Skyline Property Management System in Dubai International Hotel - Case Study Example

Skyline Property management System in Dubai International Hotel Skyline Property management System in Dubai International HotelSkyline Property management systems are often used in real estate, logistics, government or hospitality accommodation managed. Skyline PMS often provides mission critical software as well as software enabled services that is critical in the global financial services. The software was founded in the year 1986 by William C. Stone and it went public in the year 1996. Skyline PMS are computerized systems which facilitate the effective as well as efficient management of different properties, equipment, maintenance, and legalities using a single piece of software. They have been able to replace old fashioned paper based methods which can be said to be inefficient and cumbersome. In the 21st century, the property management systems often favor cloud technology as well as web technology. In the hospitality industry, skyline property management systems are often comprehensive software applications that are used to cover some basic objectives of coordinating the operational functions of the different offices. For example, the front office, the planning office and the sales office. Further, the skyline property management system often helps in automated functions such as online reservations, accounts receivable, guest bookings, and details of the guests, food and beverage costing as well as other necessary amenities. The skyline property management systems in particular may sometimes interface with several central reservation systems or yield management systems. Web based Skyline systems are rising in reputation as well as acceptance and they are increasingly becoming a choice for large chains of hotels chains and independent companies. The skyline PMS have given hoteliers increased freedom and reliability especially when it comes to access to information. The Skyline Web based PMS solutions can be said to be both quick as well dependable and the end result of this is minimal IT expertise that is needed at the assets level and setting up should be as easy as putting on the browser. In fact, in the industry (hotel), the days of conventional client server produce are slowly being replaced by Skyline Web based property management systems. In this new system the hoteliers can easily use Skyline WebPMS in order to check their existing equipment, and hence they save thousands of dollars when it comes to hardware purchases. The skyline property management system can be said to be a real time information tool that reviews and examine performance, income as well as operations from a single screen in order to improve individual business decision. Further, it has an integrated and comprehensive functionally that enables the system to detect anomalies and automatically report them. This always makes sure that the company is focused on growing and that there are no hitches. There are several reasons to consider when it comes to whether or not one should choose Skyline Property management system to use in the hotel commerce. The first reason is the ease in which guests can be able to make reservations and speed in order for them to check them in order to improve the guest experience. A more user friendly interface can greatly improve the staff effectiveness and consequently increase staff satisfaction as well as productivity. Further, it is important to note that elimination of all the manual processes as a result of introducing the property management systems helps in eliminating errors and speeding up access to important information that is imperative for decision making. The exercise helps in maintaining detailed guest preferences that allows one to provide a higher standard of service in order to customize the marketing efforts. It is imperative to understand that scalable solution often allows one to grow with a new system without having to make any changes to the systems as well as retain the staff. This often provides maximum leverage and return on investment. Further, the new system enables the ability to seamlessly integrate the system with other external systems such as telephone systems. This often reduces the different requirements that come with manual intervention. The quick as well as easy access to different key reports and the ability to create what can be described as ad hoc queries often provides competitive advantage and aid in making better decisions and provides the management with up to date information about how the hotel is doing. However, a recent study has showed that hoteliers often stay with their current Property management system for too long, this might be understandable because it is a reluctance to change because of the fear that comes with apprehension that is involved with something new. There are resources and time that should be considered when it comes to the type of PMS that a company should take into consideration. Further, it is important to understand with proper evaluation as well as a thoughtful implementation strategy, there are issues that can be closely managed and minimized efficiently and effectively. The resulting gains that come in productivity as well as improvements to guest service in many cases will far outweigh any costs to the business. Further, the company should be able to attain a measurable return on in interest that will make the Property management system worth a while. It is imperative to understand that the success of any new technology implementation should be assured with the main emphasis on one particular primary activity called planning. A thoughtful approach often guarantees that one gets the best system and that the entire stakeholders have been able to take ownership of the entire project success. This therefore, means that all requirements are all satisfied and that a realistic timeline is well anticipated and adhered to and that there are no surprises. The skyline PMS will be applied to Dubai International hotel. However, it is imperative to understand that in order for Skyline Web based property management system to take off in the hotel there is a need to ensure that several things are taken care of. The systems of users should be controlled; this is because there are people who use the skyline PMS daily. They range from hotel clerks to the management. Further, customers who check in and out and those who look up the hotel should found a user friendly, easy to use and have a logical navigation system. Further, in the skyline PMS there is a need to ensure that all the changes that are made are done so with the main idea of improving the guest experience. This often means speeding up the check in and checkout time in