Hospitality
What to look for in a hotel management system
A practical checklist for hotels, lodges and guest houses in Kenya choosing a hotel management system: bookings, billing, M-Pesa, housekeeping and reports.
Whether you run a 10-room guest house or a 100-room hotel, the same problems appear without a proper system: double bookings, rooms left uncleaned, bills that don’t add up and owners who only see the numbers at the end of the month.
A hotel management system (often called a PMS, property management system) solves this by putting rooms, guests, billing and housekeeping in one place. Here is what to look for.
1. A clear, live room board
Reception should see every room at a glance: available, occupied, reserved or waiting for cleaning. Colour coding makes it instant. This alone stops most double bookings.
2. Fast bookings from every channel
Walk-ins, phone calls, WhatsApp and online bookings should all land in the same calendar. If you sell on booking websites, ask whether the system can sync availability so a room is never sold twice.
3. Check-in and check-out in minutes
Guest details, ID numbers and room assignment at check-in; one accurate bill at check-out. Restaurant, bar and laundry charges should post to the guest’s room automatically.
4. Payments that match how guests pay
In Kenya that means M-Pesa first, then cards and cash. Payments should be recorded against the bill with a reference, and receipts or invoices issued immediately.
5. Housekeeping that runs itself
When a guest checks out, the room should move straight to “needs cleaning”, and housekeeping should see their task list on a phone. When the room is ready, reception sees it at once.
6. Reports owners actually read
Occupancy, average room rate, revenue per available room, payments by method and outstanding bills, for any day, week or month, without waiting for the accountant.
7. Control and security
Different access for receptionists, managers and owners. Every change logged. No more cash and discounts disappearing without a trace.
8. It works on the phones you have
Staff should be able to use it on ordinary phones and laptops, and the system should keep working during short internet outages.
Questions to ask before you buy
- Is it a one-off price, a monthly fee, or both?
- Who owns the guest and financial data, and can you export it?
- Is staff training included?
- Can it grow to include a restaurant POS, events or a second property?
- What support do you get after launch?
See it in action
Try our hotel management demo: book a room, check a guest in, take payment by M-Pesa at check-out and send the room to housekeeping. When you’re ready, request a project and we’ll design it around your property.