How to edit and add more details to an Inquiry
Learning Objectives
This article will teach you...
- What can you find on an Inquiry
- How to edit an Inquiry
- The function / meaning of certain fields
Your New Inquiry is saved, what’s next?
Once you have saved your New Inquiry you will be redirected to the saved inquiry’s page where you can:
- Add / Edit information on fields
- Add & Edit Inquiry Event, Guest Rooms and Products
- Adjust the Inquiries status
- Convert the Inquiry
- And more!
Here is a screenshot of our standard saved inquiry layout. However your organization may have it set up differently. You can easily add or edit information on these fields if needed by clicking on the pencil icon or the ‘Edit’ button.
Note only fields with (*) are mandatory
On the Details tab of your saved Inquiry you will find fields already filled out. These are the fields you had previously filled out on the New Inquiry, however you can edit them accordingly if needed.. You will find more fields available where you can add more information if desired.
- Account / Contact / Agency / Agency Contact - when creating a New Inquiry you have the option to lookup existing Accounts and Contacts, or manually add lead details. If you found an Account or Contact via the lookup field those would show on the saved inquiry (a1). However if you added lead details instead, a Contact section will appear on the Inquiry (E) where the user can manually add more details or edit the information. Once converted the system will automatically create a new Contact and Account from the lead details for you (E).
- Requested Properties - On creation of the Inquiry and on save, users have the ability to select any requested properties from the client.
- Total number of Guest Rooms, Meeting Rooms and Size, Star Rating and Property Attributes - If a user adds information on these fields, during the conversion process those fields would help filter out the most appropriate property for that client. Note these attributes can still be adjusted on the conversion process if needed.
- Budgets - If a user fills out this information, once the Inquiry is converted, these fields will populate on the booking.
On the Related tab of your saved Inquiry you will be able to add & edit Inquiry Events, Guest Rooms and Products. Once you’ve converted your booking you will also be able to see the linked bookings here as well. Lastly there is a section to track activities by adding tasks, log emails and more.
Best Practices for editing an Inquiry
- Start by checking with your Director of Sales, as your hotel may have strict policies on how to use Inquiries. The SOPs will provide guidance on when and how to classify a piece of business as an inquiry or a booking.
- Typically, if a lead has very basic information, you don’t know the source, or feel it’s not going to really materialize, you can track this as an inquiry. This allows you to track the business and the lost business without spending too much time detailing it.
- If you are part of a Central Sales Team, you are essentially routing leads to various properties by using Inquiries. Again, follow your own internal SOPs.
- Inquiries can be a treasure trove for prospecting for new business. Review lost inquiries and see if maybe you should get to know the account/contact better in order to find new business.
- Some hotels use ‘generic accounts’ to track their inquiries, or social business. For instance, you may have the following ‘generic accounts’: Wedding Account, Social Account, (Sales Manager’s name) Paul Smith’s Inquiry Account, etc. This allows you to link your inquiries to the generic account, without creating brand new accounts, especially if you don’t have the time now to really research the account.
- When you are converting an inquiry to a booking, make sure to follow your SOPs on qualifying accounts etc.
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