How PMS And Channel Manager Together Can Help Increase Hotel Reservations
More reservations are the key to success when trying to boost income in the hotel sector. Now more than ever before, hotels can take use of readily available technology to quickly and efficiently expand their guest lists. Having effective hotel management software is a boon to the hospitality industry. This technology not only improves daily operations but also advertising and internet reservations, leading to higher occupancy rates. In general, the current state of hotel management technology offers an excellent window of opportunity for the industry.
Modern Technologies In Hotels:
Hotel bookings were formerly taken on paper, and that wasn’t too long ago. Time and money were being frittered away ineffectively, and neither the client nor the staff was happy with the outcome. Thankfully, technological advancements have allowed hotels to become much more productive establishments. Overbooking, human mistake, a lack of word of mouth, and other issues of yesteryear have all been addressed with the help of modern technology. Property management systems and channel managers are two cutting-edge hotel tech products. This program is essential for the smooth operation of any contemporary hotel.
Property Management System (or PMS):
Any hotel would benefit greatly from using a property management system. A property management system’s features serve a broad variety of departments and tasks, from the front desk to the back office to cleaning and beyond. In a nutshell, the PMS serves as a unified control panel from which all employees may benefit. Staff members may quickly access crucial data from one centralized location. Information like planned check-ins and check-outs, requests for special accommodations, cleaning status, and more are all stored and organized in the PMS.
The cloud now hosts certain property management software. This increases the platform’s already substantial value. A cloud-based PMS allows employees to view their property dashboard from any location and on any device. All members of staff have access to the system and may log in from any device. Because of this, multitasking, a talent that is essential in the hospitality industry, is much easier to learn and practice. It just takes a tap of a smartphone for a housekeeper to indicate which guest rooms are complete and ready for occupancy.
As they assist a visitor with their luggage to their vehicle, front desk staff may use tablets to complete the client’s check-out process. Property management systems (PMSs) offer excellent operating tools, but they may also collect data and provide reports. Managers and executives may benefit from reading these papers. The PMS guarantees that management never misses a development opportunity by automatically following the operational and financial trends of the hotel.
Channel Manager (or CM):
If a hotel wants to boost its online reservations, it needs a channel manager. Online travel agencies (OTAs) now facilitate a sizable share of all hotel reservations made via the world wide web. Travelers who want to rapidly compare hotel prices and availability might use OTAs like Expedia.com. Using online travel agencies is essential for hotels to compete in the modern market. With the help of OTAs, your hotel may reach a wider audience. However, there remained a significant obstacle that needed to be overcome before a CM could be implemented: how does anybody keep track?
A manual system wouldn’t be able to keep up with the volume of bookings coming in from the various online travel agencies (OTAs) and guests making direct reservations. It would lead to frequent double booking, which would irritate both visitors and employees. Thankfully, aid in the form of a channel manager’s technological infrastructure is at hand. Online travel agency (OTA) integration is possible with the help of a channel manager.
The channel manager has the ability to instantly refresh your OTA listings with the most recent information. Maintaining up-to-date OTA listings is a breeze when you use a channel manager. Profits for hotels may be increased with little additional renowned by using channel management systems. It has been shown that employing a CM helps reduce vacancy and improves a hotel’s financial standing as a whole.
Advantages To Hotel Efficiency From Combining A CM And PMS:
Direct operations are managed by a hotel’s PMS, and this includes online reservations made directly via the hotel’s website. A CM is a great complement to a property management system, which is already a powerful and useful tool on its own. A channel manager may work in tandem with your property management system to keep track of which rooms are already taken. Once the channel manager verifies that all third-party listings are up-to-date, the manager will update all listings to reflect the correct availability.
Hotel owners may have the best of both worlds with a CM that is also linked with their property management system. With the integrated CM, a property management system may focus on running the business and taking direct reservations while the CM takes care of increasing income via the correct placement of available rooms on OTA sites. Even while a property management system (PMS) may be useful on its own, it is incomplete without the addition of a channel manager. Changes in revenue and occupancy rates for hotels may be traced directly to the efforts of the channel manager.