The Independent Hotelier's Guide to Property Management System Selection

Independent Hotelier's, What Challenges Do They Face When Selecting a PMS?

What challenges do Independent Hoteliers face when selecting a Property Management System (PMS)?

If you happen to be an independent Hotelier then the field is wide open and the PMS choice is entirely yours.  You may select from any of the property management systems available and there are many to choose from.  You may find however that your resource pool is small or non-existent, especially if you are new to the business.  You may not have past experience with the PMS selection process even if you have plenty of Hotel Management experience.

Brands and Hotel Franchisors have the resources and people with experience that the independent Hotelier may not. Choosing a PMS is daunting enough, but when you throw in the need to select and purchase other systems such as Point of Sale for your Restaurant, Telephone Call Accounting Systems, PBX Systems, Global Distributions Systems and On-line Booking Engines, the task becomes huge.

Perhaps you have some of those systems already in place and need to make sure they are compatible and will interface with the new PMS.     

In the case of brands or franchises, the Franchisor has typically selected and mandated a property management system that is to be used in all of the hotels that carry their brand name.  The work is already done with regards to the evaluation process as there is no option to select a property management system other than the mandated system. The decision has been made for the Hotelier and business needs already have been taken into consideration.

Other systems that interface with the Property Management System may also have been selected by the Franchisor, such as Point of Sales systems for Restaurants and Global Distribution System providers.  This simplifies the systems process for the Hotelier or Management Company immensely.

Mid range brand Franchisors may offer a choice of 2 or 3 approved, mandated systems to choose from, so that narrows the playing field.

Membership brands may not mandate a system and give their members the choice of selecting any system they wish or provide a short list of systems that their members prefer, which again helps in the process.

With the independent Hotelier in mind, I began writing articles to provide information to assist with the task of choosing a Property Management System for their lodging business.  The goal is to arm these Hoteliers with information they require to begin the process and gain a better understanding of what it entails.

I appreciate your feedback. If you have questions you need help with, drop me a line. If you have information to share, please do, as it will benefit many.

If you wish to send me an email, choose the "email me" link to the right of the articles under the "About" heading.

Feel free to respond to any of my article posts, it' s easy to do. Just choose the comments link at the bottom of each article and provide your feedback!

Best Regards,

Jeff Sefton

property management system evaluation

Hotel Front Desk Clerk Escapes Killer Plate, What Do Tools And Training Have To Do With It?

The front desk team had just cleared several long check-in lines. Out of the corner of my eye I saw an enraged hotel guest beelining for the front desk.

I saw something gleaming in his hand and just at that moment that "something" took flight, spinning like a killer Frisbee in the direction of a fellow front desk clerk.

Without missing a beat, the clerk ducked and a plate crashed into the wall behind him smashing in a hundred pieces while chocolates and fruit littered the floor.

It suddenly occurred to me that this was a "return guest gift" that had been hurled. Beautiful hand crafted chocolates and artfully cut fruit presented on an antique plate, now just a mess on the floor.

We were experiencing a case of room rage and this hotel guest had just lost it.

The hotel had been acknowledging this guest for his return business; however on this day, the guest had not been checked into the same calibre of room he had stayed in on previous stays.

The "return guest gift" had been looked after that morning so the guest history in the Property Management System had been consulted. During this stay however, when room pre-assignments had been completed, someone had missed assigning the guest their expected room type.

Could this incident have been avoided by using the guest history information more effectively? Was there something lacking in the business tool (software) itself? Was there a lack of training of the individual that was in charge of room pre-assignments and return gifts?

The reality is that it very well could have been all or some of the above or perhaps this guest may have reacted as they did regardless. This type of behaviour cannot be condoned under any circumstances but serves as a dramatic example of the affect that business tools and the use or misuse of them can have on your business.

The items mentioned above apply to all business software, not just the type mentioned in this article. Ask yourself these questions to make sure you and your staff are getting the most out the software that you are using to run your business.

1. Are all the features you could take advantage of, being used to help your business process?

2. Are the right tools (software) being used to do the job?

3. Are all employees trained to use the software properly?

When you are evaluating potential Property Management Software for your business, you may find that the system you are evaluating does provide features that you require. You need to make sure the features work the way you expect them to and provide full and easy access to information that you require to complete the everyday tasks that take place at your Hotel.

The success you experience with your Property Management System also hinges on how well your staff are trained to use the software to accomplish their work and look after your guests.

Training should be on-going for new hires, with reinforcement training for existing staff.

During the evaluation process you need to be sure that the software you choose is the best fit for your hotel. You also need to confirm that the vendor offers the resources your staff will need for training during the implementation procedure and for the life of the product.

Good luck with your evaluation process!

Jeff Sefton