How Hotel Technology APIs help hoteliers

The hospitality industry is constantly evolving and these changes are primarily driven by new technology systems that seem to be emerging every day. There are several technologies that when implemented make a huge impact for your hotel, however, your primary concern should be whether all these products can be connected. Having a connected technology ecosystem is easier to manage and streamlines operational efficiency.

Every day at your hotels, your teams come together to orchestrate the guest experience. Housekeeping works with Front Desk to deliver rooms as guests arrive, and the Concierge works with Sales to ensure all the guests activities are executed as promised. Departments have to work together to create the perfect guest experience and that would not be possible without the ability to communicate with one another. Your technology is absolutely no different!

So what is an API and why it is crucial for your hotel?

What is an Application Programming Interface?

APIs are a common set of rules that allow programmers to develop software programs that talk to each other. An open API allows for a collaborative system where the company and third party can build integrations quickly and create innovative applications that add value to the core product.

When you use a point-of sale platform that is built on an open API, multiple companies that offer different technologies can all connect at one central place; your POS. Similarly, when you use hotel operations software that is built on an open API (like ALICE), other pieces of technology can be integrated with your team’s operations.

How do APIs affect your hotel?

APIs provide a means of connecting different systems to help promote a more streamlined business operation. As hotels increasingly continue to incorporate and rely on technology, the use of APIs becomes more diverse and important. APIs can connect many different aspects of a hotel’s technology. By allowing businesses to have the best of each aspect of their desired technologies, hotel’s are not losing the ability for these to be interconnected.

Hotels, and their operations, are inherently complex machines. From multiple different departments working cohesively on a daily basis to the multiple different systems used to manage reservations or guest experiences. The hotel industry is one unlike any other. In recent years, many hotels have adopted new pieces of technology to help supplement and support the day-to-day tasks of the staff.

With several different types of technology, the teams are using it is of the utmost importance that these systems communicate. This is where the benefit of APIs comes in for hoteliers. Hotel API integrations offer opportunity for all of this information to connect across systems.

How are APIs used daily?

If your hotel uses several technology systems, it is almost impossible for you to efficiently streamline hotel operations without the help of APIs. For example, if a PMS holds notes regarding a guest’s room preference, this information can be shared via API; with this information being accessible to users on a different system such as ALICE.

Another situation hoteliers experience daily, would be the need for a CRM to connect directly into the PMS providing real time availability and pricing for the hotel. Whether they know it or not, a lot of hotels are relying on APIs already to run their hotels. 

Why should you streamline your hotel’s technology?

Open APIs offer an even greater opportunity to provide value to the hoteliers. With an open API, the possibilities for connecting your hotel’s systems are endless. Not only does this afford a property the opportunity to build into a system using their desired specifications, but it also offers an opportunity for cost savings. An open API allows hotels to have their own team write the integration themselves, often mitigating the cost of development that would typically be incurred for that type of work.

 The limits are endless for opportunities produced by APIs. As hotels continue to move into this new realm of technology-based operations the use cases and benefits of open API connections and throughout their systems will continue to grow. The possibilities are truly untapped at this point for just how much API’s can benefit hoteliers.

 As guest expectations continue to change and the technology that surrounds our industry keeps evolving, decisions related to transitioning to new platforms and solutions can seem daunting. Fundamentally, hoteliers need to look for systems that provide technological flexibility by using open APIs, and ultimately, select innovative systems that deliver on their promises.

ALICE’s operations platform is built with internal APIs and provides flawless synchronization between products to make sure your hotel operations are running smoothly.