The hotel tech landscape is changing, with more ‘All-in-One’ platforms promising simplicity. However, these often trade depth for breadth, limiting flexibility and innovation. So, how should hotels decide between an All-in-One platform and Best-in-Class solutions?
PMS Landscape Today: The “All-In-One” Distraction
Many hotel PMS providers are chasing the “All-in-One” model, promising to be everything to everyone. But in doing so, they often dilute their expertise, slowing down innovation and reducing value for their customers. When a vendor spreads itself across too many products, hotels lose control over where the company’s attention goes. For example, if your PMS provider suddenly acquires a new sales & catering system, your needs could take a backseat while they struggle to navigate complex tech debt. This creates a dangerous cycle for hotels, locking them into a system that ultimately can’t meet all of their needs.
For something as mission-critical as a PMS, you can’t afford to work with a partner that isn’t focused on such an important piece of your tech stack. By specializing solely on delivering a Best-in-Class PMS, technology partners can not only offer exceptional support to their clients but also provide more visibility into their product roadmap, giving hotels a voice in shaping product development to ensure it aligns with their evolving needs.
“Best-in-Class” vs. “All-in-One:” How Your PMS Provider’s Approach Impacts Your Hotel
For hotel owners and operators, differentiation is everything you have to stand out through service and guest experience—and technology plays a key role in making that happen. A Best-in-Class PMS should empower your staff to deliver warm, genuine interactions—without the frustration of navigating complex menus or clicking through unnecessary pop-ups just to assist guests. It’s about presenting data in a way that enhances genuine hospitality moments. It’s about allowing your team to communicate and act on your guests’ expectations in real time.
Whether you’re a single property or a hotel group with a complex business mix, you need the flexibility to grow your brand, your operations, and your guest engagement strategy. The truth is, most hoteliers aren’t integration experts, and they shouldn’t have to be. That’s why having a tech partner committed to delivering a Best-in-Class PMS coupled with service is important. It’s the difference between feeling like just another number with an “out-of-the-box” vendor and having a dedicated client success manager who truly champions your needs, backed by a support team that responds quickly.
And when it comes to your tech stack, the freedom to choose shouldn’t stop after purchasing one product. Investing in an All-in-One platform can prevent you from finding better solutions that meet your specific needs. Take revenue management, for example. Suppose your hotel needs a specialized solution like IDeaS, Duetto, or FLYR, with advanced pricing capabilities that can deliver 3-5x ROI. In that case, you would need a PMS that integrates seamlessly with the best possible RMS for your business, not just be upsold on the revenue solution your PMS provider happens to own. That level of flexibility and connectivity is what drives value for your hotel or group.
How Stayntouch Delivers “Best-in-Class” Technology and Service
When I joined Stayntouch as CEO, one of my first priorities was to sit down with our product team and get a clear picture of our roadmap. At the time, we were already on track to develop additional products to pair with our Property Management System, with the goal of becoming an All-in-One platform. But as we looked at our strengths and what we truly excelled at, it became clear we had an opportunity to do something better—build a Best-in-Class cloud PMS.
Running a hotel or managing a portfolio means getting a lot of moving parts to work together smoothly, and the PMS plays a big part in that. That’s why, at Stayntouch, we’ve built a cloud-native platform that ensures 100% uptime and top performance while connecting easily with the best solutions out there—from revenue management and point-of-sale to central reservations and more. True innovation isn’t about limiting options; it’s about giving hotels the freedom to use the best technology and create a tech stack that works for them, no matter where the pieces come from.
I recently sat down with a hotel management company that had been using the same outdated legacy PMS for over 25 years. But rather than diving straight into a Stayntouch sales pitch, my team and I spent the majority of our four-hour meeting just listening—getting a deep understanding of their business mix, how they operate, and where they want to grow. By the end of it, we had mapped out an entirely new tech stack for them. And this was possible because we had spent years building a partner ecosystem that powers more than 1,200 integrations and enables innovation with open APIs.
As a tech provider, we don’t just sell software—we are a true partner to our clients. We believe in offering honest, unbiased advice to hotel owners and operators, even if it means recommending other options that better suit their needs.
Hoteliers Deserve Technology that Works for Them
The bottom line is this: Hoteliers deserve technology that works for them, not technology that limits them. All-in-One systems may promise simplicity, but they come at the cost of flexibility, service, and long-term growth. A Best-in-Class approach gives hotels the freedom to build a tech stack that meets their needs today while ensuring they can scale for the future.
About Stayntouch
Stayntouch delivers a cloud-native and guest-centric hotel property management system (PMS) with a comprehensive library of over 1,100 integrations. Stayntouch’s cloud-native PMS empowers independent hotels, hotel groups, and management companies to drive revenue, reduce costs, enhance service, and captivate their guests. In 2022, Stayntouch launched Stayntouch 2.0, a fully integrated technology suite featuring its core cloud-native PMS and guest kiosk solution, a comprehensive chain management module, a seamless booking engine (Stayntouch Booking), a robust payment processing platform (Stayntouch Pay), and a powerful channel manager. Stayntouch 2.0 enables hotels to streamline their operations, maximize and diversify their revenue streams, and deliver an even more enhanced guest experience with the innovation and support of one trusted technology partner. Stayntouch is supported by a team of professionals with deep roots in the hospitality industry and is a trusted partner to industry-leading management companies including Sage Hospitality, HEI Hotels & Resorts, and EOS Hospitality, innovative independent brands such as Village Hotels, Pod Hotels, and First Hotels, and iconic flagship properties such as the TWA Hotel, Showboat Hotel Atlantic City, and Zoku Amsterdam. For more information, visit www.stayntouch.com.
Elliott MestMFC PRStayntouch
