There is no doubt property management system (PMS) is the backbone of any short-term rental business. From reservation, task management, invoicing, guest communications to move out, it’s a central hub for all daily operations execution.
But if it is slowing you down, or you’re unhappy with current software or it is unable to meet industry needs, it’s time to change and switch to new software. It is easier said than done. Change doesn’t come easy. It is accompanied by concerns, barriers and requires a lot of planning and managing. In this post, you will get tips to overcome 5 common migration challenges for a smooth transition.
Being a property manager, a lot of things like “we don’t want to risk it”, we don’t have enough time, maybe sometime later or so, keep you occupied. It is quite natural to see this resistance when it comes to replacing the core systems. The mere thought of migrating the complete data, training your staff, or compatibility of new property management system with other systems in place feels like a lot needs to be done. But the initial discomfort of transitioning to new software pays off well when you have a right software in place. A user-friendly software enables you to do more work in less time, provides a modernized guest experience, and requires less training time.
Find out 5 common switching roadblocks
and how you can overcome them with ease:
1.) Why a new software?
There is alot on the plate when it comes to managing a property. You often work on your business rather than in it. To see the big picture, you have to keep pace with evolving corporate housing industry. You don’t miss out on opportunities to provide the ultimate guest experience and stay competitive.
Switching or upgrading to new software brings with it a lot of resistance from staff and managers. It is quite natural. Therefore, it is important to educate everyone who is impacted by this change. Tell them why the old system is unable to meet the current needs. And how the new property management system will reduce their pain areas. How it can automate all your tasks, surveys, inspections, communications and saves you more time for your guests and revenue generation. How they can make use of pre-built message templates or survey forms or workflow automation rules with few clicks. For example, if you want to increase efficiency in invoicing, you can show a demo of how the new software makes it super-easy and boost staff confidence.
2) Why pay more?
Once you figure out the right solution for a rental business that addresses your pain areas, now is the time to evaluate the cost. Often, the right solution may cost you more than the current solution. It becomes the main obstacle in switching to new software. Rightly said, it all boils down to how much the new solution costs. And why not? You have tight budgets and shrunken profits due to unprecedented covid pandemic to blame for.
Investing in technology largely revolves around the cost and benefit it delivers. You should always start by making a comparison chart of features included, add ons, things included, or any hidden cost. This helps you analyse whether or not you are paying more. You can evaluate and figure out which features you can exclude to bring down the cost.
For example, going with cloud-based property management system like Zenya, you don’t require to pay for hardware, on-site installation, and licensing costs. This means you save on these recurring costs along with less IT team involvement. 1:1 training and support facilities that come with software equally contribute to enhanced efficiency and lowering costs in long run.
In addition, you should also calculate the time and labor cost you save if you automate and digitize the tasks. You can check out what all processes can be automated and how quickly it can be implemented.
3. Is it compatible with other systems?
Another obstacle in migrating to a new property management system is the compatibility it has with other systems in place. For example, if you have been using an accounting system like Quickbooks or payment gateways like Stripe, you would not like to start all over again with another accounting or payment gateways when you make a switch. Be it email marketing or review software, you would like the new PMS should be compatible with an existing system.
Before you finalize any software, you need to make a list of systems you are using or well-established systems you would use in the future and see whether the new PMS integrates or not. A well-integrated software connects reservation, operations, and accounting in one software. It streamlines tasks via automation and saves you time and resources.
4) We don’t have enough time to learn a new system or train staff
When you are used to one system, you miss out on a new feature that can boost efficiency, save time, and provide a better guest experience. You end up spending too much time maintaining your system like hardware or software updates, reboots, backups and so. Or you have to manually transfer your data between your property management system and other systems. And you often feel stuck when you have little room for personalization and customization of messages and services.
You feel the pain when it slices your revenue by slowing you down during the peak season.
Frankly, you have no time left to learn a new system or to train your staff. It makes switching to a new system even more difficult.
Therefore, when you take a demo of new software, you should look out for things like user-friendliness, flexibility, customization, and agility. Cloud-based property management system like Zenya, allows you to be up and running in no time. It is easy to use and implement. With 100 + automation workflow rules, message templates, Zenya not only saves time but reduces your training time. Moreover, online training and live support add a lot of flexibility in learning new software.
5. We lack technical know-how
Whether you are adopting a new software or switching to new software, one question that might bother you most is about the maintenance of system hardware, software, and security. You might question yourself on whether you need to hire a dedicated IT team to regularly check for back-ups, re-boot, or updates? Will it add to your cost?
Any easy solution is switching to cloud-based software. You don’t need to have the technical know-how. Cloud property management software takes care of all system maintenance like software updates, backup and so. You get more time to focus on growing your business and providing a personalized guest experience.
How Zenya helped corporate housing business make the switch with ease
Switching to new software is tricky unless you have the right software by your side. At Zenya, we are with our customers throughout the implementation, onboarding and entire tenure of usage. It integrates with most of the software’s so the switch does not mean changing all systems in place. And data migration can be seamless without any silos. Our 1:1 support team, understand customer’s requirements, roadblocks and customize the software for a quick step up. On-boarding gets easier with live training and step-by- step documents. With 100+ pre-built customizable rules, message templates, and designs, using Zenya is just about few clicks. Being rental software for corporate housing, it has covered all the pain areas of property managers and has simplified it for easy usage.
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