Budget season is fast approaching and while it might not be the most exciting task, it’s imperative that hotels make their budget work harder for them.

From the chef wanting a new oven to the front desk needing new technology, bringing together that culmination of all your team’s needs and aspirations, it can be difficult to really know what will deliver the biggest returns in 2020. As the future becomes more technologically advanced, now it is time to instil change, embrace it and invest in it.

Dave Lakin, Regional Business Development Director at Guestline, the global leader in hotel cloud property management, distribution and digital marketing solutions outlines his 5 smart ways hotels can make their budget work harder for them.

Make the Investment
Many hotels are willing to spend money on renovations to their properties, from new carpets to Instagram worthy interiors but are reluctant to spend money on investing in technology to future proof their business. As the beating heart of any property, a PMS effectively automates all important processes at the hotel – a worthy investment with a greater financial returns. As a hotelier, you need to have the most optimum technology stack for your business and put the money in your budget for it.

Don’t hold back, trust the experts
If you have been reviewing your current PMS offering, don’t be afraid or hold back - contrary to belief, implementing a new PMS incurs very little upheaval. It’s essential to have a PMS which is developed by hoteliers for hoteliers. The secret is to not hold back, trust the experts and align your timings to best suit your property i.e. implement before your new calendar year is over (i.e. October) and then benefit at the highest booking time after Christmas – you will have no regrets once you begin reaping the rewards.

Remove unnecessary frustrations
As hoteliers, we understand the operational frustrations experienced at hotels, but, through advancements in technology, i.e. a cloud-based PMS and open API integrations, these frustrations can be alleviated with automated processes and an enhanced (and more profitable!) guest journey. With a PMS, hotels can achieve maximum profitability by observing guest trends and demands, can make the most of existing bookings by tracking guest preferences and upselling, empower the hotel with reputation management tools and with better distribution, can assist the hotel with enhanced exposure.

Ensure your investment delivers ROI
If you feel you are ‘stuck’ with an old, outdated PMS, now is the time to start conversations. PMS systems have advanced leaps and bounds since the last time you perhaps considered it. With many balls to juggle come budget time, choose a technology platform that works harder for you and will give you a return on that investment. A cloud platform not only removes unnecessary hardware, but it allows you to centralise systems across multi properties and a unique open API platform seamlessly integrates with leading third-party products, allowing you to tailor the system to suit your needs.

Base your decision on proven results
Do your research, choose wisely, listen to industry colleagues and discuss their experiences. Identify what it is you need from a PMS and what your expectations are and above all, be open-minded to new technologies and advancements in the market. The world is your oyster in terms of maximising on rooms, profits, time saving and enhanced employee engagement etc.

Christopher Kenny, Group Marketing Director, TheKeyCollections, talks futureproofing their business;

“We decided it was vital to regularly seek more intelligent ways to run operations, on the ground, in the heart of our properties. We need a technology system that continually allows us to be agile, flexible and dynamic, one that could give us the tools we needed to have that ‘edge’ over our competitors. It’s important to us that we continually invest in the business and futureproof our operations.”

TheKeys Collection currently uses Guestline for their Rezlynx PMS system to keep their technology systems throughout all their properties to deliver an integrated and seamless operations experience.

For further information please contact Digital PR at Edit, Patricia Tothova: patricia.tothova@edit.co.uk or call 0113 260 4010.

About Guestline

Established in the UK, Guestline provides innovative property management and distribution software to the hospitality industry. Founded on cloud technology, Guestline's revenue generating solutions enable hotel groups and independents of all sizes to achieve maximum occupancy at the most profitable rate.

Fully integrated into the Guestline distribution and central reservation platforms, the property management software is currently growing revenues in businesses in 25 countries across five continents. The range of products include Guestline PMS, online booking manager, CRS, channel, distribution, PCI compliance and EPoS systems.