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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 ]
Project management software (PMS) can help plan, organize, and manage resource tools and develop resource estimates. Depending on the sophistication of the software, it can manage estimation and planning, scheduling, cost control and budget management, resource allocation, collaboration software, communication, decision-making, quality management, time management and documentation or administration systems. Numerous PC and browser-based project management software and contract management software products and services are available.
The point of sale (POS) or point of purchase (POP) is the time and place at which a retail transaction is completed. At the point of sale, the merchant calculates the amount owed by the customer, indicates that amount, may prepare an invoice for the customer, and indicates the options for the customer to make payment. It is also the point at which a customer makes a payment to the merchant in exchange for goods or after provision of a service. After receiving payment, the merchant may issue a receipt, as proof of transaction, which is usually printed but can also be dispensed with or sent electronically.
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a collection of physical, psychological and emotional symptoms related to a woman's menstrual cycle.
Computer reservation systems, or central reservation systems (CRS), are computerized systems used to store and retrieve information and conduct transactions related to air travel, hotels, car rental, or other activities. Originally designed and operated by airlines, CRSs were later extended for use by travel agencies, and global distribution systems (GDSs) to book and sell tickets for multiple airlines. Most airlines have outsourced their CRSs to GDS companies, which also enable consumer access through Internet gateways. Modern GDSs typically also allow users to book hotel rooms, rental cars, airline tickets as well as other activities and tours. They also provide access to railway reservations and bus reservations in some markets, although these are not always integrated with the main system. These are also used to relay computerized information for users in the hotel industry, making reservation and ensuring that the hotel is not overbooked.
Property management is the operation, control, maintenance, and oversight of real estate and physical property. This can include residential, commercial, and land real estate. Management indicates the need for real estate to be cared for and monitored, with accountability for and attention to its useful life and condition. This is much akin to the role of management in any business.
A vacation rental is the renting out of a furnished apartment, house, or professionally managed resort-condominium complex on a temporary basis to tourists as an alternative to a hotel. The term vacation rental is mainly used in the US. Other terms used are self-catering rental, holiday home, holiday let, cottage holiday and gite.
Oracle Applications comprise the applications software or business software of the Oracle Corporation both in the cloud and on-premises. The term refers to the non-database and non-middleware parts. The suite of applications includes enterprise resource planning, enterprise performance management, supply chain & manufacturing, human capital management, and advertising and customer experience.
Micros Systems, Inc., was an American computer company who manufactured hardware and developed software and services for the restaurant point of sale, hotel, hospitality, sports and entertainment venues, casinos, cruise lines, specialty retail markets and other similar markets. Analyst estimates cited in 2003 put Micros' market share at about 35% of the restaurant point-of-sale business. Independently active from 1978 to 2014, Micros is now owned by Oracle Corporation and renamed Oracle Food and Beverage and Oracle Hospitality. Micros was headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, United States, and the current business unit it still based there.
Appointment scheduling software or meeting scheduling tools allows businesses and professionals to manage appointments and bookings. This type of software is also known as appointment booking software and online booking software.
Amadeus IT Group, S.A. is a major Spanish multinational technology company that provides software solutions for the global travel and tourism industry. It is the world's leading provider of travel technology that focus on developing software for airlines, hotels, travel agencies, and other travel-related businesses to enhance their operations and customer experiences.
The Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) designs, develops, implements and maintains most of the important information systems of Indian Railways. It is under the ownership of Government of India and administrative control of the Ministry of Railways. It is located in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi. CRIS was established in 1986.
A global distribution system (GDS) is a computerised network system owned or operated by a company that enables transactions between travel industry service providers, mainly airlines, hotels, car rental companies, and travel agencies. The GDS mainly uses real-time inventory from the service providers. Travel agencies traditionally relied on GDS for services, products and rates in order to provide travel-related services to the end consumers. Thus, a GDS can link services, rates and bookings consolidating products and services across all three travel sectors: i.e., airline reservations, hotel reservations, car rentals.
On-premises software is installed and runs on computers on the premises of the person or organization using the software, rather than at a remote facility such as a server farm or cloud. On-premises software is sometimes referred to as "shrinkwrap" software, and off-premises software is commonly called "software as a service" ("SaaS") or "cloud computing".
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is a cloud computing service model by means of which computing resources are supplied by a cloud services provider. The IaaS vendor provides the storage, network, servers, and virtualization. This service enables users to free themselves from maintaining an on-premises data center. The IaaS provider is hosting these resources in either the public cloud, the private cloud, or the hybrid cloud.
John Keells IT, also known as JKIT formerly John Keells Computer Services is a software company that is developing software primarily for the aviation and leisure industries. It is headquartered in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It also operates Offshore Development Centers (ODCs) in Dubai and Scandinavia.
Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage and computing power, without direct active management by the user. Large clouds often have functions distributed over multiple locations, each of which is a data center. Cloud computing relies on sharing of resources to achieve coherence and typically uses a pay-as-you-go model, which can help in reducing capital expenses but may also lead to unexpected operating expenses for users.
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.
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.
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.