How to choose the right software for your hotel?
The choice of scheduling software is very important for those working in the hospitality industry. In fact, this tool should be able to facilitate all your tasks : reservations, availability, receipts, team management, invoicing, customer relations, etc. What are the benefits of using hotel management software? How to find the tool you need? Read this article to learn more about it.
Contents
What is Hotel Scheduling Software?
A hotel scheduling software refers to a tool that can help you manage:
- reservations ;
- arrivals and departures;
- the bills ;
- payments.
The features offered vary from one software to another. Some manage to record:
- customer preferences;
- information about the structure (opening hours, items available in each room, etc.).
Why use hotel management software?
Here are the benefits of using hotel scheduling software:
Win time
Hotel management software drastically reduces the time you spend on administrative tasks. Actually, it is the tool that does most of the work : revenue management, reception, housekeeping, etc. This gives you the opportunity to focus more on your core business.
Increase your online visibility
Hotel management software gives you the opportunity optimize your online presence. In fact, you have the option of integrating a booking engine and chatbots on your website. The goal being to able to accept online reservations. This technique improves customer engagement and trust. It also encourages them to book directly.
Set up a sales management system
Most hotel scheduling software has pricing tools and other features that can help you maximize your revenue.
Manage distribution channels
Hotel software can be connected to a channel manager. This allows you to advertise and promote your business.
Increase reservations
All the features offered by the tool aim to increase the total number of reservations.
Detailed result
Hotel management, sales, and finance teams can see well-detailed reports. You can use them to make reliable decisions to move your structure forward.
Avoid mistakes
Use of hotel management software limits human error such as double bookings and overbookings.
Analyze your customer database
You can easily spot your potential customers by looking at demographics such as gender, age, nationality, etc. Use this information to set up a strategy marketing effective.
Which hotel management software to choose?
Check the following settings before making your choice:
Fonctionnalities
The first thing to consider is probably the features offered by the hotel management software. The most important are:
- schedule management: room availability, booking, etc. ;
- reservations: allocation of rooms, deposit request, confirmation email, etc. ;
- invoicing: choose software that can support seasonal rates as well as the calculation of the tourist tax;
- the recovery of additional service notes (restaurant tickets for example);
- carrying out analyzes and reports;
- customer follow-up: automatic sending of e-mails, etc.
Ergonomics
Apart from the features offered, it is advisable to favor an ergonomic hotel management software. In other words, the manipulation of the tool must be within everyone’s reach, from the most novice to the most experienced. Also rate its reliability and speed of execution.
