7 questions hoteliers need to ask when choosing a PMS provider

As a hotelier, there are a plethora of options to consider when onboarding a Property Management System (PMS) partner, it can be a daunting task researching functionality, deciding on whether the system will be a good fit for your property, and most importantly whether it will deliver ROI.

PMS is commonly known for taking care of the front of house hotel tasks such as reservations, check-ins and managing rates/availability, but now in the digital age, it delivers much more, creating efficiencies and helping deliver improved customer experience.

A PMS should effectively be the backbone of your property and the right choice will easily streamline your operations to improve your guest experience – if your technology performs better, so does your business.

At the forefront of choosing a PMS provider is understanding the level of customer support you receive, so will come as no surprise that this was one of the most important factors. Recent studies (h2c) found consulting and support services to be the most important criteria to hoteliers, discovering 30% of hoteliers aren’t getting insufficient support they need from their providers.

Below are some tips from experts at Guestline which have been put together to help diffuse confusion around PMS and support people in making an informed decision:

• Take a look at customer reviews, research the feedback from other users and be very clear in understanding what level of support is being offered in your contract.
• How much experience does the company have?
• Are they financially stable? As the beating heart to your central operations, PMS needs to come from a reliable and trustworthy and experienced provider, someone who will understand your business.
• Investigate the company’s current customers. Ask how long they have been providing hospitality software. What is their background?
• Do not be afraid to ask financial questions about the company. Are they profitable? How much are they investing into the development of the solutions?”

It’s also worth checking review sites like HotelTech Report hoteltechreport.com to find a wide selection of unbiased PMS provider reviews from hoteliers.

Guestline is the property management and distribution software provider