Which real booking scenarios should an Irish hotel test during a PMS demo?
A polished presentation cannot show how your reception team will handle a changed booking or a disputed bill. Bring realistic transactions to your property management system (PMS) demo and follow each one through to its operational and financial result.
Ask every supplier to demonstrate five situations: a bed-and-breakfast package, a telephone booking with a deposit, a group booking amendment, a mid-stay room move and a split company bill. Score the booking, availability, payment and invoice results against the same expectations. A scenario passes only when the demonstrated workflow meets your requirements within the proposed package.
Set the rules before the demonstration
Send suppliers the scorecard in advance. Ask them to work in a test account using the plan, payment service and integrations included in their proposal. A folio is the reservation’s record of charges and payments; inspect it alongside the guest-facing documents.
- Use invented guest details, a controlled email address and test payments. Reset availability between scenarios.
- Agree which outcomes are essential. Record any paid module, integration, manual step or additional permission needed.
- Have reception perform the actions where possible, with finance checking totals. Save the confirmation, folio and relevant report as evidence.
Hotel PMS demo checklist for Ireland: five tests
These hypothetical examples assume a 20-room Galway hotel, arrival on 20 November 2026 and departure on 22 November 2026. All amounts are invented test figures including value-added tax (VAT), not market prices or customer results. Each row is a separate two-night booking, with no unlisted charges.
| Scenario | Actions to demonstrate | Expected result and checks | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Room and breakfast | Book two adults at €180 per room per night, including breakfast for both. For this test, allocate €150 to accommodation and €30 to breakfast nightly. Record a €90 deposit and open the breakfast list and folio. | 2 × €180 = €360; €270 remains. Accommodation totals €300 and breakfast €60, without adding breakfast twice. The list shows two breakfasts on each of 21 and 22 November: four in total. Confirmation states breakfast is included. | ☐ Pass ☐ Fail |
| 2. Telephone reservation | Create a direct telephone booking for one room at €160 nightly. Apply the agreed cancellation terms, take an €80 test deposit through the proposed payment workflow and send a confirmation to the test address. | Total €320; paid €80; balance €240. One room is deducted from availability on each night. Booking source, guest details, terms and deposit match the confirmation. The payment has a traceable reference and appears only once. | ☐ Pass ☐ Fail |
| 3. Group amendment | Create four rooms for a walking group at €150 per room nightly under one organiser. Allocate a €300 group deposit. Cancel one room for both nights, assuming free cancellation and agreement to retain the deposit against the remaining rooms. | Original total: 4 × 2 × €150 = €1,200. Revised total: 3 × 2 × €150 = €900; balance €600. Six room nights remain. One room returns to sale on each night. The organiser’s statement retains the deposit once. | ☐ Pass ☐ Fail |
| 4. Mid-stay room move | Book room 101 at €165 nightly with a €110 deposit. On 21 November, move the guest to room 202 for the second night because of maintenance. Agree no price change and block room 101 for that night. | Total stays €330; balance €220. Room 101 holds the first night and room 202 the second, with no duplicate charge or extra occupied room night. The deposit and guest history remain traceable. Room 101 cannot be resold during the maintenance block. | ☐ Pass ☐ Fail |
| 5. Split company bill | Charge €155 nightly, €20 parking for the stay and €45 personal dining. Route accommodation and parking to the company and dining to the guest. Generate separate invoices, then settle the guest’s €45 using a test payment. | Total charges: €310 + €20 + €45 = €375. Company invoice: €330; guest invoice: €45. After payment, the guest balance is zero and company balance €330. Names, charge allocation and payment records agree; invoicing does not falsely mark the company bill paid. | ☐ Pass ☐ Fail |
Print the scorecard and mark one result after each completed test. Keep separate notes on the supplier, plan, date, evidence and any workaround. The boxes are printable fields, not interactive controls.
Passing means proving the complete outcome. Count one point per passed scenario, up to five. Leave untested rows unscored and arrange a follow-up. A failed essential requirement remains a blocker regardless of the total; retest it after any proposed configuration change.
Check what the attractive screen can hide
For each test, compare the reservation, operational list, invoice and payment record. A correct total is insufficient if a deposit is duplicated, breakfast counts are wrong or an unavailable room returns to sale. Ask what staff must do when a payment fails and who can correct a charge.
For the breakfast test, inspect component allocation and tax codes. Revenue’s accommodation guidance requires room-and-meal packages to be apportioned for VAT following the 1 July 2026 change, using a fair and reasonable basis that considers separate selling prices. Have your accountant approve the real allocation and applicable codes; the example split is only test data.
If you use an online travel agency (OTA), request a controlled follow-up using that channel. A manual booking demonstrates the internal workflow, not the behaviour of an external connection. Record any dependency that could not be tested.
Use the scorecard in a RoomRaccoon demo
The RoomRaccoon property management software page describes reservation management, group bookings, invoice splitting and breakfast lists. These provide relevant starting points; ask the demonstrator to execute the precise scenarios above and show the resulting records.
The RoomRaccoon pricing page distinguishes plans and upgrade tools or integrations. Confirm which demonstrated steps belong to your quoted configuration, including payments and accounting connections, and record any manual work.
Bring your room types, breakfast package and company billing rules so the demonstration reflects your reception desk.
Book a demo for your propertyFrequently asked questions about PMS demos
Who should attend the demo?
Include the person who handles reservations and the person who reconciles payments. A manager should record commercial dependencies and decide whether any workaround is acceptable.
Does a manual step automatically mean failure?
No. It can pass if it meets an agreed requirement, is documented and is practical for your team. If automation is essential, a manual workaround does not satisfy that requirement.
What if a feature is promised for later?
Record it as untested, with an owner and a follow-up date. Do not award a pass until the proposed workflow can be demonstrated in the configuration you intend to buy.
Does this replace migration testing?
No. These tests assess operational fit. Before switching, separately reconcile all future reservations and deposits against your existing system, including exceptions and opening balances.
Sources and checks
Checked on 13 November 2026. Product pages establish published scope; the scorecard defines tests to perform, not verified results for a particular configuration.
- RoomRaccoon: property management software.
- RoomRaccoon: pricing and package scope.
- Revenue: VAT treatment of Guest and Holiday Accommodation, section 3; updated April 2026.
