The Next Generation of Property management Systems (PMS)

The Hospitality industry is constantly affected by various factors and challenges, including changes in economic, social and political conditions. Further than that, the continual changes in guest preferences, increasing guest expectations, rapid change in technology, and the shortage of talent in the hospitality industry lead the organization to always have the ability to adapt to the changing business requirements.

 Enhancing guest experience is very important for a hospitality business, which not only improves guest satisfaction but also fosters brand loyalty and increases competitive advantage. This has to be set as a goal to leverage and adopt technology in the organization.

To be in line with the changes, the Property Management System (PMS), which is the core solution in the hotel, is required not only to support or improve operation excellence but should also benchmark in the context of agility and scalability as well.

The key components and considerations for the next generation of Property Management Systems (PMS) are as follows:

• Flexibility and Scalability

The Property Management System (PMS) must be flexible and scalable to optimize configurations and resources needed with controllable costs upon the business needs, especially in the unpredictable event of the COVID-19 outbreak. In some scenarios, the hotel needs to temporarily close selling rooms in some areas or decrease the number of room inventory in the hotel for a certain period. This flexibility and scalability are especially crucial in an industry where flexibility is paramount. Cloud-based Property Management System (PMS) is the option to support this consideration point.

• Integrity, Reliability (Data-driven) and Artificial intelligence (AI)

Hospitality must be transformed into a Data[1]Driven Organization mainly to enhance guest experience and guest satisfaction based on personalization, enhance operational efficiency and optimize commercial strategies. The data collection in the Property Management System (PMS) must be accurate and reliable.

"Enhancing guest experience is very important for hospitality business which not only improves guest satisfaction but also fosters brand loyalty and increases competitive advantage"

Moreover, it has to be quickly and easily accessible under proper control of the access permission. The technology for storing data is a crucial and valuable set of data that will further develop for future AI or machine learning adoptions, which will help analyze guest behavior, preferences and historical data to predict future needs. This enables hotels to offer personalized services, such as recommending room upgrades, suggesting dining options, or providing targeted promotions. Also, it helps the operations and commercials to more accurately forecast and optimize the price and inventory management.

• Open Integration and Connectivity

As a core solution for the hotel, the seamless integration with 3rd party solutions such as Point of Sales (POS), Central Reservation System (CRS) or Customer Relationship Management (CRM) would be a key to smooth operations and processes. However, integration is the work between 2 parties, so the integration protocol should be easy to maintain and globally used for easier implementation and understanding. A good example of this case is Open-API integration, which is widely used in today’s technology world.

However, most completed solutions with minimal integration should be considered because the more parties involved in the integration, the more complex and difficult to manage and maintain.

• Compliance with Regulations

The Property Management System (PMS) must be equipped with the features and functions to apply operational policies and procedures in order to comply with both local and global regulations such as PCI DSS, GDPR, PDPA and local tax policy.

Moreover, data access management, data encryption and data storage require proper standardization and security, especially for sensitive data.

• Remote Management and Collaboration

Real-time collaboration allows the organization to collaborate and monitor from anywhere, for example, reservation monitoring, performance and productivity, pricing or event glitch management (incidents and complaints) to immediately solve the issue, mainly to maintain guest satisfaction and reputation.

Cloud-based architecture allows remote management for operations. However, proper provisioning of protection and cyber security becomes more and more important, which further requires considering the rate of provider providing to protect the system apart from the security invested by the clients.

• Stability (Always on)

Property Management System (PMS) will drive the whole operations of the hotel. Therefore, the system must be stable and continuously available 24x7 365 days. Long downtime for maintenance and upgrades will be the main factor interrupting the entire operational process in the hotel. It will affect the consistency and level of service that the hotel provides to guests. A business continuity plan (BCP) is important for an organization, but having a stable infrastructure and system is even more important for the organization.

• Contactless Technology

Minimizing physical contact throughout the guest journey in the hotel is the key trend in hospitality after the COVID-19 pandemic. The Property Management System (PMS) must be equipped with features that allow mobile services to guests, including check-in and check-out,

digital key, in-room control and in-room dining services. Contactless Technology not only enhances safety for guests and hotel staff but also increases operation excellence.

Lastly, selecting the right Property Management System (PMS) for the organization from the view of IT from a hospitality management company (hotel operator) or from an individual-managed hotel will require deep evaluations since it is making an impact on the operations of the whole organization.

Many cloud-based Property Management Systems (PMS) are available on the market; hence, apart from the above consideration points, it suggests not only selecting the right system but also selecting the right partner to deliver the services and support, especially for the “always on” requirement in the hospitality business.

Author bio

Phiphat is a skillful professional with over 20 years of experience in the hospitality business technology sector. As an expert in the field, he has led information technology environments and spearheaded successful technology projects that serve as the backbone of organizations. Throughout his 10-year tenure with ONYX Hospitality Group, he has been responsible for defining technology strategies, overseeing their management and implementation, and ensuring their usability.