the systems amongst other things. These in effect will translate directly into the staff’s ability to use the software. The Dubai international hotel currently uses a manual system to check in visitors as well as to check them out. There is a need to have an evaluation of the current system, and there is also a need to interview all the system users’ managers in order to determine the requirements of a new Property management system. There should be the development of a feature list of optional elements and required elements that will be imperative in evaluation the potential solution for the hotel. In order to get the best software, there is need to eliminate certain vendors and consequently narrow the field. The company should stick to a game plan by focusing exclusively on the requirements of the hotel as well as guest experience. In the development of Dubai international hotel Skyline Property management there will be a need for the managers of the hotel to understand that they have specific financial as well as operational reports for themselves. This should be taken in order to provide information for the property owners as well as the executives. Further, they must be able to direct the system users on how to effectively provide this vital information. The system customer’s are found throughout the whole hotel and they are in different levels as well as departments. They will rely on the different reports that the systems users often generate in a bid to properly run the departments and the whole property as a whole. They may not be able to understand that different fundamentals of skyline PMS, however, they require the information that s supplied by the software in order to better do their jobs. The skyline PMS should be user friendly, this is because it is imperative to understand that even if the PMS promises all the features that the hotel requires, if the staff is unable to effectively use the system there would be no functional improvements that those features should deliver. Further, an intuitive as well as logical user interface is often critical in order to gain maximum benefits from system. Once again, if one looks at the user interface from the perspective of the experience, the ease of which the staff will able to effectively navigate through the process of check in and checkout will have a big impact on the experience. For example, a guest that calls the company in order to request the availability as well as the cost of a non smoking room with a queen size bed should have few keystrokes for the attendant to answer the questions. Further, there is a need to have flexible reporting. The software should have the capability to produce different reports and analysis that the company requires. In many cases, there should be the use of a set of standard set of reports that are produced daily, weekly and monthly. The custom report queries should come with the use of programming expertise. For example, the ability of system users to have what can be described as ad hoc queries as well as analysis in many cases can save time and expense and can be used as a competitive advantage. Dubai International hotel is a growing hotel and consequently there are several features that should be customized. For example, because of the hotel existing in a Muslim country, there are certain times of the day when there is a need for the Muslims to pray and consequently this should be incorporated into the Skyline property management system. Therefore, in such a situation there is a need to get the complete functionality and consequently customization becomes an imperative need. For example, in this case there is a need to ensure that the cost is known for the customizability and the implications of the new revision of the product from both a cost perspective and timing. It is imperative to understand that customization should be considered when one cannot be able to satisfy the requirements that exist with what can be described as an off the shell solution. The Dubai international hotel Skyline property management system that should be customized can be compared to buying a made to measure suit. The suit will cost a bit more and will automatically involve more time and sometimes some potential inconvenience; however, the result of this will be a perfect fit. Further, for the skyline web based PMS there is a need to effectively consider the growth and rollout plans. This is because there is a need to have a leverage system that will be an investment for many years as the Dubai international hotel increases more rooms as well as amenities. By being able to have a system that can expand as the company expands, this will automatically eliminate the need to replace the system when the company grows and retain in your staff. This often equates into huge savings in money and time. Dubai international hotel staff is the ultimate success of the Skyline Property management system. It is imperative to understand the proper training that will ensure that they are able to take advantage of all the different features that exist in the system. Further, with the staff turnover there is a need to have experience feature erosion as the information gets passed from one user to another one. The company can be able to efficiently avoid the erosion by often providing specific refresher training classes to the new and existing staff members. It is important to understand that by including retraining as a part of the maintenance program for the skyline PMS, the hotel will be able to maximize its investment by taking advantage of all the future set as well as the benefits that it provides. There has been an argument in the PMS industry about whether it is right or not to implement a fully integrated solution from single vendor and whether one is better off with the best breed of applications from a different variety of software vendors. It is imperative that traditionally, vendor solutions have in many cases provided tighter integration amongst the different symptoms that exists in order to create more interoperability. However, it is of worth to understand that the sacrifice is generally a lesser feature set. Therefore, the best of breed solutions have in many cases provided for a more robust feature set but it has sacrificed connectivity. However, in the 21st century, these traditional arguments have become moot with new initiatives being spearheaded by technology leaders in the hospitality industry with the help support of several companies. In developing the skyline PMS there is a need to follow the functional requirements which will assist the Skyline property management systems and assist managers in collecting as well as maintaining information for financial reporting in accordance with the GAAP (Generally