Property management system

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Property Management Systems (PMS) or Hotel Operating System (HOS), under business, terms may be used in real estate, manufacturing, logistics, intellectual property, government, or hospitality accommodation management. They are computerized systems that facilitate the management of properties, personal property, equipment, including maintenance, legalities and personnel all through a single piece of software. They replaced old-fashioned, paper-based methods that tended to be both cumbersome and inefficient. They are often deployed as client/server configurations. Today, most next-generation property management systems favor a software as a service (SaaS) model sustained by web and cloud technologies.

Contents

Hospitality industry

The first property management systems in the hospitality industry appeared on the market in the 1980s. [1] Today, they are considered the most important piece of hotel technology. [2]

In hotels, a property management system, also known as a PMS, is a comprehensive software application used to cover objectives like coordinating the operational functions of the front office, sales and planning, reporting etc. The system automates hotel operations like guest bookings, guest details, online reservations, posting of charges, point of sale, telephone, accounts receivable, sales and marketing, events, food and beverage costing, materials management, HR and payroll, maintenance management, quality management and other amenities. [3] Hotel property management systems may have integrated or interface with third-party solutions like central reservation systems and revenue or yield management systems, online booking engine, back office, point of sale, door-locking, housekeeping optimization, pay-TV, energy management, payment card authorization and channel management systems. [4]

With the advancement of cloud computing property management systems for hotels expand their functionality towards new service areas like guest-facing features. These include online check-in, room service, in-room controls, guest-staff communication, virtual concierge and more. [5] These new functionalities are mainly used by guests on their own mobile devices or such provided by the hotel in lobbies and/or rooms.

A good PMS should give accurate and timely information on the basic key performance indicators of a hotel business such as average daily rate, RevPAR or occupancy rate and help the food and beverage management control the stocks in the store room and help deciding what to buy, how much and how often.

Local government

Property management systems are used in local government authorities, since these authorities hold and manage large property estates ranging from schools, leisure centres, social housing and parks not to mention investment properties such as shops and industrial estates - even pubs. All of these are necessary income earners for a local authority, so the efficiency gained through an automated, computerized system is essential.

Types of property management system

There are two broad types of property management system: cloud-based software and on-premises software. A cloud-based property management system does not require a software license for each device. It is not physically installed on every computer like a traditional software. Instead, a login ID and password is given once the software is purchased. The software can be accessed on any device with an active internet connection.

On-premises software is installed physically on every system with a unique software license. Data is stored in a remote server within the property. It is more expensive compared to cloud-based property management system.

Manufacturing and logistics industries

Property management systems are used to manage, control and account for personal property. Property is defined as the equipment, tooling and physical capital assets that are acquired and used to build, repair and maintain end item deliverables. Property Management involves the processes, systems and manpower required to manage the life cycle of all acquired property as defined above including Acquisition, Control, Accountability, Maintenance, Utilization, and disposition.

Commercial properties

Property Management systems allow local property managers and maintenance personnel to manage the day-to-day operations of their properties. Property maintenance for commercial properties includes major focus areas such as risk management, maintenance, communication, and tenant satisfaction. Usually a certain agreed percentage of the rent payment will be deducted on each rent payment collected by the property management as their service fee. There are also other ways of charging the property owners using the service but percentage collection is the common one. [6] [ citation needed ]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vacation rental</span> Furnished dwelling for short-term stays

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global distribution system</span> Type of computerised network system

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">On-premises software</span> Direct information article

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cloud computing</span> Form of shared Internet-based computing

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northwind (company)</span> Software company in Canada

Northwind is a privately held company that develops property management systems, as well as GDS/web based booking solutions for the hospitality industry. Maestro Enterprise Suite, the company's flagship product, includes a variety of modules which can be co-ordinated to comply with a hotel or hotel chain's requirements. Maestro is a multi-platform system with over 10,000 users. It allows optimized adaptability to single or multi-property businesses. Northwind's headquarters are in Markham, Ontario, with sales and support offices located worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ALICE (company)</span> Hospitality technology company

ALICE is a hospitality technology company based in New York City. The company produces an eponymous operations platform that allows hotel guests to use an app on their smartphones to request services from hotel management. Guests can use both the ALICE app and SMS on their smartphones to request services such as restaurant reservations, taxi accommodations, room service, maintenance work, and other items and services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clock Software</span> Software company developing hotel management systems

Clock Software is a private limited company developing software and hardware for the hospitality industry - property management system, restaurant point of sale, online booking engine, channel manager, self-service kiosk, mobile hotel app. Its headquarters is in London, UK.

SevenRooms is a New York City-based restaurant technology company. It develops a cloud-based data platform used by restaurants, hotels, and other venues to take reservations, manage bookings, and collect guest information. The company was founded in 2011.

References

  1. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4017990.html Hotels - A Brief History
  2. "2021 Survey of Hotel Executives". Property Management System Survey. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  3. "What is Hotel PMS? | Oracle India". www.oracle.com. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  4. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1036&context=hospitalityreview Front-of-the-House Computer Systems: A User's Guide, Steven V. Moll, Florida International University
  5. http://www.hospitalityupgrade.com/_magazine/magazine_Detail.asp?ID=686 Tablets – T-commerce: Innovative Guest-facing Applications by Michael L. Kasavana, Ph.D., NCE, CHTP
  6. "How PMS can help hoteliers to manage their properties?". www.oracle.com. Retrieved 2020-04-01.