What is a PMS?
Definition : A PMS (property management system) is the software that centralises the running of a hospitality business: bookings, calendar, guests, housekeeping, maintenance and billing.
PMS stands for property management system. You will also hear hotel management software or short-term rental management software. It is the everyday work tool of a hotel, riad, guesthouse, aparthotel, villa or property manager.
Its job is to replace spreadsheets, notebooks and WhatsApp groups with one source of information shared by the whole team.
What is a PMS used for?
A PMS brings together, in one place, what is otherwise scattered across several tools:
- Bookings and calendar, unit by unit
- Arrivals, departures and guest registration
- Housekeeping and maintenance, with the status of each unit
- Billing, collections, city tax and expenses
- Guest messages (WhatsApp, email, platforms)
- Business figures: occupancy rate, average price, revenue
PMS, channel manager, booking website: what is the difference?
These three words name three functions that complete each other. The PMS is the core: it holds the calendar, guests and finances. The channel manager connects that calendar to platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com so prices and availability are the same everywhere. The booking website lets you sell direct, without platform commission.
Many tools do only one of the three and force you to assemble them. In Hosteo, all three are in the same product.
How to choose a PMS
Five questions to ask before committing:
- Does it fit my type of business (apartments, riad, villa, aparthotel, hotel)?
- Is the channel manager built in, and which platforms are connected?
- Can my housekeeping and maintenance staff use it on a phone, without installing an app?
- Does it handle local needs: dirhams, city tax, police form, WhatsApp?
- Is the price clear with no hidden commitment, and is the start supported (import of my data)?
A PMS for Morocco
Software designed for another country makes you work around it: currency, city tax, forms, languages. For a Moroccan business, look for a tool that calculates amounts in dirhams, prepares the police form, handles city tax and lets you answer guests on WhatsApp.
Hosteo, a PMS built in Morocco
Hosteo is an online PMS: it runs in the browser, on desktop, tablet and phone, with nothing to install. It brings together the timeline, the channel manager (Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, Vrbo), online guest registration and the police form, housekeeping, maintenance, the WhatsApp inbox, a booking website with online payment and finances.
- Six ready-made roles for your team
- Amounts in dirhams and city tax calculated per adult per night
- {days}-day free trial, no credit card
Frequently asked questions
Is a PMS useful for a single apartment?
As soon as you rent on several platforms or host several stays a month, one calendar prevents mistakes and double bookings. Hosteo’s Essentiel plan is a flat 390 MAD per month for up to 5 units.
What is the difference between a PMS and a channel manager?
The PMS runs the business (calendar, guests, housekeeping, finance). The channel manager sends prices and availability to platforms and brings their bookings back. Hosteo includes both.
Do I need to install software?
Not with an online PMS: Hosteo runs in the browser, on desktop, tablet and phone.
How much does a PMS cost?
Prices vary a lot between tools. With Hosteo: Essentiel 390 MAD per month for up to 5 units, Pro 79 MAD per unit per month from 6 to 40 units, excluding VAT, no monthly commitment.
Read next
General information, as of the publication date.
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