What is a Central Reservation System?
A central reservation system (CRS) is the software hotels use to manage room inventory, rates, and reservations from a single location, distributing them in real time to every connected booking channel — including OTAs, GDS, the hotel’s own website, and call centres. SiteMinder integrates with all major CRS platforms, connecting them directly to 450+ distribution channels so hotels never have to update availability manually across systems.
By consolidating so much data, it can also be a very useful tool for hotel managers when thinking about revenue management strategies. Here’s everything you need to know about Central Reservation Systems.
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Why is a hotel Central Reservation System important?
A hotel Central Reservation System is important for keeping track of reservation data and having the appropriate information to optimise distribution for the hotel. Because the CRS transfers reservation data from the PMS/s to the distribution channels in real-time, hotels are able to reach guests across as many channels as needed.
In this aspect, a Central Reservation System acts in much the same way as a channel manager. A CRS generally has more features than a standalone distribution solution, but doesn’t offer the same power and performance as an integrated hotel commerce platform.
Maximise the power of your property with SiteMinder
SiteMinder’s unified platform will give your hotel all the functions of a CRS and more, helping you to boost bookings and revenue.
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4 advantages of a Central Reservation System
Here’s four reasons hotels will choose to use a central reservation system to improve their business.
1. It can improve customer experiences
The CRS can help hotels track patterns in guest purchasing behaviour and also record reservation data to enable the creation of guest profiles.
2. It keeps everything in one place
Trying to consolidate data from OTAs, the GDS, brick-and-mortar travel agencies, phone reservations, and more can be very tricky when done manually. The Central Reservation System ensures all this information is stored and accessible in one place, and always up-to-date.
3. It increases efficiency
Admin errors, lost data, and slow processes all cost money in the long run so it’s crucial for hoteliers to find ways that make backend operations easier and quicker. By preventing data fragmentation, the CRS saves hoteliers a lot of time, money, and effort.
4. It enables better decision making
By giving greater visibility on bookings, a Central Reservation System lets a hotel make more informed sales and pricing decisions and make more accurate performance forecasts.
Streamline multi-property operations with SiteMinder’s CRS integrations
We connect your central reservation system with top distribution channels, automatically syncing rates and inventory across all of your properties to lower your cost of distribution.
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How does a CRS work at a hotel?
A CRS works by collating vast amounts of data from a number of different sources into one accessible location. The CRS is able to connect the hotel’s property management system to every distribution and sales channel the hotel might be using. This ensures that all reservation data is safely recorded and stored in the hotel’s own system, meaning inventory will always be accurate and up-to-date everywhere it needs to be.
The synchronisation works the other way too – the CRS can also push updated rates and availability to the distribution channels where guests are booking. For example, if you need to update a packaged rate for your hotel, you can do this within the CRS and the new rate will be reflected on your connected OTAs, your own direct booking engine, and in your PMS.
CRS vs PMS: what’s the difference?
A central reservation system and a property management system are often confused because they work closely together — but they serve different functions. The PMS is your internal operations hub: it handles check-in and check-out, room assignments, housekeeping, billing, and on-property guest management. The CRS sits above it in the distribution layer, managing how your inventory and rates are presented and sold across external booking channels.
In practical terms, the PMS knows what’s happening inside your hotel; the CRS controls what the outside world sees. When a guest books through an OTA or travel agent, the reservation flows into the CRS first, which then passes it to the PMS to trigger the operational side of the stay. Most hotels need both, and the two systems are typically integrated so that availability updates made in the PMS are reflected instantly across all channels connected to the CRS — and vice versa. SiteMinder connects to both, bridging your CRS and your PMS with the 450+ distribution channels where guests are booking.
Types of central reservation systems
A Central Reservation System is just one type of reservation software. There are a number of systems on the hotel market that can help improve reservation management. Other types of reservation systems include:
- Property Management Systems (PMS)
- Channel Managers
- Booking Engines
There are also many different providers of these systems, including Central Reservation Systems, and it’s up to you to decide what is the best fit for your property.
Álvaro Belber,
Revenue Manager
Grupo Premium
Central reservation system examples
Some common Central Reservation System examples you might come across, which can be integrated via SiteMinder’s platform, include:
- Choice
- GuestCentric
- Pegasus
- ROIBACK
- SHR
SiteMinder’s platform integrates your CRS with the leading online travel agencies (OTA) to increase your reach and lower your cost of distribution. With SiteMinder, inventory and rate updates to and from your CRS are automatic and real-time eliminating manual work and lowering your cost of acquisition.
