Development of any business is always a very labor-intensive and time-consuming process. The hotel business is deservedly considered one of the most complex spheres. The owner must take care of quality living conditions, good food, parking, cleaning, timely payment of services and much more.
World famous hotel networks such as Hilton and Four Seasons use special programs for their fast operation. Such software helps to automate all the processes in the hotel and reduce the number of overlaps and misunderstandings between the staff and guests.
But it is worth remembering that there are many small hotels and guesthouses on the market. And the software used by large hotel chains is not always suitable for small businesses. That is why there is an increasing need for hospitality software for small hotels.
Defining hotel management systems
Programs that are commonly used for hotel business are called PMS (Property Management Systems) or HMS (Hotel Management Systems). Such systems have two types of users. The first one is the hotel owners and staff, and the second one is the customers, that is, guests.
PMS is beneficial to both categories of users, because it simplifies all processes. Visitors will be able to book hotel rooms online, order food, cleaning and other services. At the same time hoteliers get a clear picture of all the processes in the hotel, which are very easy to control. For this reason, there is no need to hire additional staff. Also, property owners get a more transparent and clear accounting model.
Key features and advantages of hotel management systems
Before you decide to implement new technology into your business model, you need to learn more information about it. So, below you can learn about the features and benefits of PMS.
Multifunctionality
Up until recently, hotels used entire sets of programs for administration. For example, one was used to track room reservations; a second was used for accounting. A third was used for organizing the employees' work schedules, and so on. Luckily, nowadays, you can use a single hotel management system that covers all the hotel processes.
Data security
Almost most of PMS are cloud-based solutions. It means that thanks to the comprehensive set of security protocols, your data and your customers' personal details (such as credit card numbers, passport data, etc.) will always be protected. In addition, you will not need to install any equipment in the form of server rooms to store all your records.
Process Automation
Thanks to Artificial Intelligence, hotel management systems can fill out forms based on the already entered data, as well as automatically create reports or summarize their results. PMS is also able to organize work processes without human intervention. Such features save a lot of time and minimize errors that may arise due to human factors.
24/7 technical support
No matter what PMS solution you choose for your hotel, custom or ready-made, in any case such services offer you 24/7 technical support. This is very convenient, especially if the staff is just getting to know how to use the new software.
User-friendly customer service
The ability to do everything online is very much in demand among hotel customers at the moment. That is, a person does not need to call somewhere to book a room, order a service or leave a review. All these things people can do online and keep track of the status.
How to develop hotel management software
As we mentioned above, HMS solutions are not always suitable for small hotels and guesthouses, especially those with special needs or requirements. In this case, to get the most convenient product for you, it is better to consider creating a custom one.
Define your needs
Think about the main aspects of your business that you would like to automate and make more convenient. For example, perhaps you want to create a module for room reservations, workflow management, analytics, and so on. For a start, it's better to choose a few basic modules and look at what's missing and what to add after a while.
Specify core functions for each module of the system
The next step is to brainstorm what basic functions you want to see in each of the modules of your custom HMS. For example, you may decide that you want a system that helps you manage workflow. It can include some of the following features:
- tracking and creating work schedules for each of your workers
- notifications about vacations, holidays and sick leaves of employees
- tracking of employees' performance
- automatic assignment of tasks to staff
- tracking the status of assigned tasks, and so on.
Try to detail the functions you need in each module as much as possible. This will help developers create a solution that can perfectly suit your needs.
Choose appropriate tech stack, UX/UI design and integrations
Of course, the team of specialists with whom you will work on the development of the project will help you decide on the choice of the tech stack. In general, for PMS such programming languages as Python, JavaScript and others are used. For databases is perfectly suitable PostgreSQL. The choice will depend on your needs.
However, if in the case with the choice of tech stack you can get help from experienced professionals, the choice of UX/UI design and integration definitely require your opinion. Think about the comfort and convenience of your customers. Make your product interface clear and minimalistic, as well as smartly design your app integrations to make it even more convenient for use.
Read also: Development of Software for Dental Practice Management
Take care of technical support and scalability
If you choose a reliable team of developers, you will definitely be provided with round-the-clock technical support. And this is a very important point, because at the initial stages of working with the system there will be a lot of misunderstandings.
Also it is necessary to think in advance about the scalability of the company. This approach will help your business work well during peak loads, and you will be ready for future growth.
Software development services for hospitality startup from SDH
Are you looking for reliable enterprise software development services? The Software Development Hub is a company that is ready to provide you with outsourcing software development services.
Today, the SDH team develops the US-based SaaS platform for travel advisers. This hotel management system raised 11M investments in the A-series in 2022. Working with Sabre Hospitality database, Smarty autofill service, and Stripe payment processing platform, the system helps travel advisers set up trips for customers.
Our team of specialists has been on the market for more than 18 years. During this time we have developed many projects, which are currently used by about 9 million people! If you explore our projects page, you can read in more detail about each of them.
So, if you want to get a custom management system for your hotel, contact us for consultation. We are ready to assist you at all stages of development and provide high-quality technical support.
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Hotel Management Software
