Property Management System

Property Management System (PMS)

A property management system handles room bookings, occupancy and reservations in hotels and hospitality businesses.

Property Management System: Not to be confused with

A PMS is NOT the same as an ERP, and an ERP does not replace it. The PMS covers day-to-day room management on site, the ERP provides the commercial layer above it, such as financial accounting, HR and controlling across several properties. The two systems are connected through an interface.

A property management system handles room categories, rates, availability and reservations, and is usually connected directly to booking platforms and the on-site point of sale (Source 1). For financial reporting, an ERP is still needed in the background: revenue, occupancy data and payments from the PMS need to flow automatically into financial accounting and controlling, especially across multiple properties.

At what size an additional ERP alongside the PMS becomes worthwhile is covered on the Hospitality & Tourism page.

Related terms

• ERP

Sources for Property Management System

1. Wikipedia, "Property management system" ↗