Technology is always evolving. The times of spreadsheet and manual data entry has long been replaced with automated hotel management systems. With the emergence of cloud platform, big data, mobile and virtual payment – technology has become vital to hotel’s daily operations.
A property management system, commonly known as PMS, has been developed to streamline the front office and daily operations like invoicing, room inventories, housekeeping, check-ins, check-outs, etc. Advanced PMS often goes beyond the basics, and offers features and capabilities that become centerpiece of the hotel’s business. Here’re five essentials you need to check when you next select for PMS.
Integration with Channel Manager
Online booking has become the biggest source of revenue for the hotel industry. While direct booking is the most profitable demand source for a property, online sales channels and meta-sites have become critical to every hotel’s distribution mix. A hotel PMS which is integrated with your channel manager and booking engine, will enable the reservation synchronization completely automated. Whenever a guest books your room online, the reservation will be immediately delivered and updated in your hotel system, thereby minimizing the chances of overbooking.
Cloud Technology
Cloud technology, which essentially means web-based tools and applications, as opposed to a an installable one, eliminates dependency on in-premise hardware, and allows the user to manage the solution by login in from different computers or connected devices. The cloud-based PMS are usually more stable with data security, backups and real-time updates. The web-based UI are intuitive and reduces time and cost for training. Advanced cloud-based PMSs have API capabilities, making integration with other hotel technology applications easier.
POS Outlets
Most hotels have multiple on property point-of-sale outlets like gift shop, restaurant, bar, spa etc. Maintaining manual entry can not only be complex, there would always be a chance of overlooking a transaction. A PMS with integrated point-of-sales automate the entire process by keeping track of every transaction and smooth check-out experience of the guest.
Real-time Business Analytics
Hotels today use about 10-12 technology solutions for their daily operations which often work in silos. Your PMS should have the capability to bring all your data pertaining on to a single dashboard so that anyone with access to the platform can sue and make informed decision. An integrated hotel management platform which unifies all operation tools like PMS, OTA, Channel Management, Market Intelligence, Review Management etc and allow for the integration of external tools, channels, and vendors – provides hotels an opportunity to leverage technology holistically.
Ease of Use
Technology, even the high-tech ones, can be user friendly. An intuitive solution is the one which is simple and easy to use and based on things that people already understood. The hotel PMS should be management software should be simple and can be managed without extensive training.
Whether a guest books a room online or with a tour operator, your PMS stays updated through RateTiger. Contact us today – marketing@erevmax.com