Hoteliers put their guests first, making sure they feel welcomed no matter when or where they may travel. We call this True Hospitality – the ability to know your guests’ unique expectations and deliver experiences that exceed those expectations, time after time. And the only way to provide that high level of service is to run an efficient, agile operation that’s well-supported by technology.

Many hoteliers have invested heavily in guest-facing technology, such as apps that make it easier to learn about the brand, or responsive websites that make booking simpler.

But technology also drives incremental improvements behind the scenes that save valuable time and resources, enabling staff to deliver those memorable guest experiences.

A property management system can help you maximize revenue by making your hotel’s operations more efficient. Here are just a few of the pain points that an up-to-date hotel PMS can alleviate:

• The expense of legacy systems and multiple technology partners: Many of the technology platforms that promise to solve one or another of these problems come with a host of fees for setup and ongoing operations. Very quickly, these individual solutions can add up to large costs, especially when upgrades and continued support are considered.
• Expensive on-site IT hardware and staff: The opposite end of the spectrum from relying on many partners is to try supporting all of your operations on-site. In addition to hiring and retaining the staff who know these systems, there’s always a danger of a system failure, resulting in lost data or downtime that can cost your hotel a large amount of money. But even when the hardware is running perfectly, there’s another danger that your IT department can’t anticipate…
• Loss of connectivity leading to lost data – and lost bookings: If your hotel’s internet connection goes down, will you lose reservations or other data? A PMS that cannot operate in a disconnected state is a problem waiting to happen.
• Time and money spent on training: With high churn rates among guest-facing staff, the amount of time and resources spent on training front desk personnel on your systems can add up quickly. A quality PMS will make training simple, not only by being intuitive and easy to use but by including self-help resources and guidance so that new employee onboarding is as painless as possible.

Of course, all of these factors can also be detriments to quality guest service. For instance, the longer it takes to push availability, rates and inventory to booking channels, or the longer it takes to sync information between different systems, the more likely that your staff and your guests will have to wait for that information – with the potential for delays that can cost time as well as revenue.

Consider this: If a guest is sitting in her car in your parking lot, and she books a room through an OTA on her mobile phone, will her reservation be in your system by the time she walks from the parking lot to your front desk?

A hotel PMS should not only integrate well when it comes to reservation delivery, it should help hoteliers streamline their operations throughout the guest’s journey – from booking to check-out. Without this seamless integration, hoteliers can find themselves lacking both the time to deliver on the promise of excellent guest service and the revenue to keep those operations running.

Today’s property management systems help hoteliers boost efficiency. A well-designed hotel PMS can operate in a disconnected state even if internet access fails, preventing bookings from being lost. It will allow you to easily access stored data to provide a better guest experience. And it will allow you to simplify your operations and reduce costs. Keep these potential benefits in mind and you’ll make the best choice as you choose a new technology platform.

For more insights to help guide your technology investment, download your copy of The 2016 Smart Decision Guide™ to Hotel Property Management Systems today.

Learn more about SynXis Property Manager and find out if this solution is the right choice for your hotel or chain.