WTM 2016: Non-cloud hotel property management systems ‘are the living dead’

Growing adoption of technology by independent hotels is turning traditional server-based, non-cloud hotel Property Management Systems into the “living dead” whose days are numbered. Technology provider Hotelogix said hoteliers of all sizes are having to keep pace with the larger chains as customer expectations rise in tandem with technological advances. This is seeing smaller independent … Continue reading WTM 2016: Non-cloud hotel property management systems ‘are the living dead’

Growing adoption of technology by independent hotels is turning traditional server-based, non-cloud hotel Property Management Systems into the “living dead” whose days are numbered.

Technology provider Hotelogix said hoteliers of all sizes are having to keep pace with the larger chains as customer expectations rise in tandem with technological advances.

This is seeing smaller independent hotel chains adopt central technology platforms capable of managing multiple aspects of running properties from guest check-in to marketing and pricing.

Aditya Sanghi, Hotelogix co-founder and chief executive, said: “Non-cloud days are gone. Their death was about two years ago so those that are still around are like the living dead.

“The whole paradigm of selecting a PMS has changed. It used to be a way you managed your property. Now it’s being used as a way that you can grow your business.

“A PMS needs to collaborate with third party internet services to deliver things like review collection and online distribution for the hotel. Non-cloud PMSs were not built for that.

“Adoption of technology is no longer a luxury for hoteliers, it’s a necessity. Their market has gone online so having technology that collaborates with the likes of Booking.com has become essential.”

Hotelogix was promoting its ‘PMS in your pocket’ app at last week’s World Travel Market saying the simpler the technology the more it will be adopted by hoteliers.

Moving on to a cloud-based PMS enables hotel managers to run multiple properties from a handheld device, dispense with check-in desks and build bespoke functionality.

Hotelogix says it saw 125% growth last year in terms of the number of properties using its technology and revenues being transacted through it.

Sanghi said: “We always emphasis the need to keep things simple because it’s the only to get this segment to adopt technology

“These multi-property groups are seeing they need to shift to these cloud-based solutions because they are bringing more efficiency and more relevancy in real time.”

One of Hotelogix’s fast-growing clients is the Indian hotel chain Treebo, which has grown from just four properties 18 months ago to 180 today in over 40 cities.

It has made use of Hotelogix’s PMS allowing it to scale quickly by opening hotels with minimal training on property operation systems for staff required.

Treebo can have a property up and running with 24 hours of acquiring it and the chain developed its own in-house property management app called Bumblebee.

Sidharth Gupta, Treebo co-founder, said: “We realised a lot of the staff who work at the hotels are not very comfortable with a desktop and are a lot more comfortable with their mobile or tablet.

“That’s why we decided to build the front end of our app for tablets – at the back end it’s still Hotelogix.

“People find it very easy to carry out from office operations like check-ins and check-outs given that everything is a few touches away.”

Treebo expects to increase the number of properties to between 1,500 and 2,000 by 2018.

Prabhash Bhatnagar, Hotelogix founder, said: “Last year we exposed our API to allow hotels to create apps to help them execute their workflows.

“They can develop their own apps without being dependent on us to continue development for them. It makes it very flexible for them.

“Treebo rolled out their app which means someone not formally trained to manage hotels on desktop can do so very efficiently.”