Hotel PMS Connector connects the hotel's front-desk system to the automation server, maps each room to a KNX address and carries check-in and check-out into the room's automation, and manages energy according to whether the room is occupied: a hotel integration application.
The front desk knows; the automation does not
In a hotel, room automation switches the lights, the climate and the scenes. But whether a room is occupied or empty is something the front desk knows and the automation does not. When that information never reaches the automation, even rooms that were never given to anyone are heated and cooled, and energy runs to waste. The hotel's largest cost is managed without the one piece of information that would settle it.
Which PMS software it works with
The application works with two PMS systems today: Opera (formerly Fidelio) and Mod Hotel. The PMS to connect to is chosen together with the language when the application is first opened. Each PMS is added to the application with its own connection module; for a PMS that is not on the list, contact us. The application is an independent Sona product; the names Opera, Fidelio and Mod Hotel belong to their owners.
Connects the PMS software to the automation
The connection is made on the hotel's local network. Opera is reached with the address and port of its interface server; Mod Hotel with the server address, port, user name and password. The connection is always started by the automation server; the application does not wait for connections from outside. The password is never shown back on screen, and no data goes to the cloud.
Setup: a start address and a room range
You enter a start KNX address and the hotel's room range, for example 101–105; the application creates an occupancy point for each room at the next address. If an address is already used by another object, no points are created and a warning appears; nothing is written over another point. The range is edited while the PMS connection is closed, and a deleted point is recreated on its own.
An occupied room greets the guest, an empty room saves
When a room is checked in, its address goes to occupied; when it is checked out, it returns to empty. Your scenes do the rest: when the room fills, it greets the guest at the light level and temperature they want; when it empties, it goes into saving mode on its own. Rooms with nobody in them are not heated and cooled for nothing. The application writes to these addresses only when something changes, so it does not load the bus by sending the same information over and over.
Rooms outside the range do not go unnoticed
If the PMS software reports a room outside the range, the application does not pass over it: a record appears in the central alarm list and the room is shown as a suggestion. Widening the range to cover that room and creating the points again is enough; the suggestion clears on its own.
Link health is visible on screen
The state of the connection is written to a KNX address and reports three conditions separately: you closed the connection yourself, the connection is healthy, or the PMS software cannot be reached. Link supervision notices an unreachable or silent connection and restores it on its own. Every error reaches Alert Plus as an alarm in the application's language and its history is kept there; the same error arriving again does not open a second record.
Manual sync in one touch
On an Opera connection, the moment you suspect the front-desk screen and the site have drifted apart, you can pull the current state of every room again: a write to the dedicated KNX address is enough, and you tie that address to a button on the graphic screen. The Mod Hotel connection already rereads room occupancy at short intervals, so no separate trigger is needed there.
Your setup lives in one file
Your room range, network settings and language choice download as a single file. A restore is done while the connection is closed; at the end, a summary shows how many records were added, and if the backup was taken while connected, the application reconnects on its own. The Mod Hotel password is stored in the backup encrypted and opens only on the same server; on a new server you enter it once again.
How Hotel PMS Connector works: introduction
An introduction filmed with the previous version: connecting the hotel's Opera system to the automation server and carrying check-in and check-out to the room automation. In the current version, rooms are mapped with a start address and a room range.
Frequently asked questions
Which PMS software does it work with?
It works with Opera (formerly Fidelio) and Mod Hotel. The PMS is chosen when the application is first opened. The connection details (address and port, plus user name and password for Mod Hotel) come from the hotel's IT team or the PMS provider.
Was the application developed by the PMS vendors?
No. Hotel PMS Connector is an independent application developed by Sona; it connects to the PMS software through its existing interface. The names Opera, Fidelio and Mod Hotel belong to their owners.
Can I change the PMS later?
The PMS is chosen together with the language at first opening and then locked. To move to another PMS, the application is reset and set up again; a backup of the setup can be downloaded before the reset.
Does it work without Alert Plus installed?
No. Because the application passes events such as a dropped connection or an unmapped room to the central alarm manager, Alert Plus has to be installed. The right order is to install Alert Plus first and this application after it.
Does the hotel software need changes?
No new development is done in the PMS software; the application connects to its existing interface, and room numbers and the reservation flow stay as they are on the hotel side. The interface must be open for the connection; for Mod Hotel, the automation server's IP address is also added to the PMS allow list.
Can rooms be added later?
Yes. You close the connection, widen the room range and create the points again, then reopen the connection.
How many rooms can be mapped?
Up to 2,048 rooms in one room range. Each room gets its own KNX address in sequence; the main group of the start address is chosen from 32–63, leaving 0–31 to the ETS project.
Does the license change with the number of rooms?
No. The license is tied to the automation server; however many rooms are mapped on that server, the license stays the same. In a hotel chain, each property has its own server and its own license.
Hotel PMS Connector is included in the BMS Plus license and is installed from the store in Sona Application Center.
The application runs on the Sona BMS automation server. If touch panels are wanted in the rooms, SonaHMI panels connect to the same platform.
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