As hotels continue to manage their property-management systems above property, RMS Hospitality Solutions continues to improve functionality with the introduction of RMS 9+
Visit RMS in Booth 2207 at HITEC
[SAN DIEGO, CALIF.- May 20, 2015] – Hoteliers attending HITEC next month in Austin, Texas, will be introduced to new digital tools from RMS Hospitality Solutions that will greatly improve the way they manage real-time data and how they communicate with guests. For the first time at HITEC, RMS will showcase “The Hospitality Cloud” (also known as RMS 9+). This suite of a la carte technologies (including PMS, channel management, guest marketing, business intelligence, tour desk and more) is designed to improve reservation management efficiencies and increase bookings via seamless, real-time online bookings and channel management integration. More than 4,000 properties in 25 countries currently rely on RMS for their property solutions.
“RMS is eager to attend HITEC for the first time,” said Todd Sabo, RMS North America President & General Manager. “We are especially excited to showcase new PMS enhancements that are made possible due to recent changes to our system architecture. The core of RMS is the powerful rules engine that enables us to deliver rich technology using the latest and best web application available. For the last few years, that application was Microsoft Silverlight which delivered the previous web-based version of RMS9 in a timely manner. Work began earlier this year on the conversion from Silverlight to HTML5. While the experience for the user was seamless with Silverlight, our developers now have the tools they need with HTML5 to unleash the full power of RMS in the cloud, and in June, we will unveil 9+.”
The RMS9+ cloud platform includes the following PMS enhancements:
Scheduled Reports — Reports can now be scheduled to your inbox on a specified day/time that you choose. Simply configure when you want to receive them and they will arrive on time, every time. There is no more depending on others to build your reports.
Digital Dashboard — This tool comes with an array of widgets that display information in different ways, including graphs, dials and tiles. You can add, remove and rearrange widgets to display just the information you want to see. The dashboard responds to any device, so it goes with you wherever you are. Managers have a live view of data as it changes throughout the day to keep your finger on the pulse. Corporate and multi-property owners will welcome the ability to monitor the performance of their entire portfolio in a single dashboard.
Digital Registration Card — Speed up the check in process and improve your green credentials with the Digital Registration Card. Replace paper-based registration cards with a tablet at the front desk or at curbside. Guests can enter and review their details, such as address and phone number, which are then updated in the cloud profile in RMS. After signing the digital registration card using a stylus or even their finger, the guest signature and acknowledgement of terms and conditions are recorded in the reservation. The digital registration card saves money and prevents waste on consumables while adding efficiencies to the check in process.
Guest Surveys — Automatically send guest surveys at a set time after the guest’s departure. Results come back to RMS against the guest profile and to the relevant departments. Guest surveys keep you relevant to the needs of guests and keep staff on their toes.
Although RMS is new to HITEC, the company is not new to hospitality. Headquartered in Australia, RMS is one of the first PMS companies in the world to migrate from DOS to MS Windows back in 1995, and then again it upgraded from an Access database to SQL in 2002. Over the last five years RMS has been working on future proofing its solution by building a robust rules engine connected to a series of web services. For the non-technical, that means RMS can be displayed on virtually any front end, now and into the future. When RMS explored moving to a web-based platform back in 2009, there were few development tools available to work in HTML capable of supporting a program as robust as RMS. Today with HTML5 and 9+, the sky is the limit.
“The Hospitality Cloud takes the worry out of managing a hotel’s information systems,” Sabo said. “Hoteliers can now spend more time on running their businesses and less time worrying about managing an IT system. The traditional method of deploying IT involves purchasing software, installing a server and a network with some workstations (and possibly SQL and a network operating system). Miles of cables are also needed, but most of all, a local IT professional will need to keep the whole thing running, including backing up data, purging, version updates and system administration. The Hospitality Cloud removes all the worries of running software systems. Rather than load property software onto a hotel’s network, we load it on ours. RMS takes care of all installation, configuration and system management. All a property needs is a computer or computers with access to the Internet. Simply log on and start using it. You can access the data from anywhere on any computer that has access to the Internet. Hoteliers will experience faster response speeds than they are now, and only they can access the data. RMS ensures that all data is continuously backed up, and we guarantee ‘up’ times of 99.98 percent.”
RMS University
To educate users on The Hospitality Cloud, RMS is encouraging its customers to enroll in RMS University, an online interactive video training and certification platform. The program includes a series of videos, quizzes, and final exams that can be utilized in training, evaluating, reporting, and certifying staff — including new hires.
“RMS University makes hoteliers and their staff more efficient and proficient in their daily operations,” Sabo said. “The Employee Pre-Screen course enables users to screen a potential employee candidate prior to starting the interview when selecting an ideal front office agent. The Implementation & Configuration course takes users through the process of setting up and installing our system with the assistance of our customer success team. To obtain training and the certification of staff on front desk operations, a Front Desk course is offered. Likewise, an Advanced Operations course is available to train managers, accountants, marketing teams and back office staff on all of the advanced operational aspects of RMS9+. In the near future, we will be adding courses for POS/F&B, Guest Marketing, Executive, Housekeeping and Maintenance. Hoteliers’ success is our success, and this online resource is yet another tool available to make it happen.”
To pre-schedule an appointment with RMS in Booth 2207 at HITEC, call Ashlee Salvador at 858-427-1200 x315 or email asa@rmsnorthamerica.com. To learn more about The Hospitality Cloud from RMS, visit http://www.rmsnorthamerica.com/.
