Leaving one of the big three — Code Hotel, Koh Samui
Code Hotel replaced one of the three largest property management systems with Resort Manager. Their Hotel Director explains why, in his own words.
What Chris Willison said
These are his words, published on our home page:
We replaced our existing PMS, which was one of the big three systems, with Resort Manager because we were extremely disappointed with the after-sales support. What a breath of fresh air after all the problems we have had in the past three years! Resort Manager support is always just on the end of the phone to answer any questions from our staff.
If there is a downside to this product, I haven't found it yet.
I must finish by mentioning the very competitive price — the best value for money we have spent since the day the hotel opened.
Chris Willison, Hotel Director / Owner, Code Hotel, Koh Samui
Three years is the part to notice
A property put up with support it was extremely disappointed by for three years before replacing the system. Not three weeks. That says how much friction there is in changing a property management system, and how bad things have to get before an owner accepts that friction. If you are unhappy with your PMS and have not moved, you are not unusual.
He complained about support, not features. A hotel does not run into trouble at a convenient hour, and a system nobody can help you with at eleven at night on a full house stops being a system. That is the distinction the big three are least able to compete on for a property of this size, because the economics of their support model are built around much larger customers.
The price comment is about value, not cheapness. "Best value for money we have spent since the day the hotel opened" is a comparison against every purchase the property has ever made, not a claim that the software was the cheapest option.
If you are in the same position
The pattern is common: a capable system from a large vendor, bought on the strength of a feature list, where the day-to-day experience is that nobody answers. The questions worth asking your current vendor, and any replacement:
- When something breaks during high season, who answers, and how quickly?
- Is support included, or a separate tier?
- Are the people answering able to fix it, or only to log it?
- What does leaving involve? Who owns your data, and in what format?
We are happy to answer all four about ourselves. So, we would suggest, should anyone else you are considering.
The quotation above is complete and unedited. Code Hotel gave it to us unprompted and we did not commission it. If you would like to talk to an existing customer before deciding, ask us and we will see who is willing.
Tell us about your property, or read how Maekok River Village came to the same decision from a completely different direction, or how Komune in Bali went from thirty rooms to over a hundred without changing system at all.
Pricing depends on the property, so we quote it rather than list it.
Tell us which version you need, the modules you want and how many rooms you run, and we will put a proposal together. If Resort Manager is the wrong fit for the property, we will say so.