How RAINES Found a PMS Built for Its Team and Its Growth Plans

When PMS Problems Become Business Problems

RAINES initially opened one of its independent hotels on a different PMS platform. The experience quickly became difficult.

Stephanie described frequent bugs, connectivity issues with OTA’s, rate shopping problems and room-type pricing that did not always behave as expected. The booking experience also felt cumbersome, creating additional friction for guests trying to find and select the right room. Those problems went beyond inconvenience.

The team found itself spending time troubleshooting issues that were preventing them from moving forward with day-to-day operations. Support tickets often remained unresolved, leaving the hotel in what Stephanie described as a “holding pattern.”

RAINES knew it needed a different approach.

Choosing a PMS That Fit the People Using It

When RAINES began looking for another system, the team turned to its revenue management partner, Lighthouse, for recommendations.

Because Lighthouse already understood the property, its technology and the problems the hotel had been experiencing, its team was able to recommend several options. Stayntouch quickly moved to the top of the list because it offered the speed and simplicity RAINES needed for a fast transition.

But there was another requirement that mattered just as much.

At RAINES’ independent properties, some front desk and housekeeping roles are staffed through partnerships with college disability-support programs, including the Carolina Life Program. That meant ease of use was not simply a nice-to-have.

The PMS needed to be intuitive, visual and approachable for a team with a wide range of experience and abilities.

“We really needed a system that was user-friendly, color-coded, with simple ways of functioning.”
Stephanie Atkisson, SVP of Commercial Strategies, RAINES

Stayntouch fit that need.

Keeping the Technology Stack RAINES Already Knew

RAINES was also looking at the bigger picture.

With dozens of hotels across the company, introducing an entirely new technology ecosystem for the independent portfolio would mean additional training, processes and complexity for corporate teams.

The company wanted to preserve the systems and partners it already relied on wherever possible.

Stayntouch aligned well with that existing technology stack, including systems such as M3, Toast and Dormakaba locks.

For Stephanie, that compatibility made the transition much easier.

Rather than forcing the company to go “off book” and retrain teams on unfamiliar replacement systems, Stayntouch allowed RAINES to maintain greater consistency across the organization.

That was particularly important because RAINES was not thinking about only one property.

The executive team viewed the PMS decision as part of a broader plan to grow its independent boutique lifestyle business.

As Stephanie put it, they wanted to “get it right the second time.”

Training That Did Not Feel Like a Project

After the difficulties RAINES had experienced with its previous platform, the team expected another PMS implementation to require a significant amount of time and training.

Instead, the process felt surprisingly straightforward.

Even members of the executive team completed the training and came away surprised by how manageable it was.

“We’re so used to hours and hours and hours of training with other systems. This wasn’t a big deal.”

RAINES also had a Stayntouch team member onsite during go-live to help the hotel manage the transition in person.

For Stephanie, that support was critical.

With multiple systems and operational details changing at once, having someone there on implementation day helped the team work through the moving pieces and make sure everything was set up correctly.

She called that onsite support “monumental.”

From Constant Issues to Business as Usual

The biggest improvement after moving to Stayntouch was also the simplest: The system stopped becoming a daily problem.

RAINES has not experienced the major connectivity or rate shopping issues that defined its previous PMS experience. While the team has worked through smaller support items and newer integration details, Stephanie said nothing has risen to the level of impeding day-to-day business.

That reliability has had a direct impact on Stephanie’s own role.

With the previous system, she found herself heavily involved simply trying to keep the PMS functioning so the hotel team could do its job.

Now, that daily involvement is no longer necessary.

“I’m not having to be as involved. It’s working. It doesn’t need attention every day.”

That gives Stephanie more time to focus on the sales, marketing and revenue strategy she is responsible for across the broader organization.

And when she does need visibility into a property, remote access allows her to get into the system in seconds and see what is happening.

Building for the Next Independent Hotel

RAINES is now building out its second independent property on Stayntouch, with plans to continue expanding its boutique lifestyle portfolio.

For Stephanie, the experience has reinforced an important lesson for other multi-property hotel companies evaluating a PMS: look beyond the system itself.

Make sure it works with the technology you already use. Train multiple members of the corporate team so knowledge is not concentrated with one person. And invest in hands-on support during implementation when there are a lot of moving parts.

For RAINES, finding the right PMS meant finding a platform that could support the people using it today without limiting where the company wants to go next.

With Stayntouch, the team has a system that is easier to learn, more reliable to operate and better aligned with RAINES’ plans to grow its independent hotel business.