Notifications
SmartMy Hostel tells the right person the moment something happens. That can be a bed booked, a leave to approve, a resident not back, an absence at roll call, an invoice, a notice, an emergency. Each event has its own recipients: the resident, the guardians, the wardens or the payer. Messages go in the app and by email. WhatsApp and SMS come from your message credits, and app push once the apps are in the stores.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- A parent hears that their child missed roll call from another parent, two days later.
- Residents say they never got the invoice, and the desk cannot check what was sent.
- The warden on night duty does not know a resident pressed the emergency button until morning.
- Notices and event news wake residents at midnight, and the important messages get ignored.
How it works
- Something happens: a bed is booked, a leave waits, roll call is closed, an invoice is posted, a resident presses the emergency button.
- The event finds its recipients. They are the resident, the guardians on the stay, the wardens of the hostel, the payer of an invoice, or the approvers of the level. A staff SOS also goes to the hostel's managers.
- Each person gets the first channel that reaches them, in the order app push, WhatsApp, SMS, email. The message always lands in the in-app Inbox too.
- Hostel work messages go out at once, at any hour. Notices, new events and club announcements wait for your quiet hours, and a resident can switch those off.
- Every message leaves a line in the Delivery Log, with the reason when it could not be sent. An administrator changes channels per Entity and the wording.
Everything it does
Booking and the stay
- Hostel Booking Confirmed, Hostel Check-in, Hostel Booking Cancelled, Hostel Check-out: to the resident and the guardians
- Hostel Notice to Vacate: the exit date and any shortfall of the notice period, to the resident, the guardians and the wardens
- Hostel Room Changed and Hostel Room Change Request Result: to the resident and the guardians
- Hostel Login Invitation: the set-password link by WhatsApp or SMS, for a resident or guardian with only a mobile number
Money (with billing)
- Hostel Invoice (with the pay-online link) and Hostel Payment Received: to the payer, the resident and the guardians
- Hostel Dues Reminder: before the due date and every few days while overdue, to the same people
- Hostel Final Settlement: the deposit and the refund, to the resident and the guardians
Leave and attendance
- Hostel Leave to Approve: to whoever decides next, the guardians or the wardens
- Hostel Leave Approved / Rejected: to the resident and the guardians
- Hostel Resident Not Back: to the guardians and the wardens, when overdue and when back late
- Hostel Absent at Roll Call: to the guardians and the wardens
- Hostel Late Entry: to the guardians, from the hostel's warning count on
- Hostel Out After In-time: to the wardens, from the attendance devices
Safety and notices
- Hostel Emergency: to the wardens at once; the wardens and a manager also get a to-do
- Hostel Staff Emergency: when staff press SOS, to the hostel's other wardens and its managers at once; each also gets a to-do
- Hostel Incident: to the guardians of each resident involved, when the incident is saved with Inform Guardians
- Hostel Notice: to the residents a notice is for, when published with Send to Residents
Scale features
- Laundry: Ready, Delivered and Waiting to the resident; Late to the wardens
- Access cards: Card or Key Issued to the resident; Card or Key Lost and Door Refused Repeatedly to the wardens
- Community: Hostel Event, Event Reminder, Event Changed, Event Seat, Proposed, Proposal Result, Club, Club Announcement and Marketplace Interest, Report and Listing Removed. In the app and by email, and app push once the apps are in the stores (no WhatsApp or SMS)
- Face recognition: consent asked, given and withdrawn, enrolled and removed, and device alerts to the face managers
- Fixed assets: Asset Warranty Ending, Maintenance Contract Ending and Insurance Ending, 30 days before, in the app and by email
- Fixed asset hand-overs (Scale): Asset Given: Please Acknowledge and Asset Taken Back: Please Confirm to the person. Asset Hand Back Asked to the Incharge who gave it
- Asset Not Received to that Incharge and the Asset Managers; Asset Handover Disputed to the Asset Managers. By email and in the app
Kinds, quiet hours and choices
- Every Hostel event is transactional except Hostel Notice, Hostel Event and Hostel Club Announcement, which are promotional
- Transactional events go out at once, also at night; a person can switch off a channel such as email, never the event
- The three promotional events wait for quiet hours (21:00 to 7:00 to start with, per Entity), and a resident can switch each off
- Request Waits for Your Approval reaches approvers of room changes, settlements and asset changes, and anyone named on a level
- The waitlist offer of a free bed is an email from the waitlist record, not a notification event
Channels and credits
- Email and the in-app Inbox work with no set-up; the Inbox is in the SmartMy Hostel app, the staff app and the back office
- WhatsApp and SMS go out from your message credits, where the event has them
- App push is built into both apps; it reaches phones once the apps are in the stores
- The resident app's Inbox has Notification settings: Send me by (channels) and Messages about (kinds); required messages always come
Who uses it
ResidentGets the stay, invoice, leave, notice and laundry messages, and chooses channels in the app.
