Over the last five months, the social and economic implications of the coronavirus pandemic have been far-reaching, and, in many respects, the hospitality industry bore the brunt of the impact. Facing extensive travel restrictions and widespread uncertainty surrounding the safety of travel, hoteliers had to quickly pivot their offering to adapt to 'the new normal.'

Understandably, technology will play a critical role in the future of hospitality, as hotels look to embrace a high-touch, hands-free experience made possible by new-age PMS systems. In the World Panel Special Series hosted by Hospitality Net, industry leaders shared their perspectives on the role of the Cloud PMS in a post-COVID era.

Historically, the hospitality industry has been notorious for slow technological adoption, often in favor of legacy platforms and procedures.

RMS Cloud's Zen Valli calls attention to this observation, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the need for hospitality leaders to shake up the way they engage their guests and readily adopt new technology. "Now is the time to assess your tech stack and identify if your current solution allows you to operate as efficiently as you could be."

According to Protel's Linda Vallner, "The new, contactless journey includes enhanced personalization across digital touchpoints, mobile payment options, voice enablement, digital COVID-19 room management, next-gen conference and banqueting, and more."

Apaleo's Uli Pillau stated "Imagine all the chaos if you had to hire a consultant to come to your home and set up ZOOM on your computer at the onset of beginning of COVID-19. This is the state of "cloud" PMS technology in the hospitality industry.

Nicole Dehler at StayNTouch elaborates, noting that although features such as mobile self-check-in were previously considered a luxury for high-tech or forward-thinking hotels, today they are an absolute necessity. "Moving forward, hotels will have to invest in a technological ecosystem that can streamline operations, reduce costs, increase revenues, promote social distancing, and enhance the guest experience. A mobile, cloud-based PMS lies at the heart of that ecosystem."

Oracle Hospitality's Laura Calin supports the sentiment that, as an industry, we are all in this together. "Since the beginning of this crisis, we've been continuously evolving to help the industry navigate and prepare for the "new next" and meet guests' rapidly changing needs."

Understanding that pandemic has shifted guest priorities, James Slatter from Agilysys Inc. explains, "Hoteliers who are ready to welcome guests in an environment that emphasizes their safety and personal value will be the first to recover."

All the experts agree with Slatter, "That pragmatic solutions that empower hotels to 'do more with less' will help them weather the storm and strengthen short and long-term margins as the industry returns to growth."

Additional featured views include Adam Harris from Cloudbeds, Binu Mathews from IDS Next, Jason Floyd from INFOR, and Warren Dehan from MEASTRO.

Click here to view the entire special series.