By /

Property Management System

What is a Property Management System (PMS)?

This is a software or system that helps facilitate the hotels administration tasks. It’s also referred to as a Hotel management system.

A hotel PMS automates and streamlines hotel operations which in turn helps hotel employees serve guests better and saves time from all the manual tasks previously required.

Types of Property Management Systems?

  1. Cloud-based systems (our main focus) – Hosted on the “cloud” no installation required or software downloads, easily accessible form multiple devices and anywhere in the world. Easy to manage, update, maintain and hotels save big on IT Costs.
  2. On-premise systems – Installed and hosted in the hotel servers. Also known as legacy systems. Licenses are required to operate or upload to any machines, this are renewed periodically based on agreements with the supplier. Require IT investment and can only be accessed on machines that have been granted access.

Main Functionalities of a Cloud Based Property Management System

PMS of today have advanced to allow multiple work environments in a single software platform. A good PMS must have the below main functionalities;

  • Reservations – capability to accept, manage and control reservations via multiple sources.
  • Front-desk operations – capability to view, update, check in / out, and process payments for the guests.
  • House Keeping – capability to manage and update inventory status. This enables housekeepers update the status of their assigned rooms, also record and maintenance tasks and their status.
  • Reports and Analytics – capability to present the data keyed into the system in a way that is clear and easy for the users to understand. Reports are key for decision making and analyzing performance form the day to day efforts placed by the team.
  • Back-office Management – capability to handle and manage back office operations and administrative roles. This can be Employee management, Inventory analysis, Finance duties, Sales and marketing functions.

Other features that can be found on cloud based PMS are;

  • Booking Engine integration – this allows guests to book your inventory live from your website
  • Channel manager integration – this helps distribute your inventory to other 3rd party sites like Booking.com, Expedia
  • Payment Gateway integrations – this enables you charge guests directly with your system and the transaction details recorded in the system
  • Point of Sale integration – allows sales on other terminals of the hotel like the Restaurants, Bar, Gym etc.
  • Open API(Application Programming Interface) for integrations to other key services that maybe required in the future

What to Consider when selecting a PMS?

The choice for a PMS will depend on:

  • Size and type of the hotel – this determines the functionalities and type of PMS suitable for you to select, Bigger hotels, Chain of Hotels, Group of Hotels will need more advanced PMS systems to serve their needs as compared to smaller units or smaller independent hotels.
  • Integration capabilities – ease of connectivity to other systems that are key to the hotel, this other systems can range from Finance systems, Point of Sale systems, Key control systems, Channel managers etc. A good PMS should be able to do so with ease.
  • Mobile solutions and access – with a cloud-based system, hotelier would love to freedom to access the system at the ease of their devices. Mobile influence in the industry is growing daily and mobile optimized PMS are key for this development.
  • Ease of Use – how easy is it for the hotelier to use, are the functionalities easily accessible, does it have short cut keys for faster command access, does it need a lot of training and technical knowhow to operate, all this are key areas when selecting a PMS
  • Customization – can it be easily set up to your hotels unique features, this can be your logo, templates, room structures etc. One size does not fit all.
  • Training and Support – localization is key in this point, how accessible are they and how flexible are they when it comes to support and training? Do they have materials easily accessible that can help you with this, do they have a setup that allows you to communicate with them easily. Finally do they speak your language?
  • Price – in Simple terms what can you afford, does your PMS have a positive ROI.
  • Maintenance and updates – ease of servicing and updating functionalities of the product, are there any costs involved, will there be downtimes during such processes etc.

At RevSol we focus on cloud based solutions and believes they are the now and the future, hoteliers need the freedom to access and act on information from anywhere in they are, multiple machines / devices and at any given time. Freedom of information and instant access is required to enable the hotel teams easily make data driven decisions on the spot.

RevSol has ensured that we provide personalized solutions according to you and we have different products to ensure all your needs and budgets are met.

Reach out and let us take you through the technology space and help you select the right system for you.

Scroll to Top