The Hotel industry is evolving constantly similar to other industries. As the software are upgrading it is becoming increasingly convenient for customers and businesses to manage their bookings and businesses respectively. The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), management systems have been designed as multi optional, adaptable and user friendly software that can be used to manage all aspects of a business. The software allow businesses a clear, faster and cost effective way of managing micro and macro operations of businesses.
ERP systems have been around since 90s, however only few businesses and industries were using it. Hospitality industry, specifically hotels have started tapping the ERP systems recently. With the growth in information technology, customers prefer to pre-book their hotels stay, so hotels need special booking software. However, it is not cost and time effective to use separate software for management of different aspects of business.
Thus, hotels have started using ERP systems that allows integration of information, and enables consistency and precision across different departments. The ERP systems allow hotels to streamline different tasks, and bookings which increases the speed of goal efficiency and also improves customer management.
The benefit of employing ERP enabled software is that, hotels do not need separate software for different tasks, but they can run everything through a single server application. The online booking systems enabled through ERP allow hotels to map their entire operations from accounting to chain management through a single server. Thus, the systems have become mandatory for hotels to stay visible in the markets and for the customers to book in their stay easily; and the process is time and cost efficient, data is entered by customers and reach managers, and is ready to be processed.
The online management systems enabled through enterprise resource planning systems enable hotels to create new channels of sales, increase their online visibility, boost their occupancy rates and maximise their revenue. The reason why the systems are so beneficial is their time and cost efficiency and visibility. An ERP system, as mentioned earlier runs through a single server, and enables not only to track guests and their needs, but also allows the management to track staff, and allocate tasks on the system. As the tasks are allocated staffs receives notifications immediately and they can perform their task at once.
The systems have increased the efficiency of the hospitality industry threefold, because the websites and social media pages of the hotels are linked with their management software, in addition to third party booking agencies being linked with the software. This allows the hotels to synchronise rooms? available, inventory and rates on all mediums that can be used for bookings, just employing one integrated server.
The biggest advantage of the systems for the hotels is their integration across all departments, this does not only save time and costs, but the integrated, sms, text or email notification systems, allow all the complains or requests to go through immediately, and hotels? service can improve greatly with it.
Hotels are revolutionised with the online management systems enabled through ERP because of the time, cost and management efficiency that these software provide to the hotels.