accepted accounting principles) and the managing of different types of property. Additionally, there is a need to assist the managers in ensuring that the assets of the company are safeguarded adequately against improper use of disposition. There are basic requirements have been identified as general requirements in the financial page of the skyline PMS in accordance to the generally accepted accounting principles. These requirements are also important as they enable auditors to better understand the system and consequently determine whether or not there were irregularities. The skyline property management should support the recording of beginning balances, withdrawals, acquisitions as well as calculate ending balances that are expressed in values and physical units. It is however, important to note that except for heritage assets as well as stewardship land which all end with period balances being expressed in physical units the others should be expressed in values. The skyline property management system should capture the condition of the heritage assets, the land and the condition assessment survey should be performed. There is a need to edit the controls in order to prevent duplication and consequently reduce the likelihood of creating erroneous property records and documents. Doing this in many cases ensures the integrity of the data that is being recorded in the system. The system should have authorized personnel enter and modify the property records; this is because if this is done by other persons, it might be considered as fraud. There is a need to provide an audit trail for entries to each and every property records, this includes the identification of the individual that is entering or even approving the information and data. Lastly, there is a need for each type of transaction to be identified with the property item. For example, the initial acquisition, the change in location as well as the disposal of the item. It is of essence to understand that there are advantages and disadvantages in choosing a web based and even a server based property management system. However, the Dubai international hotel requires a web based property management system. A web based and hosted resolution is the one in which the server is situated off site, this frequently means that it is not in the hotel but in many cases it is typically at a secure data center. When the employees accesses the PMS data such as looking up an accessible condition or at times checking in guest at the hotel. Persons can be able to do a personal computer and access the required data via the internet. The advantages of this system include the fact that it is characteristically less cost concerned with the buying of equipment that is compared to server based. The full time IT subdivision at the hotel using the web based property management system is not necessary. Further, distant right of entry is easy when for example, the manager or even at times the property is not at the property and they need at times to access the property management system from a dissimilar site. Further, this system also allows consistent data backup can be completed at the data center, however, in this case there is a need to verify the vendor and see the service level concord that is provided by vendor for more information. Lastly, the software enhancements as well as upgrades are typically easily done and they can be done regularly. In relation to Dubai international hotel, there is no need to use the server based system. This is because it often costs a lot of money to setup and maintain the system as compared to the web based systems. Further, the support is done at the hotel and for this reason it may not be tested for veracity and at times may be forgotten. Security breaches are often very high in terms server based property management systems. This is because the data is often physically located in the hotel. The software enhancements in many cases when there is a need to upgrade them can only be applied via a modem, internet or a CD and are often less frequently used mainly due to their slower procedure. The market has extensively tested the web based hosted skyline systems and most of them are readily available, reliable and have been proven extensively. There have been different stories of how server based system have crashed and this has retorted to confusion. However, the web based system is not out of the woods as yet are there some times that there is an internet outage. In these cases, there is a need for a manual backup plan which is key in carrying out the crucial businesses until the systems in available once again. The Dubai International hotel should have the face desk employees run the different reports on regular basis in order to have automated reports print in regular intervals throughout the night or the day. However, in an event of a power blackout with a skyline web based property management systems, the guests can be able to get checked out and checked in from another different location in a bid to keep the skyline PMS records current and important reports can also sent to the hotel during internet disruption. However, there is a need for the hotel to have different internet providers; this will ensure that if one internet provider has the internet connectivity low, the hotel can be able to toggle over to the other internet provider. Further, there is also a need for the creation of policies and procedures that will ensure that people know how to use the skyline web based property management system. In conclusion, Skyline has a powerful accounting system that integrates different property management functions with full accounting systems that is intended to achieve greater internal control as well as improve the operational efficiency. The property management that is skyline comes with a comprehensive accounting functionality, this includes detailed lease analysis, superior cash management and dependable accounts payable. Further, it also has advanced general ledger features and can be able to easily handle multiple properties that have complex ownership structures and eliminate the possibility of single accounting error. When applied to Dubai international hotel, the system is going to completely change and revolutionize the style of working for the company and help it to reach new heights in E-commerce. This is because the hotel will have an efficient check in and checkout process and persons will be able to effectively see the prices and look for availability of rooms on different days. References United States. (1991). Program management system manual. Washington, DC: The Office. United States. (1989). Program management system implementation plan. 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