In the world of hospitality, legacy technology has a bad reputation – and it’s no secret. Unlike fine wine or nostalgic memories created and shared with friends and loved ones, the technology we use to enhance our personal and professional lives is meant to evolve at an accelerating rate.

In the book “The Future Is Faster Than You Think”, Peter H. Diamandis pays homage to Ray Kurzweil’s “Law of Accelerated Returns”. “Ray Kurzweil did the math and found that we are going to experience twenty thousand years of technological change over the next hundred years,” he writes. “Essentially, we’re going to go from the birth of agriculture to the birth of the Internet twice in the next century. It means paradigm-shifting, game-changing breakthroughs, nothing is ever the same. This is perhaps the perfect way to describe the digital age we live in today – innovation is no longer an asset; instead, it’s a necessity built into the very fabric of our world.

From a business perspective, digital innovation is the key to survival and success and, as you might have guessed, the hospitality industry is no exception to this rule. Despite this, our industry has become notorious for its continued allegiance to antiquated platforms that are no longer equipped to serve the modern world and its modern customers. Legacy applications are defined as “an information system that may be based on outdated technology, but is critical to day-to-day operations” and across our industry, many hotels simply haven’t taken the leap. commitment to replace these systems. But like spoiled milk, platforms that don’t adapt to meet (or better yet, anticipate) the needs of the modern world have an expiration date, and it’s time for independent hotels to gut the hypothetical kitchen.

When we look at the legacy infrastructure that has limited our industry’s growth and scalability for decades, it’s hard not to focus our criticisms on the hotel PMS. The PMS exists at the heart of a hotel’s digital ecosystem, acting as a core functionality hub that enables properties to manage their day-to-day operations, efficiently including but not limited to: administrative tasks, managing reservations, guest check-in and check-in. out, room rates, and more. Unfortunately, PMS systems, even those that promise “all-in-one functionality” and “new era mobility”, have traditionally failed.

Often the systems advertised as modern are, in fact, 30+ year old platforms that have been updated on top of the original legacy programming in an effort to keep up. Despite their best efforts, it’s far from a complete digital overhaul, and when that new lipstick coat wears off, hotels are left with a platform that lacks the deep functionality of systems built from from scratch to be light, efficient and truly all-in-one.

The Truth About Hotel PMS

As a frequent traveler myself, I have always wondered why it seemed like the front desk clerk had to do so much work to retrieve my reservation information or process my information upon arrival or departure. Shouldn’t this be a relatively simple process? Shouldn’t it be easy for me as a guest to request an early check-in or select an upgrade? In my experience, even a simple request would require a member of hotel staff to type furiously on their keyboard while I (and others) anxiously await the completion of the service promised to us. As I started to research, I realized that it wasn’t the fault of the hotels I frequented; it was rather the fault of their technology. Far too many properties still relied on legacy systems that were riddled with workflow inefficiencies and monotonous administrative requirements that stood in the way of seamless functionality and service delivery.

When looking at a PMS system from a proper critical perspective, hoteliers should ask themselves: is this platform truly mobile or does it just offer web-based functionality? Are the proposed integrations expensive and, more importantly, fast and efficient, or clunky and unreliable? Do applications and platforms exchange data and information seamlessly or create data silos? Does the platform crash or crash frequently? Is training tedious and time-consuming? Should ownership adapt to the parameters set by the platform, or does the platform adapt to the needs of the business? And perhaps the most important question of all: is the platform really user-friendly? Does it improve the experience for customers and staff, or is it a thorn in everyone’s side?

A truly intuitive, cloud-based, all-in-one property management system that seamlessly automates every aspect of managing your self-catering hotel or vacation rental. Simply put, if we think of a hotel’s tech stack like a football team, the PMS is undeniably the quarterback, and a modern, all-in-one PMS is poised to become the Tom Brady of our industry. .

Choosing the right PMS for your hotel

As the saying goes, not all platforms are created equal, and choosing a modern PMS platform is no small decision. Hoteliers should review platform providers with their current business needs in mind while considering their future growth and evolution. Beyond the constraints of legacy platforms (and legacy platforms disguised as a “modern” solution), hotels can finally shake off our industry’s reputation for outdated technology to embrace a truly innovative and scalable future.

Ultimately, legacy technology shouldn’t be our industry’s legacy – our guests and workers deserve better. With that in mind, we’ve compiled a comprehensive breakdown of must-have features and PMS features that should guide hoteliers’ platform evaluation when looking to upgrade to a scalable hotel operating system. Throughout this guide, hoteliers will be introduced to key indicators of an innovative hotel management solution, as well as a Buyer’s Checklist, which provides hotels with a PMS “score” to better evaluate their system. current. Armed with this information, hoteliers can better navigate conversations and demos with suppliers to find a truly best-in-class PMS platform.

Want to see how your PMS compares to modern systems? Download Stayflexi Ultimate 10-Point PMS Checklist for Independent Hotelshere.

About Stayflexi

Trusted by over 1,300 independent hotels, luxury resorts and timeshare groups worldwide, Stayflexi is the industry’s first fully automated, all-in-one hotel management and automation platform.

Reshaping a legacy hotel technology landscape, the modern cloud-based solution provides integrated PMS, Guest Upsells, Channel Manager, Booking Engine and Revenue Management tools under single sign-on. Packed with powerful features to streamline and automate operations while increasing staff productivity and guest satisfaction, Stayflexi can help hotels maximize profitability. Self-service options such as self-service check-in/out, contactless POS, automatic room assignment and automatic inventory management can reduce operational costs by 50%, while the upsell engine can increase bookings by 30% while improving customer experience.

The company was founded by IT specialists from Carnegie Mellon and Cornell to solve their own problems as hosts and travelers and currently serves more than 23,000 rooms in 100 cities in 13 countries.

Steve Carran
Sales manager
+1 844 234 2363
Stayflexi

See source