Best Hotel Management Software in India: A Guide for Hoteliers

As a hotel owner in India, you are probably familiar with the constant workload. Guests can arrive at any time. Phones never stop ringing. Rooms require continual cleaning. Bills must be created at the end of the day. And of course, you’ve got to contend with all of those last-minute online bookings. Fortunately, hotel management software can help simplify your job, and this guide will walk you through all of the key details. As mentioned above, this guide is for anyone, even if you aren’t good with computers. This blog will cover:

• What HMS is.
• Why all hotels, from the biggest to the smallest, can benefit from hotel management software.
• What features you should look for in a hotel management system.
• What hospitality asset management software is.
• What affects the cost of a hotel management system?
• The best way to select the right HMS for your property.
• The most common mistakes people make when selecting hotel management software. 
  

What is Hotel Management Software?

Hotel management software functions like a great employee who never gets tired or forgets anything. It keeps all of the information about your hotel in one central location so your employees can do their job faster and with fewer errors.

Is A PMS The Same Thing?

You will see the acronym PMS a lot. It stands for property management system. Its full form is a property management system. The PMS is the core of the application. It manages bookings, check-ins and check-outs and billing.

There are add-ons around it such as online and offline booking connections, housekeeping and ordering systems. When all the add-ons work in conjunction, it becomes a hotel management system.

What Does It Look Like?

It is a screen on a computer, tablet or phone. Each room is a box. To represent occupancy, each box is represented with a color. To get more info about that room, you tap on the box. There are countless screens for various operations in a hotel. All management staff at a hotel (reception, housekeeping, restaurant, accounting and management) use it. Sometimes the owners use it too, to get real time sales and hotel performance data. 

Why Does A Hotel Need It?

Without software, the staff uses notebooks to manage bookings. Notes get lost. Handwriting is illegible. Worse, staff may give the same room to two different guests. Imaging two front desk staff facing two different guests (family) holding a booking for room 204.

There is room management, to ensure each room is occupied by one guest, always. There are numerous other transformations it brings to the front office, food and beverage and back office staff and management.

• Books are transferred from notebooks to a secured electronic record.
• Bills from messy, incorrectly added totals to the click of a button
• Cleaning from staff running up and down stairs to a live list on a phone
• Owner from being tied to the hotel to checking sales from anywhere
• Guest Details from scouring through reams of old paperwork to a quick search

Benefits of Hotel Management Software

• No double bookings: The Calendar Always tells the truth.
• Faster Check-in: Say goodbye to long lines and hello to the first quick, smiley, friendly face your guest sees.
• Correct Bills: Less adding means less arguments when paying.
• More time for guests: Smiling is so much better than writing!
• One clear picture: How many rooms are sold? How much came in today?
• More income: Offer a discount for a slow day and watch the empty rooms fill up.
• Team work: The front desk, the cleaners, and the kitchen all work together.

What Should the Hotel Management System Do? 

Don’t get hung up on the names! Each is a small, simple task done for you. Let’s go through them one at a time.

1. Room Booking

Think of it like a digital calendar. It tells you which rooms are available and which are booked, day by day. Making a booking is as easy as choosing dates and a room. Saving it. Done!

2. Customer Details

The software remembers customers’ names and phone numbers and saves details of special requests.

3. Check-in and Check-out

At check-in, staff enter customers’ details (name, phone number and ID proof) just once. Staff can also save this information prior to guest arrival or have guests fill out the details, which minimizes check-in time even further.

At check-out, guests pay their bills, and the software “marks” the room “dirty” to instruct the housekeeping staff to clean that room.

4. Billing and Payments

The software sums the total charges and taxes. Some programs also allow staff to bill guests with GST and generate invoices. They can also email or WhatsApp guests the invoices. At the end of the day, the software gives a consolidated report of all payments made.

5. Housekeeping

The software provides a real-time status of which rooms are to be cleaned, are being cleaned and are ready. With this, staff no longer has to go and check the status of individual rooms.

Employees can write quick notes like “light not working” or “towel missing.” This way issues get resolved quickly.

6. Food Orders

If your hotel has a restaurant or cafe, or offers room service, the software can take food orders and add the cost to the guest’s room bill. This is called a point of sale (POS) system. When the guest in room 210 orders a dosa and a cold drink, the order and the cost goes straight to the room bill. The order and the cost get “posted” to the room. The guest does not pay twice and nothing gets forgotten. The system can also tell you which dishes get ordered the most.

