Taking on a new property: the technology checklist before the first guest
Most of the technology problems we meet in hotel groups were created on the day a property was taken on. Nobody looked, because there was a lot else to do, and the previous owner's arrangements simply carried on.
Here is the list we work through before the first guest under new management.
Connectivity
- What lines exist, who supplies them, what the contract terms are and when they end.
- Whether there is a second line, and whether failover has ever been tested.
- Who holds the router login. Frequently, nobody knows.
Network
- Is guest traffic separated from tills, the PMS, CCTV and back office?
- What switches and access points are installed, how old are they, and are they still supported?
- Is there a diagram? There is almost never a diagram.
Property systems
- PMS and POS: version, supplier, support contract, who owns the data, and how you would get it out.
- Payments: terminals, provider, and whether card data ever touches the hotel network.
- Booking and channel systems: what is connected to what, and what is done by hand.
- Telephony: what happens to the phones if the broadband fails.
Servers, backups and recovery
- What runs on a server in the building, and what happens if it fails on a Saturday.
- Are backups running, where do they go, and when was a restore last tested?
- Is there a written recovery time anyone has agreed to?
Security and doors
- CCTV: which network, who can view it, how long is retained, and does it meet data protection requirements.
- Door and key systems: supplier, support, and how staff access is removed when people leave.
People
- Who at the property looks after all of this today, and what leaves with them.
- Every supplier contact, contract and renewal date in one place.
The output
A one page view of the property against the group standard, a short list of what must be fixed before opening, and what can wait. Then the same view for every other property, so head office sees the estate rather than a set of hotels.
Where to go next
FAQ
When should the technology review happen in an acquisition?
Before completion, alongside the other due diligence. Once the property is trading under new management, contracts have transferred and problems are inherited rather than negotiated.
What is most often missed when taking on a hotel?
Who holds the logins and the contracts. Router, firewall, domain, PMS admin and CCTV credentials frequently sit with a previous supplier or a departed employee. Recovering them after the fact is slow and sometimes impossible.
Do we need to replace the systems in a newly acquired property?
Usually not immediately. The priority is knowing what is there, securing access, separating guest and operational networks and confirming backups. Replacement decisions follow from the review, not before it.