What is a property management system (PMS)?
A property management system (PMS) is a software application that supports the operations of hospitality accommodations and commercial or residential rental properties. Though sometimes referred to as a hotel operating system or hotel OS, a PMS transcends that industry; manufacturers, hospitals and government agencies also use them.
A PMS provides a centralized system to organize, schedule and perform the daily functions and transactions involved in accommodation businesses. Computer record-keeping and PMS applications have significantly increased the efficiency of hospitality industries by making it possible to update and consult centralized records from multiple computers and devices. Enhancements targeted to hospitality industry needs have increased the ease of those operations.
Capabilities of a property management system
A PMS facilitates the automation of many common tasks, including the following:
- Bookings. Automatically update availability and room occupancy.
- Check-in and checkout. Assign rooms and mark for cleaning.
- Telephone system integration. Manage phone calls from guests and charges for outbound calls.
- Point-of-sale integration. Handle credit card and sales transactions.
- Event planning. Schedule event spaces and other services.
- Food and beverage costing. Manage hospitality orders.
- Hotel inventory supply management. Inventory supply management tracks availability and costs of supplies and eases ordering.
- Reporting of key performance indicators. Monitor KPIs such as occupancy and sales rates.
- Security and room locks. Assign key cards and door access.
- Guest satisfaction. Advance insight on guests' experiences with a goal of improving customer retention.
Cloud property management systems
Hosting a PMS on-premises can be costly because managing the systems requires maintaining servers and software expertise. Many PMS platforms are now software as a service, or SaaS, and hosted as a cloud service.
Besides potentially lower costs, a centrally managed cloud PMS can offer advantages over on-premises deployments in the following areas:
- Guest mobile apps and services can address self check-in and checkout.
- Customer relationship management, or CRM, integration can advance automated campaigns based on guest and reservation data.
- Employee mobile apps give housekeepers and maintenance workers timely data, enhancing efficiency and morale.
- Centralized records can help unify sales, forecasting, occupancy and pricing data across several properties and support data-driven business decisions.
Property management systems in other industries
Local governments sometimes use a PMS to manage numerous properties under their care. Centralized, electronic record-keeping helps to more efficiently manage diverse facilities such as schools, sports and recreational centers, or community gardens and parks.
In manufacturing, a PMS helps companies monitor materials and supplies, as well as employee-owned property and equipment. Electronic maintenance logs can reduce unscheduled downtime.
Hospitals and medical facilities can use a hospital management system, or HMS, as a comprehensive tool to manage their facilities. This might encompass supply chain management and inventory management for all hospital equipment.
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