Budget travel – everyone loves it, right? Cheaper flights mean cheaper holidays and the opportunity for more people to get away and visit places they previously may only have dreamed of travelling to. And, no question, the availability of cheaper flights has changed the entire hospitality industry, not least because it’s seen an inevitable rise in the number of small to mid-size hotels. But for this wave of new properties to provide not just accommodation but effective service for visitors they need to embrace the latest digital technology. Why? Because if one hotel doesn’t, you can guarantee its competitors will and it’ll get left behind.

Specifically here, we’re talking dependable hotel-specific software; in other words a hotel management system (HMS). And, don’t doubt it, small to mid-sized hotels are leading the way when it comes to making use of the hotel management systems on the market – a 2014 survey found that half of all HMS purchases were made by owners of this type of accommodation; and you can be sure those numbers will only have risen since then.

Fundamentally, though, what’s driving hoteliers’ desire to invest in this software? The same research discovered that 72% of first-time buyers of an HMS wanted better efficiency in the day-to-day operations of their property; something that an HMS is specifically designed to deliver.

And, significantly, the majority of small to mid-sized hotels are turning to hotel reservation software that provides them with online booking facilities, reflecting the fact that to attract visitors you now need the functionality to catch the eye of those searching and booking hotel rooms online via their smartphone and tablet devices. Indeed, as of 2014, 65% of room bookings were being made online (again this percentage will only have risen), ensuring it’s hardly surprising that more and more hoteliers are seeking an online booking capability to establish and maintain a competitive advantage.

 

It’s also no surprise that among an ever increasing number of hotel owners one of the top facets of an HMS they’re looking for is the ability to connect to a global distribution system (GDS). Why? Because this functionality enables individual hotels to tap into an online booking network that already pulls in millions of people looking to book via the Internet. Moreover, another major attraction of a GDS is the fact it’s capable of managing real-time rates and inventory for clients, reducing the workload of hotel staff and so freeing up their time to better service their own customers.

In conclusion then, it’s only natural that with an ever growing base of small to mid-sized hotels, these properties should seek to take advantage of the evolving digital reservation and booking systems available to boost their visitor numbers and the efficacy of their day-to-day operations and service offerings. More and more hotels means ever stiffer competition and that requires getting a competitive edge – purchasing the right HMS then is simply essential.