PMS UX explained: How good design transforms hotel operations

A bustling hotel lobby with guests queuing to check in is already a challenge for front desk staff. Now, add a difficult-to-use property management system (PMS) to the mix, causing confusion, slowing down processes, and pulling experienced staff away from serving guests to help newer employees navigate complex menus and screens.

In our recent PMS User Experience Report, we explored exactly this issue, surveying 500 hotel employees across five countries about their experiences with PMS software. The findings revealed that PMS user experience (UX)—how intuitive, functional, and frustration-free a system is—directly impacts operational efficiency, employee retention, and guest satisfaction.

In today’s environment of labor shortages, rising operational costs, and historically high turnover, investing in a well-designed, user-friendly PMS isn’t just beneficial; it’s essential.

In this article, we break down what exactly PMS user experience is and why PMS design matters for hotels. 

Common PMS UX challenges

PMS software generally falls into two categories: legacy and cloud-based.

Legacy systems were originally designed for desktops and lack an intuitive user interface (UI)— the menus, buttons, and screens that users interact with to complete tasks. They’re usually rich with features and shortcuts, which can be useful for experienced users but make the system more complex overall.

Modern cloud-based systems, on the other hand, offer better usability and ease of adoption. They offer sleek, responsive interfaces, resulting in faster onboarding and a shorter learning curve. While these systems may have fewer advanced or specialized features compared to legacy PMS systems, they typically include all the functionality hotels need to operate effectively. 

Both systems, however can have UX challenges, here are some of the most common ones:

1. Steep learning curve

All software requires some learning, but poor UX makes it much harder. Complex workflows, confusing navigation, and cluttered UIs can be frustrating for new hires, especially younger employees accustomed to intuitive apps.

When a PMS requires employees to memorize complicated workflows or navigate confusing interfaces, mistakes become frequent, frustrations increase, and confidence in performing routine tasks declines. 

2. Lack of automation

Tasks like guest check-ins, reservation adjustments, or invoicing should ideally be streamlined or automated. Unfortunately, many systems still rely on multiple clicks, manual data entry, and repetitive workflows. This not only slows down operations but increases the risk of errors, leading to guest dissatisfaction.

3. Poor integration

If a PMS doesn’t communicate well with other software, it leads to inefficiencies, duplicate data, and more manual work. Poor interoperability causes frustration, wastes staff time, and complicates processes unnecessarily. 

These common UX challenges have direct implications.

Too much time spent on training

According to our report, 85% of employees receive two weeks or less of PMS training. However, managers report that front desk staff often need at least four months—sometimes up to three years—to use the system confidently. 

This means that front desk employees may be dealing with guests before they are fully proficient with the PMS, leading to more mistakes, slower performance due to hesitation, and a growing sense of frustration and inadequacy in their roles. 

The problem is compounded by inadequate support from the PMS vendor, which makes experienced staff responsible for training newcomers.  In fact, 73% of hotel employees are trained in person by a supervisor or colleague. With constant turnover, this cycle repeats year-round, pulling seasoned staff away from guest service. 

Lower productivity

Combined with poor UI and lack of integration, these issues negatively impact efficiency and guest satisfaction. Time spent fixing mistakes, manually importing data, or troubleshooting the PMS is time not spent taking care of guests.

The impact of good PMS UX on hotels

A well-designed PMS can boost productivity, minimize errors, and free staff to focus on guests, but it also has broader implications across employee retention and enablement: 

• Increased retention: Among surveyed employees who had decided to leave their jobs, 38% said their experience with the PMS influenced their decision. Reducing frustrations not only improves satisfaction but equips staff with the skills needed to accelerate their career progression. 
• Faster hiring: A PMS with poor UX often forces hotels to focus on candidates with prior PMS experience. With a more intuitive system, the hiring criteria are less strict, widening the candidate pool and speeding up recruitment. 
• Faster onboarding: A well-designed PMS helps new hires become confident more quickly, improving the onboarding process. 

These benefits are particularly important as staffing shortages persist. The American Hotel & Lodging Association reports that hotels remain 9.4% below 2019 staffing levels and are dealing with a 73% annual turnover rate—more than twice the national average. In Europe, the hospitality sector is missing between 10% and 20% of its 2019 workforce, according to HOTREC.

“A well-designed UI and UX enhances staff efficiency by reducing the time required to perform tasks, minimizing errors, and ultimately improving employee satisfaction and reducing employee turnover, thus reducing hotel business expenses,” noted Vanja Bogicevic, Ph.D. and Olena Ciftci, Ph.D., Clinical Associate Professors at NYU SPS Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality, who worked as consultants in our survey.

