How Does the Software Work for Small Hotels?
Software for small hotels is a fundamental tool for the operations of any lodging, no matter if it is a hotel, glamping, or hostel. Regardless of what size you have, it is essential to have hotel management software that allows you to visualize the behavior of your lodgement and have control over your daily transactions. This system is known as PMS for Property Management System.
Due to the technological development, we are immersed in today, it is vital that the small, medium and large hotels have these types of technological tools (hotelier’s PMS) that allow them to manage the operation, optimizing times, and controlling the performance of their properties.
In this blog, we will tell you about the key characteristics you have to consider when choosing the PMS that best fits your necessities, and that allows you to be more efficient in the management of your lodgement:
- Regardless of whether or not you have a small hotel, you must take into account a PMS that allows you to record all the transactional information that passes through the lodgement: The most relevant bookings information, the check-in process, modify dates, or a disclaimer to the guest, are characteristics that will help you to manage each booking efficiently.
- It must have a friendly interface that allows you to find the information easily. Actions like seeing the daily availability with an easy click or quickly searching guest information by name are fundamental options for the hotel operation.
- It must have a reports and statistics module for the management evaluation and decisions making. Surely software for small hotels will give you valuable information that you previously thought you could not count.
- The software must be open to integrations with other systems in order to evolve the services you will offer in the future.
- We recommend that the hotel’s PMS is as integral as possible. This means it not only works for the transactions register, but also allows you manage the bookings, the connectivity with different sales channels, have direct web-page bookings, among other functionalities.
- The possibility to manage different hotel user permissions levels. This point is very important because it will not only be one person who accesses the information. Hence, regardless of whether it is a small or large hotel, you will want to keep some modules protected.
- As far as possible, search for PMS options that run on the cloud and with web access. It will allow you to have access to the hotel information from any place.
Manual Management or Software for Hotel management?
Some lodgements decide to manage all the information manually because they consider themselves small. However, there are hotelier software options in the market like LobbyPMS that fits in price and functionality with this kind of lodgings and that allows them to save headaches. In the following examples, we want to tell you some challenges you can afford if you manage the information manually.
| CHALLENGE | MANUAL INFORMATION MANAGEMENT | INFORMATION MANAGEMENT WITH A PMS |
| The CEO wants to see the hotel occupation of the last five nights. | It will take time to count each booking, and depending on how the information is organized, you will have to look for the information day by day. | Only with one click, you will be able to find the daily occupancy of the hotel. |
| A housekeeper wants to see what rooms are available | The housekeeper can see some Excel sheets that probably will not let her know the reality about the check-ins and check-outs, therefore she will have to check each room herself. | Only with one click in the software, you will find the rooms that already made the check-out, and those are available for new guests. |
| Marketing and Sales: An account manager wants to know what are the main income generators of the hotel. | The required information is not found because generally when we make a manual process, we only keep in mind one name and one document as a source of information. | Only with one click, it is possible to find all the information about how much a channel, a company, or a client generated in a specific period, and based on all the hotel data. |
A client calls because she wants to make a booking in the same rooms and with the same conditions as the last time. | The guest waits a long time online while the receptionist searches in the files to know what was her last choice. | Only with one click in the hotelier software, you can search the name of the guest, and instantly you will have the complete historical information. |
| A guest go the reception and ask for an extension of his stay in the same type of room | You can confirm the extension, and you do not see you have another file where you had a booking making check-in one of these days. Due to this, you will have an overbooking problem. | Only with one click the system will show you in the calendar whether you have availability or not in the same type of room and with the same conditions. |
| Comptroller wants to do an auditory about what rooms had incomes | You can have occupied rooms that did not generate income. It can create confusion, and it will take you time to have the exact information. | Only with one click you can filter the paid bookings, check-oust, check-ins, among others. It will allow you to have online information and other updates. |
These are a couple of examples of what happens day by day in a hotel and why hotelier software will help you to be more efficient.
What other aspects to consider when choosing a hotel software (PMS)
We have been talking about the functionalities and the importance to count on hotelier software. Additionally, other aspects are no longer related to the functionality, but you must have into consideration when choosing a PMS:
- Note that the selected PMS is guest-friendly and also easy to learn to use. It is important that you do not have to invest a lot of time in configurations and training. You will have staff rotation and it is not optimus to invest 3 days doing training for a new member of the team.
- It is ideal to have your hotelier software (PMS) in the cloud. It will allow you to have the information of your lodgement in any place you are located.
- The hotelier software must have the basic functionalities, and it has to be scalable while you need more functionalities. Do not let it happen to you that you make a considerable investment and only use half of its functionalities.
- In some cases it is key you have local support, in your language, and your local currency.
- Note that the idea is that you can make changes or adjustments by yourself without contact support.
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