Walking into an office twenty-five years ago the only way to access a new application was to install it from a CD-ROM or a floppy disk. Companies were required to buy, build, and maintain their IT infrastructures despite exponential costs. However technology has and is advancing incredibly fast. Where Internet access was once rare, now it is accessible and used everywhere; at home, at work, on our smartphones. This has meant a revolution for the software industry. With the introduction of the cloud, SaaS has given companies an alternative. Now, they can plug in and subscribe to services built on shared infrastructure via the Internet allowing easy access to applications and files enabling them to work anytime, anywhere.
Within the hotel industry Software as a Service (SaaS) is the future for hoteliers. Here’s why:
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- Lower Cost: SaaS is based on a subscription model, eliminating license fees. Where once a upon a time you had to buy, build, and maintain IT infrastructures to support application deployment, now the only infrastructure needed is broadband internet connectivity. The pricing and delivery models of SaaS means lower cost of entry and allow organizations to meet the specificity and intricacies of its needs.
- Flexible & Efficient: An article published in The Economist stated that 80% of customers are now demanding new technology consumption models and SaaS is the right way to deliver cloud technology. With a cloud based PMS, hoteliers are armed with a new level of freedom and a completely different level of control. Staff can assist guests anytime, anywhere enabling them to deliver an enhanced and personalized guest experience. A cloud based PMS also helps to streamline hotel operations, automate core processes and simplifying things for managers and employees, allowing them to focus on what’s really important – the guest.
- Upgrades & Integration: The SaaS provider manages all updates and upgrades allowing users to skip laborious installations of patches, fixes etc. oh, and at no extra cost. When it comes to integrations, implementing a SaaS solution can happen without disrupting day-to-day business; integrates easily with existing investments, rather than displacing them; can scale indefinitely to meet customer demand and without incurring additional infrastructure or staffing costs; and many SaaS providers offer customization capabilities to meet specific needs.
SaaS is a business model that works, has been adopted by thousands of service providers and isn’t dying anytime soon. For hoteliers, those that choose to ignore it will simply not be able to keep up with the pace and remain competitive. “With the introduction of a SaaS, hoteliers now have the chance to grow at the cadence that the industry and guests require but also be able to be flexible to handle new technologies as they arise… if you’re in the market for a better PMS to run your hotel, then buy the future of with a SaaS PMS, not the past.” Jos Schaap, CEO – Founder of StayNTouch.
