The Nitty-Gritty of the PMS

The techno savvy travelers of today want their hotels- guest's details
to also provide them with the same quality of- reservation details
technology they have at home and the work place.- new reservation assignment
They demand full amenities and instant services. To- Create a new guest
cope with their ever increasing demands and cut- Create a reservation
throat competition, hotels need property management- Assigns a guest to a specific room(s)
systems that deliver performance, scalability, and- Access report of guests scheduled to arrive/depart
component integration.for a specific date
Property Management System- Print check-in cards for all/selected guest for a
The PMS or property management system is thespecific date
core of the hotel it is the focal point where all- Check-in guests as they arrive
information from various parts of the hotel meet. In- Edit reservations past, present and future -change
fact it is the information hub for all secondary systemsdates, rooms etc.
of the hotel.- Re-assign guests to a different room
The primary function of the PMS is to keep track of- Add charges to the rooms including gift shop, spa
guests, keep track of room status- vacancy orand restaurant charges
occupied details of all sales and transactions. But It is- Check-out guests including form of payment(s)
also used to improve customer services and provideincluding checks, traveler's checks and credit cards. For
interface with reservation systems and online bookings.non-cash payments a reference number is collected
The PMS is also often referred to as a front office(check number, authorization code etc)
system acts as the main point of contact between the- Receive transaction data from a credit card swipe
guests and the hotel management. The PMS receivesmachine
and provides information to all the parts of the hotel as- Manage the Work Shift
per need. It helps to manage all these information- Manage Spa details
processing system and adds accuracy, speed, power- Make group reservations for two or more rooms
to all parts of the hotel. In fact it without a PMS itreserved under one name.
would not only be hard but impossible to manage evenHousekeeping
a small hotel, such is the necessity of a PMS.This is an important part of the PMS and should be
A good PMS has five main branches:seamlessly integrated to the Front Desk at all times. All
Administrationcommunication - regarding rooms that need to be
In this all hotel functions are taken care of and is thecleaned, inspected and/or repaired should flow through
right arm of the PMS. You can create roomhere.
categories, establish tax rates- both sales and- Systems should automatically assigns room status at
occupancy taxes- and last but not the least; createthe beginning of the day (dirty or inspect).
employee accounts and specify clearance limits.- Daily Housekeeping report of Staff access a
- Creation of room categories and featuresprintable report of daily check-ins, checkouts,
- Set Rates by room categories and seasonoccupancies, vacancies, and maintenance notes as
- Set season dates for multiple yearswell cleaning instructions should be available.
- Assign different clearance status'- A report or alert for Repair issues for the room with
- Add, edit and disable employeesonly unresolved repairs appearing on the daily
- Establish form of paymenthousekeeping report.
- Organize store inventoryPoint of Sale
- Set tax ratesPoint of Sales or POS systems can integrate
- Room Bed Type (Dorm Bed, Twin, Double, Triple,accounting, inventory management, hotel gift shops or
Campsite)restaurant/ bar billing and payroll modules.
- Bath & private or shared- Sale total along with taxes is updated as each item is
- You can assigns rates to all existing room categoriesadded or deleted from the sale.
- Create profit centers: Gift shops, restaurants, etc.- Payment information can either be entered to
- You can add, edit and disable employee accountscomplete the transaction or assigned to a guest's
clearance, limiting access to system functionality by theroom for payment at a later date.
user login information.- A transaction number is available for reference
- You can create and assign local taxes to sale type- Staff is able to separate POS purchase from a
- You can list accepted forms of payment: cash,reservation in order for the guest to pay for them
check, credit, visa etc.separately
The Front Desk- Purchase details are stored and saved for future
In the front desk employees can login and access allreference
functionality associated with day-to-day front desk- A detailed receipt is available for printout should that
operations, including; bookings & reservations, spabe requested
and group management. They can access the statusOnline Reservations
-available/reserved/checked-in/out/blocked-the userThis reservation interface should allow Web site
can also access information about that room including;visitors to book online.