Where should PMS selection begin?
When choosing a PMS for a boutique hotel, begin with whether your team can complete everyday work clearly and correctly. A long feature list does not answer that question. Bring your own fictional scenarios for reservations, room assignments and shift handovers, and clarify migration and training during the same demonstration. PMS means property management system. These eight questions form our practical editorial checklist for comparing proposals on equal terms, rather than a ranking of vendors. All examples are fictional and contain no customer records.
1. Can you demonstrate a busy shift from beginning to end?
Choose three tasks before the meeting: creating a reservation, changing an arrival date and updating a room after departure. Ask the presenter to complete each task instead of stopping at an attractive calendar. Note where staff enter information, how an incorrect entry is handled and where the next shift finds the change. Oracle's public PMS overview provides background on front-office work. Your own acceptance criterion should be that the chosen workflow can be completed clearly by the people who will use it.
2. How are room types distinguished from individual rooms?
Imagine a fictional property with standard, balcony and family room types. Different sales channels might use different names for the same type. Ask how those labels relate to the hotel's room list and how staff identify a room unavailable for maintenance. Check more than the total room count: a booking's requested category and its assigned physical room should be understandable. Use deliberately similar labels in the demonstration to see whether the resulting information is clear to your team.
3. How will migration scope and verification be agreed?
Turn “we will migrate your data” into a written scope. Ask which upcoming reservations, room labels, statuses and necessary notes are included, and what happens to information outside that scope. Use invented records during the first demonstration. Request a small trial import that lets you compare the original record with the visible result, including responsibility for missing fields. Mews' migration guide, published on 4 July 2025, provides background on preparing for a change. No fixed migration duration is assumed in this checklist.
4. Can channel connections be tested with a sample change?
Seeing an integration name on a list is not the same as seeing your use case demonstrated. Ask what staff will see after a sample availability change, how they recognize a connection problem and whom they contact. Keep the exercise in a test environment. Request a written description of the channels you need and the responsibility for support. Do not assume all connections provide identical functions or update speeds. Record any function that cannot yet be demonstrated as an open question, rather than awarding it a completed check.
5. Are responsibilities and permissions clear to the team?
Prepare separate examples for reception, housekeeping and the property manager. Describe the information each person needs and the actions relevant to that job, then ask to see those roles separately. Check how a change is handed over to the next shift. Shared access to every screen may look convenient, but evaluate whether responsibilities remain clear. Agree who prepares the training accounts and exercises, how staff questions are collected and where answers will be available after the demonstration.
6. Will staff be able to try the system themselves?
A presenter's speed does not demonstrate that your staff will feel equally comfortable. After a short explanation, let a team member complete a sample task independently. Record the points of hesitation, the help needed and the questions they would ask a colleague. This exercise identifies training needs rather than condemning a product. Include people from different roles. Leave the meeting with a clear plan for training, reusable learning material and a way to ask questions after go-live.
7. How will data export and support scope be demonstrated?
Ask how you can obtain your information in the future as well as how today's setup works. Request an export of fictional records and check whether field names and file contents can be understood by your team. Exporting data and moving an entire operation into another product are different scopes; evaluate them separately. For support, clarify the contact channel, ownership, tracking process and coverage rather than accepting a vague promise of help. These are selection questions, not statements about any supplier's private contract.
8. What evidence will support the go-live decision?
Organize your notes into three columns: demonstrated, needs clarification and does not fit our operation. Record the observed result and the person responsible for each open question. Define your own acceptance items for sample-data checks, staff training, room-list verification and support readiness. If preparation is incomplete, identify the missing work before agreeing a launch date. The decision then rests on observable evidence rather than presentation quality. You can use the same checklist in a Stayax conversation and explore your general property needs through our public solutions page.