The Hard Part of a 100+ Hotel PMS Migration Isn’t the Software

Shifting more than 100 hotels to a new PMS is not a straightforward technology deployment. It is an operational change carried out under time pressure, across different regions, teams, and property setups, where small failures can quickly become portfolio-wide problems. 

At this scale, the questions become more difficult: how do you migrate data cleanly, certify integrations on time, and keep front-desk operations running while hotels are switching systems? How do you maintain control when every property has its own dependencies, constraints, and ways of working? And what happens when one delay starts to affect the rest of the rollout? 

In this interview, Alfredo Goldin, Senior Project Manager at Shiji, explains what it took to move through this level of complexity at speed. The rollout averaged seven hotels per day, but the pace only increased the pressure: validation work risked falling behind, integration readiness varied across properties, and the margin for error remained narrow throughout. 

This conversation looks at the operational realities behind the rollout: where the pressure points emerged, how the team responded when plans came under strain, and what large-scale hotel groups can learn from a transition where execution had to stay stable even when conditions did not. 

Takeaways

Scale amplifies weak assumptions faster than it amplifies good plans 

Execution speed is constrained by preparation, not ambition 

Portfolio diversity introduces complexity that cannot be standardized away 

Governance is a delivery mechanism, not an administrative layer 

Deep customer understanding reduces friction across every phase of a rollout 

How did you approach planning and executing the rollout across 100+ hotels?

Planning was treated as a critical phase in its own right, not simply a prerequisite to execution. Before any property went live, the team invested significant time in preparation to ensure the rollout could scale without compromising stability or quality.

This groundwork shaped how execution was structured and ultimately made it possible to move at pace across a large and diverse hotel portfolio. 

Based on this preparation, the rollout was delivered through six structured go‑live waves, each broken down into daily sub‑waves, with one sub‑wave corresponding to a single working day. This model created clarity and predictability for everyone involved. By clearly defining how many hotels could realistically go live each day, all parties were aligned on capacity, expectations, and quality thresholds.

On average, seven hotels were onboarded per day, with up to nine on peak days. The first wave began in late October, and the final property went live in mid‑December, completing the program within a tightly controlled timeframe. 

What was the biggest challenge you faced during the rollout, and how did you manage to overcome it?

At a rollout of this scale, challenges were inevitable. The most complex issues emerged around certifying new integrations, executing data migrations, and meeting varying operational requirements across the portfolio. Each hotel brought its own dependencies and constraints, which meant that a one‑size‑fits‑all approach was never going to work. 

To manage this complexity, the project was organized into dedicated workstreams, each supported by cross‑functional task forces that brought together expertise from multiple Shiji departments. By combining deep functional focus with centralized coordination, the team maintained alignment while resolving issues quickly and keeping delivery on track. 

Execution at scale only works when planning is done deeply enough to make every day predictable.

Alfredo Goldin, Senior Project Manager, Shiji

Can you share a moment where things didn’t go as planned, and how you got back on track?

One of the most critical moments came when the correspondence and validation effort began to fall behind the pace required by the project plan. Rather than waiting for delays to compound, the risk was identified early and reassessed quickly. 

In response, the team made the decision to establish a dedicated task force working onsite with the customer. This shift proved to be decisive. Being physically present enabled faster decision‑making, tighter alignment, and immediate resolution of blockers that would have taken much longer to address remotely. The closer collaboration restored momentum and allowed the rollout to continue according to plan, reinforcing the importance of adaptability when managing large‑scale initiatives. 

Were there any particular tools, processes, or approaches that proved critical to success?

Robust tools and technical processes provided a necessary foundation for the rollout, but they were not what ultimately drove its success. At this scale, technology supported execution without directing it. What mattered far more was how the work was structured, governed, and managed over time. 

At this scale, technology enabled the rollout, but structure, governance, and coordination are what actually made it successful.

Alfredo Goldin, Senior Project Manager, Shiji

Clear structuring of workstreams ensured that responsibilities were well defined from the outset. Each stream had a specific focus, ownership, and set of dependencies, which made progress visible and reduced uncertainty as the program moved from wave to wave. This clarity allowed teams to work in parallel without losing alignment, even as the rollout accelerated. 

Disciplined governance played an equally important role. Rather than acting as an administrative layer, governance functioned as a delivery mechanism. Issues were surfaced early, escalated through clearly defined channels, and resolved at the appropriate level before they could impact the broader schedule. This prevented local challenges from turning into portfolio‑wide risks and allowed the rollout to maintain momentum without sacrificing control. 

Close coordination between stakeholders was the final piece. Regular communication, clear decision ownership, and shared visibility into progress reduced ambiguity and built trust across teams. When unexpected challenges arose, as they inevitably do in large‑scale rollouts, the combination of structure, governance, and coordination provided the stability needed to respond quickly and effectively. 

In practice, this approach created an environment where speed and stability were not in conflict. The program was able to move quickly precisely because the underlying structure made execution predictable, even in the face of complexity. 

Looking back, what do you think was the key factor behind the project’s success?

Ultimately, the success of the rollout came down to a deep understanding of the customer’s business from the very beginning. This understanding shaped how the program was designed, how decisions were made, and how expectations were managed across all stakeholders. 

Consistent and transparent communication played a central role in building trust and maintaining alignment throughout the project. By ensuring that all parties were informed clearly and on time, the team was able to manage complexity without losing control. This foundation of trust and clarity made it possible to deliver a successful rollout at scale, even within a demanding timeframe.

What to Get Right Before a Large‑Scale PMS Go‑Live

Large‑scale PMS rollouts tend to fail for operational reasons long before technology becomes the limiting factor.

To help hotel groups avoid the most common execution breakdowns, we have distilled practical lessons from a 100+ hotel rollout into a downloadable checklist.

It’s designed for IT and transformation teams preparing to go live at scale, focusing on the decisions, structures, and controls that keep complex migrations predictable rather than fragile.

Download the checklist.