In recent years the use of technology in hotels has increased significantly and hotels now have a variety of hardware and software systems in place. The hotel property management system, or hotel PMS, has become the backbone for many hotels’ IT infrastructure, serving as the nerve centre of a hotel’s operations, integrating with various applications. Integration with other systems, such as a Central Reservation System (CRS) or hotel booking software offers hoteliers incredible opportunities for greater operational efficiency but also the ability to forge greater relationships with guests leading to greater guest satisfaction and higher revenues.
However many hotels are running on legacy IT systems and the integration and communication between the PMS and CRS is fragmented. Some systems are not integrated at all, others not fully integrated and some that are integrated do not communicate well with one another. When it comes to the modern CRS is all about integrations and connections – the farther your reach, the more you will sell.
So if you are currently evaluating a new booking software, or simply trying to better-master your current system, we’ve put together some points to help master your PMS and hotel booking software integration, minimize your frustration while at the same time help maximize your distribution and revenue opportunities.
Mapping:
Data mapping is a very important aspect in data integration and should be one of the first steps completed when trying to master your PMS and hotel booking software integration. Integrating data meaningfully will not only help increase productivity and efficiency but also will help avoid failed updates, lost reservations, and bad reports which can all result from miss-mapping between the two systems. To ensure that both your PMS and your CRS align, you should review the live mapping tables in both the PMS and CRS and work with your account manager to understand what should and can be mapped.
Auditing:
While mapping should ensure your interfaces are communicating properly, it’s still important to schedule in regular auditing to minimize errors and to ensure you’re receiving all your reservations. While auditing should be done at least twice a year, others recommend to do it on a weekly basis. Reviewing regularly allows you to spot and resolve issues quickly rather than waiting months to discover a problem when it’s too late resulting in potential losses in revenue and/or disgruntled customers. You should also make sure to enact all system updates promptly.
Distribution:
When it comes to distribution you should have control over exactly where and what products are being sold at your hotel. Making full use of your CRS system you should ensure clean distribution of your retail offerings across all your channels and allow for quicker and easier adjustments to your discount amounts. “…The direct booking engine should be customizable within your CRS to differentiate your hotel in its marketplace. For your call centers, you should be able to channel specific offers to them via your CRS. Additionally, you should be able to organize OTA’s by rate codes via mapping that lives in your CRS. Global Distribution System, or GDS is integral, so you should have great offerings pushing through your CRS to your GDS platforms.” SHR
If you would like to find out more information check out our webinar featuring our CEO and Founder, Jos Schaap and other industry leaders, Estella Hale (SHR VP of Product), and Ellis Connolly (Rainmaker VP) discussing the subject of mastering PMS and hotel booking software / CRS integration.
Ready to see what a new hotel PMS can do for your hotel? Request a personalized demo.