Where PMS UX design really makes a difference

Good PMS UX enhances key hotel functions, including:

Checking guests in & out

Often the first and most time-sensitive guest interaction, this process benefits from intuitive workflows that minimize clicks for room assignment, ID verification, payment collection, and digital check-in, resulting in smoother guest arrivals.

Reservation management

Staff need to quickly adjust bookings while keeping availability accurate across all channels. A good UX provides drag-and-drop functionality for modifying reservations, real-time inventory updates, and seamless integration with channel managers and booking engines.

Housekeeping

Keeping room status updated and coordinating with other departments is essential for smooth housekeeping. A well-designed PMS includes a mobile-friendly module for real-time status updates, cross-departmental communication, task prioritization, and embedded checklists and SOPs.

Guest profiles

Personalizing service requires quick access to detailed guest information. A well-designed PMS centralizes guest preferences, booking histories, and past interactions, empowering front desk teams to anticipate guest needs, deliver exceptional experiences, and build loyalty.

Group management

Handling group bookings efficiently reduces errors and improves guest experience. A specialized UX includes modules for managing group check-ins, room blocks, invoicing, and group-specific booking codes.

Reporting & analytics

Accurate, actionable insights are vital for informed decisions. A PMS with a strong UX provides pre-configured, easy-to-understand reports and customizable dashboards, allowing managers to rapidly identify trends, track performance, and address operational issues proactively.

How Cloudbeds does PMS UX design 

Cloudbeds prioritizes intuitive usability, streamlined workflows, seamless integration, and scalability in its PMS UX design—directly addressing the challenges hotels face today. 

Our team of UX strategists and designers are dedicated to creating a scalable user experience that enables hoteliers to be both efficient and effective while empowering them to create delightful experiences with their guests. 

Our process

We emphasize two core aspects of product design:

1. User Experience (UX): Ensuring functionality.
2. User Interface (UI): Providing a professional, polished look.

Our goal is not to create just a minimum viable product but a “minimum lovable product” – one that is not only functional but also reliable, usable, and enjoyable.

To do this, our work is divided into four key areas:

1. Interaction design: Understanding how users interact with products and features.
2. Visual design: Choosing colors, typography, photography, iconography, and animations.
3. Content design: Designing with words to infuse context and meaning into every element.
4. User research: Assessing context, learnability, efficiency, recall, error management, and user delight.

Our design process is guided by several key principles:

• A holistic approach to problem-solving
• Applying user research to uncover insights
• Embracing ideas from any source
• Prototyping to gain feedback early and often
• Prioritizing both near-term and long-term features

Through user research, interviews, and surveys, we identify common PMS design issues faced by hotel employees and managers, then work to resolve them. Every aspect of our platform is designed to enable employee success and help properties grow their businesses. 

Case study: TTM Hospitality

TTM Hospitality’s experience demonstrates how Cloudbeds’ human-centered design delivers measurable benefits across all critical hotel operations.

Intuitive training & rapid onboarding

When TTM Hospitality acquired the Dew Duck Inn, co-founder Ryan Lloyd had only 72 hours to launch the property. Thanks to Cloudbeds’ intuitive design, Ryan quickly mastered the PMS with minimal formal training. 

“Cloudbeds, and I say this to anyone who will listen, is probably the most intuitive PMS that I’ve ever worked with,” he explained. “I’ve used some super complex systems that were completely unnecessary—the UX was overbearing and required extensive training. With Cloudbeds, I was ready to operate within days, significantly faster than other systems.”

Empowered employee confidence 

Cloudbeds’ simple, user-friendly interface allowed TTM Hospitality’s team to become proficient quickly, enabling them to confidently manage shifts. The team has been able to stay efficient while minimizing overhead costs; with 2 management employees and a small housekeeping team. 

Seamless integration 

Cloudbeds integrates seamlessly with essential technologies used by TTM Hospitality, including Operto for contactless guest access and Breezeway for housekeeping coordination. These integrations automate key operational processes, saving staff valuable time and enabling the hotel to deliver contactless hospitality efficiently. 

According to Ryan, this tech stack provides him peace of mind: “It allows me to have eyes on the property each and every day.”

Scalability 

A good PMS doesn’t just support today’s needs but grows with your business. Cloudbeds’ extensive partner ecosystem ensures that as operations expand, properties can add new tools without disruption. TTM has currently expanded its portfolio to four properties as part of its strategy of transforming underutilized properties into modern, technology-driven accommodations.

Supporting sustainable growth  

Hotels cannot afford to overlook the role of PMS user experience in shaping operational efficiency, employee satisfaction, and guest interactions. A thoughtfully designed PMS empowers hotel staff, accelerates onboarding, reduces costly errors, and helps mitigate ongoing labor challenges. 

As demonstrated by properties like TTM Hospitality (and many others), prioritizing intuitive, scalable technology supports sustainable growth.