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Did you know that the average small business uses 40 different software applications and the average hotel uses about 20? In an ideal world, every system in your hotel's technology stack would help you automate tasks, reduce costs, increase revenue and deliver a five-star guest experience. But we understand that getting up to speed on the myriad of technology solutions available to hotels can be daunting! Where do you start?
In this article, we'll introduce you to every piece of the hotel technology landscape ( hospitality technology solutions ), from revenue management to reputation management and everything in between. Drawing on information from over 10,000 hotel software reviews written by hoteliers from around the world, this article will also highlight some of the top software vendors in each category. For more detailed testimonials and additional software choices, we recommend clicking through to the full list of vendors. Let's dive in!
9 hotel operations software tools that promote efficiency
This category of software includes the most essential technology for hotel operations: guest check-in, account reconciliation, payroll management and guest feedback. The size and complexity of your hotel will determine the systems you need; small, limited-service hotels might do well with a PMS and a payment processor, but a large resort could benefit from any category of software.
1. Property Management Systems (PMS) : The PMS is the central hub for hotel operations. In this system, staff can check-in and check-out guests, create and manage reservations, obtain financial reports, manage guest profiles and more. According to user reviews and system functionality analysis, the best PMSs are Cloudbeds, Clock and HotelTime, although there are over a hundred other great systems on the market.
2. Staff collaboration tools : hotel staff are spread across different floors, buildings and shifts, so a communication platform is needed to keep everyone on the same page. Systems like hotelkit, Monscierge and ALICE can replace analog methods like walkie-talkies and logs, plus they can keep track of activities, reduce manual errors and increase efficiency.
3. Cleaning and engineering software : These tools digitize the operations of cleaning and maintenance departments, with the ability to automate task assignments, monitor real-time status of rooms or problems, and track task completion. The best software in this category includes hotelkit, Flexkeeping and ALICE.
4. Guest feedback and surveys : Eliminate paper comment cards and offer guests a digital platform to express their feedback, such as GuestRevu, TrustYou or Revinate. Not only are these technology solutions easy for guests to use, but they also allow hoteliers to personalize, automate and analyze guest comments and complaints.
5. Accounting and Reporting : If your hotel accepts payments from guests and issues payments to employees and suppliers, you'll benefit from an accounting and reporting system like myDigitalOffice, M3 or Omniboost. A modern accounting system reveals opportunities to reduce costs and maximize revenue, plus it makes your accounting team more efficient with automated reports and integrations with other on-site software.
6. Payment processing: Most guests prefer to pay for reservations with credit cards, but you need a payment processing system to transfer funds from the guest's card to the hotel's bank account. Payment processors such as Profitroom, Mews Payments and Adyen charge a small processing fee, but make payment as easy as possible.
7. Labor Management: Hotels have dozens, if not hundreds, of employees, so scheduling is not an easy task. Software such as Hotel Effectiveness's PerfectLabor™, M3 and UniFocus include forecasts, labor cost information and integrations with payroll and timekeeping systems.
8. Meetings and events: Whether your hotel has a private dining room or multiple floors of ballrooms and meeting space, meeting and event software can support every step of the sales and planning process, and the event itself. Popular meeting and event software includes Proposals, Event Temple and Blockbuster by Duetto.
In this article, we'll introduce you to every piece of the hotel technology landscape ( hospitality technology solutions ), from revenue management to reputation management and everything in between. Drawing on information from over 10,000 hotel software reviews written by hoteliers from around the world, this article will also highlight some of the top software vendors in each category. For more detailed testimonials and additional software choices, we recommend clicking through to the full list of vendors. Let's dive in!
9 hotel operations software tools that promote efficiency
This category of software includes the most essential technology for hotel operations: guest check-in, account reconciliation, payroll management and guest feedback. The size and complexity of your hotel will determine the systems you need; small, limited-service hotels might do well with a PMS and a payment processor, but a large resort could benefit from any category of software.
1. Property Management Systems (PMS) : The PMS is the central hub for hotel operations. In this system, staff can check-in and check-out guests, create and manage reservations, obtain financial reports, manage guest profiles and more. According to user reviews and system functionality analysis, the best PMSs are Cloudbeds, Clock and HotelTime, although there are over a hundred other great systems on the market.
2. Staff collaboration tools : hotel staff are spread across different floors, buildings and shifts, so a communication platform is needed to keep everyone on the same page. Systems like hotelkit, Monscierge and ALICE can replace analog methods like walkie-talkies and logs, plus they can keep track of activities, reduce manual errors and increase efficiency.
3. Cleaning and engineering software : These tools digitize the operations of cleaning and maintenance departments, with the ability to automate task assignments, monitor real-time status of rooms or problems, and track task completion. The best software in this category includes hotelkit, Flexkeeping and ALICE.
4. Guest feedback and surveys : Eliminate paper comment cards and offer guests a digital platform to express their feedback, such as GuestRevu, TrustYou or Revinate. Not only are these technology solutions easy for guests to use, but they also allow hoteliers to personalize, automate and analyze guest comments and complaints.
5. Accounting and Reporting : If your hotel accepts payments from guests and issues payments to employees and suppliers, you'll benefit from an accounting and reporting system like myDigitalOffice, M3 or Omniboost. A modern accounting system reveals opportunities to reduce costs and maximize revenue, plus it makes your accounting team more efficient with automated reports and integrations with other on-site software.
6. Payment processing: Most guests prefer to pay for reservations with credit cards, but you need a payment processing system to transfer funds from the guest's card to the hotel's bank account. Payment processors such as Profitroom, Mews Payments and Adyen charge a small processing fee, but make payment as easy as possible.
7. Labor Management: Hotels have dozens, if not hundreds, of employees, so scheduling is not an easy task. Software such as Hotel Effectiveness's PerfectLabor™, M3 and UniFocus include forecasts, labor cost information and integrations with payroll and timekeeping systems.
8. Meetings and events: Whether your hotel has a private dining room or multiple floors of ballrooms and meeting space, meeting and event software can support every step of the sales and planning process, and the event itself. Popular meeting and event software includes Proposals, Event Temple and Blockbuster by Duetto.