A Solution For All

All-in-one property management systems breed greater efficiency and better customer service.

Hotels

Rebecca Oliva
Associate Editor

The functionality of today’s property management systems (PMSs) extends far beyond room keys and guest bills; PMSs have the ability to “talk” to a casino system, track guest history with precision, and, most importantly, seamlessly interface with the reservations systems at both single- and multi-property hotels.

The result generated by these multi-functional PMSs, sometimes referred to as enterprise systems, already have proved their worth. Many hotel companies have reaped the benefits of a seamless interface between the reservations system and the PMS, including time savings and the ability to sell more room nights because of accurate availability. Also, the new PMSs are enhancing operations by allowing properties to work with fewer software systems, thus increasing efficiency and reducing the hassles of partnering with a multitude of vendors.

Going forward industry organizations are working to further improve the functionality of hotel PMSs and other technology as well. The Open Travel Alliance (OTA) is working toward an industry standard between data exchange formats and Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG) is working with vendors for a technology standard and a common set of business standards for vendor partnerships. These strides promise that even greater functionality may be just around the corner.

Playing To Win

One of the recent developments in PMSs is their ability to work with casino systems. Since many casino hotels reward their repeat casino customers by “comping” their meals, hotel stays and more, the casino system had to feed information to the PMS. However, it is rarely that easy as PMSs are not equipped to handle those transactions. The challenge always has been connecting player and guest data from comp programs to the PMS.

When the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, Prior Lake, Minnesota, deployed the Opera Gaming module, an add-on software program for the MICROS Opera Enterprise System, it saw an immediate shift in operations efficiency. The system allows casinos to monitor expenses such as comps to their most loyal customers, enroll guests in the player tracking system (PTS), generate player IDs and access updated information about how much their guests spend and on what.

“One of the bigger things is the profile management,” says Jeffrey Smith, IT business analyst, Mystic Lake Casino Hotel. “If an important customer is calling to make a reservation, we have the ability to grab the profile in the gaming system and make the sale.” That capability, Smith says, allows the casino hotel to maintain one seamless system for both hotel and casino operations. Smith and Mark Bassinger, director of IT, expect an ROI on the gaming system within one year.

Since the hotel comps about half of the 416 rooms each night, a solution that could automate the casino loyalty features was necessary, Bassinger says. The Opera Gaming system can enroll guests in the PTS no matter where they register—by e-mail, phone, front desk or online and then synchronize the data between the PMS and the Gaming system. Profiles in Opera Gaming instantly reveal whether the guest is enrolled in the PTS by showing an additional gaming tab on the screen that displays statistical and trip information. The system is accessible from any workstation and because it has a seamless connection to the point-of-sale system, guests have the potential to use their comp cards at restaurants, bars or any other hotel retail outlet, Smith says. In the future, Smith hopes to allow guests to access their reward comps with ID cards.

Having the gaming system connected to the PMS benefits the back-office operation, too. Smith says it saves labor time because the system handles comps automatically, instead of inputting data manually as the hotel’s staff did before. Upon check out, the comp transactions go directly into the PMS account receivable module.

Interfacing On A Global Level

Regardless of how many functions a PMS can perform, the most useful and beneficial operation is a seamless interface with reservations systems. HIS currently is developing a two-way interface to Best Western International’s worldwide central reservation system and the epitome PMS. Best Western members using the epitome PMS will benefit from the fully automated reservation flow between the PMS and central reservation system (CRS). All reservations will be delivered automatically to the PMS as well as any updates to the hotel’s rates, inventory and the BestCheque Travel Agent Commission program and Gold Crown Club points will be reflected instantly in the CRS.

“The two-way interface is an immediate benefit to members because it will synchronize rates, availability and possibly online partners,” says Mike Kistner, CIO, Best Western. For now, 40 Best Western member properties are running the epitome system and will have access to the interface as soon as it becomes available, which is determined by a trial period.

Once the systems are in place, however, Kistner expects an immediate labor savings of three to five hours per day, and around five to 10 hours per month just on the Gold Crown Club and BestCheque programs. He also asserts that the chance of error is greatly reduced with an automated system. “When members are doing all that manual entering there are liable to be errors,” he says. “With an automated interface, you are going to achieve additional revenue and occupancy. Blocks of rooms that were sitting in the PMS unsold because of entry errors will now be eliminated.”

Even more, Kistner says a two-way interface raises RevPAR an additional 1% to 8%, depending on the property’s size. It also puts the hotel in the position for implementing a yield management system because the information is also up-to-date.

And since Kistner serves as president of the OTA, HIS’ epitome is compliant with the OTA standards. The interface is based on the new standard in communication protocol among software systems for the travel industry. Known as “OTA 2002b Specification,” this interfacing standard is designed to allow for more open connectivity among software systems throughout the hospitality industry. Based on XML messaging technology, the interface allows systems to communicate in a standard format, which reduces the chance for errors and ensures that reservations are delivered promptly.

Multi-Property, Multiple Opportunities

Aside from the time-saving benefits of an all-in-one PMS, many multi-property hotel companies find the ability to cross-sell easier. Seymour Hotels in Jersey, British Channel Islands, wanted to upgrade its PMS to include a multi-property system that would allow them to work across the board. The three-property hotel company with around 600 rooms conducted extensive research on PMSs and decided on Visual One Systems’ Hotel Management System, which includes reservations, guest history, accounts receivable, point-of-sale, and sales and catering.

“The main thing about the system is that it is completely integrated,” says David Seymour, managing director, Seymour Hotels. Installed in November, the system saves labor time and Seymour forecasts an ROI in five years.

The system will allow the hotel to market in different ways, Seymour says. For example the packaging module allows the sales team to manipulate room nights and other property offerings to fit the needs of the guest. The systems’ extensive guest history database filters the right amount of information to the reservationist but no more. “The packaging element allows us to market to specific groups based on guest history,” Seymour says. “It allows our team to sell when they are on the phone, rather than just be order-takers.”

Two of Seymour’s properties, the Merton Hotel and Portelet Hotel, are open during the summer season only. For this reason, Seymour says it was important to choose a PMS that had a large guest history and reservations capability. “Being a seasonal business, we are taking a lot of our reservations during the winter months. We needed a system that could interface with all of our properties’ systems.” Also high on Seymour’s list of priorities was a system that was easy to use. The two seasonal properties have high turnover, therefore, Seymour says, it was imperative that the PMS allow for that transition.

And, Seymour adds, there are more possibilities of the PMS they have yet to discover. “We are discovering other benefits of having an all-integrated system,” he says. “The reporting system is extremely efficient—we have been doing research as to what reports are going to give us the best of the business."