Why Hotels Need a Cloud-Based Property Management System?

Due to the great importance of PMS in hospitality industry, this software is widely used by global hotel and resort chains, vacation rentals, and other accommodations.   

The difference between the local PMS used earlier and the cloud-based systems replacing it due to its drawbacks. 

What is the difference between local PMS and cloud-based PMS?

Below are the differences between a local PMS and a cloud-based PMS

Now that we know the differences between on-premises or local PMS and modern cloud-based property management systems, let’s look at the benefits of the latter over the former. 

What are the benefits of a cloud-based hotel property management system?

Hotel property management systems (PMS) allow hoteliers to manage their property efficiently from a centralized system anytime and from anywhere. By streamlining day-to-day tasks, hotels achieve operational efficiencies, reduce costs, boost revenue, and enhance guest experience.   

And cloud-based property management systems allow hotels to achieve it all through secure, reliable, and low-maintenance software.   

A hotelier manages an entire property, and if required, multiple properties from a single dashboard and any part of the world with a reliable internet connection, making this software a revolutionary product for the hospitality industry.

Let’s learn about the benefits of a cloud-based property management system:  

1. Cost and time savings 

Cloud-based property management systems usually come with a subscription pricing model with a monthly, quarterly, or yearly cycle. There is no need to pay large sums of money as upfront costs for hardware, software, installation, customizations, etc.   

There is also no need to acquire licenses for each machine and user, to cover a recurring maintenance fee that goes into support and upgrades and to make additional security provisions.   

This makes a cloud-based system a cost-effective option and is much faster to deploy in comparison to local PMS which could take months to set up with installation of complex systems on-site and require huge upfront costs.   

Thus, a cloud-based property management system comes at lower operational costs, capital expenditure, IT spending, and facilitates quicker implementation, and generates increased revenue.   

2. Enhanced data security

A cloud-based property management system allows you remote access which is only possible because the data is stored not on-premises but at the vendor’s location or multiple data centers. This makes data and its security, the responsibility of the vendor and not the property.   

Moreover, since data is hosted in multiple, closed-off data centers or locations, even if there is an incident in one of the centers, hotel data and system would still be safe and secure.   

While with the local PMS, a hotel is responsible for data security with all the systems and software installed on-premises. If the server room could be physically broken into or could catch fire, both the hotel and guests stand to lose.  

Thus, investments in a cloud-based PMS do not only mean operational efficiency and revenue optimization but also ensure that you have a secure IT infrastructure without making huge investments in it.   

Cloud-based vendors also provide some basic security features including access controls, encryption, data backup, compliance, etc.  

Furthermore, certain cloud-based PMS also offer advanced security features such as two-factor authentication, encrypting the data in transit, etc.  

3. Latest software and support

On-premises systems usually have longer and lengthy development cycles in comparison to cloud-based systems and thus require costlier upgrades to stay updated. Furthermore, hotels need to update it on every individual machine on which the software is being used.   

However, with a cloud-based property management system, hotels are always leveraging the latest version of the software. The updates are frequent, deployed instantly, and included in the subscription price or are free.  

The responsibility of maintaining and updating the system lies with the vendor. To continue in the business, they ensure that their clients are getting the latest and most advanced features and functionalities.   

4. Easier integration with other systems

With cloud-based property management systems, integration with legacy or other hotel systems and software such as channel manager, revenue manager, etc., is easier in comparison to local hotel PMS. It is one of the biggest cloud PMS benefits.  

Hotel staff could access all the relevant data. Insights and analytics, from a centralized dashboard, ensuring better connectivity and more coordination between different departments and key hotel systems.   

With on-premises, PMS integration with already existing hotel systems is a long, time-consuming, and tiring process. With a cloud-based hotel PMS, you can integrate with external services to boost bookings and profitability as well as manage back-office operations such as invoicing and payroll efficiently.  

Moreover, easy integration of legacy and third-party systems with a cloud-based hotel PMS also saves hotels the time and cost to install additional hardware or hire extra IT staff for different systems, in case of incompatibility.   

5. Improved connectivity, and efficiency

Since a cloud-based property management system offers effortless and seamless integration with other key hotel systems and tools such as channel manager, CRM, RMS, etc., it facilitates more operational connectivity and efficiency.  

Hoteliers can access guest data, booking and reservation information, and other relevant business data, all updated in real time on a centralized platform, from any device and location. This allows for quick yet informed decisions and streamlined processes resulting in efficient actions.   

With a cloud-based hotel PMS, hotel operations for multiple properties could be seamlessly managed with just a few clicks on a centralized dashboard, ensuring greater coordination and efficiency across all properties.   

6. Greater scalability 

On-premises or local PMS is not an easily scalable technology. To scale up, a hotel must invest in additional hardware, servers, licenses, etc., incur the set-up costs, and might have to hire extra IT staff to manage that.

However, with a cloud-based property management system, hotels can expand their business or operations without worrying about associated infrastructure costs or hiring more trained IT staff or teams.

Even if a hotel wants to scale down, the flexibility of a cloud-based hotel property management system allows you to do that with ease. This technology allows you to employ the right IT resources and save on costs, times of growth as well as low seasons.    

7. More user-friendly

Cloud-based property management systems are easier to use as hotel management can be done through a preferred device. Moreover, the training process too does not require long dedicated hours or investments. The systems are designed to deliver easy and quick performance amidst all the hotel chaos.   

In case of any issue or problem with the software, a hotel with a cloud-based hotel PMS does not have to worry as the source code for the entire program lies on the cloud, and the trained support staff can look into the issue and fix it remotely. This is not the case with an on-premises or local PMS that involves a visit by an IT staff personnel to solve an issue.   

Furthermore, the cloud-based software is frequently updated ensuring that all the bugs are fixed, and features and functionalities are made better for higher efficiency and fewer issues.   

With so many benefits, it comes as no surprise that the future of hotel pms seems so promising!

How to choose the right cloud PMS for your Hotel?

Since hotel property management software in India and abroad are highly beneficial for the hospitality industry, we recommend you choose the most suitable cloud-based PMS for your unique hotel requirements.

One cloud-based property management system that can cater to all your unique needs is BOTSHOT’S PredictoPMS.

This AI-powered smart hotel management system offers:

• Easy integration with other hotel systems such as channel manager, RMS, etc.  
• Multi-property management capabilities.  
• Omni-channel support such as WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.  
• Data security through compliance with GDPR and ISO 27001 regulations.   

...and much more.

So, increase your hotel revenue by 73% and enhance your guest experience by 2X with PredictoPMS!  

Schedule a demo today!