Top Hotel Technology Integrations That Drive Modern Hoteliering

After all the COVID and lockdown episodes, all I wanted was to take a break and relax. And finally, I took a trip to Mussoorie, a wonderful hill station in Uttarakhand, India. Situated at the foothills of the Himalayas, 2005 meters above sea level, it is also known as the Queen of the Hills. 

This trip was undoubtedly an amazing experience.

But there was one more element that actually made my trip memorable. The property I was staying in! And I really want to share my experience.  

My Experience At The Hotel

(No! This is not a sponsored post and I am not an “Influencer”)

For someone who has been writing about the hospitality industry for so long, I never thought any hotel would deploy some new-age tech. But this hotel proved me wrong.

I was surprised to see how they had seamlessly turned their entire process contactless.

They had multiple kiosks placed in their waiting area for check-in. And once that was done, I received a virtual key on my phone to enter my room.

Later in the evening, when I wanted to order something, I did it right from the tablet they kept in the room. I could also use the mobile app for the same.

The more I explored everything, the more curious it made me about how they did it.

On top of that, I was happy to see that what I write in my blogs about hotel tech is happening in reality.

And guess what? I couldn’t stop talking to the manager of the hotel who explained everything to me in depth. Turns out, it was not just the contactless aspect; rather, they had a whole bunch of technologies integrated into their hotel operations.

I could witness how happy he and everyone else in the hotel were with all the experiences.

I even overheard people praising!

So, as soon as I was back home, I started writing this blog to share whatever I had learnt. I am pretty sure, you all hoteliers are going to love it.

What Is Hotel Technology Integration?

Integration in hotel technology is nothing but connecting data, applications, APIs, and devices to the existing technology stack.

Integrations not only connect, but also add value to the existing framework. They make the hotel technology more efficient, productive, and agile with the new capabilities. 

However, there’s a catch. 

While I was having a conversation with the manager, he mentioned “hotels need a centralized system to connect with other applications.” And this is where a hotel PMS comes into play. 

You Need A Hotel PMS For Your Tech Integrations

There was a time when hotels used to manage their front-office tasks on excel sheets. But the technology boom introduced them to the concept of hotel property management system (PMS).

Today, managing tasks like reservation, check-in/check-out, room assignment, room rates, billing, etc. are no more tiresome or inefficient.

It’s not just that. A hotel PMS also plays a role in integrating different technologies. 

It is the epicentre of all operations, departments, data and more. And when other systems are connected to a PMS, it makes all the systems work together. 

Here’s an example of integration: With a restaurant management system integrated into your PMS, you can sell directly to the guests, transfer the order to the room, or add it to the final bill. On top of that, you can also manage your POS inventory, create customized packages, offer discounts and more. All of these from one single dashboard and it works in complete sync with your PMS.

It’s just like the quote:

“When there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.”

Mattie Stepanek

Why Do Hotels Need Integrations?

“The hospitality industry nowadays is really active in deploying technology into its infrastructure. And tech-driven hotels are witnessing great improvements in their operations and revenue,” said the manager. 

Hotel technology integration provides you with additional features on your existing system. You do not need to migrate or have a completely different tool.

Here are some of the benefits of hotel technology integration:

1. Synchronize the entire hotel data and departmental operations
2. Smoothen the reservation processes from different sources
3. Save time, money, and efforts behind working on disparate systems
4. Make your hotel run on the latest technologies, all the time. 
5. Let you build an extensive guest database and impart a better experience
6. Enhance your hotel staff productivity

In a nutshell, it is imperative that your hotel’s frontdesk is connected in real-time with other segments. And integrations of different systems with your hotel PMS ensures the same.

Top Hotel Technology Integration

When he was explaining the benefits of integrating different applications for different departments and tasks, I asked him what all integrations a hotel must consider. 

He said that it completely depends on the hotel. 

For example, not every hotel would want to have an integrated system for managing their payroll. They might have a dedicated software for that and are happy with it. 

So, what should hotels do? 

To help you decide on the ones you need, he helped me create a list of hospitality technology integrations, categorized into two sections based on their significance.

Must-Have Hotel Technology Integrations

These are the integrations that cover a hotel’s most active or busy departments. Simplifying the operations of these departments can benefit in the long run.

#1 Financial accounting system

The financial accounting department of a hotel needs to keep a track of all the transactions to make better decisions. However, the tasks aren’t simple as it involves a lot of math and data.

