HPC 3 – Applied Business Tools & Technologies

HOW MIS IS APPLIED IN HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY?

Management information systems represent the approach a company takes to

gather information used to make business decisions. Like any other industry, the
hospitality industry — which includes hotels — needs a system to gather and
disseminate information pertinent to running the organization.
Traditionally, management information systems comprised a set of manual
processes that sent information from one individual to the next. Computerized
systems shorten the lead time for this information transfer and allow hotels to send
information in near real-time capacity to individuals.
Hotel administration includes several different responsibilities, from sales and
marketing to room rentals, housekeeping, food service maintenance and facilities
management. An information system can help companies track both financial and
operational information at one point, allowing managers to measure the hotel’s
effectiveness and efficiency.
Implementing technology allows hotel managers to determine how well they
sell rooms, the profit from each night, the cost of ancillary services and the staff
needed to run the company. For franchised hotels, this information is often sent to
the company’s upper management for review.
Since tourism is now growing all over the world, the role of hotels is
becoming greater than before. Hotels take a big place in the market, so using manual
system may lead to erroneous management. Therefore, using a computerized system is
more efficient.

GIVE EXAMPLES OF MIS

These are the lists with some of the top hospitality software completing the
information systems:
1. Transaction Processing System
Processing data effectively helps the hotel to be more flexible to demand, in
understanding customer and keeping costs down. Transaction Processing System allows
business transactions involving the collection, retrieval, and modification of
transactional data. This system processes data generated about and by transactions in
the hotel. These systems are vital as they ensure that the data collected is accurate and
timely, which increases labour efficiency. It is mostly used by managers in the hotel
industry at operational capacity.
2. The Point of Sale (PoS) System used in the Hotel Industry
PoS is the most common form of information systems used in the Hotel industry.
This computerized system keeps track of merchandise sales such as those that would
occur in a hotel restaurant, bar, coffee or gift shop. There are various versions that are
also used by the Front office of the Hotel and the Housekeeping department. These
systems incorporate registers, computers and any peripheral equipment that may be
established on a computer network. This system is important because it keeps track of
payroll, labour, and sales, as well as generates records which may be useful for
accounting purposes. Micros and version of Micros are commonly used by the Hotel
restaurants, Fast food restaurants and stand-alone restaurants. Even security
departments of the Hotel industry have their own PoS system.

3. Management Information Systems

These systems provide the information required by the hotel for proper
management of staff and the facilities. This system can be used to analyze and facilitate
operational and strategic activities and is used functionally in areas such as security,
housekeeping, maintenance, and financial controls and accounting. With all
the innovation of hospitality is for better hospitality experience to the customer, these
sophisticated hotel information systems help in improving the overall experience of
customers and staff alike.

4. Property Management Systems (PMS)

This is a comprehensive software application which is used to cover basic goals
such as coordination of the operational duties of the staff at the front office, sales, and
planning. Property management systems facilitate the automation of important
functions such as guest booking, guest information, online reservations, as well as sales
and marketing. The whole purpose of PMS is to manage various operations of the Hotel
and to streamline data. There are a lot of customized PMS providers across the globe as
covered in our post on Hotel Management software.

5. Decisions Support Systems

Decision support systems aid the decision-making process. Each hotel creates a
decisions support system based on the operational model of the hotel establishment.
This system is particularly important in ensuring that the hotel operations are
functional and that decisions are made in a timely manner. There is a clear overlap in
these information systems used in the hotel industry. A lot of Hotel software providers
have bundled packages for using multiple products under one administrative panel.
PARAGON AS/400 FRONT OFFICE

To plan for your guest's stay, which includes managing accommodations,

aggressive pricing, marketing, forecasting, and implementing reporting controls, you
need a flexible system that can give you the information to achieve optimal service
standards for your business. In today's competitive marketplace, Paragon Front Office
provides the right set of tools to most effectively serve and retain your important guests.
Like many hotels, yours has unique requirements for satisfying guest requests. You may
offer special holiday promotions or reward frequent guest stays. Paragon Front Office
accommodates your approach, providing information and feedback to measure financial
impact and monitor quality — a key component in any successful operation.

A Key Component in Your Hotel

Paragon Front Office is an effective property management system, offering a wide range
of benefits fully integrated with Paragon Back Office, Central Reservations, and
complementary products. Key benefits include improved customer service, efficient
internal operations, and control over financial data integrity.

Key Features
Reservations

 Provides easy reservations entry for individuals as well as groups.

 Permits flexible rate configuration for optimizing return on room inventory.
 Accesses availability by room type, total hotel, and group.
 Provides confirmation letters and pre-printed registration cards.
 Maximizes occupancy through management-defined room inventory limits.
 Captures additional guest information through hotel configurable fields.
 Tracks wait lists.

Package Plans

 Provides flexibility to develop rate structures and package limits and posting
structures for specific dates, days, and seasons.
 Establishes minimum dollar amounts by specific outlets or a combination of
outlets.
 Manages multiple rate programs and packages and provides a complete financial
activity breakout.
 Provides flexible package configuration.
OPERA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
A streamlined property management system designed for properties that do not
need all the features of the standard or premium versions. Less functionality, however,
does not mean less power. Instead, it means a dynamic property management system
tailored to your needs and offering the same core functionality – handling reservations,
checking guests in and out, assigning rooms, managing room inventory, accommodating
in-house guest needs, and performing accounting and billing functions.

Available on the cloud or on-premises, it also offers integration with the Oracle
Hospitality solution for food and beverage and other Oracle Hospitality OPERA
applications, providing the best possible foundation for your hotel business.

Key Features

 Reservations
 Profiles management
 Front desk module
 Cashiering module
 Rooms management
 Accounting for complimentary services
 Accounts receivable
 Back-office interface
 Commissions
 Reports
 Quick keys
 Cloud or on premises

DISCUSS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POS AND PMS

WHERE ARE THEY USED?

The hotel PMS handles room booking while the POS processes restaurant
orders. The hotel PMS manages room inventory while the POS helps manage
restaurant or boutique stocks. The hotel PMS notifies you if a room needs to be cleaned
or is ready for guests while the POS tells you if a table is available or booked.

The PMS is eventually used for hotel while the POS helps process more on the
restaurants.