GuardianGets leave to approve and results, absences, late entries, incidents, invoices and dues.
WardenGets leave to approve, residents not back or out after the in-time, absences, emergencies and lost cards.
Payer, such as an employerGets the invoices, payments and dues reminders it pays.
AdministratorSwitches events and channels per Entity, edits the wording and checks the Delivery Log.
Where you use it
- Web: each user's inbox, and Notifications > Delivery Log, Analysis and Configuration (Events, Entity Settings, Templates, Providers, Template Approvals, Opt-outs, Push Devices)
- The SmartMy Hostel app and the SmartMy Hostel Staff app: the Inbox under the bell, which opens the right page. The app is built and in testing, not in the app stores yet
- Not on the resident portal: a page to choose channels; ask the office, who add the choice under Opt-outs
- Not built: app push tried on a real phone. Until the apps are in the stores, rely on email, WhatsApp or SMS for wardens at night
What you control
Settings
- Per event: on or off, its delivery and channels, for everyone or per Entity (Entity Settings)
- Delivery to start with: the first channel that reaches the person, in the order of the event's channels, plus the in-app Inbox
- Quiet hours per Entity: 21:00 to 7:00; only Hostel Notice, Hostel Event and Hostel Club Announcement wait for them
- Templates per channel and language; a WhatsApp or SMS provider per Entity
- Hostel Managers is a recipient you can tick under Send To on a hostel event, beside Hostel Wardens
Questions
Do parents get a WhatsApp message when their child misses roll call?
Yes, when you have WhatsApp credits and a provider set up. Without them the guardian gets an email and an in-app message. App push follows once the apps are in the stores.Do messages wait until morning?
Work messages, such as an emergency, a leave to approve or a resident not back, go out at once. Only notices, new events and club announcements wait for quiet hours.Can a resident stop notices but keep invoice messages?
Yes. In the app's Notification settings a resident can switch off the kinds that allow it, such as notices. Invoices, dues and leave messages always arrive, though a channel such as email can be switched off.Are wardens alerted on their phone when the emergency button is pressed?
The wardens get the alert by WhatsApp or SMS from your credits, or by email, plus the Inbox and a to-do. App push is built but not in the stores yet, so test the button once.How do I check whether a guardian was told?
Open Notifications > Delivery Log. Each message shows its status, and the reason when it was not sent, such as no mobile number or no credits.Related features
DAILY LIFELeave and out-passes with guardian approvalResidents ask for leave or an out-pass on the portal or in the app. The guardian, the warden or both approve it. Going out and coming back are recorded, and guardians and wardens hear when someone is not back.DAILY LIFERoll call by hostel, block and sessionThe warden takes the night roll call for a hostel or one block, on the web or the phone. Residents on approved leave are already marked. Guardians and wardens are told of every resident absent without leave.DAILY LIFEEmergency button for residentsA resident in house presses Emergency on the portal or in the app. The wardens are told at once, at any hour, with the name, the room and the phone number. Each gets a to-do, and a high-severity incident is opened. Wardens, the desk and managers have an SOS of their own in the staff app.BILLINGRent reminders, late fees and waiversPayers, residents and guardians are reminded before the due date and every few days after it. A late fee follows your rule after the grace days, and long overdue dues reach the manager as a to-do. A charge can be waived with a reason, within a limit for managers.DAILY LIFENotice board and pollsPost notices to whole hostels, some blocks or some floors, pin the important ones and let them expire by themselves. Add a poll to a notice and residents answer on the portal or in the app.PORTAL AND APPSThe resident appSmartMy Hostel is the phone app for residents and their parents or guardians. It has the stay, leave, documents, room change and notice to vacate, an inbox of what the hostel tells them, and an SOS button. With hostel billing and daily life it adds dues with Pay, notices with polls and attendance.
See it with your own blocks and classes.
Tell us how many hostels and students you have. We will show you an allotment, a leave request approved by a parent and a night roll call, set up the way your hostel works.