Choosing a PMS: twelve questions worth asking on the demo
Most demos show you the calendar. Ask about the other ninety per cent.
Every property management system demonstrates well. The differences appear three months later, in the things nobody showed you: the night audit, the exports, the permissions, and what happens when a channel connection fails at two in the morning.
Ask about the boring parts
What does the night audit do unattended, and what does it leave for a human. How do I export my full data set, in what format, without asking you. What is the actual sync latency to Booking.com, measured, not marketed. Who fixes a broken mapping, and how quickly.
Ask about money
Is the channel manager included or billed separately. Is there a per-booking fee on the booking engine. What does onboarding cost. What is the notice period, and does the price change at renewal. Get the answers in writing before the demo ends.
Ask the people who use it
Speak to a reference property of a similar size in a similar market, and ask to speak to a receptionist rather than the owner. The person who uses the software forty hours a week has the most honest opinion of it.