WuBook_logo.svg

Official blog

Search

Software needed to manage a hotel well: here are the ones you can’t go without

Contents

Dear WuBookers, for some time now, the work of hoteliers and property managers has evolved, integrating various technological tools that support daily and long-term operations. In this article, we examine what software is indispensable for managing a hotel (or any other accommodation facility) and for what purposes it can be used.

1. The PMS, the operational brain of the facility

Fundamental to the management of hotels, B&Bs and vacation rentals, the PMS (an acronym for Property Management System) allows you to organize and govern all processes within the facility. For example, Zak – WuBook’s hotel PMS – allows you to set prices and rates for each type of accommodation, including any seasonal variations and cancellation conditions. The planner of reservations is always accessible and editable: it is possible to assign rooms other than those automatically assigned by the system at the time of booking, move guests, open or close rooms, without limits.

Also unlimited is the database of customers, who can check in and pay online. Specific statistics and reports also help keep track of the property’s performance and improve revenue.

Not only that, through Zak an hotelier can:

  • manage direct sales, through connection with specific software;
  • receive indirect reservations and take action on their offers in distribution channels automatically, through integration with a channel manager;
  • also coordinate internal teams, sending specific communications related to, for example, room cleaning service;
  • carry out the reports and statistical operations required by territorial authorities.

In summary, the hotel PMS is the operational brain of the facility: by centralizing activity in a single portal, it allows for a complete and efficient overview and management.

2. Booking Engine (and site) for direct bookings.

Setting rates and prices is not the same as selling – that’s why you need to include in your software equipment also a direct booking system, i.e., a booking engine. Let us always take WuBook as an example to better understand this and how it works. Through Zak’s Booking Engine, potential guests can access the property’s website and book their accommodation without going through third-party sites or OTAs. A solution that eases the process for the buyer and guarantees the hotelier earnings without intermediation costs.

In fact, the guest views only the available rooms for the chosen dates with their restrictions and, in a few steps, can finalize their reservation. On the other hand, the hotelier views updates directly on the reservation calendar: if Booking Engine and PMS are connected, information about pricing and availability are sent and received automatically.

Zak’s Booking Engine is thus a true commodity that can be added to the hotel’s website or that can be integrated within the website built through Zak itself. Indeed, with the Website Creator it is possible to build a customized website in no time and link it to the sales software.

3. The Estimate Engine to manage personalized offers

The Booking Engine is not the only system for obtaining direct reservations. In fact, it is possible that some guests have special needs or prefer to request an ad-hoc offer instead of going through the immediate purchase. In this case, the hotelier can resort to special tools for estimate formulation.

Speaking of Zak, it’s the Estimator for accommodation facilities, a specific module that can be integrated with the PMS that allows you to create and send customized quotes in just a few clicks.

No matter where the requests come from (whether from the reservation system or from the site), through the Estimator it is possible to send custom offers, even directly from the reservation planning. Thus, in addition to managing them nimbly, you always have an eye on the occupancy overview.

4. Channel manager for selling on OTAs

OTAs are an indispensable sales channel for many businesses, but their management can prove quite complicated if done manually. Updating rates and availability by hand can in fact lead to errors that can then result in missed opportunities or customer disservices (including the dreaded overbooking).

To avoid this, a channel manager must also be included among the hotel management software.

Zak’s Channel Manager, for example, records and sends real-time inventory data from the PMS to the OTAs and vice versa: in this way, it ensures that both systems are always synchronized and that there are no discrepancies in the offer. In addition, through Zak, it is possible to set different prices depending on the distribution platform, customizing the price list depending on the commission costs, the sales market, the positioning of the facility, and everything else that contributes to the facility’s revenue.

5. RMS: the system that maximizes revenue

Speaking of revenue, the Revenue Management System (or RMS) is a software that helps dynamically and automatically set room rates by predicting demand trends. Based on sales and market data, the RMS suggests the best rate schedule to maximize hotel revenue.

Obviously, a lot depends on the pricing strategy and, in general, on the revenue goals to be achieved in the long run.

However, not all realities have the features – organizational or structural – to take full advantage of this tool and, at first, a yield management system, i.e., a software that dynamically modifies prices based on flexible rules, depending on the speed of sales and other parameters, may be sufficient.

As an all-in-one PMS, Zak contemplates both possibilities: it is compatible with the industry’s leading RMSs and already includes an advanced Yield management system within it.   

6. Housekeeping management: impeccable order and cleanliness

Housekeeping management refers to the maintenance of the hotel, from the routine cleaning of the rooms and common areas, to the preparation of the rooms, to any extraordinary interventions (minor malfunctions or repairs). This is an essential activity, which is closely related to the flow of arrivals and departures, and must be coordinated to perfection.

For this there are dedicated software programs, which allow the Housekeeping Manager to manage the assigned staff and directly communicate any changes to the daily schedule. Usually these programs can be integrated with the PMS but, alternatively, it is possible to choose a management software that already has the basic functionality within it, such as WuBook’s Zak.

7. Food & beverage: software to manage the in-house restaurant.

Housekeeping is not the only service that needs timely and efficient coordination. If the hotel has a bar area or an in-house restaurant, in fact, it is important that this is also managed masterfully.

There are several external solutions, or – once again – one can turn to Zak of WuBook. With the module dedicated to Restaurant Management, the hotelier can:

  • generate a digital menu, which can also be printed and accessed via QR code;
  • send the order to the kitchen and cashier, where it can be attached to the room bill if the customer is also a guest of the establishment;
  • split the bill quickly according to each person’s order or by number of people;
  • add restaurant-related extra consumptions (such as drinks and dishes) directly to the room reservation, and then have a single bill.

Simply put, with Zak it is possible to provide for all major needs in the food & beverage area without activating additional, potentially burdensome tools.  

Other software and features to consider

The ones seen so far are the basic software that each establishment should evaluate from its own characteristics. However, they are not the only ones, and much depends on the specifics of each hotel, B&B or vacation home.

For example, for some it might be interesting (or necessary) to add home automation systems to the list, which allow remote management of the apartment, or solutions for automatic opening and closing of rooms.

While these are external applications, it is a good idea to ensure that they are also compatible with the PMS, to avoid having to constantly switch from one platform to another.

Staying on the subject of PMS, in addition to what we have already seen, it is also advisable to check for:

  • multi-currency payment systems and compliant with the security and data protection protocols in force in the relevant territory;
  • specific functionality for the creation and transmission of institutional reports required by local departments for statistical or control purposes;
  • detailed statistics and data analysis for internal reporting, aimed at monitoring trends and forecasting revenue;
  • automatic messages and requests for reviews: an important feature to speed up internal procedures and maintain contact with customers, especially satisfied ones!!!
  • area for creating electronic invoices (where applicable, for example, in Italy) and for collecting any tourist taxes.

All these aspects contribute to making the management of an accommodation facility truly optimal, both for the hotelier and for the customer.

We at WuBook know this very well, which is why we have considered them all within our PMS.

About WuBook:

We help customers to have easy access to the best technologies in the tourism industry to grow their business.
PMS – CHANNEL MANAGER – BOOKING ENGINE for Hotel, B&B, Hostels and Vacation rentals.
Find out more.

Categories: