Choosing the best RMS for your specific hotel is an important decision that can greatly impact your property’s financial performance and operational efficiency, both in the short- and long-term; to help, we created this 10-step checklist to help you choose the RMS of your dreams.

One final thought before we get started… remember that the goal with this project is not just to adopt new technology but to find an RMS that enhances your decision-making, optimises revenue opportunities and, ultimately, elevates the guest experience. When going through the following 10 steps, take your time to thoroughly evaluate potential systems, engage with vendors and most importantly, involve your team in the selection process to ensure the chosen RMS becomes a cornerstone of your property’s success.

Let’s get started…

Big properties with hundreds of rooms and small, BnB properties have very different needs in their revenue management system. While both types of properties need some sort of automated pricing solution, the smaller property wouldn’t necessarily need all the bells and whistles (i.e., extensive reporting functionality, corporate booking functionality, etc.) that the bigger property would need; begin your search by listing the specific pain points that you are experiencing and that you would like the RMS to help solve. This will be your guide when comparing systems in later steps.

Another important consideration is how you anticipate your property to grow and change, both in the short- and long-term. The RMS you chose should be able to grow and adapt with your hotel, no matter whether you expand into different locations, improve your service offerings, adjust your business and revenue goals, renovate your property or cater to new market segments, the system should be able to support your evolving business needs, today, tomorrow and into the future.

Once you’ve decided on what your pain points are, the next step is to do a thorough examination of the different types of solutions available to you and create a short-list of the ones that seem to suit your needs and business goals.

Here are a few quick and easy ways to get started on your search for the best RMS for your hotel:

• Check out different vendor options on HotelTechReport y HotelMinder which gives you in-depth information about different RMS that are available, their ratings and reviews from clients, integration partners, FAQs about their solution, a full list of features and functionality, and additional valuable information that can help you understand the key differences between the different options. It even gives out awards for the Top 10 Best RMS for Hotels every year (HOT TIP: RoomPriceGenie was rated the 2^nd best RMS in 2024 and have a 4.9 rating with HotelMinder), so this is a good way to get an overview of some of the best solutions available on the market.

There are two main schools of thought on whether you should do demos with RMS vendors at this stage of the process and there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Some advocate to do demos with a larger pool of vendors to get a better understanding of the offerings available on the market, at a higher level, and as a way to create a short-list; however, information overload is a real thing and, by giving yourself too many (competing) options before you’ve done your own independent research, it can create a great deal of uncertainty and “paralysis by analysis” (in other words, you can’t make a choice on how to move forward so you abandon or delay the search).

We recommend a more balanced approach, in which you do a book initial demos with a select few vendors who offer different types of RMS so that you can learn a bit more from each company’s perspective about why their type of solution is “best” for your property; after these demos, we suggest that you continue with your own independent research (by following Steps 3 through 9) and then doing a final demo with your top 2 vendor options to make a final selection (Step 10).

One of the first and most important things to consider when choosing an RMS is whether or your PMS and CRS have pre-existing integrations with the RMS on your short-list. There is no point in considering a solution that doesn’t have the integration capability with your current tech stack. Integration is very important because it is essential for enabling the revenue management and inventory management processes to be completely automated, as the integration is necessary to transfer pricing and inventory data in real-time across all the systems. 

RMS offer very sophisticated technology in the back end but the customer facing dashboards should be very intuitive and easy-to-use. No matter how tech-savvy your team is, they should be able to log into your RMS and find the information that they are looking for, quickly and without hassle.

Of course, there will be times when you have questions or need help to optimise how you use the solution so look for a vendor that offers training/onboarding immediately after implementation, and high-quality customer support options.

Compare each RMS vendor’s customer service support availability and response times support (24/7 support is ideal but may or may not be necessary) and the quality of the technical support that the support team offers. A good way to discover this information is to read reviews from current clients on each vendor’s page on HotelTechReport. Look for indicators of the support team’s responsiveness and the quality of technical assistance. Good customer support is key in getting your issues resolved quickly so you can get back to the business of running your hotel ASAP.

The core of an RMS is its ability to analyse historical data and market trends to forecast demand accurately. Evaluate the system’s track record for accuracy and how it handles data from various sources, including your hotel’s historical data, market trends and competitor pricing – and, importantly, whether the data is collected and analysed in real-time.

The ability to adjust prices in real-time based on fluctuating market demand (also known as dynamic pricing) is essential. Assess the RMS’s capabilities for dynamic pricing, including setting pricing rules, incorporating competitive pricing data and applying different pricing strategies for various customer segments and distribution channels.

HOT TIP: Today, “real-time: has become a marketing buzzword in the hospitality technology industry so don’t just take a company’s website at face value when they say that they update prices in real-time; ask them specific, quantifiable questions about what “real-time” is for their system. Be it collecting and analysing data every 8 mins or once every hour, if data is not collected and applied to your pricing in actual real-time, it means that you could miss out on valuable revenue opportunities and be leaving money on the table.

While the monthly or annual cost of the RMS is important, you can’t base your decision upon that number alone; many vendors charge additional fees, such as initial setup fees, update or support fees and/or integration fees. Weigh the total cost of the RMS against the expected ROI – which comes from increased revenue, improved operational efficiency and enhanced guest satisfaction – and prioritise the system that will give you the best ROI on your spend.

Curious how much money RoomPriceGenie can generate for your property? Calculate your Return on Investment here.

When you’ve narrowed down your list to the final 1-3 RMS vendor options, it’s important to do your due diligence on each vendor’s reputation and obtain references from and past/current clients. Look on the vendor’s website for case studies and customer testimonials, but it is important to also read independent reviews (on HotelTechReport and other industry sites) to understand the actual experiences of other hotels who have used the RMS in the past. As much as possible, look for reviews and references from hotels with comparable pain points that you are experiencing and which are a similar size and type to your property, to better understand how you are likely to experience using the RMS.