This post is adapted from a longer Q&A that originally ran in Lodging Magazine. You can read the full article here.
Labor challenges, mobile learning, connected tech stacks, and what’s next for training hotel teams. We sat down with Priya Rajamani, SVP of Client Success, Implementation & Support at Stayntouch, to get her take.
Q: Labor challenges keep hitting hotels across every segment. How is PMS training evolving to get new hires up to speed faster?
A: It starts with building the PMS around the people who actually use it. When staff feel their system is working with them instead of against them, they dig in, explore, and get comfortable faster.
A clean, intuitive UI does a lot of the heavy lifting here. What used to take weeks to learn can now take a few hours. But good UX isn’t just about looking nice, it has to match how people actually think and work in a fast-paced, guest-facing job: clear actions, plain language, no clutter, the right info at the right time. That also opens up hiring: you can focus on people who are great with guests instead of people who happen to be good at navigating clunky software.
Q: What role are mobile learning, self-guided modules, and AI-powered support playing in how staff learn the PMS today?
A: Hotels never really stop running, so staff rarely get a convenient window to sit down and learn a new tool. That’s exactly why self-guided training has become so important: people already have devices in hand and can review material on a break or between shifts. The bottleneck isn’t access anymore, it’s whether the content itself is quick and engaging.
AI is doing a lot of the behind-the-scenes work now, too, helping teams build and update training content much faster and keep up with how quickly the platform itself changes. That means training can get more targeted by role, so staff aren’t wading through material that doesn’t apply to them.
Structure still matters, though. Certifications, test environments, and progress tracking give hoteliers a real way to see whether training is actually sinking in, not just whether someone clicked through it. And multi-language course libraries plus a searchable knowledge base make it easier for a global, diverse workforce to find what they need, fast.
Q: As hotel tech stacks get more connected, how should operators make sure staff are trained on integrations, not just the PMS itself?
A: Integrations matter most for independent and boutique hotels trying to stand out through service or unique amenities, but honestly, every operator worries about this. Properties need to roll out new tools without disrupting operations, and staff need to keep up as each new piece arrives.
In a lot of cases, training people on an integration is harder than actually implementing it. When a hotel is juggling a dozen-plus vendors, staff can struggle to stay on top of what each tool does. A self-serve option, like an in-app chat tool that surfaces answers on demand, goes a long way here.
That’s also why close, ongoing vendor partnerships matter as much as the tools themselves. Work with a PMS provider that offers expert installation, priority support, and integrations tailored to your property’s specific needs. Watch out for one-size-fits-all “plug and play” solutions. They tend to create mismatched systems, technical headaches, and a worse experience for staff and guests alike.
Where possible, your PMS provider should give you the same vendor documentation their own team uses, so you can self-manage most updates without waiting on support. And that openness should go both ways: a good provider should also be willing to share its own training content with integration partners.
Q: What are the most common mistakes hotels make with PMS training, and what do the best-performing properties do differently?
A: No two properties run the same way, even within the same brand. Each has its own rhythm and challenges, so training should adapt to the property, not the other way around. Too many hotels still treat training as a one-time event: run a session before go-live, check the box, and let new hires pick up the rest from coworkers who might not remember every detail themselves.
A better approach trains people on real scenarios, like handling a rate override at check-in or a split folio at checkout, timed to land right around when they’ll actually need it. Staff shouldn’t be locked into one prescribed path either. Give them room to explore modules outside their day-to-day role so they can grow into other positions. A safe practice environment, quick knowledge checks along the way, and manager visibility into progress round it out, so nobody falls behind unnoticed.
Q: Looking ahead, what trends do you expect to shape PMS training, and how will that affect hotel teams and guest service?
A: AI will keep speeding up how fast training content gets built and refreshed, keeping pace with how quickly the platform itself evolves. Role-specific learning paths will also take over from generic onboarding, since front desk, housekeeping, and revenue management all touch completely different parts of the system.
The payoff for guests follows naturally. When staff onboard faster and spend less time wrestling with technology, they spend more time with guests, and that shows up directly in service: shorter wait times, fewer errors, more consistency across every shift.
