They say time flies when you’re having fun! I’ve certainly enjoyed my first 90 days in my role as Planet’s President of Hospitality and these first three months have flown by. I’m learning so much from listening to our customers and partners, and by networking with people across the wider industry. It all adds to my knowledge and understanding about the business, having initially joined Planet as Global Head of Growth in 2022.

If I haven’t spoken to you yet, I’m looking forward to connecting soon!

I thought I’d pause, reflect and share my thoughts on the industry, and on where I feel Property Management Systems (PMS) and hospitality payments are heading, and why.

Planet is continuing to invest heavily across its PMS business, in product development (both On-Prem and Cloud PMS), technology, support and service. I’m excited because of the benefits this is delivering to our customers and partners.

Blending the human element with technology

What strikes me most about hospitality is the unwavering commitment everyone I meet across the industry shares to delivering a great experience for guests.
From those on the front line, to those in supporting or back-office roles, the entire purpose and differentiation of the hospitality industry is the guest experience.

What I find most fascinating is how this blend of human connection and technology works to facilitate a better guest experience. When it’s done well, it’s like a dance between the personal touch and the hotel tech systems that power everything behind the scenes. For example, I find the way the PMS helps streamline hotel operations and enhances the experiences for guests amazing.

It’s all about making sure everything runs smoothly, from check-in to checkout, without losing that human touch. And I think that’s where the real magic happens. I love being part of an industry where you can have the best of both worlds!

Connecting payments and PMS elevates the experience for everyone

I’m coming at hospitality from a digital commerce background, having spent 12 years with PayPal before Planet. That’s an advantage with payments and hotel tech converging. In my opinion, the ‘gold standard’ for payments integration continues to be Uber. This idea that the best customer experience is one where you make the payment almost invisible, removing a major source of friction, is something I find fascinating.

And that’s where I see Planet adding a lot of value. PMS is a core strategic focus for Planet, and we’re deeply embedding payments within the automated workflows of our PMS products to deliver a superior guest experience, reduce friction and increase operational efficiencies.

We serve hotels of all sizes and complexities. That’s why we’ll continue to offer a choice of an in-house ‘all-in-one’ bundled approach, alongside deep integrations with best-of-breed solutions from our PMS marketplace. That way we can provide hotels with maximum choice and flexibility.

At the same time, we’ll continue to offer the full range of stand-alone PMS products for those who just want a PMS solution, whether that’s On-Prem or a cloud-based product.

I’m convinced that the future of PMS is in the cloud

I’d love to see a greater push toward standardising and adopting cloud-based technology across the entire industry, including PMS.
At the same time, I respect the decisions hoteliers make around what type of PMS they use to run their businesses on. We’re increasing our investment in Protel On-Prem and Hotsoft, so they continue to serve our existing customers well.

We’re also accelerating our investment in Protel Cloud PMS. Our plan is to deliver more value and functionality to hoteliers looking to move across to the cloud, and we have more planned go-to-market enhancements over the next four quarters to deliver this.

For me, the move from on-premise to cloud-based PMS isn’t just about the tech. It’s about empowering properties to operate more efficiently, offer a superior guest experience and to improve their data security.

A cloud-based PMS provides one of the most impactful ways to reduce operational costs, improve data accuracy, and create a more agile business. Plus, cloud systems make it easier for hotel staff to collaborate and access real-time information from anywhere, which is a game changer in an industry that thrives on flexibility and speed.

Reflecting on our successes

This year, I’ve been especially proud of how we’ve helped more businesses in the hospitality industry transition to a cloud-based PMS.

It’s a big win when you can introduce technology that not only simplifies processes but also makes life easier for staff and guests alike. Seeing the positive impact on everything from guest satisfaction to operational efficiency is truly rewarding.

It’s like watching a well-oiled machine, but with the benefit of having the cloud constantly fine-tuning and optimising things in the background. That’s the future of hospitality, and it’s happening now!

Exciting times ahead

I’m excited about the opportunity to build further on the progress we’ve made over the past two years. I’m privileged to lead an extremely talented hospitality team, with deep industry experience and strong capabilities across all types of PMS and payments.

We remain at the heart of the entire hospitality ecosystem where we continue to offer deep integrations to our extensive network of over 1,000 third-party integrators.

The value we bring is the cost efficiency, simplicity and automation as the only true full-stack provider who can offer both PMS and payments in-house from one company.

Final words

I’m looking forward to helping our customers and partners continue to solve their complex hotel technology and payments challenges.

Thank you again for all your support and for making me feel so welcome.

May I take this opportunity to wish you a very happy festive period and I look forward to meeting more of you in the New Year.

For additional information about Planet Hospitality and to get in touch please contact us here.

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Contact details

Khristina Quigley, Key Account Director
  Khristina.Quigley@weareplanet.com

Dani Rees, PMS
  Dani.Rees@weareplanet.com
  086 466 8070

Web  www.weareplanet.com