Identifying the right partner to improve hotel operations and deliver the best guest experience relies on access to the relevant data. Why our ‘fully tested’ API connections will give you peace of mind.
Whether it’s on your website, in your mobile app, or on property, the focus of your technology should be to provide the best guest experience. Technology can help you do this, while also improving processes and providing access to data as and when your team needs it. Good technology relies on robust, stable connections to deliver reliable and integrated solutions for all your customer requirements. At SIHOT we help make your integration journey as smooth as possible. With the right process, you can focus on the things that really matter. We have recently adapted our strategy to take an API-first approach where our standard integrations are based on interfaces, allowing the SIHOT system to be more open and integrate faster. We support over 180 certified integrations connecting to a wide range of software systems, applications and plug-ins with our SIHOT hotel management suite to evolve your digital environment and hotel tech stack. The solutions we support include channel managers, Point of sales systems, housekeeping apps, spa management systems,revenue management systems, finance accounting systems and more.
What are APIs?
Data is essential for managing an array of hotel processes, to gain business insights and to support the guest journey and stay experience. Behind the scenes of your existing hotel management system we connect multiple systems and solutions to access and share data that will give more power to your PMS and selected solutions in your hotel tech stack. This means you can focus on the operations and not the technology know-how. The term “API” (Application Programming Interface) has been bandied about a lot in recent years within hospitality, with evermore greater reliance on interfaces to make new applications work. API provides the connection and communication between different components of programmes and systems to extract and share the relevant data points. By taking an API-first approach, SIHOT offers a deeper level of data connection with the PMS, enabling it to become more powerful, and means other third-party systems and applications can be easily integrated through an interface for application programming. Instead of integrating specific data points, APIs work like control panels for developers who no longer need to deal with source code but instead link different software and data components from SIHOT’s unified data layer for a wider variety of data field options that can be expanded over time. This makes technology more responsive, particularly with most solutions delivered by the Cloud – they no longer require heavy computer power and on-device storage; they work in real-time, pulling data and necessary information when you need, making your solutions faster and more accurate. A successful API-supply chain can instantly produce new sales, reach more guests and create greater value for users. At the same time, it can support sales and marketing activities and stimulate business innovations.
Why are APIs such a hot topic in hospitality?
Hospitality is quickly adopting new digital technologies that were once the preserve of large hotel chains and groups. Open APIs and greater access to legacy system data – as well as the emergence of new technology players – has let the industry advance quickly, meaning that even small hotels can now access big technology. In fact, according to the State of API Economy 2021 report by GoogleCloud, APIs powered digital transformation in 2020 and are going to be even more important this year. One of the key drivers behind the demand for a more flexible integration is due to the influence of mobile apps requiring specific data to function. The COVID-19 pandemic also drove the adoption of more APIs and will continue to rise in 2021. Travel APIs means you can take Google location data, data from any airline with a public API, data from a hotel service like Airbnb or ride-hailing data from a service like Uber, and develop an application that caters for all the traveling needs of your customers, from purchasing a plane ticket to ordering transport at their destination. You can now provide a wider array of products that you don’t own, all of which is accessible to the consumer through your website or app. APIs are evolving the guest experience, making it completely immersive, as more data can be aggregated through a single interface to provide your business with more intelligence.
What are the benefits of APIs?
APIs offer many commercial benefits such as allowing you to add new products and services, earn additional revenue, sell ancillary products, satisfy the guest and provide an enhanced digital experience. And APIs have many business and operations benefits. Say goodbye to manual updates, managing multiple platforms and systems, downloading and uploading XML reports, data loss, and your staff spending time on dull and repetitive data management tasks. With well-structured APIs you will benefit from:
- Faster data exchange
- Better, more accurate data
- Access to relevant data of both your guest and hotel
- Lower costs
- Greater flexibility for your hotel tech stack
- Driving efficiencies and automation
- Improved security and stability
- Customisation
What types of hotel APIs are available from SIHOT?
At SIHOT we have four core systems that are centrally connected and share data to enable you to customise the platform to your specific requirements across PMS, POS, WEB and C&B. You can also identify programmes and applications provided by other technology providers to connect and access the data you need. You can now get your selected solutions to interface with SIHOT in ways not imaginable before to power your hotel. We help tech developers build and integrate an app or even create your own UI client to take hotels to the next level of digitalisation.
How to find out more about APIs for your hotel
Speak to one of our team or your SIHOT account manager to discover the wider world of SIHOT and the range of available integrations. Should you have a specific third-party application or software you would like to use with your SIHOT system then we can help you to ensure the API is in place. Sign up to our newsletter for regular updates, or learn more about our Cloud-based hotel property management system by arranging a meeting with one of our team.