PROPERTY
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Chapter 7
HISTORY OF AUTOMATION IN HOSPITALITY
INDUSTRY
1.
2.
3.
At first, automation was a tool for producing
and analyzing budgets, reports, statistics,
accounts.
Then, automation crept into such areas as
sales reports, rooms inventory control,
timekeeping.
Advancements in telecommunications and
technology brought reservations systems
and their ability to handle transactions.
Source: American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute
HISTORY OF AUTOMATION IN HOSPITALITY
INDUSTRY
4.
Further advances came as computers were
used to analyze captured reservations data,
thus providing important marketing info.
5.
Still further advances brought front-office
systems that provided guest histories,
patterns of use, preferences.
Source: American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute
INTRODUCTION

What influences technology need for
lodging establishments?
- Department needs
- Guest amenities
 Service
level and customer relationships
- Facility size and layout
- Organizational structure
INTRODUCTION

Property Management Systems - PMS
 Evolving
 Complex
 Peer
to Peer (P2P)
 Same
application installed on more than one computer
INTRODUCTION

PMS - Centric
Model
Property Management
systems integrate all of
the information
needed to manage
PMS FUNCTIONALITY

PMS must be able to provide six basic functions






Enable guests to make reservations
Enable guests to check-in/register when they arrive and
check-out/pay when they leave
Enable staff to maintain guest facilities
Account for guests’ financial transactions
Track guests’ activities for use in future sales efforts
Interface with other systems
PMS FUNCTIONALITY

Enable
guests to
make
reservations
PMS FUNCTIONALITY

Enable guests to check-in/register when they
arrive and check-out/pay when they leave
 At
front desk
 Remotely
 PDA
 Remote
terminal
PMS FUNCTIONALITY

Enable staff to
maintain
guest facilities




Room Type
Status
Occupant
Inspections
PMS FUNCTIONALITY

Account for guests’ financial transactions
 Credit
Card Information
 Address Information
 Business
 Home
 Room
Rate
 Room Charges

Night Audit
 Collects
and Posts Room/Guest Data
PMS FUNCTIONALITY

Track guests’ activities for use in future sales
efforts
 Information
relevant and beneficial to future sales
efforts
 Accessed by:
 CRS
- Central Reservation System
 CRM - Customer Relationship Management
PMS FUNCTIONALITY
 Interface
with other systems
 GDS
- Global Distribution System
 CRS - Central Reservation System
must
integrate seamlessly even if from
different vendors
 Sales
and Catering Applications
 POS (F&B)
 Retail Points
PMS FUNCTIONALITY
 Interface
 HVAC
with other systems
or EMS Systems
 In-Room Amenities
 Messaging
 Security
 Call Accounting System
FOUR KEY INTERFACES
Real-time interface with the GDS/CRS
 The activities management system
 Built-in revenue and yield management
 The enterprise

REAL-TIME INTERFACE

GDS/CRS
 Switches

Goal: to generate revenue
 Complicated
due to different business models and
varying relationships between entities

Real-time: greater flexibility
 Costly
to develop systems
INTERNET RESERVATIONS MODULE (IRS)
Most PMS have IRS
 Make reservations online
 Book through Internet

 Eliminate
fees –Expedia about %12
REAL-TIME INTERFACE

Tracks guest room and activities
 Cancels
appointments if guest cancels or checks
out
 Repairs
 Pagers,
blackberry
REAL-TIME INTERFACE

Revenue and Yield Management Tools
 Managing
room sales to maximize revenue and
profits
 Examines multiple variables and provides complex
calculations
REAL-TIME INTERFACE

The Enterprise
 Refers
to all systems - front and back
 PMS
(front)
 Payroll, Purchasing, HR (back)
 EAI
- Enterprise Application Integration
 End


 ERP
goal:
of fewer redundancies
and increase in collaborative synergy
- Enterprise Resource Planning
 BPI - Business Process Integration
GUI - GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE
Interface
 Intuitive

 Fits
naturally with expectations
Ease of training
 Multi-lingual
 Includes Websites

PMS EVOLUTION
1st Generation: Minicomputers
 2nd Generation: UNIX/NOVELL
 3rd Generation: Reservation systems
 4th Generation: Client-server
 5th Generation: GUI
 6th Generation: ASP (VPN)

RESERVATION SYSTEMS






Selling individual reservations
Selling group reservations
Displaying room availability and guest lists
Tracking advance deposits
Tracking travel agent bookings and
commissions
Generating confirmation slips and various
reservation reports
RESERVATION SYSTEM SCREEN
DISPLAYING ROOM AVAILABILITY
AND GUEST LISTS




Today’s inventory
Future date
7 to 14 day
availability
Blocked room
RESERVATIONS




CRS (central
reservation system)
IRS
Voice Center
GDS (Global
Distribution System)
COMPANIES

Fidelio
German company
 World Leader
 Was bought by Micros, USA based company
 Now, Micros/Fidelio

CRS
Decentralize the reservation function
 Centralizes marketing and sales efforts
 One way
 Two way

INTERNET BASED CRS
Started in late 1990s
 Flexible
 Cost effective
 Compliant with GDS


Marriott.com / starwood.com /
bestwestern.com
DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS FOR A HOTEL
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Travel Agency (GDS)
CRS (800 reservation number)
Call the hotel directly
Corporate travel agent
Hotel website (i.e. Hilton.com)
Internet travel agency (i.e. Expedia.com) (Online GDS /
ADS/ IDS)
Walk-in
Other
GDS
ADS/ IDS
OTHER TRAVEL RELATED WEBSITES
SWITCH
YIELD MANAGEMENT
 Yield
management rules can be
established for:





overbooking
discount control
length of stay control
product class control
group evaluation
TRAVELER’S USE OF INTERNET
87% of traveling population in the U.S. are
online travelers
 88% use the Internet to make travel plans
 52% used the Internet to book their travels

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS
Joint ventures linking a number of diverse
businesses
 A big inventory
 Smart Switch

 Translator
GDS

There are 4 major GDS
 Amadeus
 Galileo/Apollo
 Sabre
 Wordspan
SMART SWITCH
American Airlines
Unix System
Marriott
Windows Based System
SABRE
Common Platform
Hertz Rent a Car
OS System
SWITCH
Pegasus
 http://www.pegs.com

Wizcom (Trust)
 http://hospitality.cendant.com/technology/

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Property management systems provide data that marketing can use for:

Revenue maximization

Better rooms inventory control

More accurate management of room blocks

Yield management capabilities
Source: American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Automation helps hotels provide better guest service and related
recognition programs:
Guests can count on same room, same seat, same car preference

as a result of guest history and preference systems


Express check-in and check-out

Automated check-in and check-out
Similar technology has provided automated airline ticketing and car
rentals
Source: American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute
FRONT OFFICE SYSTEM
Room status and
housekeeping
management
Guest registration
-retrieve reservation
-assign a room
-collect payment
-verify room status
Telephone services
- Phone calls
- Wake up call
-Messages
-room discrepancy report
-room status report
-etc.
Front
office
system
Cashiering and guest
check-out
-generate folios
-post transactions
-open and close cashier
shift
-guest check out
NIGHT AUDIT




Recording all transactions
Posting of room and tax
Producing a trial balance
Generating reports and updating statistics
VIDEO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OFs7130G
KQ