The future promises PMS technology innovations that will have a favorable effect on the hospitality industry. What does the future hold - and what are the top questions hoteliers should ask of their PMS provider? For starters...

1. What does your software do to help me drive RevPAR?
   One of the best ways to make sure you’re maximizing RevPAR, which leads to bottom line growth, is to employ an automated Revenue Management System that considers the necessary variables and ultimately maximizes your final yield.
2. How does your software manage the upselling of not just rooms, but amenities?
   Operators often make assumptions based on guest behavior or time of year to develop a demand forecast and to make decisions about upselling. However, having a solution that analyzes this information at guest reservation or check-in, evaluates guest preferences and histories, and uses an algorithm to curate upsell offers based on that data, takes. This hotel technology takes the pressure off staff and ensures you don’t miss an opportunity to upsell amenities for the ideal revenue amount.
3. What does your software do to help me better know and serve my guests?
   The trend toward personalization of the guest experience relies heavily upon data. A PMS that captures and helps analyze information about typical habits or spending preferences leads to increased guest loyalty and an improved bottom line.

The future also holds more seamless PMS integrations. Operators should be planning PMS integrations that support the expectations of their existing guests while meeting the needs of next-generation consumers. Which are the top three hotels need to operate smoothly and increase revenue?

1. A reservation booking engine
   There is a lot of discussion about how well the consumer can find a given property in a sea of heavy competition and, equally important, how easy it is to make a reservation at that property. Just as no business can thrive today without a strong web presence, hoteliers who leverage the capabilities of a booking engine on their web provide a straightforward experience for the guest. Without it, hoteliers would be losing out on bookings, and relying solely on costly OTAs to gain bookings.
2. Point-of-sale (POS)
   As more hotels and resorts are expanding their guest amenities and services, a POS is an ideal solution that eliminates potential for human errors which occur with outdated sales processing and manual reporting. A POS typically includes real-time revenue processing and reporting that captures revenue from hotel booking, in-room purchases, retail sales, online purchases and more. In terms of providing more holistic, personalized guest experience, servers are learning how often the guest has been at the property, what they purchased in the past and even the guest’s past reviews by combining loyalty and POS transaction history.
3. Mobility
   Embracing mobile POS, for example, unlocks new sales opportunities. No longer bound by the location of their POS terminals, hotels and resorts are using mobility to provide more expansive concessions near special events, more service in under-served areas, and food and beverage at less convenient, high traffic locations. Technology is finally catching up and there’s never been a better time to augment staff productivity and increase revenue with the addition of mobility in various workflows.