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How to smooth the property management system switch
It might seem daunting to take on a whole new PMS, but these hotels managed it without a hitch
Given the central importance a property management system (PMS) takes in day-to-day operations in a hotel, the thought of having to change it is understandably worrying.
Deeper guest loyalty, automated workflows, seamless point of sale integrations and significant cost savings are among the benefits. And once you take the plunge, the migration process might be nowhere near as painful as you think.
With careful planning, team buy-in and vendor support, this business-critical decision can go smoothly and pay off quickly, as can be seen in these hotels from across the UK and Ireland.
The Belfry Hotel & Resort project manages with Shiji Daylight PMS
When the Belfry Hotel & Resort was in the market for a new PMS, it undertook a business review, identified pain points in its processes and invited suppliers to participate in a full tender process. In the end, the Belfy chose a Shiji Daylight PMS.
Emma Catterall, director of finance, says: “We were looking for a partner that took the time to understand our business; wanted to work with us in the long term; and was prepared to say no to some of our more custom requests.
“Changing PMS has such a big impact that team buy-in is a must. Our biggest win was appointing our own internal project manager so that this was our project, not something done to us. We involved teams from across the business: front office, reservations, housekeeping, sales, revenue management, marketing, spa, golf and finance. They all had input into both the requirements and the vendor selection.”
The Nare safeguards data with RMS
After nearly a year reviewing systems, the Nare chose an RMS PMS (an Australian company with a European HQ in Birmingham) for its ability to import 25 years of guest history and seven years of detailed booking records.
“For us, guest data means everything – it’s more valuable than the building,” says managing director Toby Ashworth.
The RMS system captures every guest interaction, from personal notes and room preferences to dining and housekeeping. Staff use the pencil booking tool to hold preferred rooms before departure (30% of guests book future stays before checkout).
With 97% of guest profiles now enriched with personal notes and 65% of bookings from returning guests, RMS has helped the Nare deepen guest loyalty.
Gleesons Roscommon saves time with RoomRaccoon
Six months after moving to RoomRaccoon’s all-in-one hotel management system, this 26-room family-run boutique hotel in Roscommon in Ireland reported major time savings, stronger revenue protection and happier staff.
RoomRaccoon provided hands-on training for navigating the new PMS and sending secure pre-arrival payment links. Half a year later, automation is saving the hotel around five hours per week.
Prepayments have reduced no-shows and walkouts, while the integration with Pixelpoint point of sale (PoS) has improved billing accuracy and transparency.
Financial controller Martina McHugh says: “At first, the team were hesitant, but now they send payment links to guests before arrival and most people pay upfront. That means by the time they check out, payments are already taken care of. The team can focus on asking about their stay instead of chasing bills.”
The Retreat adds to its portfolio with eviivo
In June 2025, the Retreat boutique hotel in the New Forest switched PMS to eviivo. Manager Matt Farrow says: “We decided to move our hotel rooms from our previous provider primarily because of eviivo’s PMS functionality, competitive monthly cost and integration with Clover as our credit card provider, which has delivered significant savings. The setup fees were also very reasonable.
“Since then, we’ve expanded further: in September we added 12 holiday cottages, and more recently, five corporate leases. This allows most of our revenue streams to flow directly through eviivo into Xero. We’re now planning to add our Anglesey portfolio as well.”
Brakspear Honeycomb Houses eases promotions with Rezcontrol
Brakspear Honeycomb Houses, a group of 12 pubs with rooms, recently migrated to a Rezcontrol PMS.
“A major benefit has been the ability for all our systems to communicate through a single, centralised hub,” says rooms and revenue manager Sid Kostromin. “This has saved a significant amount of time and Rezcontrol makes this easier by managing our integrations for us. Setting up promotion codes or derived rates used to be painful, but now takes seconds. Reporting is much easier too. Now I just press a button to generate a monthly review.”
Rezcontrol employs both account managers and a customer support team, many of whom have previously worked in the hospitality industry. Kostromin adds: “The excellent training and support has empowered our staff and Rezcontrol has definitely contributed to our bottom line.”
Mollie’s adds extra sites with Apaleo
Due to its Soho House relationship, Mollie’s originally used a legacy PMS. However, when the business became independent, it cut costs 30% by switching to an Apaleo open PMS and now only pay for the features it needs.
Mollie’s is getting ready to open its third and largest property. Compared to the existing sites in Bristol and Oxfordshire, the Manchester site has additional revenue centres, such as meeting rooms, greater inventory variety with Mollie’s first suites and two bars.
With Apaleo, Mollie’s has been able to fully customise the tech stack to match its needs with the open PMS as the foundational infrastructure. Accounting, for example, is directly linked to Apaleo via application programming interface (API) connection, which has improved data accuracy for its reconciliation reports. Mollie’s now has the option to build AI agent workflows within the Apaleo platform.
Handel’s hotel goes mobile with Access Guestline
The new owners of Handel’s hotel in Dublin city centre completed a full refurbishment in 2022 and overhauled the technology. Managing director Christian Nanni says: “We were looking for a system that quickly brought efficiencies to the operation as well as setting us up for the future. Access Guestline has delivered on both fronts.”
An integrated tech stack allows guests to pay their bills from their mobile phones. More aspects of the guest journey will be managed from mobile devices in the future, believes Nanni, saving costs and allowing staff to focus on their guests. “I am confident that we have invested in a system that will evolve to support this customer journey,” he says.
Handel’s hotel photo: www.handelshotel.ie/
Main photo: Tarikdiz/Shutterstock
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