HOTEL MANAGEMENT
The Property Management
System
Contents
Selecting the Property Management
System (PMS)
Guest Account
The Check-In
PMS Hierarchy
PMS Systems Interface
Introduction
Hotels use a variety of computer systems to
manage the operations of their front office.
Called a property management system (PMS),
these computer systems manage a variety of
tasks. A hotel PMS manages a guest’s check-in
and checkout, cash transactions at the front
desk, outlet/ancillary transactions,
reservations, housekeeping, night audit and
other tasks. The PMS impacts the rooms
division before, during and after the arrival
chronology
Selecting the PMS
The first step in deciding on the right PMS is to
conduct a needs analysis, which is a process
where hotel managers and senior managers
determine the required scope of their PMS
needs
Factors such as the hotel size, product type,
location and target market affect the analysis
Not all lodging ownership associations allow for
independent PMS procurement, most franchise
and management contract hotels use the PMS
chosen by their chain
Selecting the PMS (Cont…)
Once the needs are determined the appropriate
software should be secured, PMS software is a
computer program designed on a particular
programming platform
Hotels that are given a mandated PMS by their
chain typically receive a system with many
more capabilities than needed
The software often dictated the hardware
needs
Selecting the PMS (Cont…)
The end users of the chosen configuration are
the hotel employees
The areas where an employee or manager can
access the PMS are called PMS workstations
and each workstation will include the software,
hardware and computer monitor
Depending on the needs of the end user, other
applications such as email, word processing,
Internet access etc, might be available at a
particular workstation
The size and look of the PMS system must be
appropriate
Selecting the PMS (Cont…)
Hotel PMS stations are generally linked to each
other in some type of network
The PMS network (also called a LAN – local
area network) allows each station to
communicate with the other – this is vital so
that every PMS station will know the status of
every room and every guest
PMS’s are more than communication tools,
they can also be thought of as extended
databases, as they store information and
preferences, and capture demographics and
other information on each guest
Guest Account
Most PMS’s are organised based on a series of
menus
Within the PMS the guest account tracks all
the data that pertains to an individual guest
The guest registration menu contains all the
pertinent information obtained from the initial
reservation and during the stay
The guest accounting menu will be used to
track all the credit/debit transactions related to
the guest’s stay.
Guest Registration Menu
The date contained in the guest registration
menu helps to track all the information
pertinent to the guest’s stay
Each PMS will contain this information in some
format
Though the order and the verbiage may differ,
the following lists the information contained
within the registration menu:
Guest Registration Menu (Cont…)
REQUIRED FIELD MEANING
Guest Name Name of individual’s account
Arrival Date Date of check-in
Departure Date Date of checkout
Address Address of guest
Phone Phone of guest
Reservation Status Type of reservation/Status of
stay (after check-in)
Room Number Actual Room Assigned
Room Type, configuration & designation
Room Rate Actual rate paid
Room Status Lists the current room status
Method of Payment Cash, Credit Card, Direct Billing or Cheque
Billing Method EPO, SRT, SAC
Guest Loyalty # Frequent stay program number
Guest Registration Menu (Cont…)
REQUIRED FIELD MEANING
Frequent Flier # Airline incentive partnership
Special Requests Early/Late check-in/checkout, upgrade
requests
Comments Free form field that allows front desk staff
communicate to each other regarding a
specific guest
Market Code Used to track the accuracy of the guest
room rate
Guest Registration Menu Example
Figure 8-3
Guest Accounting Menu
The guest accounting menu will contain a
limited amount of information relating to the
guest’s reservation
It’s primary purpose is to document every
financial transaction relating to the guest
Each time a charge is posted, a credit issues,
or a payment made it will be reflected in this
display
Though the order and verbiage may differ, the
following lists the information contained on the
accounting menu:
Guest Accounting Menu (Cont…)
REQUIRED FIELD MEANING
Guest Name Name of individual’s account
Arrival Date Date of check-in
Departure Date Date of checkout
Room Number Actual room assigned
Method of Payment Cash, Credit, Direct Billing, Cheque
Reservation Status Lists the current rooms status of the room
reserved
The remainder of the guest accounting menu
summarizes the financial transactions, each is issued a
line number so the record is easy to follow
The final item of note is the record of the employee who
made the transaction
The Check-in
The section illustrates the check-in of a walk-in
guest (that is, a guest with no prior
reservation)
The walk-in rate is set by the Front Office
Manager, who will notify front desk staff if the
hotel finds itself in need of occupancy for on a
certain night
The mechanics of checking in a walk-in guest
are very similar to making an advanced
reservation
See the check-in process example on handout
The Check-in (Cont…)
Once the reservation process is complete, the
PMS may issue a registration card
A registration card summarises much of the
information contained in the guest registration
menu of the PMS
The registration card is viewed by the guest to
confirm all details and by signing the card the
creates a binding agreement between the hotel
and the guest
Registration Card Example
Nice Hotel and Towers
Room Number ______ Card # 001
123 Nice Avenue, Anywhere, USA
Arrival Date ___________ Departure Date __________ Payment ________
Room Preference _____________ Rate ___________
Signature __________________
(By signing the above, I hereby confirm all details contained herein are
correct and agree to abide by hotel policies)
Guest Name ______________________
Check-in time Company ________________________ Checkout time
is 3pm is 12pm
Address _________________________
Telephone ________________________
Figure 8-15
PMS Hierarchy
Each PMS contains specialized information and
reporting capabilities for a specific rooms-
division area
Several of these menus lead the user to even
more specialised information and reporting
capabilities
The organisation of these menus is called the
PMS Hierarchy, which starts with the most
broad menu (Front Office) and narrows its
scope as each menu gets more specific
This is tied to authority level and the “need to
know” concept
PMS Hierarchy Example
Front Office
Menu
Reservations Registration Night Audit Housekeeping Uniform Services
Menu Menu Menu Menu Menu
Make a Guest Room Status Guest
Trial Audit
Reservation Registration Update Locator
Post Advance Guest Market Guest Guest Message
Deposit Accounting Segmentation Registration Centre
Group Print Daily Room
POS Menu
Bookings Reg. Cards Blocking
Travel Agent Charge Room Status Guest Message
Commissions Routing Update Centre
Room Room Housekeeping
Final
Forecasts Blocking Reports
Reservations Guest Message
Report Centre
Guest Message Front Desk
Centre Reports Figure 8-16
PMS System Interface
The PMS must be able to communicate with
other hotel computer systems on order to
maximise efficiency
Reservations and POS (point of sale) systems
may differ from the PMS so the information
needs to be passes along, so it is passed along
to the guest account immediately
The PMS can also interface with a sales and
catering management system
PMS System Interface Example
Central Internet
Reservations Reservations
Restaurants
Room Services Reservations
Lounges
Sales &
Catering
POS
Shops
PMS PBX
Golf
Spa
Figure 8-17
