# Replace a brittle PMS without a six-month outage

Harbor by Signalry · hotel job `replace-brittle-pms`
https://harbor.signalry.ai/jobs/replace-brittle-pms

How and who for the hotel job—verified when attested. Advice unless labeled verified. This brief is a worksheet, not an appraisal and not a quote.

## The job

When the PMS is holding the desk hostage, I want a cutover I can roll back so we change systems without freezing groups for a season.

**Outcome the catalog names:** A parallel-run cutover measured in weeks, a named freeze window in hours, a rollback drill, and a folio that still balances.

**Desk:** tech
**Urgency on the catalog:** This year
**Typical budget band (catalog, not a quote):** $15–80k plus new system
**Typical timeline (catalog, not a promise):** 8–14 weeks including parallel run

## Scoped brief

Pick a PMS that fits the house, not a conference demo. Map folio, groups, and the night audit. Run parallel. Freeze new groups for hours, not months. Drill rollback. An implementation kit matters as much as the system. Demo-labeled software in this brief is a shape to evaluate against — not a partnership.

1. **Write the jobs the PMS must finish.** Check-in, folio, groups, night audit, and the two integrations you cannot lose. Everything else is a later phase. If a vendor will not demo the audit, they are not the vendor.
2. **Map, then parallel-run.** Room types, rates, and open folios. A six-week parallel with a daily reconcile beats a heroic weekend. Keystone Switch exists in this catalog as a method, not a brand.
3. **Name the freeze and the rollback.** Hours for new groups. A drill you have actually run. If you cannot roll back, you do not have a cutover — you have a hope.
4. **Train the night, not just the day.** The closer and the 7 a.m. desk are the users who fail first. Score the go-live on exception rate, not on a ribbon-cutting.

## When not to buy

A six-month dual-run with no rollback drill. If only one person can close, you do not have a cutover — you have a hostage.

## Provider shortlist

- [Keystone Switch PMS](https://harbor.signalry.ai/providers/keystone-switch) — software · PMS cutover & parallel run. Catalog score 8.3 (post-job shape, not a verification).
- [Northline PMS](https://harbor.signalry.ai/providers/northline-pms) — software · Property management system. Catalog score 8 (post-job shape, not a verification).
- [Folio Security Advisors](https://harbor.signalry.ai/providers/folio-pci) — people · PCI & hotel cyber after flag change. Catalog score 8.7 (post-job shape, not a verification).
- [Clerkshift Agent](https://harbor.signalry.ai/providers/clerkshift) — agent · Reservation modifications. Catalog score 8 (post-job shape, not a verification).

## Success the brief names

- Parallel reconcile daily for a defined window.
- Freeze measured in hours.
- Rollback drill completed before go-live.

## Pitfalls

- Buying a system for a hotel you are not.
- No rollback drill.
- Claiming a fake official partnership with a real PMS brand.

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Stable id: `replace-brittle-pms`
Source: Harbor by Signalry · https://harbor.signalry.ai
Verified Outcome is not insurance. Do not treat a catalog score as attested proof.