ERP stands for Enterprise Resource planning. An ERP is a management software that helps to speed up business by using integrated applications and software to ensure your business is running at its most efficient. This system is adopted for its fantastic practicality in hotels.

Channel Managers allow hotels to efficiently monitor and affect the different online distribution channels that their rooms sell through.

This means that despite when or where the booking is submitted, on your websites, through the 3rd party booking sites, or at your point of sale, inventory is normally up to this date as well as you are never overbooked. This Is the system an ERP can manage for You.

Understanding where your core booking are being made allows hotel managers and owners to make officiant, cost effective business decisions.

In terms of everyday use, an ERP can be used in a hotel to manage where all of their room bookings come from, through all of their online channels.

Other factors an ERP can manage include:

Running reports on where your main customer base is coming from and Making intelligent business & marketing decisions

The general idea of an ERP is to provide a centralised core system in which all information is stored and updated to make sure everyone have access to the latest information at one time.

This is invaluable when applied to Channel Management as it ensures everyone has good leadership working for them and has all the information they may need at the touch of a button!

There are 2 main types of ERP used in modern business

A cloud-based ERP works off of cloud data meaning information is always updated. There are those however that have been dubious of Cloud systems for the fear of security, but as cloud computing becomes more popular and safety advances have been made this has become less of a concern in lieu of the massive benefits of the system.

A mobile ERP is usually in the form of an application in which employees can access information and business functionality from remote locations.