Do you know that using new technologies can improve your hotel guests’ experience? According to Finances Online, it reduces complaints by 71% and increases service rating by 19% in the hospitality industry. POS, or point-of-sale, is the exact tool that might help you reach such results.
Source: Finances Online
Grandreview Research reports that the POS Terminals market is valued at 76.0 billion USD in 2020, and it’s no surprise: POS makes managing a lot of actions easier and quicker so more and more businesses strive to integrate it now. So the question is how to choose the right system? Here at GBKSOFT we have lots of tech takes that specialize in hotel software development, so we will gladly guide you through the world of POS. In this article, we will focus on the main aspects and advantages of the POS you need to pay attention to before making a final decision.
Benefits of POS for hotels
Running a hotel is a hard task, and even a mundane check-in requires a lot of operations done simultaneously. You don’t need to write down the client’s info and proceed payments manually if you have a POS, and it’s only a small part of the benefits POS gives you. Here are some additional pros that you should know:
Digital payment options. Cash loses its importance year by year, while we switch to other methods such as credit cards or digital wallets (Google Pay or Apple Pay). POS usually supports different options, moreover it may offer to split the check between several guests or pay it any other convenient ways.
Easy to manage bills. Your hotel may provide the guest not only with accommodation, but with other services — bars and restaurants, spa or beauty treatments. You can’t expect the guest to carry the wallet constantly, but you still need to add the cost to their bill. With the use of POS, your employees can easily add the service to the bill, and the client will get the total sum while checking-out.
Better management. POS optimizes your interaction with clients and tracks your payments, inventory, and employees. All the info is tracked and saved automatically, and you can use this data to monitor your income, stock levels and work time and implement changes if necessary. POS can also be integrated with other systems to gain the maximum result.
Main Types
POS consists of hardware and software parts. Hardware one usually includes a cash drawer, monitor, card reader, receipt printer, barcode scanner and customer display, but the set can change, depending on the type. Here are some key types of POS that you can consider integrating in your hotel.
Desktop POS might be the most common type in the hotel industry as there is no big need for mobility, and they have a wider range of features that can be in use for you.
Mobile POS can work as standalone or exist as a part of the desktop system. They have limited capabilities, usually only for proceeding the payment and printing the receipt.
Self-service POS allows the customers to make an order and pay on their own. This type is commonly used in fast-food restaurants or grocery stores, because they decrease the waiting time and optimize workforce.
POS also are divided by deployment type: they can be on-premise or cloud-based. The first one implies that you get an application to install on your computer, and it will save all the data on a local server. It might be an expensive solution (you need to buy a license for and support your hardware), while cloud POS are accessed via the Internet and store your data on the online-servers. Cloud POS will charge you monthly.
Features of POS
The main features of POS include:
- payment processing — your system counts the sum your customer should pay, including the taxes and fees, and allows proceeding payment via different methods;
- employee management — a lot of POS allows creating schedules and track your employee’s clock-in and clock-out;
- inventory management — this feature will be useful if you have a gift shop in your hotel; while proceeding the purchase, you can track how many goods is stored at the moment;
- analytics — every POS has a reporting feature, and it provides mainly the data on your income; depending on the software, you can get broader analytics.
You can also check the POS for the other features, such as capability to work with mobile apps for your customers, security and flexibility options.
Integrations
As we mentioned before, you can add POS to the ecosystem of the software to automate a lot of actions and optimize your workflow.
POS can be integrated with CRM and email list: you will need to enter the client’s info only one time, for example while reservation or check-in, and it will be transferred to your customer relationship management tool or email service.
A lot of hotels use PMS, which can also be connected to POS. PMS, or property management system, manages info about the room and the guest who stays in there. Your customer will order room service, and POS with PMS will take care of charging the right amount from the right guest.
POS tracks your income and employees activity, therefore it seems logical to add an accounting software. This connection will guarantee that your financial data will be transferred accurately to the account soft, where the taxes, wages, and other data will be counted.
In conclusion
We live in a fast and intense world, where there is not so much time for monotonous tasks. So if you can automate any part of your workload, don’t hesitate to do it!
As for the hotels, POS is a right decision for optimization and, moreover, developing positive relationships with the guests. Choose the system that fits your goals the most and take the full advantage of POS capabilities!