Hotelogix Property Management System — Source: Hotelogix

Plenty has been said about modern hospitality technology – especially hotel management systems. With the onset of cloud computing, technology adoption skyrocketed as independent hotel owners could now leverage cutting edge tools to compete with the evolved brands.

However, with digitalization threatening to encapsulate every single aspect of hoteliering, maybe it's time to take a step back and take a look at the bigger picture.

Technology is meant to simplify life for the staff and ultimately aid in improving the guest experience – the holy grail of establishing a lasting hotel legacy.

So the most important question you need to ask yourself before you invest is whether the product is going to help you boost long-term guest satisfaction, either directly or indirectly.

Long-term guest satisfaction starts with efficient hotel management

With management technology having permeated almost every sector of hospitality today, the larger brands are constantly on the look-out for new ways to stay ahead of what's quickly becoming the norm. However, many of their innovations are short-term fixes that don't really provide guests with value in the long run. A good example of this is the mobile concierge services offered by several upscale hotels. With apps for almost everything available today, such offerings may be attractive but add little value to the guest's stay and will hardly compel them to return.

Streamlining back-end operations at the various departments of the hotel is a lot more effective. By implementing digital tools that enable the front office, housekeeping, restaurants and various bars to operate more efficiently, hotels can save valuable time and resources. In turn, this allows them to better attend to guests.

Ensuring long-term guest satisfaction isn't just about providing guests with the latest features and gimmicks, it's about having structures in place that make guests feel valued throughout the course of their stay. This isn't always dependent on technology adoption – even merely instructing your staff to smile at guests whenever they see them can have a positive impact on their stay.

Anticipating the various needs of your guests and being proactive, rather than reactive, is a great way to leave a lasting impression.

The modern property management system needs to evolve

While indeed they're critical functions, property management systems today can't get away with just organizing front desk and housekeeping activities. They need to support real-time integration to supplemental third-party tools – in today's scenario, that's almost as fundamental as other routine capabilities. Moreover, they need to enable hotels to leverage guest information in order to create effective retargeting campaigns.

Competition in hospitality is growing rapidly, with things becoming increasingly scrappy between suppliers and distributors. Commissions are increasing at twice the growth rate of industry-wide revenue. In such a competitive scenario, it's no longer enough for hotel software to merely be tools to organize tasks and optimize resources – they need to help hoteliers build and scale their business.
While integration to third party extras like revenue management systems and rate shopping tools can help, the PMS itself needs to offer some level of in-built functionality in these areas. A simple evaluation process also helps properties make a decision faster.

For instance, a basic level of pricing automation can be of immense use to smaller hotels that want better pricing management without having to invest in an all-out revenue management system. Having the capability to automate room rates based on the occupancy level in the property enables hotels to generate more revenue when occupancy is high. Moreover, by lowering prices during periods of low occupancy, properties can create demand during the off-season.

Mobile hotel management – a new era in property management

Hospitality has come a long way since the PMS broke free of infrastructure and pricing constraints that kept the technology beyond the reach of small and mid-sized hoteliers. While the modern cloud-based systems are much easier to adopt, the introduction of mobile management systems is set to take accessibility to a whole new level. Traditional cloud-based systems require workstations and a certain level of familiarity with the system. However, considering that almost everyone today is familiar and comfortable with smartphones, mobile-based systems are quickly growing in popularity.

Adopting mobile-based management technology allows hotels to lower their dependency on expensive workstations. It also broadens the property's scope for employability as they're no longer as reliant on experienced personnel.

Mobile management isn't expensive to adopt either, and the software can be used on almost any android or iOS smartphone. A major advantage of such a system is the mobility – the staff can carry out routine front office operations such as the night audit, check-ins and check-outs on the move.

Additionally, managers can change rates from anywhere – the system is essentially like having the PMS in one's pocket.

In a constantly evolving landscape blighted by unpredictability stemming from guest behavior, economic conditions and other such factors, hoteliers need developers to push the limits of digital technology – they need tools that simplify their everyday life and allow them to spend less time reading reports and more time with guests.

If you're in the market for a property management system, you would do well to look at systems that go above and beyond the basics like front desk management – invest in a system that's equipped to maximize your growth in all areas, today's environment demands it!

Why not try Hotelogix? The free trial takes less than a minute to get started!

About Hotelogix

Hotelogix is a globally leading cloud-based hospitality technology solutions provider of industry-first Multi-property Management System, Hotel PMS and Mobile PMS App for independent and hotel groups. We have the remarkable feat of implementing the most extensive multi-property deployment of 50000+ rooms across 500+ properties under a single group. Through our distribution brand AxisRooms, we also offer Channel Manager Revenue Management and Rate Shopping solutions. We have earned the trust of 5000+ hotels in 100+ countries, including South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, LATAM, Europe and North America. We have been instrumental in driving their growth while helping them sell more rooms at the optimum rate and serving guests better.

Hotelogix is headquartered in Singapore with offices in the USA, India, UAE, Thailand and the Philippines.

For more information, visit https://www.hotelogix.com/property-management-system-large-hotels.php.