The slowest part of the system is still the phone call. The guest calls reception, and the receptionist calls the kitchen and gives the order. With our QR ordering system TheNoQueue, the guest orders on their phone (via their browser) by scanning a QR code. The order is posted to your dashboard and room in real time. We will show you more about how this works below.

7. Online Distribution (Channel Manager)

Today, guests can make reservations on many different websites and apps. Each website is called a “channel.” A channel manager integrates all the channels to your hotel. 

What is Hospitality Asset Management Software?

Everything in your hotel can be listed in this software. It can tell you when to service your equipment. It can help you decide when to replace equipment. This software can prevent unexpected equipment breakdowns. This software is a must-have for large hotels and resorts.

How Much Does Hotel Management Software Cost?

The cost depends on what you need. Smaller hotels need less functionality than larger hotels. Other factors that change the cost are the number of rooms, staff, equipment etc.

• Features you pick: You get less features, but pay less, with a basic booking and billing tool. Why get a more complex system with restaurant ordering, channel manager and asset tracker?
• How you pay: Many companies charge yearly or monthly (a subscription). Some ask for an upfront charge.
• Cloud or local: Cloud software runs on the internet from any device. Local software runs on your computer.
• Users: Some companies charge per user.
• Help: Transfer of data, training, and set up may cost extra.

How to Choose the Best Hotel Management Software

The best hotel management software is the one that works for your hotel, staff and budget. Like choosing a school bag: the one that fits a tall student may be too big for a small student. Use this checklist.

• Is it easy to use? 

Easy to learn software, within 1-2 days, is good. Hard to use software gets ignored by staff.

• Is it for India? 

Look for GST billing, UPI and payment integrations, and an Indian team.

• Is it on cloud? 

Cloud software lets you manage your hotel from anywhere.

• Does it integrate with booking sites? 

Integration prevents double bookings.

• Is support available? 

Hotels never sleep, so quick support by call or chat is a must.

• Can it grow with you? 

How many rooms do you manage today? How many will you manage tomorrow?

• Is the price fair? 

Compare at least three options and look at the total cost.

What Type Is Right for My Hotel?

A starting point:

• A small guesthouse or homestay should keep things simple, with just a few features, and no expense management or staff management. It should be easy to use and work well on a phone.
• A medium hotel might want to look at a hotel management system with a channel manager, reports and better support.
• A large hotel or resort should look for a hotel management system with a number of advanced features including strong access controls, asset management and detailed reports.
• A hotel chain should look for a solution where multiple hotels are managed from a central location, with staff and reports controls from the central office.
• Not sure where you fit? Just ask yourself, how many rooms do you manage? How many staff will use the software? The answers will guide your selection.

Where TheNoQueue Fits In

A PMS manages bookings and billings. What happens when a guest wants to place an order for food? Many hotels still lose time (and sometimes money) with this type of manual process.

TheNoQueue is a QR-based order and digital menu system. It works with your POS.

This is what it helps with:

• No phone calls to place room service orders. Guests can place orders from their phone via a QR code. No one has to wait in line to take orders, and there are no mix ups.
• An app is not required. The menu appears in the phone browser, and therefore does not require an app download.
• All orders are shown live on a dashboard. Your staff can view all orders for tables or rooms, and the status of those orders.
• No printed menus. You can change the price or dish description of menu items instantly and it is changed for all orders.
• One place for many. You can manage orders and menus from your different restaurant and bar locations, all from one place.
• Easy to get started. Your staff helps upload your menus and set up QR codes, and there is a 3 month free trial to see results before paying.
• This is a good option if your hotel already has a PMS, and you want to provide better, faster in-room dining and restaurant ordering.
  

A Simple Plan to Get Started

• Write your problems: Double bookings? Slow billing? Late room service? Your list will tell you what to keep an eye out for.
• Figure out your budget: Knowing how much you can spend each month or year helps.
• Narrow down two or three possibilities: Check for GST support and phone access, and see what support hours are.
• Demo the software: Make sure your receptionist and lead housekeeper see the demos, as they will be using the software the most.
• Keep the changes small: Start with booking and billing. Add more functions like food ordering later.

Conclusion

Give your team a chance to practice the software before going live. After a month, see what’s working and what isn’t. You don’t need to run your hotel by yourself. With the right software, your hotel can be run smoothly, your staff can be less tired, and your guests can be satisfied. Take your time. No software will be perfect for your hotel the first time you try it. Listen to your staff, and not the queues and confusions with your free trial of The NoQueue.

Frequently Asked Questions