Once upon a time, there was a world where all you needed for a profitable hotel business were a couple of rooms with comfy beds and a notebook. Now those days are gone, so here’s a guide for you to streamline your hotel management tech stack.

PMS — Property management system

A property management system is essentially an ERP (enterprise resourcing planning) system for hotels. It gathers all of the most essential information you need to run your business, including: production units, rooms, personnel, reservations, and so on.

Some property management systems can also be used for guest reservations. But when that’s not possible, you’d need to use a third-party reservation system (Trivago, eBookers, Momondo…), which only mediates some guest information into your hotel PMS. And to get access to all necessary information, you’d still need guests to fill out a form upon their arrival, even though they would have already told the same information before. Not the smoothest way to start a visit, dare to disagree?

You need this if you’re running a hotel business. In one way or another, every operating hotel in the 2020s has a PMS. If it’s not Mews, or something else from their category, it’s probably an Excel sheet of horror.

BMS — Building management system

A building management system, sometimes referred to as a building automation system (BAS), controls and monitors the building’s mechanical and electrical equipment. It enables centralized management of all critical infrastructure.

A BMS is not indispensable for your hotel operation, but it can sure help you make it profitable. Traditionally, it gives hotels at least a centralized control of the building’s HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) and sometimes even lighting.

You need this if your business is big and you want to optimize it. A BMS is especially useful if your hotel has some sort of own energy production system or is trying to optimize the energy consumption according to varying prices. But unless your volumes aren’t on an enterprise level, it’s probably not a must-have.

GRMS — Guest room management system

A guest room management system should not be confused with the preceding acronyms. Unlike a PMS & BMS, a GRMS’ focus is helping the hotel guest make the most out of their visit to your resort.

A GRMS is the invisible butler who welcomes your guest and makes sure they enjoy their stay to the fullest. Typically via a GRMS, the guest is able to control lights, curtains, room temperature, air conditioning, and more. A good GRMS can even let the guest set their status for DND (do not disturb) or MUR (make up room) with a push of a button.

You need this if you’re aiming for a perfect guest experience. Even though a GRMS is mostly responsible for making the guest feel comfortable, it can also be incredibly useful for the hotel management. With an advanced GRMS, the hoteliers get a boatload of data, including sensor information that can be used for damage and disturbance prevention. This data can be used to further develop the experience. With a GRMS, the actions needed are easier to execute, as it doesn’t require costly site-visits to each and every room.

Take it one step further

So where does Mount Kelvin fit in all of this? The closest thing would be a GRMS, but even that doesn’t quite cut it for us. So why limit ourselves with the artificial boundaries of jargon terminology?

Introducing our vision of the future of hotel management systems:

Now you’ll be able to take full control of guest experience—from the moment they enter the room until the last goodbyes. This year has taught us that adapting to changing environments is the most important thing we can do, and that’s exactly what Mount Kelvin is built for.

Ready to see how it works in practice? Book a visit below and you’ll get full remote access to our real-life showroom.