What is Hospitality Management Software?
It is also known as hotel management software (HMS). It is a software that enables a hotel’s reservation management and administrative tasks.
The focus and speed of digital transformation highly depend on the size of the business. While smaller properties begin thoroughly by automating the reservation process and streamlining payments, big hotel chains boldly embrace AI technologies and IoT, fine-tuning both guest-facing and internal operations.
An advanced hotel management solution should be more than just one system. It need to serve as the central location for hotel operations, linking all hotel, resort, and casino systems. Your hotel management software should be a comprehensive hotel technology platform that connects every aspect of operations to the guest experience, creating a seamless journey that helps your organization achieve and exceed the highest standards. If you have adequate time, book an SAP demo. It should give the basis for long-term relationships with guests, and the revenues and profitability that goes with them.
SAP Business One is an ideal software for hospitality management. Running a lodging establishment can be tedious. With features dedicated to everything from reservation to payment reminders, now you can manage all your daily operations from a single, integrated hotel management solution like SAP B1.
It is a hotel management system built in the cloud to continuously meet and exceed modern guest expectations. With this software, hospitality organizations can better manage operations, deliver exceptional guest services, and provide a rich experience for all. The solution provides scalability that can help you achieve your present needs, along with whatever the future brings.
A modern hospitality management system integrates multiple work environments in a single software. Also, some vendors sell their systems as separate components that can be integrated with an existing solution used by a hotel. Here are the key features:
A reservation system holds all inventory data and dates, sending this information to the front desk. The system contains information about room availability and status that can be distributed across various channels. The online booking engine and additional distribution channels need to be integrated with the reservation system. While individual hotels have their own reservation systems, chain hotels often have a single reservation system for all of their facilities. If a hotel or hotel chain already uses a specific reservation software, SAP B1 must offer integration with the existing service.
A channel manager integrates directly into a central reservation system, extracts room availability and rate data, and automatically updates this information across channels. This way, it keeps room details synchronized on all platforms and eliminates overbooking or doublebooking.
Channel managers also support different revenue management activities. For example, hoteliers can block specific channels for specific dates, set booking limits for various channels, and more.
A front-office feature allows a front-desk manager to view and update room reservation status, check guests in and out, and process payments. Some hotel management systems also offer integrations with self-service check-in kiosks or enable checking in and out, and process payments via a QR code.
Following are the things that front desk feature will allow you to do:
You can access and update room status and up-to-date information about all reservations, both current and upcoming using SAP implementation. The front-desk module allocates rooms automatically and allows room changes.
You can provide electronic key cards and deactivate them at check-out.
Front desk staff can levy guests for their bookings and other purchases and issue receipts.
The front-office module also allows night and shift audits. It’s an essential process that ensures transaction accuracy and supports reporting.
Since this module also assists in remotely operating the in-room automated equipment (e.g., lighting, HVAC, etc.) to prepare the room for guests' arrival, room management becomes increasingly important as hotels get smarter and more tech-driven.
Optional features of the front desk module include guest profile management, reporting, housekeeping management, etc.
Revenue management systems assist hoteliers in understanding how to adjust rates and availability in all channels to achieve better financial results.
So, SAP B1 ERP helps monitor and forecast such hotel KPIs as occupancy rate, RevPAR (revenue per available room), and ALOS (average length of stay), and dynamically adjust prices to increase overall revenue. To make these adjustments most accurate, different types of data are also factored in, such as seasonality, weather, local events, public holidays, and so on.
This feature connects housekeeping staff to the front office to plan and monitor tasks related to servicing rooms and other areas of a hotel. Its key functionality includes room status tracking, staff assignment for room cleaning based on a block or floor location, workload management, and keeping lists of tasks for housekeepers. This feature also keeps a record of hotel disruptions and repair activities with the further assignment of an attendant who can eliminate a problem.
The CRM module must integrate with the front desk and reservation system, gathering all guest information from these sources.It offers a database in an easily accessible format and saves visitor data. Also, if a hotel has its own CRM system, the system should integrate with it.
This feature can also streamline and personalize marketing activities such as promotions, measure guest experience, and automate pre- and post-stay services.
To monitor current processes and understand business performance, all business owners depend on analytics. This software can serve as a business intelligence tool, collecting relevant hotel data and providing hoteliers with various types of automated reports. Depending on the software, it can create night audit reports, room and tax reports, shift audit reports, departure/arrival reports, housekeeping reports, or other ongoing summaries.
As for the analytics functionality, monitoring the main hotel KPIs is crucial for gaining a full picture of the property's performance and making data-based decisions.
In the modern digital age, hotel software is used for different purposes, but convenience, efficiency, accuracy, and financial benefits are major among them. Here are the benefits of using hospitality management software:
The ability to streamline processes is one of the major benefits of hotel management software solutions. From automating many distribution tasks to gathering financial reports instantly, software applications can make almost everything efficient.
Automation enables certain hotel operations to be carried out even when staff cannot intervene manually. In contrast, sharing data across the property and even across hotels can help eliminate barriers. Moreover, software solutions can also potentially minimize instances of human error.
Although hotel software requires an initial investment, over a long period, these applications and systems can result in significant cost savings. This is because less human involvement is required in many day-to-day processes, while money can also be saved in various other areas.
Labor costs can be minimized through automation, allowing you to reduce the number of staff you employ, reduce the number of hours they work, or gain from increased productivity in other areas.
In addition to helping you save money, SAP B1 ERP can also help to increase the revenue you generate. For instance, revenue management systems like SAP Business One ERP can enable you to optimize pricing and distribution, using past data, current data in the books, and wider industry data to help you anticipate data accurately.
Another reason why hotel management software can be beneficial is because it can significantly improve the customer experience you offer. One of the most clear examples is mobile hotel check-in and check-out systems, which allow for much more seamless arrivals and departures.
However, improvements extend beyond that. SAP Business One provides point-of-sale options, making payment for hotel services easier, while smart hotel systems also allow for things like heating, air conditioning, and lights to be optimized automatically, increasing customer comfort and making your hotel more energy efficient at the same time.
Finally, one of the most powerful reasons you should utilize hotel management software solutions is the potential to gain a competitive advantage over rivals. Many software packages will provide valuable real-time industry insights, enabling you to be more competitive regarding room rates, or package discounts.
Furthermore, SAP Business One ERP can help you to build better relationships with customers, attract more positive feedback, generate customer loyalty, and save money that could be spent on other areas that will boost your performance.
As we touched on earlier, the choice of hotel management software depends on the size and type of a hotel property, as different systems have their own sets of core features and additional modules. Most players in the market offer hotel management systems that can be customized for different types of property and basic HMS components can be complemented with modules, required for a specific type of business
Many properties already have reservation platforms or CRSs of their own or utilize other business management software, so the selected HMS is to be integrated with third-party products.
The final choice of a property management system for a hotel is largely shaped by the functionality needed. However, there are things to think about.
Check integration options.Consider a cloud solution with mobile access.Be mindful of the level of customization that a service offers.Prioritize ease of use. Assess customer support.Calculate ROI and expenditures.Zyple Software provides SAP Business One ERP for the hospitality and travel industry. Experts use our insights, strategies, and actionable tips to get inspired, optimize revenue, innovate processes, and enhance customer experience.