Mews has published a guide to online hotel reservation systems, which it calls the heart of hotel operations because they manage bookings, room inventory and rates.
What a reservation system is
A hotel reservation system stores and manages bookings, rates, availability and guest reservation details. It may run independently or connect with a property management system, with reporting tools showing booking and revenue performance. "Online" can mean either that staff access a cloud system over the internet, or that guests book through a connected booking engine on the hotel website.
How it differs from related tools
- Reservation system: the back end managing reservations, inventory and availability, used by reservations and commercial teams.
- Booking engine: the guest-facing interface for direct bookings.
- PMS: wider property operations, which may include reservations, front desk, housekeeping, billing and reporting.
- Central reservation system: centralises rates, inventory and distribution, often across several properties.
- Channel manager: distributes availability to third-party channels.
How a booking flows
A guest searches, selects a room, provides details and pays any deposit. The system creates the booking record and confirmation, shares it with connected systems, and removes the inventory from availability, which can then update across other channels to reduce conflicts.
Types of system
- Cloud-based: hosted online, updated by the provider, accessible from supported devices.
- On-premise: installed on property hardware, needing more IT resources.
- Standalone: reservation-focused and integrated with other tools, flexible but integration-dependent.
- Integrated platform: combines reservations with front office, payments, housekeeping and reporting, reducing handoffs.
- CRS: especially relevant to groups and multi-property portfolios.
Choosing
Mews says the right option depends on property size, booking channels, group requirements, existing technology and growth plans.
Originally published by Mews: Mews Guide to Online Hotel Reservation Systems
