, card, transfer or by charging it to a guest's room.
3 min read
Restaurant guide, part 3: the menu, stock and the end of your shift
Take a dish off when it runs out, see what is in stock, ask the store for more, and close up the restaurant properly at the end of your shift.
For the store
Stock in, stock out and counts.
3 min read
Store keeper guide, part 1: your role, the store and your stock list
Sign in, learn the Store page, set up the stores and suppliers, and keep the list of stock items the hotel counts.
4 min read
Store keeper guide, part 2: buying and receiving stock
Write a purchase order, get it approved, record what arrives against it, and receive stock that was not ordered.
3 min read
Store keeper guide, part 3: moving stock to the bar and kitchen
Answer requests from the bar and restaurant, issue approved stock, move stock between stores, and see what you hold and what it is worth.
4 min read
Store keeper guide, part 4: counting, wastage and keeping it honest
Count a store, explain every difference, log wastage with a reason, and use the missing stock report and ledger to see where stock went.
See your own hotel in Xenia
Start free for 14 days with no card. Add your rooms, invite your staff, and watch the money in one place.