Guide
How to choose a PMS for your hotel
The 8 criteria to check before choosing management software for your hotel, bed and breakfast or mountain hut, and the questions to ask during a demo.
What is a PMS?
A PMS (property management system) is the central software of an accommodation business: it brings together bookings, planning, arrivals and departures, invoicing and payments. It is the tool your team opens every morning, and the one that connects your establishment to booking platforms, your till and your accounting.
Changing PMS takes time, so it pays to choose well from the start. For an independent hotel, bed and breakfast or mountain hut, the right software is not necessarily the most complete one: it is the one that covers your local obligations, connects to your tools and stays simple day to day.
The 8 criteria for choosing a PMS
1. The features you really need
First list your daily tasks: bookings, planning, arrivals, housekeeping, invoicing, statistics. A PMS built for large chains adds modules you will pay for without using. Look instead for software that covers the essentials and lets you use only what your establishment needs.
2. Local administrative obligations
In Switzerland, an accommodation business must handle VAT, the QR-bill, tourist tax at its municipality’s rate and eHESTA guest declarations. In France and Italy, other obligations apply, such as the Alloggiati Web police registration in Italy. Check that the PMS handles them natively, and whether it transmits the data automatically to your municipality’s partners or whether you have to export it.
3. Distribution and the channel manager
The channel manager distributes your rates and availability to Booking.com, Expedia and other platforms. The PMS must connect to it in both directions: every booking received updates availability everywhere. Ask which channel managers the PMS is connected to, and whether you can keep your own.
4. Rates and availability
You should only have to manage your prices once. A good PMS lets you set seasonal rates and derived rates, calculated automatically from a base rate, then distributes them across all your channels.
5. Integrations with your tools
Online payment, restaurant till, accounting, door locks: your PMS must talk to the tools you already use. Prefer interfaces with recognised specialists to a solution that claims to do everything itself. If one tool goes down, the others keep working.
6. Data hosting and protection
Your bookings contain personal data. Ask where it is hosted, who runs the infrastructure, how it is backed up, and whether the provider signs a data processing agreement (DPA) compliant with the GDPR and the Swiss nFADP.
7. Support and language
You also choose a PMS for the team behind it. Check the support hours, its language (French, German, English) and the support provided at start-up, including the transfer of your existing data.
8. The real price and future growth
Compare the cost over a year, not just the monthly subscription. Three questions are enough: is there a commission on payments or bookings? Are hosting, updates and support included? Are the channel manager and booking engine included? Finally, check that the software will grow with you: new units, a second establishment, new channels.
Questions to ask during a demo
Take this list to every demo: it lets you compare software on the same points.
- Is the software suited to the size and type of my establishment?
- How does it handle my municipality’s tourist tax and guest declarations? Is it automatic?
- Which channel manager does it connect to? Can I keep mine?
- Can I set derived rates and distribute them to all my channels?
- Which payment providers, tills and accounting software are compatible?
- Where is my data hosted, and does the provider sign a DPA?
- In which languages and at what times does support respond?
- How is my existing data transferred?
- Does the price include hosting, updates and support? Are there any commissions?
- What happens if I add units or a second establishment?
How Arhon meets these criteria
Arhon is a Swiss PMS designed for independent establishments with 5 to 180 units (rooms, dormitories, bivouacs). Here are its answers, criterion by criterion.
| Criterion | Arhon |
|---|---|
| Features | Bookings, planning, online check-in, invoicing, housekeeping, real-time statistics, several establishments in one account |
| Local obligations | QR-bill, VAT, tourist tax per municipality, eHESTA; automatic transmission depending on the municipality’s partner; Alloggiati Web and VIT export (Aosta Valley) in Italy |
| Distribution | Interfaces with SiteMinder and Hotel-Spider, to Booking.com, Expedia and other channels; you keep your contract |
| Rates | Seasonal rates and derived rates calculated from a base rate |
| Integrations | Payment (Worldline/Saferpay, Nexi/Datatrans, Computop), tills (Lightspeed, Scanpiii, Melzer, Vendomat), accounting exports |
| Data | Hosted in France on Arhon’s own cluster at OVH, in compliance with the GDPR and the nFADP |
| Support | Support in French, German and English; data transfer by CSV import; two-step training |
| Price | Arhon Base from CHF 120 per month excl. VAT; Direct and Connect plans; no commission on payments collected |
Arhon runs in the browser, with no installation, on computer, tablet and phone.
From demo to go-live
Ten steps, with about 30 days of set-up from receipt of your form.
- Demo30 minutes by video call, focused on your needs.
- OfferReceived before the demo and signed online: it serves as the contract.
- Go-live dateYou choose the date that suits your establishment.
- ConfigurationA form tailored to your plan. The go-live timeline starts when we receive it, fully completed.
- Import and set-upYour bookings and guest file are imported in CSV format, if your current PMS allows it, then the account is set up: about 30 days.
- Final checkA full check of the configuration, the basis for smooth operation.
- Training1 hour by video call, 2 days before the go-live date.
- Go-liveYour team works in Arhon, with support in French, German and English.
- Training, session 21 hour by video call, whenever you choose, to go further.
- Ongoing supportYour questions are answered within hours, usually on the same day.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to switch to Arhon?
Allow about 30 days from receipt of your completed configuration form. If your current PMS allows it, your bookings and guest file are imported in CSV format; for OTA bookings, the booking reference is carried over so that changes and cancellations are processed automatically. Your channel manager and payment provider stay in place. The configuration is checked before go-live, a one-hour training session takes place 2 days before, and a second one-hour training session whenever you choose. After that, your questions are answered within hours, usually on the same day.
Is a PMS useful for a small establishment?
Yes, from just a few units. It replaces the diary, the spreadsheet and repeated data entry, reduces booking errors and simplifies administrative obligations.
PMS and channel manager: what's the difference?
The PMS runs the establishment day to day; the channel manager distributes your rates and availability to booking platforms. The two must be connected.
Comparing software?
See Arhon in 30 minutes, on your own cases, with no commitment.