Frequently Asked Questions.
What is a digital twin & what are its benefits?
A digital twin is a virtual replica of a physical hotel. It offers an immersive experience to show the hotel’s layout, interiors, and amenities. With our digital twins, customers can fly over the hotel and its facilities and fully understand it before booking.
Hotelverse’s innovative technology helps hotels turn their website visits into more profitable bookings, build customer loyalty by allowing the specific room selection, and increase the conversion ratio with a non-replicable experience by OTA’s.
How is it implemented?
The Digital Hub is included on your website through a HTML-snippet provided by Hotelverse. This HTML code generates an iframe that will display the Digital Twin according to the configuration provided.
Does it slow down web loading?
Since the Digital Hub is provided through an iframe and hosted on Hotelverse servers, it will not affect the loading of your website.
Does the staff need to come to the hotel to do the rendering? What content and assets do we need to send?
No, there is no need for us to go to the hotel location. We will require some minimum content necessary, such as the emergency plans, to build the digital twin. We will also need the room rack and support from the hotel to verify the location and room specifications. If these are delivered in a timely manner, we can deliver on the previewed timeframe.
Why does the digital hub show no available rooms?
Only if you have contracted a transactional version (Choose Your Room or Book Your Room) we will show the available rooms on the Digital Twin. The available inventory of Hotelverse is filtered by the PMS (if integrated) and the completed reservations made through the digital twin. You can also block rooms from the Hotelverse Backoffice.
Can the hotel restrict the available inventory?
Yes, you can block specific rooms for a certain time frame from the Hotelverse CMS.
What is the compatibility of the digital hub for proper display?
The Hotelverse module is responsive and displays correctly on all devices. Bear in mind that you will need to indicate a minimum size according to our recommendations for the best possible content display.
Who owns the content? What happens if I (the hotel) already have that content created?
The owner of the 3D content generated from the photographs is Hotelverse, and the hotel will be able to use it in their digital assets through a web component. If you already have the raw content, that’s fantastic because the process will be even more agile. We will review these images to check for any additional needs.
What does it include?
The Digital Hub includes a content only display of the hotel, including rooms and facilities. We can also integrate the booking engine in order to show starting prices, and allow redirects from the Digital Twin to the Booking Engine, moving qualified users further along the booking funnel. Watch this video to learn more.
How long does it take to implement?
Depending on the content received to build the digital twin, if in a timely manner, it can be implemented in 2 months time or less, depending on the property, and its complexity (city vs. resort and own size). This, already counting on the 2 QA’s to ensure the maximum quality of deliverance of the digital twin and take maximum advantage right away.
Do I need to connect it with my PMS?
As the display is content only, we do not require PMS connection.
Do I need to connect it with my Booking Engine?
If you would like to display starting prices and allow users to be redirected to the Booking Engine, a connection is indeed required. If you wish to only display the content, then we will not require the integration.
At what point in the booking process does Hotelverse come into play?
If you have contracted the Digital Hub, we will only review the Booking Engine to collect the room content, so that the user will have the same experience and can easily assimilate the content through the Booking Engine or by visiting the Digital Twin.
What does it include?
Choose Your Room includes all the options included in the Digital Hub, with starting prices and redirect, and also allows your guests to choose their room during the pre-stay. You can also offer this option to guests who might have booked through a third party.
You can add pricing per room number and allow room type upgrades, by configuring these parameters in the Hotelverse CMS. Watch this video to learn more.
How long does it take to implement?
In addition to the time required for creating the Digital Twin, you will also need to configure the room number pricing and upgrade matrix. This might take a couple of days, depending on how you want to configure them.
Can I use Choose Your Room for more than one room?
We are working on making this possible. Currently, you can only choose one room per booking.
Do I need to connect it with my PMS?
This is not required, but highly recommended to make sure that a guest will not book a room that you might have already assigned or is not available in the PMS.
Do I need to connect it with my Booking Engine?
We recommend the connection in order to retrieve the booking information of your direct bookings. This will make it easier for your guests to use Hotelverse, as they will not be required to provide any other information besides the booking ID.
