If you’re thinking about adopting a hotel management system to run your property, the first question you ask is probably going to be “Is it worth it?” Will the system benefit you enough to warrant the cost of investment and the changes to your routine?

The simple answer is yes. Cloud technology requires minimal upfront payment, since you only pay for what you need and operational costs are the responsibility of the provider. You’ll also never have to pay for repairs or replacements, like you do with hardware or manual systems. 
In this article we’ll outline all the advantages a hotel management system can offer your small property. We’ll try to be succinct because there are A LOT. Let’s get started!

Your complete list of hotel management system advantages

A hotel management system saves time and effort on admin

When you move from manually managing your property to using software instead, the software will do most of your work for you. It can touch every part of your operations, automating and simplifying nearly all your tasks. From managing reservations to organising housekeeping, to developing reports, it will save you hours every week.

Improve relationships with guests

This one might be surprising but it’s true. Hotel management software will help you provide a smoother contactless payment experience and check-in/out experience, making for happier and more loyal guests. Personalising guest communication is also easier and quicker with software, enabling you to build loyalty more regularly. The more loyal guests you can create, the more direct bookings you can drive.

Increase your occupancy rates by integrating other tools

With the ability to integrate with channel managers and online booking engines, a hotel management system will allow you to advertise your rooms to more travellers than ever before, and also increase your chances of capturing direct bookings on your website or Facebook page.

Get better at revenue management

Your system will have simple and easy to access reports on performance and operations to ensure you have the right data to analyse and make better revenue management decisions. You’ll also have more access to crucial data by integrating a channel manager, pricing tools, or a complete revenue management system.

Greatly reduce manual errors and double bookings

With an automated system making it easier to input and process data, your records will be much more accurate and it will be much quicker to reference them. Integration with a channel manager will also ensure your inventory is updated automatically, reducing the potential for annoying double bookings – improving life for you and your guests.

Make better business and marketing decisions

Your system will help you record guest data more accurately and more comprehensively. Having this on hand will allow you to build profiles and identify trends around guest preferences and their habits. With this information you can adapt your marketing strategy and pricing accordingly to make sure you’re getting as many bookings as you want. Reporting capabilities will also let you know which channels and promotions are performing to your satisfaction.

Enjoy the safety and freedom of cloud technology

Since cloud-based software stores everything remotely, there’s very little danger of anything being lost, damaged, or stolen. It also makes everything quicker to access and lets you be flexible. With a hotel management system there’s no need to be tied to your front desk. All you need to operate is an internet connection and a smart device like your phone or laptop. Having this freedom means you can spend more time helping guests or even running your own errands.

You’ll have an advantage over your competitors

Many hotels, especially small properties, still don’t have online booking capabilities or don’t use tech systems so you’ll have an immediate advantage over some of your competitors. In addition, you’ll also have support and resources that properties managing things on their own won’t have.

Achieve results quicker than ever

A system that works in real-time – works quicker than you can! Even if you still think you can do everything we’ve listed by yourself, the time that a hotel management system will save you is worth a lot of money and peace of mind in the long run. It’s like having an extra employee for a fraction of the price.

Getting back hours of your life each and every week that you previously spent on the painful tasks of recording and updating guest details, correcting clerical errors, updating information in booking channel extranets, and sending emails cannot be understated!

By Dean Elphick

Dean is the Senior Content Marketing Specialist of Little Hotelier, the all-in-one software solution purpose-built to make the lives of small accommodation providers easier. Dean has made writing and creating content his passion for the entirety of his professional life, which includes more than six years at Little Hotelier. Through content, Dean aims to provide education, inspiration, assistance, and, ultimately, value for small accommodation businesses looking to improve the way they run their operations (and live their life).