Buying a PMS: lessons from an ex-hotelier who now works in hotel tech

Buying a new property management system is a decision that can make even experienced hoteliers hesitate. 

It touches almost every part of the property, from back office to front of house. And because the existing PMS has usually been in place for years, replacing it can feel less like buying software and more like open-heart surgery. 

But what if that’s the wrong way to look at it? 

Tommy Kalita has been on both sides of the decision. Before joining Mews, he ran his own hotel in Edmonton, Canada. That gave him an insider’s perspective when talking to hoteliers about technology: he knows what it’s like to live with the consequences of a technology decision long after the sales demo is over. 

For Tommy, the biggest mistake is treating a new PMS as a straightforward technology replacement. It is a systems decision, which means looking much more closely at how the hotel actually works – and how you want it to work. 

Start with the pain, not the technology 

When a hotel starts looking for a new PMS, there’s usually a reason. Perhaps the current system is old, reporting is unreliable, or staff are spending too much time on manual tasks. 

Whatever the trigger, the first question shouldn't be: “Which PMS should we buy?” It should be: “What isn't working?” 

Tommy learned this first-hand. His hotel’s previous PMS created problems with accounting and reporting that he hadn't anticipated during the buying process. The reports weren't reliable enough to use as they were, which meant paying for additional bookkeeping and reconciliation work. This blind spot came from not asking the right questions. 

“You have an assumption when it comes to reporting or when it comes to accounting that it should be adequate,” Tommy says. “It should work; it should do what it needs to.” 

That assumption can be expensive. If you're running an RFP, be sure to dig beneath the obvious requirements. Don't just ask whether a system has reporting. Uncover what the reporting looks like, how it reconciles and whether it removes work or creates more of it. 

The same principle applies across the hotel. Don't just identify the visible problem – ask what’s causing it. If there’s a queue at reception, for example, the question isn't simply whether a new PMS can make check-in faster. It is why the queue exists in the first place. 

Hotel tech isn't just a leadership decision 

A PMS affects everyone, so the people who use it should have a voice in choosing it. It’s easy for a technology project to become a leadership or IT exercise, with a small group reviewing systems and presenting a recommendation to ownership. 

Tommy argues that the whole team should have some involvement in surfacing the problems that matter most to their day-to-day work. That means asking more than the GM or revenue manager what they need. Housekeeping, accounting, front desk and other department heads all interact with the systems that underpin the guest journey. 

Payments are another example. They can be such a routine part of hotel operations that teams stop questioning the process. Tommy recalls arriving at a hotel where a paper payment authorization had been misfiled. The guest couldn't leave until the receptionist found it. 

Again, this highlights the importance of reframing the decision. Less: “Can it do this?” More: “How could it change the way we do this?” 

Don't just recreate your old PMS 

A hotel can spend months selecting a new PMS or operating system, migrate all its data and train its team – only to end up doing exactly the same things it was doing before. 

It’s a huge missed opportunity, but it is understandable. Existing processes exist for a reason, and hotels can’t simply throw away everything that has worked for years. 

But Tommy argues that a new system is a chance to reconsider those processes rather than automatically replicate them. “You may have a property that's been doing things the same way for a very long time, and it's probably worked. But at the same time, be open to looking at: is there another way to consider this?” 

That might mean changing a workflow, removing a manual step or rethinking how a physical space is used.  

At Tommy's own hotel, that mindset extended beyond technology. During the pandemic, when room revenue suddenly became much less predictable, he looked for other ways to create value. One answer was coffee. 

He developed a local coffee program with Edmonton roasters, putting freshly ground coffee in French presses in guest rooms. Guests could also buy the coffee to take home. It was a way of creating a distinctive guest experience while opening up another revenue opportunity. 

And guests noticed. “Everybody talked about the coffee experience,” Tommy says. Changing a PMS gives hoteliers a reason to look at the whole operation with fresh eyes. 

Technology should remove friction, not hospitality 

There’s a persistent concern that more technology means less human interaction. The better question is what technology allows people to stop doing. 

Matt puts it simply: “The technology should be taking those tasks that are just gumming things up and slowing things down and taking away from the experience.”  

If a receptionist is searching for paperwork, processing repetitive payment tasks or manually reconciling information, that’s time they aren't spending with a guest. The goal isn't to automate hospitality, but to automate the administrative work that gets in hospitality's way. It’s also a solution to hospitality's staffing challenges, helping hotels handle more workload without having to take on more staff. 

Human judgement and personality will always matter. Tommy recalls a hotel in Portland where a tired traveler was greeted with a ready-made cocktail at reception. It took little effort from the team, but it transformed the arrival experience. Technology should make those moments easier, not get in the way of them. 

Treat the RFP as a chance to rethink the hotel 

A PMS replacement will always be a significant operational project. But the process doesn't have to be purely about migrating from one system to another. 

Don’t just focus on features – focus on friction. Where are the biggest time drains? Where does information get stuck? Which processes exist simply because that's how you've always done it? Which parts of the guest journey feel unnecessarily complicated? 

And perhaps most importantly: what could the team do with its time if those problems disappeared? 

The AI accelerator 

As AI changes how travelers discover hotels, maintaining your status quo may not be enough. Hotels will increasingly need to articulate what makes them distinctive – whether that's an exceptional coffee program, a memorable arrival experience or something entirely unique to the property. 

As Tommy puts it, “you can't settle on just enough anymore.” 

The hotels that stand out will be the ones that use technology to take care of the routine, then put their people and their passion into the details guests actually remember. 

To hear more of Tommy’s takes on changing PMS, check out the full Matt Talks Hospitality episode. 

Watch the episode