A traditional approach to software or application installation was on a single location-based computer or server. Cloud computing has changed this completely. Cloud-based software is now commonly used by different types of industries around the world. Cloud-based software is essentially a software program or an application that is stored, managed & used, or available through the cloud and accessed using the internet. These programs or applications are stored on cloud servers, which are shared computing resources and offer access to distributed processing power, storage & memory to users on demand over the internet.

Hotel Management Software (HMS) is an essential part to run the hotel business successfully. A hotel management system offers a comprehensive solution that can streamline the operations and administration of a hotel or the hospitality industry. A good HMS can help in managing the property more efficiently and effectively while improving guest satisfaction, increasing revenue, and profitability, and enhancing the brand image.

A hotel management system can save time and money by automating the tasks that would otherwise have to be done manually, like guest bookings, check-in and check-out, inventory tracking, employee scheduling and payment processing & much more.
Benefits of Hotel Management System

Know your customer- Hotels can store the personal preferences, likes and dislikes with personal information like birthdays of their customers. This information can help in reaching out for marketing efforts and in overall business strategy.

Streamlined processes - A hotel management system helps in streamlining processes and increasing efficiency. It helps in making guest experiences smoother and more personal.

Preventing errors - The hotel management software ensures that booking errors do not take place helping avoid friction and guest displeasure.

Enhancing decision making - A HMS provides real-time data on occupancy, current room rates, and many other vital metrics, enabling the hotel team to make informed decisions about pricing, promotions etc.

Competitive advantage - A good hotel management software can give a competitive edge over others who do use a hotel management software.

Increase online visibility - In today’s digitized world, an online presence is essential. A good hotel management software can be used for sending promotional information to guests, allowing guests to book and download their booking details etc. It helps in brand building and generates goodwill from guests.

While good hotel management software offers many advantages, cloud-based hotel management software takes these advantages further.

Real-time distribution - With a cloud-based hotel management system, bookings, prices, check-in and checkout status get updated in real-time and details are available across all the distribution channels like mobile apps, websites, online travel agents (OTA) etc. This ensures that the room inventory is booked optimally ensuring good revenue generation.

Error reduction - Cloud-based software enables real-time data available for hotels to manage their room inventory and all other processes without missing out on any detail. This helps simplify operations, manage staff and reduce errors like double booking, faulty booking dates etc.

Channel Integration - Hotel rooms are sold through websites, online travel agents (OTA’s), global distribution systems, directly over the phone, etc. Channel management systems allow hotels to manage the allocation and distribution of the sale of rooms through multiple channels. Channel managers can showroom inventory information and keep it updated across all channels. This helps avoid double bookings.

  • Benefits include automatic and real-time room inventory updates across multiple channel partners.
  • Increase in the online visibility of hotel leads.
  • Elimination of double bookings and overbookings.

    • Revenue management - Integration of HMS with revenue management systems is useful for revenue and profitability calculation by using SaaS artificial intelligence technology. It can process consumer demand and generate optimal room prices based on guest flow and room demand. It helps leverage business insights for room pricing, resulting in a rise in the hotel’s revenue and profitability.

  • Benefits include better price recommendations to maximize revenue and profitability.
  • Implementation of optimal price strategy.
  • Occupancy forecasting for a better booking experience.

    • BI integration - Hotel management can use BI to process the data flowing in through different sources, to generate reports that can give revenue figures, occupancy figures, ratings & any other area of its business.

    Cloud-based hotel management systems (HMS) help in reservation management and administrative tasks along with the day-to-day operations of the hotel accommodation business like reservations, front desk, housekeeping, maintenance, billing, channel management, etc. HMS forms the backbone of operations in the hospitality industry. Integrations with other systems can help eliminate overbookings, improve room availability by coordinating with connected channel managers, and perform general housekeeping tasks.

    Besides such integrations, the property management system can be integrated with other third-party apps and software like loyalty programs, business intelligence software, IoT, email marketing programs, etc. Using a professional hospitality software development services to develop an HMS with all the necessary software integration, can help hotels get actionable reports, insights and strategies to generate more revenue.

    Author's Bio: 

    Kaushal Shah manages the Internet Marketing department at Rishabh Software