What does a hotel business need to survive in a competitive market? A minimum of two items: Create an online presence that streamlines the reservation process and delivers excellent customer service so that consumers who return to your area will choose your establishment again. Automating daily operations and administrative activities is an important step towards enhancing customer satisfaction since it enables consistent and high-quality service.

A hotel is a complex system with multiple departments, and each operation must be monitored. Hoteliers employ a range of tools to achieve this, including spreadsheets, paper forms, and unified property management systems.

In this post, we’ll look at property management systems (PMS), which handle reservations, front- and back-office operations, channel management, and more. You’ll learn about the primary features of PMS, compare solutions offered from various suppliers, and get advice on how to select the best system for your hospitality business.

A property management system (PMS) is software that assists hotels with reservations and administrative tasks. The most important functions include front-desk operations, reservations, channel management, housekeeping, rate and occupancy management, and payment processing. PMS software is mostly used for reservations and financial transactions, but it can also be used to manage housekeeping and human resources. In general, PMS simplifies a hotel’s internal and external operations.

A modern property management system combines multiple work areas into a single piece of software. The combination of modules and functionalities varies based on the supplier, and one module’s functionality may change slightly. Furthermore, some vendors provide their systems as independent modules that may be integrated into a hotel’s existing solution. Here is the basic structure of a hotel PMS.

Remember that it is difficult to categorize PMS functions as more or less important because they are all required. Regardless of property type, hotel property management software must include a reservation system with a website booking engine and a front-desk operations module. Other critical components are channel management, revenue management, housekeeping, customer data management, reporting, and analytics. Large hotels and resorts almost certainly require point-of-sale (POS) services and back-office components.

Reservation

Most modern hotel businesses rely on online bookings as their primary sales channel. The reservation module, which helps with online bookings, is almost essential to a property management system. A central reservation system (CRS) or other reservation platform may be available as a standalone PMS module or as a hotel’s internal solution.

A hotel reservation system saves all inventory and date information and transmits it to the front desk. The reservation system should be integrated with the website’s booking engine and other distribution channels. Chain hotels frequently use a centralized reservation system for all properties, whereas individual hotels have their own reservation systems. If a hotel or hotel chain already uses a certain reservation software, the PMS must integrate with the existing service.

Key features of the reservation module include:

Room reservations. The system analyses room availability and status, and displays free rooms through several channels, including the online booking engine. This service prevents repeated bookings and accepts group reservations. Then it schedules bookings and shows information about current and upcoming bookings on a dashboard.

E-payment processing. Software collects and categorises internet transactions.

Management of room inventory and allocation. Reservation tools avoid overbooking and multiple bookings. In some software, this function is included in a channel management module.
Reservation emails. When guests complete their booking, the system gives them confirmations. In certain PMSs, this capability is included in the front-desk operations module.
Book your activities. Some software enables customers to reserve not only accommodations but also activities using this system.

A front-office module allows a front-desk manager to view and adjust room reservation statuses, check guests in and out, and process payments. When a guest arrives at the hotel, they want to check in as fast as possible. In this case, receptionist support is crucial, thus front-desk professionals must be able to help the client efficiently.

Room status. A front-desk module allows the front-office manager to obtain room status and up-to-date information on all current and future reservations. This module should enable quick updates to the status of rooms. The front-desk module automatically assigns rooms and enables for room adjustments.

Key management. This module manages electronic key cards, processes payments, and issues receipts to guests.

Daily audits. The front-office module also enables users to conduct night and shift audits.

In-room controls. As hotels become smarter and more technologically advanced, room management becomes increasingly significant because it enables remote manipulation of in-room automated equipment (e.g., lighting, HVAC, etc.) to prepare the room for a guest’s arrival.

A PMS in and of itself is a big step towards improving hotel revenue management indicators like occupancy, RevPAR (revenue per available room), and ADR (average daily rate), all of which are critical in analyzing a hotel’s financial health. While GDS and OTA integration help to maximize these rates, revenue management solutions aid a manager in understanding how to adjust processes to achieve better results while remaining financially responsible.

A PMS housekeeping module links housekeepers to the front desk. A front-of-house manager can generate a list of duties to assign, and housekeepers can update room status. If the project management system is cloud-based, housekeepers can use a mobile app or tablet to update the status of their assignments or rooms. This module also tracks the user’s maintenance tasks and reports.

This module’s primary responsibility is to oversee housekeeping and property maintenance. Housekeeping capabilities include controlling room status, sending maids to clean rooms based on block or floor location, and creating job lists for housekeepers. Maintenance management monitors hotel disturbances and repair work, and an attendant is assigned to handle any concerns that emerge.

It is critical for hoteliers to collect and organise visitor information in order to communicate with current and former customers during and after checkout. The CRM module should be integrated with the front desk and reservation system to collect all guest information from these sources. It saves guest information and provides an accessible database. It also contains guest contact information before and after their stay. However, if the hotel already has a CRM system, the PMS should be compatible with it.
This module can also help you organize marketing activities like promotions, track guest satisfaction, and automate pre- and post-stay services. The CRM module allows owners to personalize the visitor experience via membership and loyalty programmes, which are especially important for hotel chains.

Reports and analytics

All business owners utilize analytical tools to analyze current operations and performance. A property management system (PMS) can be utilized as a business intelligence tool, collecting critical hotel data and producing numerous automated reports. Depending on the software, it may generate night audit reports, room and tax reports, shift audit reports, departure and arrival reports, housekeeping reports, and other continual summaries.

Back-office management

This PMS module makes it easier to manage a hotel crew, as well as back-office and administrative hotel activities. A back-office management module may have the following functions:

• Event management (organising conferences and receptions) and catering
• Spa and gym management (often as a distinct, optional module)
• Staff management (human resources management in the back and front offices: shift management, staff invoicing, etc.)
• Services include analyzing consumption expenses and lodging spending, inventory, sales, promotional efforts, and managing reviews.

As a result, the back-office module streamlines internal procedures, helps to organize employees, and frequently contains accounting and other financial features.

Point-of-sale services

Most hotels include an on-site restaurant, and some also have gyms and spas. So, if a hotel has a large number of payment terminals, it will need a point-of-sale (POS) system to receive and accurately handle transactions from several sources. Hoteliers who utilize a POS module in their PMS can apply additional charges or discounts to each customer’s final bill. Examples of such charges are:

• Spa, gyms, and other activities;
• Food and beverage services (restaurants, cafes, breakfasts); and
• In-room services, mini-bar items, TV, or Wi-Fi.

A thorough POS module can help with inventory management, collect information about consumer purchase trends, generate sales activity reports, and save financial data in one place.

The size and nature of a hotel property dictate which PMS to choose, as each system has its own set of fundamental services and optional modules. Most market businesses offer hotel management systems that may be tailored to different types of properties, and basic PMS components can be augmented with modules specific to a particular type of business.

Many properties already have their own reservation platforms, or CRSs, or utilize other business management software, therefore the chosen PMS must work with third-party products. The functionality required strongly determines the final decision on a hotel’s property management system.