What Is a Hotel Property Management System?

A hotel Property Management System (PMS) is software that helps hotels manage reservations and handle administrative tasks. An all-in-one hotel PMS features an integrated channel manager and booking engine, providing you with all the core systems you need in one centralized platform. While PMS software primarily controls reservations and payments, it also assists in housekeeping and streamlines your main front—and back-end operations.

Key Takeaways

• A hotel PMS is software that streamlines front-desk tasks, reservations, housekeeping, rates, and payments, boosting overall efficiency.
  
• When choosing a hotel PMS, prioritize features that fit your needs, integrate smoothly with current systems, and allow for future growth.
• A modern property management system unifies multiple work environments into a single platform.
• RoomRaccoon’s reservation calendar stands out for its user-friendly design and functionality, providing quick insights into payment and booking statuses.
  
• One of the benefits of using a PMS is task automation, from reservations to guest communication, freeing up time for personalized guest experiences and strategic business decisions.
• When selecting a PMS for your hotel, opt for an all-in-one solution that integrates a channel manager, PMS, payments, and booking engine.
• The hotel software provides a range of features tailored to the unique needs of each business and the specific requirements of the industry.

A Smart Guide For Independent Hotels

Hotels are complex operations with multiple departments that require constant monitoring. To handle this, hoteliers use a hotel PMS, which can be compared to the engine of a car — it manages reservations, data recording, guest communication, and performance reporting.

In this guide for independent hotels, we’ll explain the fundamentals of a hotel PMS, explore the benefits for your property, helping you make an informed decision on choosing one for your property.

Key Features To Look For In A Hotel

A modern property management system consolidates multiple work environments into a unified software platform. The specific modules and functions may differ among providers, with some offering individual modules that can be integrated with a hotel’s current systems. Below is an overview of the fundamental structure of a hotel PMS.

1. Commission-free booking engine

A booking engine is essential for modern hotels as guests increasingly prefer online reservations. It offers self-service convenience, enabling travelers to check room availability and prices in their preferred language and currency. Secure online payments and instant booking confirmations also add to trustworthiness. Direct booking incentives, such as exclusive rates, discounts, and special packages, further attract your potential guests, driving more direct bookings to the hotel.

2. Housekeeping

The PMS housekeeping module connects housekeeping staff to the front office; it handles housekeeping management, including room status, room service assignment, task lists, property maintenance, recording disruptions and repair activities, and assigning attendants to resolve issues. 

3. Payments

A hotel PMS must efficiently capture, process, record, and report on all payment methods, including in-person payments via terminals, bank transfers, credit card transactions, and VCC payments. To facilitate these transactions, the PMS should integrate with payment gateways, enabling secure and efficient payment processing. In essence, don’t hesitate to diversify your hotel payment channels with a fast and secure hotel payment processing solution.

4. Channel manager integrations

Did you know that booking sites like Trivago and Booking.com are the traveler’s choice for hotel stays? That’s what makes your channel manager such a valuable feature of your hotel PMS. Channel management software is a unified interface that manages and distributes your rates and availability across different channels—GDS, OTAs, and wholesalers. It connects to a central reservation system to share information about room availability and pricing, making your property accessible to travelers for booking. 

5. Hotel pricing software

Revenue management  — because generating revenue is why you opened your hotel, right? And with this comes important metrics like Occupancy, RevPAR,  Average Daily Rate (ADR) and RevPAM. Your revenue management module uses machine learning to forecast occupancy rates and make pricing decisions to increase total room revenue (TrevPAR). 

It also opens up the opportunity for creating automated pricing rules, allowing users to set pre-configured rules that automatically suggest or adjust rates based on specific conditions, such as local events or weather patterns. Yep, we can’t escape weather patterns and global warming, even with revenue management.

6. Reporting

Hoteliers use tools and analytics to track processes and gauge the performance of their business. PMS software acts as a powerful intelligence-gathering tool, collecting and storing hotel data and generating revenue and performance reports including night audit reports, room and tax reports, shift audit reports, departure/arrival reports, and housekeeping reports. 

7. Front desk operations

This one’s for the front desk manager. Your front-office module lets you view and update room reservation status, check guests in and out, update existing reservations, adjust reservation dates and process payments efficiently, ensuring quick check-in for arriving guests with crucial support from the receptionist. A customizable property management system may also offer direct integrations with self-service check-in kiosks, guest relationship management applications or other applications that enable guests to check-in via generated QR codes.

How To Choose A Hotel PMS

The choice of a PMS depends on the size and type of the hotel property. Different systems offer various features and modules, and the PMS needs to integrate with third-party products. The selection is based on required functionality, and a checklist can help compare systems from different vendors. 

