IN ASSOCIATION WITH
“By making use of these algorithmic
pricing models, hoteliers can automati- cally adjust for seasonality, events and other factors to help maximise room occupancy at the best possible price and generate increased revenue from other hotel services.”
The modern PMS can typically be accessed by mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets. “This means that wherever they are in the property, hotel staff are able to see what rooms are available,” says McIndoe. “Housekeepers can see when guests have checked out and which rooms are ready to be cleaned and prepared. Managers can access information about availability and other details on the go.”
The cloud Key to this development in the PMS world has been the advent of cloud-based systems, which are hosted remotely and made available to users via the internet. Cloud hosting has led to software that is more affordable and more straightforward to access and manage. Cloud-based systems are increasingly being built on common web standards and open application programme interfaces (APIs), which makes integration with external systems much easier. Established PMS provid- ers have developed cloud offerings while new players have also entered the fray. Aditya Sanghi, chief executive of PMS supplier
Hotelogix.com, says: “By its nature, cloud-based technology is extremely agile and can easily integrate with other comple- mentary technologies. A cloud PMS is no longer just an operational tool, but can also help hoteliers achieve strategic goals and maximise their business potential.” At Oracle Hospitality, global segment leader of hotels Peter Agel believes greater mobil- ity and flexibility are changing the way that guests and staff are interacting with the PMS. He says: “Historically, PMSs were used by
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reservations staff at the front desk, but now they can be cloud-based, users do not have to spend all their time front of house. Today, it’s more about a role-based approach, where the user is defined by the modules or
functions they have access to. “The capabilities through a cloud- based PMS allows hotel guests to interact with apps that are integrated with the solution, enabling hoteliers to deliver an exceptional guest experience,” he says. Last year, Oracle bought Micros Systems, whose Fidelio hospitality division is a mar- ket leader in hotel technology. Its PMS, called Opera, is estimated to have 25% of the global market for room inventory software. Opera is a flexible platform which supports hotel staff with a range of day-to-day activities, from efficiently checking guests in-and-out to managing room inventory.
THE SCOPE OF THE PMS
Property management systems can integrate with a host of different systems:
OTAs, third-party websites A hotel’s availability and room rates can be updated from the PMS across all channels in real time.
Revenue management Pricing models in the revenue management system inform the PMS to adjust automatically for seasonality, events and other factors to help maximise room occupancy at the best possible price.
Guest service apps Apps downloaded onto guests’ mobile devices allow them to interact directly with in-house services. Charges can be added to the guest’s bill in the PMS.
In-room entertainment Any pay-per-view movies accessed by the guest or charges for their internet usage can be added to the bill automatically.
Electronic locking Key cards can be encoded and managed through the PMS.
Golf, spa, restaurant A PMS integrated with point of sale tills will automatically add extra charges from the different hotel facilities to the guest’s bill.
Energy management Room temperatures can be set for guest check-in and automatically switched to energy-saving mode when they check out.
Self check-in kiosks A customer-facing extension of the PMS that allows guests to check in and out, and pay their bill at their leisure.
Technology Prospectus 2016 | 11
Agel says that Oracle Hospitality is looking at the development of Opera in three key areas. First, the company has created the strapline ‘mobile everywhere, cloud first’ to reflect the changing techno-
logical needs of the hotel market. The company is also committed to reduc- ing the complexity and cost of IT through the development of cloud-based services and creating systems that are robust enough to accommodate new, disruptive technologies that are expected to be developed further down the line. “We couldn’t have predicted the popularity of mobile payments or e-locks a decade ago, but we have had to adapt our offering to suit this trend,” says Agel. “We don’t know what is coming, so we have to be astute to the chang- ing needs of the market and flexible enough to incorporate new technologies.” Oracle sees the future of the PMS as a
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