It should prioritize mobility
A PMS that is mobile friendly is essential for hoteliers to thrive in this 21st century, guest-centric environment. Mobility lets travelers choose how they want to check-in, whether it’s through their mobile device, a smart-kiosk in the lobby, or a friendly attendant equipped with a tablet. No longer are hoteliers confined to the front desk when interacting with guests. Now, you can move around the property while having access to critical guest info in real-time through a mobile device or tablet. This allows you to process guest requests anywhere in the hotel, or start conversations with guests that lead to conversions for upgrades or amenities. While being mobile, hoteliers from overseas get to manage the hotel from anywhere in the world, allowing for the best guest service without having to be there 24/7.
It should run back end services with guests’ experience in mind.
The best type of housekeeping is when you don’t even notice that they’re there. Traditionally, housekeeping departments were run with a clipboard and conveying half-muffled commands through walkies-talkies. This low-tech method has seen it’s fair share of awkward interactions with guests. At some point, everyone has been awakened by a housekeeping associate mistakenly knocking on the door of their occupied room.
Fortunately, in this new age of technology, a good PMS allows for real-time communication with housekeeping and instant room status updates, leading to a reduction of calls made to the front office, and an increase in housekeeping productivity. No more unnecessary knocking!
It should be an open and efficient channel manager.
For hotels to remain competitive, there will be a distribution of bookings across a variety of different channels. Indeed, hotel rooms can be sold through the hotel website, telephone bookings, online travel agencies, and many more avenues. This makes it absolutely essential that all these various channels can be managed effectively and seamlessly under one dashboard.
The very best hotel management software or PMS will include channel management functions, ensuring rooms are available across multiple channels and that inventory information is always up-to-date. A great PMS system will offer direct channel management functionality making all the bookings seamless and effectively avoid overbooking.
It should optimize revenue gain instead of just basic management
In the past, the role of the PMS was to help hoteliers manage their hotel’s operational structure and perform basic management on its back end finances. However, today’s PMS should do that and much more. Beyond the needs of the front desk and revenue management, a PMS should enhance a hotel’s ability to generate revenue. Does your PMS give you the ability to market personalized offers for amenities and upgrades directly to your guests’ smartphones? Does it allow you to capitalize on non-room related revenue like early check-in and late check-outs, and help to drive more direct bookings? If it doesn’t, then it’s time for an upgrade.