With an integrated accounting system, the process gets simpler.

As the system is connected to the hotel PMS, all the sales and purchase data (such as the number of rooms sold, cancelled reservations, etc.) gets fed into the accounting system directly. Meaning, you do not have to spend time switching between your PMS and accounting system.

#2 Point-of-Sale (POS) system

A hotel business also includes multiple point-of-sale (POS) outlets such as spa, restaurant, bar etc. And there are times when transactions from these outlets need to be transferred to the frontdesk for generating the final bill.

With a POS system integrated into your hotel PMS, this void can be filled. Every transaction can be tracked and added to the bill.

Furthermore, this also presents you the following benefits:

• You can better organize and analyze reports
• Create attractive deals
• Sell directly to guests
• Transfer POS bills to room 
• Better manage your POS inventory
• And more…

#3 Housekeeping module

The prime purpose of an integrated housekeeping module is to streamline the tasks by bridging the communication gap.

A connected housekeeping tool works in complete sync with hotel PMS or frontdesk.

For example: Every time someone checks out of your hotel, the room automatically gets allotted to the housekeeping department for cleaning. And once the cleaning is done, the department marks it clean or ready to rent.

That’s not all. You can also keep track and handle all the other housekeeping aspects such as inspection, maintenance, minibars etc.

And all of it from one single system.

#4 Channel Manager

When you sell rooms on multiple booking channels, you always need to keep an eye on your inventory. However, with a channel manager, you can manage your availability better.

A channel manager integrated with your hotel PMS allows you to update your room inventory, rates, and packages in real-time, helping you avoid issues like double booking and rate disparity. 

For example: Every time a room gets booked on an OTA, you don’t have to go to other OTAs and your PMS to update your inventory. Likewise, when you have to update your rates, you can do it right from your system and it will automatically be updated on all the channels.

A channel manager integration makes your room distribution really easy and error-free.

#5 Booking Engine

A booking engine is your key to commission-free, direct bookings. However, not every hotel believes in its integration. 

Connecting a booking engine to your website and social media pages makes the process of direct bookings smooth. Whenever you drive a booking from these sources, you don’t have to switch to your PMS and update the inventory. It all gets done automatically in real-time.

On top of that, it is mobile-friendly and allows people to book with your hotel from their smartphone or tablet.

#6 Contactless Hospitality

Contactless hospitality solutions are on the rise now. 

Be it a mobile app or kiosk, your guests can check-in and check-out of your hotel sans any human involvement. Not to mention, many contactless solutions come with OCR and thermal scanners which make the process of gathering guest details much simpler.

But what’s with the integration?

Let me explain with an example: A guest walks into your hotel and checks himself in with a kiosk. What happens here is, when he scans his ID and body temperature, the system records all the details and updates it in your hotel PMS. 

Simply put, when the contactless solution is integrated into your existing system, the process of capturing data gets automated.

#7 Payment Gateway

Payment gateways are a lifesaver. When you have a payment gateway integrated with your hotel PMS, you can significantly speed up your check-in/check-out and billing processes.

This integration with a PMS, eliminates the need to manually process card payments on a device. Also, payments and authorizations can be automated and securely managed right from the hotel PMS.

Not to mention, most of the payment gateway integrations allow you to save card numbers in an encrypted format. This way, you can offer auto-pay to your guests and charge a fee directly from their cards (note: with their consent).

#8 Customer relationship management (CRM) system

To run effective marketing campaigns, hotels must have a good number of guests’ data. 

When you have a CRM integrated with your hotel PMS, the flow of data becomes smooth. Every guest’s detail that gets registered in the PMS also gets fed into the CRM. 

An integrated CRM provides a complete automated experience that eliminates the chances of any discrepancy.

#9 Revenue management tool

Revenue management plays a vital role in your hotel’s overall revenue. But it involves complex math and there is a scope of error if the right set of data isn’t available.

When you have an integrated revenue management system, it can acquire data directly from your PMS and uses its own algorithms to help you make better decisions for your hotel room pricing.

#10 Review management tool

A lot of people read reviews and decide whether to book with your hotel.

A review management system connected with the PMS can not only automate your review collection process, but also help you track, monitor and respond to those reviews.

