What Is a CRS? Hotel Central Reservation Systems Explained

A CRS manages rooms, rates and bookings centrally for many channels. Who needs one and how it differs from a PMS.

By Michael Külbel 2 min read

Graphic: four systems in hotel distribution: PMS for on-site operations, CRS for central reservations, booking engine for bookings on the website, GDS for travel agencies and corporate travel
Where the central reservation system fits in hotel distribution, simplified. Graphic: eingecheckt.de · Background photo: BalticServers.com, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Key points
  • CRS stands for central reservation system.
  • It manages rooms, rates and availability in one place and passes them on to distribution channels: the website, travel agencies, booking platforms and global distribution systems.
  • It is used mainly by hotel chains and groups that manage bookings for many properties centrally.
  • For a single independent hotel, the PMS, channel manager and booking engine usually cover the tasks of a CRS.

A guest calls the central reservations line of a hotel group and books a room at one of its twelve properties. At the same moment, a travel agency in New York books a room at another. The CRS exists so that both bookings draw on the same up-to-date inventory.

What a CRS is

A central reservation system is software that stores information about one or more hotels and distributes it to sales channels. The product documentation of software provider Infor describes it as a tool for reaching global distribution systems and internet distribution channels from one single system. Hoteliers upload rates and availability there, which are then available to all connected channels, from traditional travel agencies to online platforms.¹

Who needs a CRS

Typical users are hotel chains, consortia and groups with several properties. They centralise reservations in a call centre, sell group and corporate allocations centrally and manage rates consistently across all properties. Individual hotels with many business travellers also use a CRS if they want to be booked through travel agencies and global distribution systems.

How it differs from a PMS, channel manager and booking engine

The PMS is the software for on-site operations: room plan, check-in, invoicing. The CRS manages reservations and rates centrally, usually across several properties. The channel manager distributes rates and availability to booking platforms, and the booking engine is the booking path on the website. In practice, the systems overlap: some providers combine CRS, channel manager and booking engine in one solution.

Does an independent hotel need a CRS?

Usually not. For a single property, the PMS, channel manager and booking engine generally cover the tasks of a CRS. A CRS of its own becomes interesting when a hotelier runs several properties, the hotel belongs to a consortium or it wants to target business travellers through travel agencies.

What hoteliers should look for

Checklist: do we need a CRS?
  1. Number of properties: Should bookings for several hotels be managed centrally?
  2. Target groups: Do travel agencies and corporate clients play a major role?
  3. Existing systems: What do the PMS, channel manager and booking engine already cover?
  4. Integrations: Does the CRS work with the existing PMS?

More in the magazine

The software that manages the room plan, check-in and invoicing on site is explained in the glossary entry on the PMS. How rates reach booking platforms is covered in the entry on the channel manager, and how the booking path on a hotel’s own website works in the entry on the booking engine.

Sources

This glossary entry is based on the following source:

  1. Infor (n.d.)
    Central reservation system (CRS)
    Infor HMS product documentation. Definition of a central reservation system and its connection to GDS and internet distribution channels.
Hotel Glossary

More terms

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