Which companies can benefit from property management software

Over the past few years, the hospitality industry has been growing larger than ever. There is no doubt that travelling all over the world and moving houses is not only more popular but also much easier, which is exactly why hospitality companies might need a little extra help in order to remain competitive. Luckily, a bespoke software solution seems to be precisely what they need.

Implementing property management software in your company is a great way to boost productivity, automate and thus simplify multiple business processes and, more importantly, gain new customers. Whether you run a small estate agency or a large hotel chain, there is a wide range of functionalities, from which you can choose the right ones for your business.

Benefits of bespoke software

There are multiple off-the-shelf software solutions you can find available on the market. Their great advantage is that you can start using them right away, however, they often contain as many features as possible simply because their main aim is to support as many companies as possible. This overload may slow down your workflow. Bespoke software, on the other hand, is equipped with exactly what you need as it is dedicated to your business only.

One of the greatest benefits of bespoke software solutions is their scalability. As the list of your properties is growing, the software grows along with it. You are the one who decides what your future solution will look like, which is why you can extend it whenever you feel you have more duties than ever before. There is no need to look for new software.

Key features of property management software

While there might be a great difference between running an estate agency and a resort, managing their day to day operations has got a lot in common. All companies working in the hospitality industry could benefit from implementing the following features:

• Booking management

Nowadays, bookings and reservations come from various sources including social media, travel websites and traditional agents. A prospering hospitality company must handle all of those reservations properly. In order to do so, they require an efficient system which will be integrated with all of the sources and which will automatically update all the records to avoid double bookings.

• Payments

When it comes to settling payments, accepting various payment methods including check, online payments and credit cards is a must. The system should also enable you to split receipts, automate refunds and pay your contractors via the platform. That way you can both receive and send payments in a much shorter period of time. It is not only more convenient for your customers, it is also a great way to gain better insight into your finances.

• Document storage

With the number of reservations and leases instantly growing, it is not that hard to experience paperwork overload. Storing all documents in the cloud allows you to save lots of space and to access important information from anywhere at any time. Bespoke software solution enables you to filter through the documents and share them with anyone involved. More importantly, it is also helpful when it comes to securing the sensitive data of your customers.

• Customer profile

Enabling your clients to log into their own profiles via the platform is a great way to improve the customer experience. It allows your residents – whether their stay lasts for one day or a few years – to store and access all the necessary documents and pay for the stay online. When regular payments are required, they can easily set up a reminder to never be late again.

• Reporting

The best way to grow your business is to analyse it first. Gathering valuable data concerning your properties, customers and business operations allows you to automatically generate reports and spot any inefficiencies. Business intelligence is another tool worth considering. It presents valuable information in the form of charts and graphs for you to explore new opportunities.

Who can benefit from property management software

Companies working in the hospitality industry may share common day to day operations, yet their main goals differ. The best way to achieve them is to implement a bespoke software solution dedicated to their company only. Unique tools will suit the needs of:

1. Property managers

One of the challenges property managers face on a daily basis is managing maintenance requests. With a long list of properties, it often is difficult to ensure each of them remains in a perfect condition. At the same time, bad communication with both tenants and contractors may extend the maintenance process.

With bespoke software, tenants can report a maintenance request via the platform at any time of the day. A powerful tool enables all three parties – property managers, tenants and contractors – to access the platform and track the progress of the repair online. Attaching photos and storing documents in the cloud speeds up the process and improves the customer experience.

2. Hotels

No matter the size, both small motels and large chains of hotels use various hardware and software solutions. It includes door locks, ID scanners, private telephone systems, cash drawers and the list goes on. Managing all of them separately may significantly slow down the workflow of the entire company.

With bespoke software, hotel employees can access all of the necessary tools from one platform. Integrating all third party hardware and software systems with a bespoke solution enables the staff to access the tools in a much shorter period of time and thus to boost their productivity and, more importantly, ensures extra security.

3. Estate agents

For an estate agency to succeed, an online presence is required. To draw attention to as many people as possible, estate agents have to efficiently market their properties on various social networking sites. However, with the number of such sites constantly growing, posting ads takes more time than ever.

With bespoke software, estate agents can integrate their system with a wide range of rental listing sites. That way they market properties on all of the sites with a single click. Easy to use tools enable them to match interested applicants to given properties and handle the booking all from one screen.

4. Resorts & cruises

Cruise management might be the most challenging business in the hospitality industry. For a few days, the shipboard becomes the entire world for customers, which is why there is a wide range of processes to handle and facilities to provide, including activity scheduling and workforce management. If any of the operations go wrong, the likelihood is customers are not coming back.

With bespoke software, the staff control all of their business processes from one platform, ensuring an excellent passenger experience and simplifying their own workflow. Effective features enable the staff to manage all of their operations and focus on guests.

Working in the hospitality industry might be difficult. Luckily, there is a wide range of user-friendly tools which support your work and enable you to achieve success. Improving the communication between you and your customers, and simplifying property management may be the solution. Bespoke software delivers it.