Every hotel manager is well aware of the importance that a solid, reliable, and efficient Hotel Property Management System (HPMS) can have to their business. As a manager, you depend on your handheld systems to give you the critical data you need to make key decisions, such as how to allocate your resources best, maximize occupancy, increase profits, and protect your brand.
The trick to making a good buying decision is to understand the differences between the features and functions of a hotel property management software. Features are the bells and whistles, and, though they sound nice, they don’t matter – not in terms of functionality, anyway. Functionality is what you use with your hotel PMS. Whether you use it or not, it’s what you’re buying and whether you are getting value for your dollar is what you’re hoping for.
Below we take a look at the full functionalities of a hotel PMS.
1. Group Bookings and Reservations
The ability to make reservations and bookings across different distribution channels is perhaps an essential service of a channel manager. When a guest wants to stay at a hotel and books through a third-party site, the channel manager sends a booking confirmation to the distribution channel and the guest.
Group bookings and reservations also make it possible for a hotel to point out its marketing efforts, whether it is through social media, a blog post, or a Google ad. It is crucial, as 80% of all bookings are done through organic search.
Hotels can also use their booking engine for showrooms that are still available, even if they are fully booked on other distribution channels.
2. Front-Desk Management
A front desk module not only serves as a point of entry for guests but also provides a great deal of information about the property and its visitors. An adequate system allows the hotel or motel manager to quickly view room status’, check guests in and out, and process payments. It should also display pertinent guest information such as room number, check-in and check-out times, guest name, and the number of guests in each room.
3. General Housekeeping
On top of standard PMS functions like inventory control, hotel property management software also includes functionality specific to the hospitality industry. These include housekeeping and damage reports.
Room turnover is an issue when the hotel is not busy, and rooms are left in a condition where they are not ready for new guests. It results in not getting the expected revenue, which can be a significant loss of margin. It is often the case that issues about housekeeping slow down room status, so solutions like these are essential to efficient operation.
4. Billing and Invoicing
When you own and operate a hotel, one of the most important things you must do is bill and invoice your guests for their room stays. The way you invoice your guests and process payments is vital to the success of your hotel, and you want to ensure you are doing it most professionally and efficiently possible.
You should be able to quickly generate invoices and manage your billing process from anywhere in the world using a hotel property management system in real-time. You should also be able to track your revenue and overall sales at your hotel easily.
Conclusion
Property Management System (PMS) is the backbone of the hotel industry. It is a software tool that provides centralized control of facilities, reservations, customer relationships, guest services, and billing. It is indispensable to the hospitality industry, as it records all the hotel transactions and makes them available to all departments.
