CAT control systems provides automated access control for Booking Experts customers, with license plate recognition, a CAT card, and other possibilities for the hospitality business.
In our App Store you can read more about what CAT can offer you.
How to install the app?
Once logged into your Booking Experts PMS, go to the App Store in the light green menu bar. To do this, click on the market stall icon. Type 'CAT' in the search bar and click on the appropriate result. You are now on the app's detail page. Click the green '+Install' button to install the app.
In the next screen, you can see exactly what information is read and sent by CAT. At the bottom of this page, you will link your administrations. Check the 'Access' box for each administration for which you want to apply CAT. Then click 'Install' to authorize the app and complete the installation.
You can now return to the CAT app page to complete the settings.
Complete the settings
To further set up the CAT app integration, you need to connect your CAT information, and set up card types & products to ensure that your guests automatically receive the proper access.
Connect CAT
Select the 'Settings' button in the Commands bar. Enter the url that you receive from CAT, and your customer code. Do this for every administration that you want to connect.
The URL you need here is an external IP address followed by a port to be accessed externally.
Synchronizing card types
With CAT, you have already set up various card types. You have to synchronize these to your BEX integration. Select the 'Card types & products' button in the Commands bar, and then click 'Synchronize card types'. After synchronizing, you’ll see your card types listed.
Adding products to card types
In order to automatically assign the right card type to a reservation, you need to add products to the card types. A product contains applicability details.
Open a card type in the list by clicking the name. Then, click 'Products' for an overview of the products linked to this card type. If you haven’t added any yet, this page is empty and you can start adding a product by clicking the '+Product' button.
General
In this form, start by giving the product a descriptive name, and selecting the administration for which this product should be valid. Also select whether cards should be created per reservation, per person in that reservation, or whenever a certain item is purchased.
Credits
If you use a credits system, you can determine how the starting balance on the card should be calculated. It is possible to add multiple calculation methods to the same product, just click 'Add' again. The number you enter at 'Balance' is the base for the calculation.
Depending on the calculation method chosen, you can additionally indicate which guest age groups it should apply to and which box should be used. The definition of what a box is, is determined between you and CAT.
Filters
Set these filters to determine which reservations need to receive this product and card type. Filter by object label or type, by cost item, or by extra cost items chosen by the guest.
Other settings
In this section, you determine how and when the card is activated.
Check 'Wait for check-in' to automatically activate the CAT card associated with a reservation as soon as that reservation is checked in.
Check 'Automatic check-in' to also automatically mark a reservation as checked-in when the license plate associated with the reservation is recognized at the barrier.
Check 'Deliver cards to guest' to automatically send the card information (pin code) to your guests before they arrive. Customize the application message template 'CAT card delivery' for this purpose.
When setting up the application message template, the variable tag {{ card_number_2 }} should be used to show the correct code.
Enter a fixed start and end time if you want to apply activation and deactivation times for cards on check-in and check-out days, which deviate from the default check-in and check-out times.
Editing card types and products
All card types and products can be edited if needed. Simply navigate to the correct card type and/or product and click the 'Edit' button. The data that can be edited is the same data that can be entered during setup.
CAT card printers
To create physical cards, you need to set up and use printers. These printers need to be set up with CAT first.
Then, select the 'Printers' button in the Commands bar, and click 'Synchronize printers'.
The synchronized printers will be shown in the list. The name of the printer can be changed by opening and editing the printer.
Creating additional cards
Select the 'Cards' button in the Commands bar. Here, you’ll find a list of all CAT cards generated by the products you have set up. Using the buttons '+CAT card' or '+Add multiple' you can manually create additional cards.
For this new card, you need to enter the card type, validity, any credits, and the personal data of the card holder.
Additional card for guest
To manually create an additional card for a reservation, open the reservation and click the 'Apps' dropdown in the 'Reservation' block. Here, select 'CAT cards'. In the next screen, you can see the current CAT card details, and use the '+Add' button to add another card.
Additional card for owner
It is not possible to automatically generate CAT cards for owners based on products. If an owner needs a CAT card, one needs to be created manually.
To create an additional card for an owner, open the owner page via the owner module, and click the 'Apps' dropdown at the top of the page. Here, select 'CAT cards'. In the next screen, you can use the '+Add' button to add a card, or open and edit the existing one.
Printing and editing individual cards
Following the same steps as described for adding another card, you can find existing cards. For each existing card, you can select a printer to print it, re-send it via email, or block and/or delete it to remove access. You can also edit it to change the parameters of the card.
View card transactions
Card transactions are all instances when a CAT card is used. This includes license plate access, door access, or using credits.
Quickly view the latest transactions by clicking the 'Apps' dropdown in the light green bar of your BEX PMS, and selecting 'CAT: Transactions & cards'.
Manually open a barrier controlled by CAT
Quickly open a specific gate or barrier by clicking the 'Apps' dropdown in the light green bar of your BEX PMS, and selecting 'CAT: Open CAT location'. In the next page, select the appropriate location from the dropdown and click 'Open'.