For example: Whenever a guest checks out, s/he will receive an email requesting them to drop a feedback/review for your hotel. You can read, respond, and analyze all of your reviews right from your hotel PMS.

That’s not all. Many review/reputation management systems are equipped with sentiment analysis. And that helps you better understand your guests’ intentions.

Nice-to-Have Hotel Technology Integrations

This is a list of the integrations that aren’t mandatory (again, depends on your hotel), but having them will definitely give you a competitive edge. 

Just like the ‘Must-Haves’, these also connect with your hotel PMS and enable you to perform and manage tasks from one single dashboard, making communication between other systems easier.

1. A marketing automation tool for strategizing and sending out relevant content to all your potential and existing guests.
2. A loyalty program system to retain guests and improve relationships with them.
3. A security management system to manage all your security devices from one single dashboard.
4. An HR & payroll system to streamline employee management and their attendance, salaries and leaves. 
5. A comprehensive Wi-Fi management software to manage and offer internet access for guests with fair distribution.

Why Do Hotels Overlook These Integrations?

I was amazed at all the information he provided during the conversation. And I wanted to know why hotels are still skeptical about tech integration. They clearly deliver so much value. 

And this is what he pointed:

• First and foremost, many hotels rely on the traditional management system to streamline their operations. And that nullifies the scope of integrating with other technologies.
• Hotels lack knowledge about tech integrations. They don’t know how these systems work and how they can be connected with their existing infrastructure.
• Many hotels get overwhelmed with the idea of integrating technologies for different operations. They feel it would be too much to handle. 
• Lastly, the notion that it would increase their costs is another reason hotels completely overlook tech integrations. But, that’s not true when compared to having individual systems for all departments.

“These are just some general reasons which impact a hotelier’s thoughts and decisions about integrations. However, they may vary depending on the property and its type,” said the manager.

It’s time hotels must accept the fact that technology is going to make hoteliering easy, not complicate it. And they must take that into account.

The Role of SaaS Providers

All these talks about hotel technology and integration don’t just end here. 

We have also talked about the role of SaaS providers in the hotel technology domain. 

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) vendors came as a blessing for the hotel industry. They enabled hotels to automate their end-to-end operations with cloud technology. Hoteliers today don’t have to have an on-premise system to manage their operations, they can do it from anywhere, anytime. 

Considering all the benefits, the industry is now significantly doubling down on cloud-based systems over in-house enterprise software.

That’s not all. Soon, SaaS vendors realized that hotels would also need systems that are flexible and scalable. So, they started offering both individual integrations as well as technology bundles for all hoteliering needs.

It changed a lot of things in the hospitality industry and it’s all for the betterment.  

How to Find the Right Vendor for Your Hotel Technology Integrations?

After all the discussion about hotel PMS, integrations, and SaaS, I asked: “But how can a hotel choose the right vendor?” 

And he put it down in an extremely easy manner. A hotel must consider asking certain questions before deciding on a SaaS provider. 

According to the hotel manager, here are the questions to ask:

• What are the needs and requirements of your hotel?
• What is your budget?
• Do you have a list of vendors to choose from?
• Does the vendor provide cloud-based PMS?
• Do they provide 24/7 support?
• How are they going to train you on the system?
• What all integrations do they offer? And what all extra you can add?
• What all departments can you manage?
• What are the key features of the system?
• Is it cost-effective?
• How is it going to boost your occupancy and revenue?
• How easy is it to acquire and transfer data?
• Is it secure enough for the amount of data you have?
• How is the migration process?

If you get the answers for these, you are almost ready to decide.

How Open API Makes Integration Easy?

While I have covered almost all the topics regarding integrations, how could I miss out on Open API?

Open API is another aspect that plays a vital role in a hotel’s technology framework. 

“The hotel industry often faces obstacles related to data management. It ultimately takes a toll on customer experience and staff productivity. And Open API solves this problem,” the manager said. 

If you haven’t heard about open API, it’s an application programming interface that is publicly available with access to a proprietary software application. 

In terms of hotel software integrations, Open API allows hoteliers to request suitable APIs and have their systems integrated with the hospitality solutions. It helps them better manage and share data, and improve communication between applications from other departments.

Furthermore, hoteliers will also be able to build their own customized tech stack based on their requirements.

Integrations at present are one of the most important aspects of a hotel technology stack. And with Open API, the benefits just get better — well-connected systems, streamlined operations, and better guest experience.