The 12 Steps of PMS Evaluation - Step 6, Drill Down And Identify Specific Needs

Step 6 - Drill down and identify specific needs in relation to your property management system requirements.

This process will help your team cover all the bases, make your needs crystal clear and provide a thorough understanding of your business process.  The end result of Step 6, will be a detailed evaluation checklist that corresponds with your specific business needs as well as the needs of your guests.

Note:
Not understanding the business process in detail is a major contributing factor to experiencing surprises or missing functionality that is required for your business.      

Looking back to Step 5, you identified business needs and  guest needs.  Step 6 is where you drill down to understand and to list those needs in more detail.

Continue to ask yourself if the item on the list is a must have or a nice to have function.  The list you need to focus on for this step is the must haves. Keep your list for the nice to have functions separate.

Determining the flow and order of the business processes that need to be accomplished for your hotel, will guide you towards the functionality that you require in your property management system.

It all starts with the guest making a reservation. Reservations may originate on-line or by phone for example, so begin here with the reservation flow and follow that reservation through to each touch point for your guest and your organization, from reservation to check-in to check-out. Don't forget special requests, confirmations, housekeeping and charges that may occur on a guest bill.  Accounting requirements for billing and guest follow-up after their stay should also be included. 

Creating a flow chart is the easiest way for your team to visualize the flow and to list your requirements accordingly.

Jeff Sefton