How Hotel PMS Solves Major Business Challenges – Part 4

Problem: Unprotected Guest Data

Solution: Strict Security Measures

Larger fines and punishments are being handed out for modern data breaches, which has increased the focus on data protection across all industries. As digital transactions replace face-to-face ones and external collaboration becomes crucial to business success, this problem will only worsen. If you’re concerned about keeping sensitive information safe, the property management system (PMS) you choose will be an important component in securing your hotel data.

Although safeguarding your visitors’ personal information is just as crucial as ensuring their physical safety, there is still a lot of ambiguity about who exactly is responsible for this. It’s not hard to see why, given all the options for where to host and how to get access to the servers hosting this data, not to mention the many points of intersection with third parties.

The hotel’s booking engine and the property management system (PMS) are two parts of the whole. Since hotels may host their guests’ information themselves, have a third party manage it on-site, or have it maintained remotely, each establishment must choose which option is best for its specific needs. To determine the extent of your hotel’s responsibility for the security of guest information, you must be familiar with the methods the hotel uses to access and maintain that information.

In today’s fast-paced, digitally-charged economy, hotels aren’t immune to data security dangers. However, there are three critical areas to evaluate to help reduce the risks to guests and staff alike:

Cloud Technology:

The good news is that innovations in technology are helping hotels and their visitors deal with data security issues. Today’s cloud-based hotel PMS systems provide far better security than their legacy, on-premise predecessors, which is especially important given the proliferation of guest interaction and the consequent sharing of personal information. Reduced concerns about on-premises infrastructure and data risks are two major benefits of the cloud service paradigm.

Safety in the Workplace Through Training and Education:

Hotels of all sizes, regardless of whether they use a cloud-based or on-premise property management system, should know that excellent training is another vital to security and data protection. Many hotel data breaches may be avoided because of careless employees.

Hoteliers may avoid negative publicity and get immediate financial benefits by providing their employees with thorough training on data security rules and procedures. Think about all the web touchpoints as client information travels across the network; it’s clear that employees at every level handling data need this training. Hotels may significantly reduce their vulnerabilities by instilling a culture of privacy among staff members through frequent enforcement of administrative, physical, and technology restrictions.

 Guests Appreciate Honesty in Communication:

Please ponder it for a second. Do you actively communicate with guests or simply “disclose” information to them? About the matter of data security, there is a distinction to be made. A verbal “heads up” concerning security access at check-in may be preferred by guests than reading the pages of text that come up after they consent to the WiFi access login. The arrival of big data has made it more difficult for hotels to “hide” details in the small print. To avoid future disagreements, it is crucial to learn how to be open and honest with guests about the data they provide.

Hotel data security in today’s digital age goes far beyond maintaining PCI compliance. Hoteliers must not be lulled into a false “short-term” sense of security. Instead, they can take measures to protect their guests, and their cloud hotel PMS data, by assessing and addressing the above areas that are key to long-term well-being and success.