The connection between PMS and the WiFi certification system is the most frequently mentioned need in hotel intelligent network construction, but engineers who actually do such projects know that there are many easy-to-step pits in the docking from demand to ground. A large number of projects have been overly optimistic about PMS interfaces during their earlier research, leading to repeated lockdowns at implementation and longer delivery cycles. This article has been developed from a technical side, and key technical requirements need to be identified before the WiFi certification system is connected with PMS.
PMS interface is open to the first threshold.
Not all PMSs have an open third-party integration interface. The domestic hotel market has a large number of PMS brands, ranging from Oracle Opera to the home country ' s middle soft, Seth, and stone foundations, with wide variations in access.
Before the start of the project, the following points need to be clarified: does PMS have an official third-party interface document? Does the interface support real-time push (WebHook or Socket) or just rounding queries? Is the interface called for authorization from a PMS manufacturer or additional costs? If there is no standard interface, do you have read-only access at database level?
These problems are likely to arise at a later stage if they are not identified with the hotel and PMS manufacturers during the project development phase."WiFi certification system is ready, but PMS's not working."The situation.
What key data need to be obtained from PMS
The core purpose of the WiFi certification system in conjunction with PMS is to manage the opening and closing of WiFi sessions dynamically, depending on the residence and exit status. To this end, the accreditation system needs at least the following data from PMS: the real-time binding of room numbers to occupancy status, the expected or actual checkout time for occupants, the cell number of the guest (for verification purposes), the level of WiFi privileges corresponding to the room (e.g. standard rooms, suites, VIP differences in bandwidth strategy).
The timing of the check-out is the most problematic part. Checking out may be a check-in, delayed or early check-out, or it may be due to delays in the closure system that have delayed PMS updates. If WiFi certification closes the session strictly on PMS check-out, these border situations need to be addressed, otherwise they will occur"Check-out of WiFi is still available."or"Unresigned tenant WiFi was cut off early"The problem.
Select Data Sync with Time Delay Control
The data synchronization between PMS and WiFi determines the real-time and reliability of the entire connection. There are three common ways to synchronize:
The first is event-driven transport, where PMS sends a notice to the certification system on the residence of the tenant when he or she is checked in or exits.
The second is a time-trip, and the certification system changes its PMS query status at fixed intervals (e.g. every minute). This approach requires low and high compatibility of PMS interfaces, but there are fixed time delays that may result in more than one minute of network breakout delay after exit from the house, which is not sufficiently accurate.
The third is the intermediate model, which connects PMS and WiFi certification systems through a dedicated integrated intermediate (e.g. HTNG interface gateway), each side of which requires only one standardized interface. This approach is common in hotel chains, maintenance costs are manageable, but initial integration costs are high.
In the actual selection, first or second is usually chosen for single-body hotels and a third option is recommended for branding with unified IT platforms.
Reciprocal capacity required on the side of certification system
The PMS interface is not enough, and the hotel WiFi certification system itself needs to have a corresponding docking capability. Otherwise both interfaces are available, but"I can't talk."The same can happen.
The certification system needs support: to receive external events (e.g. PMS-supplied residential notifications) through API to trigger the opening of a session; to support the creation of authentication sessions based on externally transferred room numbers, validity periods etc.; to support the mandatory removal of all active sessions tied to designated rooms at the time of the check-out event; and to support the recording of operating logs triggered by each external event to facilitate follow-up screening of problems.
Many old versions of the certification system have only front-end Portal authentication capabilities, and there is no backstage API interface, which makes it completely impossible to be driven by external systems and can only do fixed Portal window logic. If hotels have PMS connections, this must be clearly confirmed when selecting a certification system.
Preconditions at the network level
Besides the technical conditions at the interface level, the network architecture itself needs to meet some of the prerequisites. A stable inner-network communication link between PMS servers and WiFi certification system servers is needed, and data exchange through public networks is not recommended, especially in a context involving personal information about occupants.
If the hotel PMS is deployed on cloud and the certification system is local, it needs to be assessed for the feasibility of using VPN or dedicated lines to connect with the network instead of exposing API directly to public networks. Moreover, an API call between PMS and authentication systems should have a basic identification check mechanism (e.g. Token or IP white list) to prevent unauthorized calls.
Testing the environment and cutting programmes require advance planning
The PMS is the core business system of hotels, and no docking action can be directly linked to the production environment.
The timing of the cut-off is usually selected for the lowest hotel occupancy (e.g. late night or light season) and during the cutting, a manual back-up route to WiFi is maintained to ensure that the irregular connection does not affect regular user access.
PMS is the most technically difficult docking scene in the WiFi certification system of hotels and the best place to reflect the ability of systems to integrate.