A simple explanation for the students of hotel management & hospitality administration

1. Hotel Property Management System: how to decide
upon the best choice?
This presentation has beenprepared for the students of hotel and
Hospitality administration.
We would considerthis issue keeping in mind the three components of a
hotel PropertyManagement System suite.
1. Software
2. Hardware
3. Live ware i.e. The staff handling, maintaining and managing it.
For the sake of simplicity we would also divide our thoughts into two broad
areas;
A. Managing financial operations
B. Managing guest services operations
Before we proceed any further let us also take a brief look at other
automated/ computerized systems with which PMS has to interface,
integrate and collaborate.
Externalsystems:
 Central reservation system (CRS)
 Global distribution system (GDS)
 Online travel agencies (OTA)
 Revenue management system (RMS)
 Customerrelations management system (CRM)
Internaland stand alone systems:
 Point of sale system (POS)
 Call accounting system (CAS)
 Energy Management System (EMS)
 Electronic locking system (ELS)
We also need to be aware of the number of function and task modules
within the PMS.
Financialconsiderations Guestservicesoperations
considerations
1. Financial goals and current
performance levels.
Daily workload of routine tasks
and stress level among

2. employees
2. Money available for purchase Present level of staff skills in
handling technical devices
3. Recurring expenses in running
and maintaining the software and
Hardware
Software interface with
employees and other systems,
ease of handling
4. Cost of training employeesand
hiring new experts
Customercare supportpolicy
5. Possibilityof upgrades and
Business expansion in future
Data security
6. Payment collectionand
integration with payment
gateways
Brand reputation, minimum
crash uptime
7. Level of inventory of physical
goods
Support for multiple languages
8. Requirementfor networking and
costinvolved
User access control and
accountability for actions
9. Generating reports statistics and
creating a useful management
information system
Logical workflow and speed of
computing data and retrieving
data
10. What is the comp set doing? Which is the current operating
system that staff is familiar with
11. Going for the latest, feature-rich
expensive system to stay ahead
of the competition
Doing their own research and
matching the software to the real
needs of the hotel.
A briefexplanationof the financialconsiderations listed in the table
above;

3. 1. Getting the software system must improve the level of profitability
that the hotel is currently enjoying. Computers are not meant to be
mere cosmetic accessories.
2. Overspending and exceeding the financial budget in the hope that
the latest devices and technologywill start giving results immediately
will be a childish mistake.
3. Getting a system that is cheap initially but expensive to maintain in
the future, for whatever reasons, e.g. upgrade fee,license fee,
customersupportfee; is not acceptable.
4. Many vendors charge a separate fee for training. We must enquire
about this aspectbefore selecting any brand.
5. A healthy business grows with time and the automation system must
be able to handle the expansion in workload in future. The software
company should also provide frequent bug fixes, reported by users.
6. The PMS must be able to process various types of cash and credit
transactions and also provide a secure ecosystemforthis.
7. The stockof goods or inventory is the capital that needs careful
monitoring and preservation. The PMS must be able to provide a
system for maintaining records of purchases, storage, and issue of
items in the vast hotel ecosystem.
8. Connectivity works on expensive networking infrastructure. The cost
for keeping the operations running seamlesslymust be kept in mind.
9. In the present age of big data analysis and artificial intelligence, the
least we can expectfrom a PMS is to provide us with extensive,
timely and accurate reports, so that we can take the right decisionat
the right time.
10. We need to be aware of the strength of our competitive set
hotels. If our competing hotels are successfully using a particular
brand and style of operation, there is no harm in copying them.
11. The technologyindustry is like any other industry when it
comes to selling philosophy. If you want the best and the latest, be
prepared to pay an exorbitant premium. However, the advantage of
going for the latest keeps you at peace for at least next 2 to 5 years.
A briefexplanationof the considerations,keepingguestservices
quality and staff morale in mind.
1. The workload that exists in the hotel operations, and how the staff is
able to tackle that load, is the most important considerationbefore
saying yes or no to buying a PMS. However in today's age going
digital does not remain a matter of personalchoice and convenience.

4. True symptoms that point to an urgent need of a Hotel PMS is the
volume of guest complaints and frequencyof ego clashes between
employees and departments.
2. Before jumping to buy the latest automation system,its effecton the
staff and their ability to handle it must be thought of.
3. The interface of software is the main home page on which
menu, tools are visible. This interface should be simple and logically
organized so as to help the user easily navigate from one window to
another.
4. Customercare supportpolicy of a hotel is nothing but the attitude of
the management toward guests.Having a fully automated
system helps the employees in efficiently recording data, retrieving
information, processing transactions and handling complaints.
5. The issue of data security has been highlighted in recent years when
Facebookwas accused of data leak. Due to the ongoing
confrontation between India and China, India has blocked many
Chinese apps, blaming them for leaking data of Indian citizens to
Chinese government and business organizations.
Students need to understand this need for data security. If a criminal gets
access to the location data of a Smartphone user they can very easily find
out when they are out of their homes or hotel rooms. These homes and
rooms become a very easy target for all types of criminals.
Another issue with data is the marketing and sales. Having access to the
contact details of an individual allows the business to send promotional
messagesand offers before the competition;and claim their business.
Another aspectof data security is the health records of an individual.
Spending money on illnesses, especially the serious ones, is not a matter
of choice.The family of the patient will do everything that it takes, in order
to get the best possibletreatment. Medical care is also a profit making
business.Having information of seriously ill patients will give an unfair
advantage to the hospital and doctors having it.
Let us also understand the power behind search engines like Google and
social media platforms like Facebook.Google easily knows the most
frequently searched individuals, goods and services;with very accurate
geographic and demographic markers (indicators). This knowledge, if
shared with companies at the right time can yield handsome sales on a
continuous basis.Facebookalso records the patterns of user behaviour
and can predicttheir choices, responsesand actions under different
circumstances very accurately. Simply speaking, they know who the

5. customeris and what does she want? It is a gold mine. Mark Zuckerberg’s
wealth rank is right up there.
6. Every brand gets its reputation through word of mouth. Going for the
most popular brand may only mean paying an extra premium. But the
features and the ease of functionality that it offers is worth it in the long run.
7. If the PMS provides supportfor multiple languages, it helps a
multicultural staff and multilingual International guests.
8. The PMS must provide secure login for employees of all levels and
maintain a step-by-step record of all addition, deletionand modificationof
data; to ensure fail proof accountability and legally sustainable disciplinary
proceedings against employees committing thefts, frauds and
embezzlement.
9. The steps of working within the PMS should be in sync with the
physical proceduresin the hotel guest cycle. If two succeeding steps are
on two differentpages it not only wastes time but it also creates stress and
frustration for employees. The general speed of computations should also
be quick. The hardware should have ergonomic effectiveness;matching
the work habits and style of differentemployees.
10. The issue of having one of the four major operating systems on which
the PMS functions does not depend so much on reputation as it depends
on the familiarity of the staff with that operating system. The four major
operating systems are;
 Apple iOS
 MicrosoftWindows
 Linux
 Google Chrome
11. Just like when we buy a Smartphone by comparing the important
specifications like processorspeed, type of screen, available RAM
size, and internal storage memoryand after sales Service support, we also
need to selectany PMS by doing our own intensive research, careful
comparisons, analyzing online reviews and feedbackfrom existing users.
Presentation by: Praveen Jha
Senior lecturer
Institute of Hotel Management
Hajipur, (Patna), Bihar