How really successful hotels choose a good pms

Have you wondered what is the best way to choose a good Property Management System (PMS) for your hotel?

In this digital generation, technology is at the core of almost all activity. It has changed the way we think and how businesses work.

And the hospitality industry benefits vastly from technology. But in order for it to be effective, it is critical that any technology choice has to reflect the overall business strategy and be employee and guest friendly.

Making a choice with today’s wide selection of technologies is not easy; the key is to focus on what the business needs and choose the one that most closely addresses those needs.

Very often hotels are swayed by flashy technology which may not be in line with the needs of the hotel. A Property Management System (PMS) is at the centre of hotel operations. It is a complex software used by hotels of all sizes and types to manage the property operations – whether this is the Front Desk, Maintenance, IT, F&B, Finance etc. Deciding on which PMS to choose can often be challenging.

Key success factors to consider

• Functionality – Identify the core areas of your hotel that needs to be managed efficiently. Draw up business processes for this to be effective. Compare this against functionality offered.
• Connectivity for distribution – Check if the PMS comes with a channel manager or connects to a channel manager of your choice. This will ensure that you can distribute rates to Online Travel Agencies (OTA’s) and third party internet distribution systems seamlessly. And how will it work with your website?
• Connectivity to other related software – PMS’s often need to be able to work with related software including Point of Sale Systems, Telephone systems and Security systems. Check that the PMS’s you are considering work with a wide range of providers
• Customer Service – Check on the support systems offered to ensure you are not left stranded should anything go wrong. Find companies that provide 24/7 customer support, good training, and that provides automatic upgrades without disrupting the business.
• On premise versus the Cloud – With increasingly sophisticated products available at a good price, cloud based solutions have increasingly become dominant. This is particularly true with independent hotels.
• Reporting & Analytics – Many hotels do not utilise the power of the PMS. A good PMS will provide you all the business intelligence reporting from a basic to advanced level, to allow a hotel to make good financial and revenue maximising decisions.
• Costs – Clearly a key consideration for every business! However it is important to analyse business requirements and then match them with what a PMS can deliver rather than going purely by cost.