Hotel decision-makers are calling for unity—and technology providers should welcome it.
Hotel leaders increasingly rely on technology to improve operations, grow revenue, and adapt to the rapid pace of change in the industry. To do so, hotel owners and operators should rely on the most sophisticated tools available, especially best-in-class technology that provide a frictionless approach to improving operations and revenue management. These tools serve as the backbone for their property’s technology stack, enabling a host of profitability-boosting capabilities.
Friction is the enemy of profitability. After all, it was only due to inflationary pressures and the rising cost of labor that the hotel industry narrowly avoided celebrating an unprecedented year of revenue growth in 2024. A recent study from CoStar found that total revenue per available room increased 7.2 percent in U.S. hotels last year—a mighty gain, which was offset in part by an 11.2-percent increase in labor expenses alone. Hoteliers must ensure they have the best technology in place to ensure their properties operate efficiently, simply, and with the most flexibility possible.
According to Maricarmen Cardenas, Solutions Engineer at IDeaS, hotels that invest in an integrated Property Management and Revenue Management System benefit from real-time data transfer between departments, increasing the accuracy of a hotel’s pricing and inventory levels.
“Once integrated, these technologies build off each other and make ‘smarter’ decisions to improve operational and labor efficiencies. This strategic investment improves forecasting and ultimately drives higher revenues and delivers long-term returns on investment.”
Real-time behavioral insights from integrations between a full-featured, cloud-based RMS and PMS can unlock hidden revenue streams, depending on the property. These can range from dynamic pricing options for late checkouts to personalized upselling opportunities based on guests’ historical data.
Base of Operations
The PMS remains your property’s command center, and its capabilities dictate how agile your hotel will be when integrating new technologies. By choosing a PMS designed for seamless connectivity, hotels can optimize revenue strategies without the friction of outdated, siloed systems. That’s why Priya Rajamani, VP of Implementation & Support at Stayntouch, says it is vital for hotel investors to research specialized PMS providers to understand how they handle integrations and integrate with existing RMS technology.
“A specialized hotel PMS does more than just manage room inventory—it plays a crucial role in total revenue optimization. Many hotels still focus solely on room rates, but with a properly integrated PMS and RMS, they can analyze total guest value rather than just total room value. This means leveraging data to drive ancillary revenue opportunities, such as upsells, late checkouts, premium amenities, and F&B offerings.”
Hotels are continually onboarding new technology and are finding new ways to leverage evolving tools such as artificial intelligence and predictive analytics. According to Rajamani, a hotel’s choice of PMS and RMS can directly impact its revenue performance, operational efficiency, and long-term asset value due to how the system handles integrations and how often it is updated to keep pace with changes in the marketplace. With the PMS acting as a critical connection point for your investments, hoteliers must envision how tomorrow’s innovations will interact with their chosen property technology.
In practice, hotels can leverage PMS and RMS integrations to improve market segmentation, optimize length-of-stay, automate inventory management, and dynamically adjust pricing for group, transient/leisure rates and ancillary revenue. Well-integrated PMS and RMS systems can also tap into AI-driven forecasting capabilities to strategize for overbooking, predict cancellations, and even align staffing demand with occupancy levels. These interactions involve a large volume of data exchanging hands between systems, which is why the quality of your integrations plays a role in executing your tech strategy.
“To fully unlock the power of an integrated PMS and RMS, hoteliers should prioritize a cloud PMS with open APIs, seamless integrations, and structured, standardized data,” Rajamani said. “When evaluating tech investments, operators should prioritize a PMS that offers flexibility, reliability, and future-ready integrations to build a scalable and resilient technology ecosystem.”
Cardenas agreed and added that there is a need to maintain data accuracy, continuous staff training, and performance monitoring to optimize pricing, improve forecasting, and drive revenue growth. From her perspective, hotel operators prioritizing system scalability and data consistency will be in the best position to benefit from machine learning and AI improvements. By leveraging market intelligence from an integrated, best-in-class revenue management and property management system, investors can anticipate demand shifts before competitors, allowing them to adjust asset positioning, optimize renovations and even influence brand negotiations, turning technology into a strategic advantage that enhances both short-term gains and the value of an asset as it appreciates.
“Technology integrations and investments are increasing hotel asset value by enhancing operational efficiency, optimizing revenue, and expanding guest experiences,” Cardenas said. “The right technology can be the deciding factor, making some properties more attractive to investors. In 2025, operators should prioritize scalable, data-driven solutions that improve profitability, and future-proof their assets while balancing upfront costs with long-term ROI.”
Long-Term Value
With the right technology in place, hotels are now in a position to recoup lost revenue that has slipped through the cracks by creating greater incentives to book rooms in advance or at the last minute by adjusting its revenue strategy and targeted messaging. According to Rajamani, it’s long past time hotel investors considered the value of integrating an RMS and PMS as one.
“Hotel guestrooms are a perishable asset, and if a room isn’t sold each night it is a lost opportunity forever,” Rajamani said. “Hoteliers with access to automated pricing routed through a tightly connected PMS and RMS can maximize revenue each night while minimizing manual intervention. This is part of the value built into a best-in-class PMS–it immediately reduces inefficiencies, cuts down on manual inputs and stems the flow of lost revenue across your property. When integrated with an advanced RMS, hotels can optimize the entire guest spending journey, transforming every stay into a more profitable experience.”
According to Cardenas, a well-integrated PMS and RMS typically recoups costs within six to 18 months by automating revenue strategies, enhancing forecasting, and increasing profitability. Well-equipped properties are using these systems to optimize their pricing and demand forecasting, driving higher RevPAR and improving net operating income over time. Strategically, these hotels are in a position to build out tech stacks that increase the financial performance and overall valuation of their property. Investors know what technology moves the needle on hotel efficiency, so it’s time to start prioritizing assets and planning their long-term revenue strategy today.
“Integrations between the PMS and RMS initially increase operational complexity due to system coordination and staff training, but ultimately their combination leads to simpler operations by automating tasks, improving accuracy and streamlining revenue management,” Cardenas said. “These investments are essential for long-term success as they enhance efficiency, optimize demand and ensure hotels remain competitive in a dynamic environment.”
Innovative, well-integrated technology can make a world of difference for your property’s bottom-line. Visit https://go.rev.ideas.com/stayntouch for more on how IDeaS and Stayntouch can give you an edge.