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By Daniel F. Prosser, President/CEO Telman

Everyone is talking about it - and many hoteliers have jumped on the bandwagon. And yet, we hear a lot of questions about how to make the most out of an investment in voice mail. Once you have established that you need the benefits of this technology, there are things to consider before actually purchasing a voice mail system for your company.

First, you need to identify the number of ports needed to support your hotel. Remember, the ports will be used

1.  by the guests accessing and retrieving messages
2.  by the outside callers leaving the messages and
3.  to signal the PBX system to light the message light on each telephone.

• hotels with 50 - 80 rooms need four ports;
• 80 - 175 rooms, 6 ports;
• 175 - 300 rooms, eight ports;
• 300 -600 rooms, ten ports.
• If you have an exceptionally busy hotel, you will need to consider adding ports to compensate for peak times.

OK. Now, you have decided you want voice mail. And, you have selected, purchased and installed the best system to fit your needs. Now what? For the guest, the process is really easy. An incoming call rings a predetermined number of times in the room before rolling over into the voice mail box. The caller hears a generic message indicating the party is unavailable and prompts the caller to leave a message after the tone. Once the call is complete, the PBX signals that room and the message waiting lamp lights up. Upon returning to the room, the guest dials the voice mail access code, retrieves any messages an is given the opportunity to save or delete them. And-that's it! Simple, yet effective.

There can, however, be a completely different conversation surrounding inter-office voice mail. Who in your company should have it, anyway? We say that everyone in your organization who ever receives information from another person, even if they don't have a personal phone extension, should have voice mail. This even includes housekeeping staff. Why? Voice mail can be used in myriad ways:

An organization can drastically reduce the amount of paper generated internally form memos by utilizing a voice mail system. For example, procedural changes affecting members of your hotel staff can be broadcast via voice mail, resulting in a quick and effective implementation. The same goes for many of your routine internal communications, such as using voice mail to notify employees of their schedule or changes to their schedule.

Voice Mail systems allow users to access their messages remotely at any time of the day or night. Hence, employees can be kept informed, whether they are on site or not. It's a great way to communicate with your on the go staff.

Also, an individual's recorded message can be updated daily to further serve your customers. If an employee is off-site and indicates that on their outgoing voice mail message, the caller then has a choice to leave a message for al later response or seek assistance at an alternate extension.

Voice mail can also be used in conjunction with a pager. This can be especially important for employees who are involved with guest services. For example, if a guest has a housekeeping issue and needs immediate attention, his call will be answered promptly and a recorded voice message will inform him that a page is being sent. The result; enhanced customer service for your guests.

Voice mail can also be used as a time-saver for everyone. Rather than playing telephone tag with a hard-to-reach individual, by simply leaving a message, the party can respond quickly - vial voice mail.

We have found that organizations who are interested in increasing productivity and enhancing communication with voice mail also end up providing improved guest service. So, "to voice mail or not to voice mail" isn't really the issue anymore. The question I leave you with is "how can I create a powerful and effective communication tool out of a voice mail system in my organization?" Use your imagination, your creative thinking, to see what is possible in a voice mail system.

Daniel F Prosser is the founder, president and chief executive officer of Telman. Begun in 1986, Telman creates technology partnerships with hotels and hotel management companies that maximize the return on their technology investments. Prosser in on the board of advisors for Hotel & Motel Management Magazine and has written several articles for industry publication. He also makes regular presentations for hotel and technology conferences and associations.

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