Adoption of SaaS is growing exponentially in almost every industry, with SaaS cloud hardware and infrastructure software spending projected to reach $55B in 2026. The hotel industry may be one of the last to join the cloud computing party but more recently hoteliers are now upgrading to next-generation cloud solutions in record numbers and hoteliers who haven’t already upgraded to a cloud platform plan to do so shortly if only to keep pace with others in the same competitive set.
So why are more and more hoteliers now moving to the cloud? Well, the benefits are substantial, from cost savings, flexibility, scalability, employee productivity, and guest service.
1. Lower Costs
Today nobody questions the cost savings that come from streamlining operations across all hotel functions and all parts of the property (or properties). A Frost & Sullivan study showed that business can save 50% with cloud computing solutions. It is way more effective to support and update a cloud-based PMS rather than an on-premises system, not to mention the costs associated with running your own servers in the hotel.
2. Scalability
Cloud offers hoteliers limitless scalability, facilitating, rather than restricting business. Unlike their on-site predecessors, cloud-based property management systems (PMS) are entirely scalable – they have an unlimited capacity to expand. With the cloud, hoteliers now have the agility and freedom to add or remove resources in line with their growth and scale their hotel management systems to the services they offer.
3. Flexibility
PMS systems are required to manage a multitude of tasks, and they have to flawlessly integrate with a multitude of third-party apps and software. The cloud makes it easy to connect all hotel functions and operations. By using clean, Open APIs, hotels can easily integrate other systems without limitations and the fear of yet another cost. For hoteliers, this capacity and the possibilities that it brings are revolutionary; it offers them limitless flexibility to work with the vendors of their choice meaning they can bundle applications together to create a customized management suite that’s right for their business.
4. Guest Satisfaction
When you work in a hotel, achieving high guest satisfaction is key and as the ordinary increasingly becomes unacceptable, consumers expect every hotel experience to become seamless and singular. With a cloud-based system, hoteliers know they can meet these evolving demands improving the quality of the guest experience, and guest services, everything from check-in to housekeeping, concierge services and maintenance response times. The cloud enables guest-facing interfaces, including self-service options and allows hoteliers to harness the power of data and analytics to provide a personalized experience.
Cloud PMS solutions are geared toward streamlined operations and complete guest management which help further engendering satisfaction and loyalty.
The technological beating heart of any hotel is a property management system (PMS). In the past, a hotel’s technology infrastructure was unable to scale in concert with new platforms, it was complex, cumbersome limiting and failed to streamline or enhance day to day duties or guest services.
Many hoteliers know that embracing the cloud is a viable future technology investment; not only are they cost savings to benefit from but it allows them to streamline their operations and provide their staff with the flexibility and mobility needed to better serve their guests.
