Hotels are notoriously hard to run, they mean long hours, a 24/7 commitment, and trying to keep costs down while trying to deliver an exceptional service at the same time, is no mean feat. But you can achieve maximum productivity and increase not only efficiency but also your bottom-line with easy-to-use and cost-effective solutions available in the market. Look no further than the cloud!
Leveraging a system such as a cloud based PMS that incorporate and use mobile capabilities across multiple operational and service functions, not only help to increase efficiency but give hoteliers the opportunity to gain valuable insights about customers, empower employees to go above and beyond to providing a personalized service helping them to then deliver what the guest wants, when they want it, all resulting in increased revenue, guest satisfaction and loyalty.
Here’s how:
1.) Do More With Less: The setup and on-going maintenance costs normally associated with traditional hardware and software can be astronomical. However cloud does away with all this fuss and has replaced it with a flexible subscription based plan, without overhead costs and offer both a pay as you go and only pay for what you need service. Similarly, gone are the additional maintenance costs, this is included in the deal, and no more headaches and even more expenditure when it comes to updates, all upgrades are occur automatically at no extra cost to you the customer; no time, or money is lost due to potential down time or technical glitches.
2.) Streamline Operations: A cloud PMS makes daily processes more efficient by removing manual steps that take up too much of your time i.e. with cloud you can automate various time consuming manual tasks. Many daily back-end operations within a hotel’s busy routine can be automated such as night auditing, reservation management, assigning housekeeping responsibilities, updating room status after guests check-out etc.
Automation helps optimize the hotel’s resources and staff are also more efficient in their duties freeing up a time to focus more on the guest’s needs. More time for guests means happier guests, and we know that happier guests means a healthier bottom line; Harvard Review found that customers who indicated that they had the “best experience” at a hotel spent 140% more than those whose experiences were sub-par!
3.) Simplify Integrations: We are all more than aware that hotels rely on numerous systems and multiple departments, all of which add to the complexities associated with managing your hotel. Another great benefit of cloud is its ability to simplify integration with other systems (means you won’t have to ever waste time or money again on integrating complicated systems.) A cloud based PMS facilitates the merging of information from a wide range of sources such as easing the complexity of reservation management. Real-time integration with a channel manager allows the updating of room availability instantly, eliminating double-booking errors; rates can be set to update automatically; distributing changes to all connected channels; cancelled bookings are also pushed back to the direct booking engine, accommodating more direct bookings if required.
It also simplifies the creation, building and updating of guest profiles – which leads to nicely to our next point.
4.) Personalize Service: Any property management system can recognize guest preferences based on their previous stays but with a cloud PMS, all pertinent guest information is consolidated providing hoteliers with centralized, more accessible guest data delivering an detailed view into a guest’s spending habits and preferences. Using this data effectively hoteliers can make informed marketing decisions, develop relevant ancillary products, services, or packages etc. and ultimately provide a more customised personalized guest service. Automation of this data can further personalization and enhance the guest experience throughout the entire guest lifecycle.
5.) Mobile Staff: A major advantage of a cloud PMS is mobility. Cloud technology frees staff from the bounds of the front desk allowing them to attend to operational issues more efficiently and enabling them to focus on the minutiae details that help create an individualized and memorable experience for each guest. This use of technology to deliver personalization not only opens up a whole new paradigm when interacting with guests but it can generate increased customer loyalty and guest satisfaction, higher occupancy rates, and an improved bottom line.
A cloud-based PMS helps reduces your regular expenses and has the potential to significantly boost your bottom line; it optimizes the efficiency of your staff allowing them to multitask, increasing the opportunity to interact better with your guests.
Still not convinced? Why not check out our eBook on “Hoteliers Guide To Reducing Costs And Increasing Profits”
