How to Build Buy-In for a Successful PMS Migration

Most PMS migration articles tell hotels they need stakeholder buy-in. But if you’re a hotel GM staring at a migration project, that’s not particularly useful. 

Who should you talk to first? 

How many people need to be involved? 

Do you start with IT or operations? 

When should the PMS vendor join the conversation? 

Who actually owns the project? 

These are the questions hotel teams ask when they’re preparing for a migration. 

The hotels that experience the smoothest migrations usually do one thing early: they involve the right people before they start talking about technology. 

Markus Schmiedhofer, Director of Product Management for Daylight PMS Europe, brings hands-on experience from both hotel operations and large-scale PMS migrations. Since joining Shiji in 2019, he has been involved in numerous Daylight PMS implementations across independent hotels, resorts, and multi-property groups.

His experience includes serving as Co-Implementation Lead for Fletcher Hotels, where more than 110 properties were migrated from IDPMS to Daylight PMS, as well as leading the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz migration from Fidelio Suite 8. His work spans migration planning, operational readiness, training, go-live support, and complex data transitions.

Takeaways

Start with people, not technology.

Give the migration one clear owner.

Define what each department cannot afford to lose.

Bring in the right stakeholders at the right time.

Start change management before training begins.

Use internal ambassadors to drive adoption.

Step 1: Don’t make migration an IT-only project 

Many hotels assume PMS migration is an IT project.

In reality, most hotels don’t even have a dedicated IT department.

Even those that do still need operational teams to define what success looks like.

That’s why I recommend starting with a small core group to establish clear goals and priorities before gradually expanding involvement across the hotel. 

For a typical property, that group might include: 

• The General Manager or Operations Director 

• The person responsible for systems or technology 

• Front Office leadership 

• Finance leadership 

• Revenue or Reservations leadership 

Configuration and training will come later. First, the project team needs clarity on three critical questions: 

1. Why are we changing PMS? 

2. What problems are we trying to solve? 

3. What information and processes absolutely cannot be disrupted? 

Without agreement on those questions, every future migration decision becomes harder. 

Step 2: Identify who owns the migration internally  

Before speaking with vendors, assign a single internal owner who will coordinate departments, collect requirements, approve decisions, and act as the primary contact throughout the project. 

Your PMS does not operate alone. Start documenting every important system connected to it, including payments, distribution, point of sale, CRM and revenue systems. 

One of the most common mistakes hotels make is assuming the vendor will manage the migration for them. 

The vendor manages the implementation, but the hotel still needs an internal owner who can make decisions, coordinate departments, and keep the project moving forward. While IT will play an important part throughout the migration, the project owner should typically be someone who understands hotel operations and has enough authority to bring departments together, align priorities, and drive decisions when challenges arise. 

Depending on the property, that may be: 

• The General Manager 

• An Operations Manager 

• A Project Manager 

• A Director of Rooms 

• A Director of Operations 

The key question is not job title. It is: “Who can bring departments together and make decisions when priorities conflict?” 

That person becomes the hotel’s internal project owner.  

Step 3: Meet with department heads before talking about migration scope  

A surprisingly simple question can prevent major problems later: 

“What information would create problems if you lost access to it after go-live?” 

Ask every department leader. You will often receive completely different answers. 

Front office may prioritise guest preferences. Sales may prioritise historical event records. Finance may focus on ledgers and reporting requirements. Reservations may focus on future bookings. Activities teams may require reservation histories. 

Sit down with each department individually and ask: 

• What information do you use every week? 

• What information do you need next year? 

• What information would create operational issues if it disappeared? 

Those conversations often reveal migration requirements that would otherwise be missed 

Step 4: Expand the project team only when you know the scope 

Once you’ve identified what data, processes, and departments will be affected by the migration, bring additional stakeholders into the project as their expertise is needed. 

Hotels sometimes invite everyone into the project from day one. That can quickly become difficult to manage. 

Instead, define the migration scope first, then bring in subject-matter experts as needed to provide guidance, validate decisions, and support their respective areas. 

For example: Once guest profile migration is being planned, involve front office teams. Once event information is being reviewed, involve sales and events. Once financial migration is being discussed, involve finance. This keeps meetings focused and helps departments participate when their expertise is most valuable. 

Step 5: Build support before training begins 

Several months before go-live, identify key employees from each department and involve them in workflow reviews, testing, and process validation. 

Many hotels think change management starts a few weeks before go-live. By that stage, employees have often already formed opinions about the new system.  

The most successful hotels begin building support months earlier. Rather than waiting until training begins, involve key team members throughout the migration. Let them help review workflows, validate migrated data, test the system, and provide feedback on new processes. This not only improves the final setup but also helps employees feel that the new PMS is something they helped shape rather than something being imposed on them. 
 
This changes the conversation from: 

“Here’s the new system you’re getting.”  

To: 

“Help us design how this will work.” 

That difference has a significant impact on adoption.

Step 6: Create migration ambassadors 

Ask each department to nominate one or two well-respected employees to participate throughout the migration and help support their colleagues during the transition.

Every migration project needs trusted employees who support and advocate for the change. We refer to these individuals as ambassadors. They don’t need to be managers or department heads; often, they are respected team members who understand day-to-day operations, embrace the new system, and can help their colleagues navigate the transition with confidence. 

Why does this matter? 

Because employees are often more comfortable asking a colleague for advice than raising concerns in a formal project meeting. 

When ambassadors understand the reasons behind the migration, they help create confidence across the organization. 

Having project ambassadors involved from the very beginning is critical. When people understand the opportunities, the new system will bring and are engaged throughout the process, they become key advocates for driving adoption and change.

Markus Schmiedhofer

What should a GM do this week?

If you’ve decided to change your PMS, don’t start by comparing feature lists. 

Start by scheduling five conversations: 

1. Front Office 

2. Revenue & Reservations 

3. Sales & Events 

4. Finance 

5. Systems / IT 

Ask each department: 

• What information do you rely on every day? 

• What absolutely must be available after go-live? 

• What current processes are causing frustration? 

• What would you like a new PMS to improve? 

A PMS migration is a significant project, but it becomes much more manageable when broken into practical steps. Start by involving the right teams, asking the right questions, and building alignment early. Success is not measured by how quickly the software is installed, but by how confidently the hotel can continue operating from day one

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