Let's talk about Cloud and Cloud Hosted PMS for hotels.. what are the differences?

Cloud-based (native):

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Cloud-based or cloud-native applications are designed and deployed specifically for cloud environments. These applications are hosted in a true cloud infrastructure (like Amazon Web Services) and delivered in a software-as-a-service (SaaS) nature. They are designed to take advantage of the promises of cloud computing:

• Setup times are much shorter as no additional hardware or software installation is required — customer access occurs almost instantly without delays
• Shared code base enables quicker, faster upgrades (all customers are upgraded at once since it is single instance / multi-tenant with a single upgrade event from the vendor)
• Seamless, dynamic expansion of computing resources to scale with usage and/or users

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Cloud-hosted:

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A cloud-hosted environment is generally the “on-premise” software hosted on dedicated server(s) managed by the vendor on behalf of the customer. These are effectively on-premise applications that are available remotely. Contrary to cloud-based applications, cloud-hosted applications are generally not designed to be hosted as multi-tenant instances and can come with several challenges:

• Initial implementation times are longer due to server setup, software installation, and customization
• Upgrades are manual and specific to each server (not all customers are upgraded simultaneously), causing customers to be “stuck” or “locked-in” to older versions of the product while they wait for the vendor
• Expansion may require the purchase or setup of additional hardware (servers) because software is hosted on dedicated servers by the vendor

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While on the surface cloud-based and cloud-hosted might sound similar, they are very different. Cloud-hosted models do not offer the full advantages of cloud computing.

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Cloud Hosted sounds nearly there, I mean why rebuild something that works right?

That’s another point, cloud hosted solutions typically are systems that have been built up over the last 10–15 years. The interfaces can be archaic and hard to use, something reminding you of the days of Windows XP. Is that something you want to power you business for the next 10 years?

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User friendliness isn’t an option in todays world

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Sending your new receptionist for a 2 days course on the PMS is not really feasible today. With hotel staff turnover being so high it doesn’t make sense to pay $1000 for training only for that person to change jobs in 6 months time. New systems need to be intuitive to use, the training should be done in house and more showing than teaching.

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Conclusion

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We always would recommend a hotel to get a cloud native solution, there are plenty to choose from: The Booking Factory, Mews, Clock etc. All are suited towards different types of customers large and small.

In the end it depends what is right for your business, sometimes the cloud hosted is a perfect fit as it has built over the last 15 years all the modules and features you ever wanted. From Spa to Maintenance to Staff Rotas. This can be a good option if you need a lot of features where maybe the cloud systems haven’t caught up yet.

Let us know your thoughts!