Deeper data integration consolidates guest reservations and reduces administration while driving revenue and profit optimisation for hotels.
The last two decades have been a technological headache for the hotel industry. Rapid evolution and new solutions has meant central systems have struggled to keep up.
While hotel staff have been dealing with the fallout of misaligned data and unconnected systems requiring constant manual administrative intervention, guests have been getting riled trying to book their perfect stays.
Fortunately, we’re at a turning point between disparate technologies and fully integrated systems. The momentum is building as tech companies open their platforms for accessible data exchange through smart APIs.
Addressing the digital experience is essential for long-term success. Developing a ‘Purchasing Experience’ whereby guests can book a multitude of experiences seamlessly, and operationally, we breakdown the siloed walls in favour of integrated technology to support hotel teams.
A booking overhaul
By drawing on well-tested and adopted ecommerce retailing practices hotels can improve the guest journey and operations overnight.
We must remember, as travellers - once we’ve determined our preferred hotel - we expect the booking to be quick, easy, and seamless. But, how enamoured are you by hotel booking systems? When have you been able to check live availability of spa and golf, confirming your reservation while simultaneously making a room booking - without having to use a totally separate booking system or tab?
First impressions count. You wouldn’t give guests that experience onsite - so why settle for a disjointed, fragmented digital experience
Monetising extras easily
The industry focus on Total RevPAR rather than purely room price or occupancy, paired with the need to deliver more complete experiences to guests, reinforces the need for hotels to surface more ancillary products and services from the beginning of the guest journey.
Therefore a new category of software is enabling hotels to manage and monetise extras which drive revenue and empower guests to design their own itineraries. Experience Management Systems (EMS), like a Property Management System (PMS), handle non-room bookings by enabling hotels to sell their experienced-based inventory.
In a recent article on HospitalityNet, Jason Shames, Adjunct Professor at New York University (NYU) and CEO and Co-Founder at Skipper and Laura Calin VP, Strategy and Solutions Management at Oracle Hospitality said “Guests today expect a one-stop-shop - of being able to use a single check-out basket to book everything in one go for their trip, and hoteliers expect little different. A smart booking engine should be able to sell all inventory available through the hotel whether that’s room, spa, golf/ski, retail, event space, activities, etc. or even third party options including curated local food, museums, bike hire and experiences [...]which connects to the operational systems to support each line of business, not only drives revenue but massively reduces administration and provides huge operational efficiencies. ”
Consolidating data for the revenue revolution
The disparate siloed systems do not help hotels be more efficient nor understand their guests better. In fact 83% of hoteliers are struggling to manage data fragmentation which costs businesses an estimated $1.1 trillion annually, according to McKinsey, with 76% saying this impacts their ability to make sound business decisions.
Without the right technology to capture this commercial opportunity, hoteliers are leaving revenue on the table. An UrVenue survey found 85% of guests would book additional experiences in advance if they could do it all in one place.
Integrating an EMS to a hotel’s PMS connects the dots for the guest. Bringing all products and services harmoniously together, into one single shopping transaction. After all, the experience is everything
Leveraging hotel retail technology
Leading hospitality school EHL recently shared that “Luxury hotels can differentiate themselves by providing exceptional and personalised service, creating unique experiences, and offering exclusive amenities that are not available elsewhere. By providing unparalleled service and creating memories that guests will cherish, luxury hotels can establish themselves as truly exclusive and rare.”
The democratisation of technology means consumers expect to make instant purchases, in seamless user-friendly transactions.
When an EMS and PMS are integrated, a guest books their hotel stay as they would shop any other ecommerce experience: live availability and pricing data for rooms, spa days, treatments and rate plans are retrieved directly from the PMS, reducing the need of a third party booking engine.
Convergence of PMS and EMS
Once the guest has shaped their itinerary in a multiproduct single shopping basket, the direct integration adds all extras and package elements to their reservation in the PMS.
At checkout, guest details are checked against existing PMS contacts, matched to an existing profile (for repeat guests), connecting and consolidating bookings - giving a single, unified view and improved guest intelligence. Through the PMS-EMS integration, hotel staff can search for guest records in either system and import for future reference, with systems updated concurrently.
Payment is an essential aspect of fulfilling the ecommerce lifecycle experience for guests. With fully integrated payment screens where all payment methods are mapped between systems to provide complete transparency on transactions. The evolution of data security means hotels can keep records of guest payment options through tokenized card details reducing the amount of manual administration required throughout the guests stay.
With all scheduled activities and items recorded in the Activity Schedule in the PMS, hotel staff can provide service a cut above the rest by confirming the guest’s itinerary on arrival. By ensuring that all bookings are connected between integrated systems, any changes or cancellations are automatically updated across all platforms in real-time to avoid any discrepancies
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