Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

ROADMAP 7
Objective 1
Present an
overview of how
the PMS provides
information for
management
planning and 
decision making
Four Rs of 
Front Office 
Information 
Management
Objective 2
Describe factors 
important when 
selecting PMS
reports for
development and
discuss concerns
about their 
distribution and
analysis
Report
Development,
Distribution, 
and Analysis
Objective 4
Review how a 
PMS maintains 
and reports
information 
about room 
types sold and 
available, and
about room 
status
Rooms
Management
Data
Objective 3
Explain how a
PMS maintains
detailed
reservations
records related to
guests and their
specific needs
Reservations
Management
Data
Objective 5
Provide details
about how a
PMS can help 
the FOM to 
forecast demand 
and price the 
rooms inventory
Revenue
Management
Data
Objective 6
Review the need 
for numerous 
records (reports) 
beyond those 
applicable to 
reservations, 
rooms, and 
revenue and 
consider the role 
of the PMS in 
the hotel’s 
accounting 
process 
Records and
Accounts
Management
Objective 7
Present factors to
be addressed as
hotel personnel
select a PMS
Selecting a
PMS
203

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FRONT OFFICE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
was coming to the hotel, which rooms were occupied, which rooms were clean,
and which rooms were in need of cleaning. It is difficult to imagine a more
challenging scenario for this hotel’s FOM, especially if the 1,000 arriving
guests are now waiting in the lobby!
The PMS can fail because of hardware problems, software glitches, or power
failures. A desirable PMS includes a battery or generator backup capable of
operating the system if the hotel loses power due to a weather-related event or
other circumstances beyond its control. For example, in 2003, a serious power
outage affected much of the U.S. East Coast and Midwest. In some areas of the
United States the possibility exists for energy blackouts and brownouts caused
by a less than modern electric generating and relaying grid that is operating
significantly beyond its planned power-producing capacity.
•
Cost of operation. The hardware (e.g., computers, printers, and backup disc
drives) used by the PMS should be replaceable at reasonable costs. Costs for
operating supplies such as paper and print cartridges should also be reasonable.
Systems that require special ink cartridges, special paper, or custom-made
replacement hardware parts that cannot be obtained economically, readily, and
locally should be avoided. If such systems cannot be avoided, the true operat-
ing costs must be factored into the total cost of the system.
•
Ease of installation. Hotels operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so any disrup-
tion in the continuous operation of its PMS can affect the hotel and its guests.
Before selecting a new PMS, the FOM should thoroughly investigate the amount
of downtime involved in the installation of the new system. In addition, recall
that all of a hotel’s existing historical data must be loaded into the new system.
If not, historical information helpful in the management of the hotel will be lost.
The time required to program and completely install a new system will vary based
on the complexity of the PMS and the size of the hotel. Installation time and its
actual costs are, however, common considerations in the selection of a new PMS.
•
Ease of use. New front office employees must learn how to use the PMS. The
ease with which they can learn the system is a factor in reducing training costs
and increasing the pace at which new employees become comfortable operat-
ing the system. Potential buyers of a PMS should be able to test-drive the sys-
tem through simulations. Then it is the job of the FOM to select a PMS that
is intuitively logical and, as a result, easy for employees to learn how to use.
•
Ease of interface integration. Information needed by FOMs to professionally and
profitably manage the front office comes from a variety of sources. For example, if
a guest in a hotel room makes a long-distance telephone call, the charges must be
posted to the guest’s folio. In any PMS the charges could be posted manually. In a
large hotel, however, with thousands of phone calls made daily, manual posting of
charges would be time-consuming, subject to data-entry error, and simply unnec-
essary in today’s advanced technological age. By interfacing data from the hotel’s