Property Management

Property Management
Understanding the purpose and scope of a hotel management system

Why is hotel software necessary?

One would think asking about the purpose and scope of hotel management software is purely rhetorical. Looking at the results of a current representative survey among more than 10,000 German hotel businesses conducted by “The Business Target Group” however, it is apparent that a fifth of all surveyed hoteliers are asking themselves just that. To put it a different way: 20% are not utilizing any software solution. Whether they are still using a reservation book or rely on a combination of paperwork and some kind of computer program remains unanswered. It is a fact though that hotel management systems with a wide range of functionalities substantially support hoteliers and staff in all areas of the hotel. This in turn reduces everyone’s daily workload. Consequently, hotel staff has more time to care for guests and hence will add to the guests’ satisfaction.

Who is a hotel management system for?

Hotel management systems are available for any sized accommodation business, ranging from small guest houses to international hotel chains. When selecting hotel management systems, the actual size of the business is a less decisive criterion than the required functionalities.

How can a hotel management system support the daily workload?

The daily operative workflows are just as diverse as the many different forms of accommodation. Hotel management systems rationalize all internal processes in the front and back office and make all relevant information about guests, rooms and reservations accessible and readily available. This is beneficial to both staff and guests. This way reservation processes are accelerated, waiting times when checking in or out decrease, reservations can easily be changed or moved and fully compliant invoices for business customers can be created. Less obvious functionalities such as interfaces to POS, telephone and lock systems also add to smooth workflows.

How can I increase revenue with a hotel management system?

Professional hotel management systems do not only administrate an abundance of information but also serve as a sales tool. Options to profitably use this tool range from benefiting from analytical functions such as the reporting, which provides key figures on reservations, turnover, occupancy and average rates, to marketing campaigns driven by the gathered guest data. An increase in yields can also be accomplished by the dynamic rate and occupancy administration, the so-called rate management. This dynamic management of rates enables an automatic optimization of the average room rates. Moreover, rate management is indispensable when using online reservation systems such as the protel WBE, which runs in real time. Rate management adjusts all rates for online booking automatically in regard to current occupancy levels. The guest can then immediately book the current room rates online.