Exploring Use Cases For Hotel Management Software

Choosing the right hotel PMS features is an exciting opportunity to customize solutions according to your property’s unique requirements:

• Independent hotels need hotel management solutions to automate tasks, manage guest information, and handle special requests, while also requiring advanced features like dynamic pricing, CRM, multi-property management, and advanced reporting for more accurate predictions and strategic planning.
• Motels have smaller operations and staff than independent hotels. Therefore, they typically require a tool with a simple interface and features, such as basic reservations management, limited inventory management, and basic reporting, to provide essential information on occupancy rates, revenue, and guest experience.
• Bed and breakfasts prioritize personalized service and direct bookings, so they look for features like room and rate management, online booking integration, and guest communication tools in hotel management software.
• Lodges have specific operational needs because of their locations and guest expectations. They require a solution with resource management, remote access, and group booking features to simplify reservations and coordinate group events.
  

Best-Rated Reservation-Calendar

It’s a lethal combination of beauty and brains—RoomRaccoon’s reservation calendar is the best-looking and packs a punch with features to simplify and optimize your operations. Each reservation comes to life with quick insights into payment statuses—whether pending, confirmed, or completed—and clear booking statuses, including confirmed bookings and checked-in guests.

You can upgrade rooms with a simple “drag-and-drop” and hover over any reservation to uncover extra details. You can also extend a guest’s stay effortlessly with just a few clicks, and with our unique ‘Grey Rooms’ functionality, you can sell alternative spaces like conference rooms or parking spots seamlessly.

Benefits of Using A PMS For Independent Hotels

Let’s face it, managing a hotel with spreadsheets and third-party tools can feel like you’re trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube blindfolded. According to Gartner, 39% of hoteliers are still trying to juggle third-party booking sites, accounting tools, and calendar apps like it’s the early 2000s, while 26% are running the show with nothing more than good old-fashioned spreadsheets and Word docs. 

And the other 25%? Well, they’re out there braving the wild with no system at all! It’s no wonder inefficiency and errors are running rampant, and let’s not even talk about the cost of managing multiple licenses and subscriptions.

Luckily, there’s a much smarter way to do it all. Enter the property management system, the ultimate multitasker that saves time, cuts costs, and makes your life way easier—so you can get back to the fun part of hospitality: actually being hospitable!

Here are more benefits of using a hotel PMS for managing your property:

1. Increases efficiency 

Implementing a PMS  allows you to automate administrative tasks such as scheduling emails, accepting online bookings, and enabling mobile check-ins for guests. These automated functions save time and improve guest communication.

2. Reduces manual errors

Without technology such as a front desk system, the risk of human error leading to missed reservations and double-bookings increases significantly, and this can cause service problems for unhappy guests.

3. Deliver an exceptional guest experience

A high-quality PMS streamlines operations, providing more control over your property. RoomRaccoon’s automated online check-in can save you up to 7 hours each week, allowing you to focus on guest satisfaction. Also, additional guest engagement applications like GuestRevU can help nurture guest relationships and create loyal customers and brand ambassadors.

4. Boost bookings

Investing in the right PMS with an online booking functionality and a channel manager can significantly boost your bookings. This integrated system allows your potential guests to easily book their accommodations online, and also ensures that your property is visible and available across multiple online booking platforms.

5. Improves revenue management

A hotel PMS allows you to be better, more efficient, simplified and organised, and also helps you sell, act and think more proactively which enables you to take hold of revenue maximizing opportunities.

6. Operate your hotel remotely

The best property management tools allow you to run your independent hotel from any mobile device, wherever you are: giving you the freedom to spend less time at your desk and more time with your guests. You might even be able to sneak away for a vacation of your own and have others pamper you for a change. Property managers need some tender-loving-care too!

The Best PMS For Independent Hotels

So, what does the ultimate hotel PMS look like, especially for independent hoteliers? RoomRaccoon ticks all the boxes — our front desk feature streamlines and automates your daily operations, making life a breeze. 

Our channel manager keeps your third-party listings up-to-date with a single click, preventing those pesky double bookings. Plus, as an all-in-one solution, RoomRaccoon integrates a channel manager, PMS, payments, and booking engine, ensuring every aspect of your hotel management is seamlessly connected and optimized for efficiency.

But wait, there’s more: RoomRaccoon makes it a cinch to add direct booking options to your website. By steering guests towards direct bookings, you can sidestep those  OTA commission fees and boost your revenue through upselling — the same way Brewhalla achieved a whopping 123% ROI on their RaccoonUpsell subscription.