Hospitality and tourism education in an emerging digital economy - 1 views
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PMS and integration of multiple properties across the globe
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It is well known that industries are moving with the flow of advanced technology and this is causing disruption in their daily business operations and processes.
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At present, there is no alternative to digital disruption and businesses large and small must adapt to the changes that are occurring
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Technology has been a key driver for hospitality businesses for several decades and it has drastically transformed how the industry operates
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Every industry has specific software applications that are unique and integral to the management of their daily operations. In the hotel industry, property management systems (PMS) or hotel operating systems are platforms that “enabled a hotel or group of hotels to manage front-office capabilities, such as booking reservations, guest check-in/check-out, room assignment, managing room rates, and billing” ( Oracle, 2019).
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These systems have also evolved to incorporate functionality that supports food and beverage operations, housekeeping and maintenance management, as well as revenue management.
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Applications such as Cloudbeds, Preno, Hostaway and Lodgify have become a staple in most hotels today, allowing for the efficient management of hotel fun ctio ns.
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Similarly, in the restaurant industry, practitioners often rely on restaurant management systems (RMS), POS software designed for the food service industry to make bookings, capture transactions, record orders and manage inventory (FinancesOnline, 2019).
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At the broader tourism management level, GDS, also known as automated reservation systems or CRS, are computerised networks that centralise services and provide travel related transactions for products such as airline tickets, hotel rooms and car rentals ( Kelly, 2018)
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GDS serve as a conduit between travel bookers and suppliers and help communicate product offerings, pricing and availability to travel agents and online booking engines.
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Their functionality and applications are often limited to a specific industry (e.g. hotel, restaurant and airline)
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Internally, cloud computing allows managers to access data collected from proprietary applications (e.g. RMS, PMS) which can be shared across departments.
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This paper discusses the role of PMS, POS, and GDS in the hospitality and tourism industry. It identifies key digital literacy and employability skills that students and educators need to develop to better understand and negotiate the changing, digitally focused landscape of the hospitality and tourism sector.