Is the room assignation 100% confirmed?
No. Room assignation requires manual approval from the front desk team.
What information does a guest need to provide to be able to use Choose Your Room?
If integrated with the booking engine or PMS, we will only require the booking locator (reservation code). If the integration is not completed or the guest made his/her booking through a third party, we will require the guest to provide their booking locator, company where they made the booking, stay dates, occupancy, room type, name, last name, and email address.
Can I charge for the room selection service? How do customers pay for this service?
Yes. Choose Your Room enables you to charge customers for room selection. Payment is made at the hotel.
Can a guest cancel or change their selection?
Yes. Guests can follow up and get in touch directly with the hotel, in order to request a change or cancellation of the room selection.
Is it possible to receive an incorrect room assignment request?
In case we do not have the integration with the booking engine or if the guest made the booking through a third party, it is possible that wrong information is provided. In such a case, you can easily correct the booking information at the Hotelverse CMS and ask the guest to select the room again according to the corrected information.
Can the customer modify their reservation details through the digital twin?
No. Hotelverse does not manage booking modifications.
How will the customer be notified about the room assignation request?
The system will send notifications by email informing the customer about the status of their request at all times.
How does the hotel learn about the reservation of a room?
Every time a guest selects a room to be assigned to the reservation, we will email the hotel with all the information required to review the request. Information provided in the email will be: booking locator, requested room number, stay dates, guest name and amount of the room selection.
At what point in the reservation process does Hotelverse intervene?
You can offer Choose Your Room at any point during the pre-stay of the customer journey. We recommend offering “Choose Your Room” on the booking confirmation page and/or in the booking confirmation email. You can also use the Hotelverse Choose Your Room at the Front Desk to facilitate front desk upselling.
When can customers use Choose Your Room?
Choose Your Room can be used at any time during the pre-stay. You can configure a release in Hotelverse to make sure that guests do not select a room within a certain time before check in.
What does it include?
Book Your Room includes all the features included in the Digital Twin with starting prices and redirect, and Choose Your Room. Additionally, it allows a customer to choose their room during the booking process, as an alternative to the traditional room type list. Watch this video to learn more.
How long does it take to implement?
Implementation will depend on the creation of the Digital Twin and the connection to the PMS (if requested) and the Booking Engine. You can also configure the room number supplements, which might take up to a couple of days.
Do I need to connect it with my PMS?
Connection with the PMS is not required, although recommended in order to retrieve real time PMS room number availability.
Do I need to connect it with my Booking Engine?
Yes, connection with the Booking Engine is required to be able to use Book Your Room, as the Hotelverse module will be displayed on the Booking Engine page.
Is the room reservation 100% confirmed?
No. Room assignation requires manual approval from the front desk team.
When can customers choose their room?
Room selection is made during the booking process.
Can a customer cancel or change their selection?
Room choice changes or cancellations will require the guest to contact the hotel.
Can I cancel or change a customer’s selection?
The Front Desk team will always have the possibility to deny the guest room selection or offer the guest an alternative room for their booking.
At what point in the reservation process does Hotelverse intervene?
Hotelverse will be displayed during the booking process. After the room has been selected, communication regarding the room selection confirmation will be done through the Hotelverse CMS.
How is the process of booking and assigning a room?
Once the guest has booked the room, the hotel will receive an email containing the information of the room selection. This email will contain the following information: booking locator, selected room number, stay dates and guest name.
After receiving the request, the hotel will check in the PMS if the requested room can be assigned to the booking. Once updated in the PMS, the hotel will accept the room request using either the confirmation button in the Hotelverse email or in the Hotelverse CMS. (This step won’t be necessary if there is a PMS integration configured).
If the requested room is not available, the hotel can deny the request or offer the guest an alternative room.
You can also watch this video to better understand how this works.
Once a room is booked, does it get blocked on all sales channels?
The room number will be blocked in the Hotelverse Digital Twin as soon as the guest has requested the room. If the connection with the PMS is both ways, the room number will also be blocked in the PMS pending the front desk validation.