Hotel Systems
We do not sell PMS or any other system. We help your hotel choose, contract and implement the right solution, with supplier selection, requirements definition and oversight of PMS, POS and automation projects.
What's included
The right choice of PMS and POS depends on each hotel's operation. We support the process from requirements gathering through to ongoing optimisation, across the areas below.
PMS and POS selection
Comparative assessment of PMS, POS and booking engine suppliers, on technical rather than commercial criteria.
Integration requirements
Specifying the technical and integration requirements between systems, to avoid rework during implementation.
Implementation and migration oversight
Oversight of projects delivered by specialist suppliers, representing the hotel's interests, including the data migration plan, parallel running and a cutover with a rollback plan if something fails.
Contracts and SLAs
Review of contracts and SLAs with hotel technology suppliers, with clear performance targets.
Automation and digital check-in
Assessment of room automation, mobile keys (digital locks, keyless entry) and digital check-in solutions before you invest.
Ongoing optimisation
Follow-up after go-live, adjusting configuration and processes as the operation evolves.
Guest experience
Guidance on smart rooms, mobile keys, WhatsApp chatbots and IoT, assessing what adds value to the operation.
Security and access control
Assessing any PMS or POS on the same technical criteria: role-based access control, encryption of data in transit and at rest, quality of API integrations and the supplier's stability record.
- Comparison matrix of the PMS/POS suppliers assessed
- Technical and system integration requirements document
- Monitored implementation schedule
- Post-implementation report with points to adjust
- Register of current contracts and SLAs with hotel technology suppliers
Why this matters for your hotel
A hotel uses several systems at once: bookings, PMS, POS, room automation. Choosing the wrong suppliers or integrating systems without a plan leads to rework, hidden costs and friction in operations.
We help your hotel choose, contract and oversee these suppliers carefully, making sure the systems talk to each other and that the in-house team or technical partners have clear requirements for carrying out the implementation.
We also advise hotels considering investment in guest experience technology, such as room automation, virtual assistants and connected (IoT) devices. Our role is to help assess the feasibility, suppliers and risks of these solutions. The implementation itself is always carried out by specialist suppliers.
A hotel's systems ecosystem
In general, the PMS is the centre of the ecosystem: bookings, check-in and check-out, guest history and billing all converge there. Around it, a set of systems exchanges data with the PMS all the time: the booking engine and channel manager, to update availability and rates on each OTA; the restaurant, bar and spa POS (to post charges to the guest's folio); the payment gateway; the CRM or loyalty platform; and, increasingly, electronic locks with mobile keys (keyless entry), room automation and guest Wi-Fi.
Choosing a system in isolation, without considering those integrations, is a frequent cause of rework: an excellent PMS that does not integrate well with the booking engine already in use, or a POS that needs manual posting because the PMS integration was never set up properly. That is why we assess each supplier not only on its own features, but on the quality and stability of the integrations it offers with the rest of the ecosystem.
What we assess when selecting a supplier
| Criterion | Why we assess it |
|---|---|
| Integration with existing PMS/POS | Avoids rework and duplicate data between systems |
| Card data scope (PCI DSS) | Poorly configured payment systems widen the compliance scope required |
| Supplier support and SLA | A critical system going down affects check-in, check-out and sales in real time |
| Total cost of ownership | The licence price rarely reflects implementation, integrations and training |
| Scalability | The system needs to keep up with the growth of the hotel or group |
Independent platform assessment
We are not tied to any specific supplier, and any supplier commission is only discussed after the hotel has agreed its price, without changing that price, and is always disclosed to the hotel. We have technical knowledge of the main PMS and POS platforms in the hotel market, such as Opera, Mews, Cloudbeds and Agilysys, among others, and we assess any supplier on the same technical criteria: role-based access control, encryption of data in transit and at rest, quality of API integrations and the supplier's stability record.
How it works
- Requirements gathering: we map the operation's needs and the systems already in place.
- Selection and negotiation: we compare suppliers and support the commercial and contract negotiation.
- Implementation oversight: we oversee the project through to go-live, with a post-implementation review.
Frequently asked questions about hotel systems
How should a hotel choose a PMS?
Start with the systems already in place and the integrations the hotel cannot lose: booking engine, channel manager, POS, payment gateway and locks. Then assess each candidate on an open, documented API, role-based access control, where guest data is stored, real support in Brazil, the data export process and total cost over three to five years, not just the monthly fee.
What is the difference between a PMS, a booking engine and a channel manager?
The PMS (property management system) is the core operating system: bookings, check-in and check-out, the guest folio and billing. The booking engine is the hotel's shop on its own website, where guests book without an intermediary. The channel manager distributes availability and rates to the OTAs and brings bookings back. Many suppliers sell all three together, but what matters is that the three exchange data in real time, with no manual entry.
Does a small hotel or guesthouse need a PMS?
In most cases, yes. Once a guesthouse sells through more than one channel or has more than one person on the front desk, a spreadsheet stops coping: overbooking, out-of-date rates and duplicate guest records appear quickly. A suitably sized cloud PMS solves this for a low monthly cost. Since April 2026, FNRH Digital (Brazil's digital guest registration) has also been mandatory, and a PMS that integrates with the Ministry of Tourism platform avoids typing each registration twice.
Is changing PMS risky? How can the risk be reduced?
It can be, but the risk lies less in the new system and more in the migration: guest history exported without control, old integrations left connected, accounts on the previous system that stay active, and staff trained at the last minute. A migration plan defines what is migrated and what is archived, tests each integration before the switchover, picks a low-occupancy date and formally closes access to the old PMS. That turns the change into a controlled project, not a leap in the dark.
Which integrations between hotel systems are essential?
The ones that avoid manual entry and duplicate data: PMS with the booking engine and channel manager (availability and rates), PMS with the restaurant and bar POS (charges to the guest folio), PMS with the payment gateway (charging and reconciliation), PMS with electronic locks (keys at check-in) and PMS with FNRH Digital. Each of these integrations needs an owner defined in the contract.
Does HotelTI sell or implement PMS?
No. We do not resell systems or hold agreements with specific suppliers, and any supplier commission is only discussed after the hotel has agreed its price, without changing that price, and is always disclosed to the hotel. We gather requirements, compare suppliers on the same technical criteria, support the negotiation and oversee the implementation, which is carried out by the chosen supplier. That keeps the assessment independent and the hotel's interests first.
Ready to choose the right systems for your hotel?
Compare the PMS, POS and automation systems your hotel is considering. We work in English or Portuguese, Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 18:00 Brasília time.