As a hotel owner, your property management system (PMS) can be the lifeblood of your business. The right PMS can bring many benefits to your hotel, from better staff productivity, increased operational efficiency, centralized guest data and communications, improved guest engagement and even increased revenue. However, some hotels can't take full advantage of these PMS benefits because they've made one or more common – yet critical mistakes in choosing the ideal solution.
The problem is that this is a high-stakes game – picking the wrong tool can undermine your entire guest service strategy and prove to be a very costly mistake. So how can you ensure that you end up with a solution that’s a perfect fit for your needs, rather than an expensive round peg for your square hole?
By avoiding the following 9 pitfalls, your hotel can be confident that your final PMS investment decision is one that will serve your hotel and guests – today and well into the future.
- No list of requirements
Before selecting a PMS system, you should understand your hotel’s unique goals. Searching for a system without this preparation can result in issues ranging from a PMS that doesn't meet your needs to one that is overly complicated to use effectively.
- Choosing a system that does not scale
Many hotels choose PMS solutions ‘in the moment,' that is, looking at the current state of the business. Your business needs will grow and change over time– including your PMS needs. Adopting an inflexible solution that can’t scale with you can mean that before too long, you are again looking for a new system that fits your new business conditions and requirements. This can be an expensive process, especially in the loss of additional time searching for and implementing a new solution.
- Favoring legacy technology architecture
You likely want to go with ‘old faithful’ when it comes to your PMS but choosing a legacy solution comes at a price. Most legacy PMS systems have an on-premise model, which can be costly when it comes to implementation, training, integrations, and maintenance. Consider a modern PMS that is technologically advanced and scalable for the future (cloud-based, SaaS). An added bonus is that cloud-based PMS solutions offer turnkey pricing which includes updates, maintenance, and support.
To access the full checklist of the 9 biggest mistakes that hoteliers can make when they move to a new PMS system, CLICK HERE or go to http://www.stayntouch.com/resources/9-biggest-mistakes-hotels-make-when-choosing-a-pms/?utm_source=Hotel-Online
