A hotel property management system or PMS is used by almost all hospitality companies to manage operations within each of their properties and coordinate activities as a group. It automates and manages everything from the front office and reservations to accounting and housekeeping. Listed below are some of the desirable features in a PMS.
The most important feature to look for is integration with the reservations network and yield management system. It's not possible to explain the technical aspects here, but the summary of it is that anyone making a reservation will be offered an automated process where the room rates per night are decided based on occupancy rates and demand at that moment. Standard features include single-screen reservations, group booking facility and one-step check-ins.
Another critical and very useful feature is the ability to store data about past guests and call it up for reference as and when needed. When guests provide their name, it is compared against the database to see if the same person has stayed before. If there is an existing record, the rest of the form fields can be instantly populated with the same data. It will considerably reduce the booking time and hassle.
A quick scan of the history allows the front-desk clerk to show that they recognize the guest and welcome them back. The ability to look up a guest's history may also help the staff provide better service. Upgrades and freebies may be offered based on past requests and spending by the guest at the same hotel or with other hotels in the group.
An easily accessible database containing records of all past guests is also helpful for security and as a loss-prevention mechanism. Most hospitality groups maintain a blacklist of people that are banned from booking in at any of the group's properties. Some are guests who skipped out without paying, while others may have stolen or damaged hotel property, or may have engaged in improper behavior.
Guest access to digital services such as pay per view and door locking systems may also be automated by the PMS. Payments at POS systems in onsite restaurants, bars or health clubs can similarly be integrated with the software. Putting all this and internal departments such as accounting, HR and inventory into a single system enables not just billing, but also versatile reports for detailed analysis and snapshots of the entire hotel's status at any given time.
Since the same software is handling all this, it reduces the need for IT spending, training, upgrades, hardware and staff for multiple systems. It also improves security with a single log-in for each user based on their access level. With the introduction of cloud-based solutions and mobile apps, the IT infrastructure savings and the ability to use the software from anywhere makes it that much more powerful and productive.
At the end of the day, the hospitality business remains a huge and complex setup that must remain operational round the clock. It involves hundreds of guests and employees, regular maintenance and lots of hard work. An experienced GM leading a competent team can pull it off and keep guests happy with personalized care and attention. But this is only possible if the hotel property management system is handling all the routine tasks, so that the staff can focus on the details.
The most important feature to look for is integration with the reservations network and yield management system. It's not possible to explain the technical aspects here, but the summary of it is that anyone making a reservation will be offered an automated process where the room rates per night are decided based on occupancy rates and demand at that moment. Standard features include single-screen reservations, group booking facility and one-step check-ins.
Another critical and very useful feature is the ability to store data about past guests and call it up for reference as and when needed. When guests provide their name, it is compared against the database to see if the same person has stayed before. If there is an existing record, the rest of the form fields can be instantly populated with the same data. It will considerably reduce the booking time and hassle.
A quick scan of the history allows the front-desk clerk to show that they recognize the guest and welcome them back. The ability to look up a guest's history may also help the staff provide better service. Upgrades and freebies may be offered based on past requests and spending by the guest at the same hotel or with other hotels in the group.
An easily accessible database containing records of all past guests is also helpful for security and as a loss-prevention mechanism. Most hospitality groups maintain a blacklist of people that are banned from booking in at any of the group's properties. Some are guests who skipped out without paying, while others may have stolen or damaged hotel property, or may have engaged in improper behavior.
Guest access to digital services such as pay per view and door locking systems may also be automated by the PMS. Payments at POS systems in onsite restaurants, bars or health clubs can similarly be integrated with the software. Putting all this and internal departments such as accounting, HR and inventory into a single system enables not just billing, but also versatile reports for detailed analysis and snapshots of the entire hotel's status at any given time.
Since the same software is handling all this, it reduces the need for IT spending, training, upgrades, hardware and staff for multiple systems. It also improves security with a single log-in for each user based on their access level. With the introduction of cloud-based solutions and mobile apps, the IT infrastructure savings and the ability to use the software from anywhere makes it that much more powerful and productive.
At the end of the day, the hospitality business remains a huge and complex setup that must remain operational round the clock. It involves hundreds of guests and employees, regular maintenance and lots of hard work. An experienced GM leading a competent team can pull it off and keep guests happy with personalized care and attention. But this is only possible if the hotel property management system is handling all the routine tasks, so that the staff can focus on the details.
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