bEST Payment

Self-service printing and charging for the Hospitality industry

Effortless printing & accounting

in hotels and elsewhere

Self-service printing in combination with very simple accounting is required in many business environments, in particular the hospitality industry. bEST Payment ensures confidentiality and ease of use at both ends – for hotel guests using the service, and for the personnel who have to charge for it.

• An efficient printing and copying service for guests is very important in the hotel sector, especially for companies focused on the business traveller. Locations such as business lounges, convenience stores, schools, libraries and even copy shops also take a strong interest in self-service printing and easy charging.

• However, the printing solutions usually available today are either limited in functionality and conveni­ence, require high investment, or do not ensure the guests’ privacy. Therefore guests approaching the hotel reception with a USB stick and files to print, are a common occurrence and mean an extra workload for the hotel staff.

• Companies in the hospitality industry want an efficient printing and charging solution that should be easily accessible and convenient to use for the hotel guest while ensuring his privacy and data security. Charging for the service must be straight­forward and involve next to no effort for the hotel staff. bEST Payment combines these aspects in a low-investment solution that is quick and easy to set up and operate.

• Via bEST Payment, hotel guests and customers of business lounges, copy shops etc. have access to the complete device functionality on a self-serve basis, without sacrificing their privacy or requiring any staff assistance. While the copy, scan and fax functionality can be operated directly at the output device via a personal, password-protected account, print jobs are sent to the output device by uploading files via a standard webbrowser and without the need to install a printer driver. Print files are encrypted and held securely on the print server from where they are released by the user after login at the printer. For the hotel reception staff, it is just as simple and straightforward to create guest accounts, read out the guest’s total balance and delete accounts within seconds, making the man­agement of accounts as effortless as possible.

bEST Payment includes these three main components:

• bEST Payment Configurator

The bEST Payment administration module governs all administrative and service management tasks:

• Setup of basic settings, such as network, MFP language and authentication

• Installation of bEST Payment service on the MFP(s)

• Setting of price tables: For all MFP functions, i.e. copy, print, scan and fax, prices can be deter­mined based e.g. on page size, colour or mono­chrome output, or type of finishing. It is also pos­sible to set up more than one price table, e.g. for one-time and for regular guests

• History logging of all performed MFP jobs for internal accounting

• bEST Payment Manager

The bEST Payment application for the front desk, cashier or reception provides straightforward and speedy management of guest accounts:

• Setup of guest accounts by room number and password or password only

• Viewing of guest account balance and transac­tions. This log can also be printed, which is fre­quently required for the guest’s travel expenses

• Closing and deleting of guest accounts and automatic deletion of any remaining print files on the server

• bEST Payment intranet website

The bEST Payment intranet website provides the guest with access to upload print files into the follow-me print queue. It can be localised and cus­tomised to individual needs, e.g. to correspond to the hotel’s intranet layout:

• Authentication by personal password

• Uploading of print files via any standard web­browser onto the print server; supported print files are: doc(x), xls(x), ppt(x), pdf, xps, bmp, tif and jpg

• Checking of account balance

Extending the operation of bEST Payment for extra user convenience, bEST Payment can be optionally enhanced with these advanced functions:

• Where ID cards are in use for e.g. room access or as customer card, these can be self-registered by the guest at the MFP, providing more convenient access to the MFP functionality.

• As not all mobile devices today allow uploading files via a webbrowser, print files can easily be sent to the print server via email. The security and privacy level is the same as is the convenience with which users can release print jobs at the MFP panel.

The complete range of Konica Minolta’s OpenAPI capable multifunctional products can be used for the bEST Payment service, providing an attractive choice of devices with regard to size, performance, functionality and initial financial outlay. bEST Payment supports more than one device, enabling companies to e.g. set up a central output device at the hotel business centre in addition to individual printers on each floor. Guests have full access to all connected systems, giving them more flexibility and convenience.

For more information on this quite revolutionary service, contact Inter Far East Engineering Public Company (IFEC) on 02 718 8000 or visit their website: www.ifec.co.th