According to Hotel Tech Report: “The typical hotel uses at least 10 different hospitality software systems to operate.”
It’s been a long discussion about whether all-in-one solutions are the most advantageous choice.
An important point to be considered is what your hotel needs now and what it might need in the future.
Let’s take the COVID-19 as an example: hotels are seeing their housekeeping productivity decrease, with an avg. of 5-7 extra minutes needed for each room. This means a higher cost per cleaned room, so it’s strategically wise to implement a housekeeping solution.
▪️ Now, if you think for a moment – what were your other challenges before the pandemic that will be there after we overcome this virus?
▪️ What other challenges you might face in the future (due to the virus or simply due to the industry evolvement)?
Implementing software that responds solely to one pain or department can bring you some serious hassle in the short and long run.
Once more requirements arise to improve other operational departments, your search for new solutions starts all over again. And with that comes many other disadvantages.
That being said, when talking about operational departments (maintenance, housekeeping, f&b) it’s a good idea to implement an all-in-one solution.
💡8 key benefits of adopting an All-in-One Operations Solution at your Hotel
1. Cost-effectiveness
Did you ever do the calculations of having 3-5 operating software from different providers? It’s costly!
Of course, you want to have the best solutions implemented in your hotel, but first, you should think about what you are looking to solve in your operations.
Furthermore, analyze 2-3 alternative software and see what the most powerful operating system can offer you, versus its costs (don’t forget as well the importance of its user-friendliness).
🚀 With Hub OS Housekeeping and Maintenance modules, you can SAVE up to 40% in your monthly cost, compared to having 2 different providers.
2. One Contract – One Payment term – One Single support line
This aspect is forgotten many times as you have so many other priorities in your head when choosing your new technology.
It’s already tiring to have 2-4 demos of the various solutions and around 15-25 meetings to make a final decision.
Imagine now having to deal with multiple providers.
This means several contracts and clauses, different payment terms, and a distinct support team.
Even if things go perfectly, it’s just a lot to handle.
So, the ideal is having 1 contract for 2 to 6 solutions, 1 payment term, and 1 single support line to help you and your team with anything you need.
3. Staff adaptation
Your staff adaptation is crucial to get the most out of your new software. On the other hand, thinking of having 2-6 training sessions, various user interfaces, and more than 2 user logins it’s just senseless.
It’s super important having a centralized solution that allows your teams to focus on what they’re good at while having the right technology to support and elevate them.
4. Integrated solutions and departments
Besides what was mentioned previously, integrated systems mean connected departments.
Depending on the solution, this integration can be more or less complex.
The problem arises once you come across interface issues due to many factors that you don’t understand or have time to. And once again, you’re forced to contact one of the providers, risking being told to contact the other provider and so on.
You will quickly notice that you’re on a scary rollercoaster.
5. One single PMS integration
Following point number 4, the integration with your PMS is the most important one, it’s your hotel’s nerve system, full of data, guest details, and commands to your respective departments.
If one of your operating systems fails to connect, the other systems will fail in their function/purpose too.
It’s easy math, better to have 1 system connected to your PMS than 5 different ones.
6. Data source and Data quality
Tracking your hotel performance and analyzing your current strategies’ metrics is a must! But where do you start if you have different sources of data?
This key point is critical especially when data from several tools are not synchronized.
The risk of missing data across departments can be problematic. In case you have to merge data from various tools, you might face a limitation on how each software builds and presents its database.
On the bright side, by having one single innovative operating system, all the figures to make the right decisions are easily accessible.
In a nutshell, having your housekeeping productivity in terms of times and cost per attendant, your avg. time to fix issues, among others, in one single place.
7. One App per device – One single login
Another common struggle is the number of desktop tabs and especially the number of apps needed to run these tools.
It’s the recipe for disaster in terms of operation optimization.
Having to register and track different actions in several apps or tools (assuming that you’re a rockstar using all of those tools) will definitely take your staff more time to act with a higher risk for mistakes.
Try to avoid it at all costs!
8. New innovative solutions from the chosen partner
It’s important to choose the right software partner that meets your current hotel needs. But also the one that will grow with you, in other words, the partner that keeps developing current and new features that matter to you whilst innovating along the way.
Speaking of which, did you know about the new Hub solution called Guest in Touch?
It’s a guest-facing web-app that gives your guest the option to report a fault, request amenities or book your restaurant in a contactless and seamless manner.
A great yet simple operating system will bring all the departments together, free your operations of any hassle, and definitely improve your guest experience.