Kiosk for Room Allocations
Display room allocations on a tablet or computer screen in the lodge.
Show real-time bed/room allocation information via a kiosk. For example you can fix an Android tablet to a wall, using an enclosure e.g. https://sprocket.com.au/. Set up the device so it automatically runs a browser, and the browser is locked down to a single address:
https://{your Booking Service domain}/api/index.php?r=information/roomoccupation&apikey={apikey}
For example, one way to lock down a tablet is Kiosk Browser Remote Management (https://www.android-kiosk.com/) on each tablet and access the management console via a browser. On each tablet this app locks down everything and will only reboot the tablet to the app. If you install this app, you can set up your tablet using a QR code: https://www.android-kiosk.com/qrcodegenerator.htm. Leave Registration Key blank, get the Licence key from the receipt email from the Play Store (Google), enter the URL as above (remember to add &lodge= if you are a multi-lodge club), Configure WiFi with SSID and password (other fields don’t need to change). Then follow the instructions at https://help.android-kiosk.com/en/article/kb-provisioning-devices-1kgrrg5/ Method 1 via factory reset.
The kiosk URL: Parameters start with &
Additional parameters include:
&lodge={lodgecode} only used if you have multiple lodges. You need to ask support what your lodge codes are, can be e.g. buller, falls, thredbo etc but if that doesn’t work please ask.
&field= can be used to override default fields shown against each guest. Default is &field=name,tariffType.
If you turn on Configuration Item LOAD_MEMBERCLASS, the default is to show three fields:
&field=name,tariffType,memberClass. (N.B. LOAD_MEMBERCLASS also adds Member Class to admin Allocate Rooms screen.) In this case to omit tariff type, use &field=name,memberClass.
&datetext= will include Date Text information. If you put any text after the = equals sign, it will be prepended to the Date Text information, e.g. Lodge%20Captain:%20. %20 decodes to a single space, this is called URL encoding.
You should omit &start and &end. Default start is today, default end is 7 nights from start. You can override the 7 night duration using Site Config item INFORMATION_WEEK (create the configuration item if it does not already exist).
You can create a Configuration Item named “KIOSK_MESSAGE“.
The configuration item type can be set to:
- text,
- text area or
- Rich Text.
Your message will appear below the header. If you need any styling, get in touch, we can provide any custom CSS you need.
To set up your API key, give it the role “roomoccupation”, without the quotes.
Security
Only give the API key the one role.
Make sure the device (kiosk) is locked down and the user cannot:
- see the address bar of the browser (this would expose the API key)
- see browsing history
- see any browser menu
Change the API key periodically. To do this, edit the key and click on “generate key”. Don’t forget to click on “save”. Copy the key to the clipboard and update your kiosk device.
Feedback
If you find a better or cheaper way to control your kiosk, please let us know so we can share the information here.