A PMS without a usable API: how to get the data out
Revenue teams often rebuild the same figures by hand every morning because the PMS offers no usable API. There is still a reliable way to load them.
The situation
In one of our hotel projects, the PMS could not be queried by API. The revenue team opened its reports each morning and copied figures into a workbook before the first meeting. Every step was manual, and nobody could tell whether a number was current.
The pattern that worked
- The PMS sends its scheduled reports by e-mail. Most systems can do this even when they offer no interface for developers.
- A Power Automate flow collects each report and posts it to a secured webhook.
- The data lands in a database, where it is checked before it is used.
- The cockpit reads from the database, and shows the status of the daily feed on screen.
The last point matters most. When the feed is late, the screen says so, and nobody presents figures that are a day old.
What it costs
The method depends on the report format. If the PMS changes a column, the load must be adapted, which is why checks at import and a maintenance routine belong in the scope from the start. Our Run offer covers this kind of change.
Where it stops working
E-mailed reports arrive at set times. For decisions that need data within minutes, such as live availability, you need a real interface. For daily revenue management, budget landing and reporting, a morning feed is usually enough.
What to do next
List the reports your team receives and the figures it rebuilds from them. That list is the specification. See the revenue cockpit built this way and our work for hotels.