September has a rhythm of its own. The heat lingers, but the tempo shifts. People return to their routines, inboxes fill up again, and there’s a quiet sense of things falling back into place. It’s not a loud transition, but it’s a decisive one—both in life and in business. We often use our own travel experiences as inspiration for improving hospitality tech—call it a professional distortion. Here’s a real September story: in the second half of this month, I travelled to China. For my wife and me, it was our first visit to this vast country, with its rich history and distinct cultural rhythm so different from what we know in Europe. The final leg of our journey took us to Hong Kong, where we stayed at a well-known global hotel brand. I had prepaid the stay back in June as part of my wife’s birthday present, but—as it often happens when you travel—plans changed. We needed to shift our arrival by two days. I reached out to the hotel, knowing it was a non-refundable and non-changeable booking, simply to let them know not to give the room away. The day before our rebooked flight, a typhoon—the strongest in a decade—caused our flight to be cancelled. I wrote again to explain that we’d be arriving a bit later. The hotel confirmed they would keep our room. But to my surprise, the night before our new flight, I received a cancellation notice via Booking.com. I contacted the hotel immediately. Their response: I had been marked as a no-show, and the reservation had been cancelled. I was livid. All the communication was documented, and the stay had been fully paid. I forwarded the previous confirmations I had received. Eventually, the front desk responded with an apology: the emails hadn’t been noticed. A reservations officer had reviewed upcoming bookings, saw the no-show, and followed protocol based on what their system suggested. That moment highlighted how hospitality shouldn’t be about missed emails and disjointed systems. It reminded me of a recent feature we built at Clock. We recently integrated emails directly into our Events module so that all correspondence with organisers becomes part of the event record. And as part of the upcoming redesign of our booking screens, we plan to integrate guest emails directly with bookings. Situations like mine should be easy to handle—and they should never lead to frustration or the need for yet another apology. Technology should keep things together.
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September has a rhythm of its own. The heat lingers, but the tempo shifts. People return to their routines, inboxes fill up again, and there’s a quiet sense of things falling back into place. It’s not a loud transition, but it’s a decisive one—both in life and in business.
We often use our own travel experiences as inspiration for improving hospitality tech—call it a professional distortion. Here’s a real September story: in the second half of this month, I travelled to China. For my wife and me, it was our first visit to this vast country, with its rich history and distinct cultural rhythm so different from what we know in Europe. The final leg of our journey took us to Hong Kong, where we stayed at a well-known global hotel brand. I had prepaid the stay back in June as part of my wife’s birthday present, but—as it often happens when you travel—plans changed. We needed to shift our arrival by two days. I reached out to the hotel, knowing it was a non-refundable and non-changeable booking, simply to let them know not to give the room away.
The day before our rebooked flight, a typhoon—the strongest in a decade—caused our flight to be cancelled. I wrote again to explain that we’d be arriving a bit later. The hotel confirmed they would keep our room. But to my surprise, the night before our new flight, I received a cancellation notice via Booking.com. I contacted the hotel immediately. Their response: I had been marked as a no-show, and the reservation had been cancelled.
I was livid.
All the communication was documented, and the stay had been fully paid. I forwarded the previous confirmations I had received. Eventually, the front desk responded with an apology: the emails hadn’t been noticed. A reservations officer had reviewed upcoming bookings, saw the no-show, and followed protocol based on what their system suggested.
That moment highlighted how hospitality shouldn’t be about missed emails and disjointed systems. It reminded me of a recent feature we built at Clock. We recently integrated emails directly into our Events module so that all correspondence with organisers becomes part of the event record. And as part of the upcoming redesign of our booking screens, we plan to integrate guest emails directly with bookings. Situations like mine should be easy to handle—and they should never lead to frustration or the need for yet another apology. Technology should keep things together.
Now, business as usual
Let me start with some important routine news. After a detailed onsite audit, we were once again awarded our eighth consecutive PCI DSS Level 1 Certificate, also known as the Attestation of Compliance. This confirms our continued adherence to the highest level of payment security standards—not just for automated card transactions, but for the entire infrastructure that powers them.
September product update
We also released our monthly product update, packed with new features and improvements. A few highlights worth mentioning:
Better guest experience with simplified event booking codes
Hotels managing group bookings can now offer a smoother reservation process in the Web Booking Engine (WBE) using a single event code. Previously, separate codes were required for each room block. Now, guests can access multiple blocks through one shared code, making the booking experience easier and clearer. Sensitive blocks (such as complimentary organiser rooms) can still be protected with dedicated codes.
Streamlined folio operations with advanced search and bulk transfers
The new advanced folio search tool allows hoteliers to locate, review, and manage folios using detailed filters—such as reservation status, company name, or arrival/departure dates. You can also transfer charges from multiple folios to another folio with a few clicks. This is particularly helpful for group and company account management.
Faster updates to service pricing across multi-property portfolios
Hotel chains can now use the new multi-hotel charge template manager to monitor and edit the prices of additional services across all properties. The cross-tab interface highlights inconsistencies, helps maintain pricing accuracy, and simplifies bulk updates. Especially useful for revenue managers overseeing multiple locations.
In total, this release includes over 20 new improvements, each small on its own but collectively making your daily work with Clock more comfortable and productive.
Final thoughts
September may not be ultimate in any aspect—it’s not too cold, not too hot, and for some, not even too busy. But it always gets things moving again after the long summer.
Thank you for reading, and thank you for the continued trust in what we do.
See you next month,
Krasimir