Hotel Connections

If OwnerRez added integrations with Google Meta Search, Google Hotels, Expedia, and ideally a channel manager like SiteMinder, it would immediately become a viable PMS for thousands of boutique hotels, inns, and bed & breakfasts that currently have very few good software options.

This is a much bigger opportunity than simply adding a few new channel connections.

We’ve been OwnerRez customers for six years and are huge fans of the platform. In fact, we reached a point where we were forced to leave OwnerRez for our hotel projects, not because it wasn’t capable, but because it couldn’t connect to the hotel ecosystem we needed. We would genuinely love to bring those properties back to OwnerRez if these integrations existed.

We’re also connected to a large network of boutique hotel and B&B owners who feel exactly the same way. Many of them would move to OwnerRez tomorrow if it supported these basic hotel connections. Right now they’re stuck using hotel PMS platforms that are either incredibly antiquated or prohibitively expensive.

I’ve spent a tremendous amount of time researching the hotel PMS market. The reality is that most systems fall into one of two categories:

• Older platforms that feel dated, rigid, and lack the flexibility modern operators want.
• Enterprise-focused systems that are far more modern but are priced and structured for larger hotels, often requiring 25 or more rooms just to become a customer.

That leaves a massive gap in the market for independent hotels with 5 to 25 rooms.

OwnerRez already has what many of these systems don’t: an incredibly powerful, flexible, and customizable operating engine. I’ve built out some very sophisticated guest experiences using OwnerRez because it’s simply capable of so much more than most hotel PMS platforms.

The biggest missing piece isn’t the PMS itself. It’s connectivity.

Even better, OwnerRez wouldn’t necessarily need to build dozens of hotel integrations individually. A partnership with a platform like SiteMinder could solve most of that overnight. SiteMinder already connects to nearly every major hotel distribution and technology platform, including OTAs, Google Hotels, travel agencies, loyalty programs, marketing platforms, and countless other hospitality services. Leveraging that ecosystem would instantly make OwnerRez a legitimate hotel PMS.

The boutique hotel, inn, and B&B market is deeply underserved. This isn’t a niche with only a handful of potential customers. It’s thousands of independent properties, many averaging 5 to 15 rooms, actively searching for better software.

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say this could fundamentally change the competitive landscape for OwnerRez.

Once those hotel distribution channels were available, I wouldn’t even be surprised to see much larger hotels begin adopting the platform. There are really only a handful of sophisticated hotel PMS products on the market today, and none of them stood out to me the way OwnerRez did when I originally evaluated PMS options for our vacation rental business.

The only major feature I could see OwnerRez eventually needing for larger hotels would be true multi-room inventory and room-type management. But that’s a future expansion. Simply supporting hotel distribution through Google Hotels, Expedia, Google Meta Search, and/or SiteMinder would already unlock an enormous new customer base.

This feels like a rare win-win opportunity. It would be a major growth opportunity for OwnerRez while bringing a modern, flexible platform to a part of the hospitality industry that has been underserved for years.

It's a really interesting idea, A&T, and I don't disagree.  Candidly, it's been extremely hard getting hotel OTAs to see us as hotel inventory, even where we already have an existing world-class partnership! (eg. Google, Expedia)

We would love this too!  We just have 2 STR's that we're launching with OwnerRez but we also have a bed and breakfast, which has very limited tools for us.  We would love OwnerRez' technology for our BNB!  We would sign up immediately!

Paul would you mind giving us all an update please. —Shelley @ The Victorian Inn 

Hi Shelley, and good morning! ☀

You asked for an update here in the "Hotel Connections" thread, but I think you may be asking about Google Hotels specifically? I will post an update on both threads just to be sure.

For this thread about general hotel integrations and the idea of connecting with SiteMinder or a third-party channel manager that already has many hotel partnerships in place, we have not pursued this yet. Over the years, we have steadfastly avoided using third-party/middle managers (for sound technical and business reasons), focusing instead on building best-of-class direct partnerships, so it would be a big step for us. We have just finished our Marriott integration, another rock-solid partnership that we are very proud of.

That being said, I do agree that there is an overlooked gap in our customer base with the boutique inn world that straddles the line between STR and hotel, and I also agree that we do not want to spend the time to find and build integrations to many prominent hotel OTAs (eg. Expedia) as the cost benefit would be hard to justify. It remains an active discussion at this point.

Looking at the market honestly, what hotel OTAs do you feel like you really have to be on - just Google Hotels and Expedia, or are there others?  Asking what really moves the needle.

I’m sorry, Paul! Yes, I was specifically referring to the Google Hotel integration, and that is what I’m looking for.

Right now, Booking dot com is essentially able to intercept guests who search for my business on Google. When they click the availability button, they’re being directed to Booking.com to book my rooms, where they’re paying an additional commission.

I’m also not currently appearing as the official site with prominent direct pricing alongside the other OTAs. I absolutely need to get this changed. 😊

Thanks for your help! 

Shelley