Getting ready for your Mews go-live can feel like a big task, but with the right preparation, you’ll breeze through it! This guide covers the key steps to take before, during, and after your connection day, so your team and tech are set up for success.

Audience: operational leaders, front office, finance, and IT support. 👩‍💼👨‍💻👨‍🍳

J‑7 to J‑1 Days: Before the Live Day 🗓️

• Key cutters: review vendor prerequisites, network requirements, and supported workflows (have – if possible- onsite IT for the day. 🗝️ (List of key cutter articles for Mews PMS)
• Payment automations: switch all payment automations and settlement rules to manual ahead of imports or channel pushes to avoid duplicate charges. 💳 (How to create a payment policy in Mews Operations)
• Email options: in General settings, untick the first two email options to reduce noise during migration and imports. ✉️🔕
• Channel manager: align timing with your partner for the connection window; confirm push behavior and any temporary stop‑sell approach on their side. 🔄🤝
• Housekeeping readiness: review space statuses for accuracy so allocations and stayovers are clean on go‑live morning. 🧹🛏️ (The Space status report)
• Mews Connector: plan installation on a stable, always‑on Windows machine with reliable connectivity + validate access/privileges with IT. 🔌🧰 (How to set up the Mews Connector app)
• Printers: verify all operational printers (front desk, outlet/fiscal if applicable) are reachable on the network and mapped as expected. 🖨️🧪 (Connect your printer)
• Stayovers plan: define your stayover reservations approach (check‑out in old PMS; recreate in Mews with same room assignment; external payments for already‑paid nights via cross‑settlement). 🔁 (Import stayover reservations)
• Data change freeze: agree on a short freeze window before go‑live to reduce last‑minute changes/cancellations that complicate imports. 🧊⏳
• Comms & roles: brief teams on who owns payments, who validates inventory, and who checks integrations on the day. 📣👥

Go‑Live Morning: Readiness Checks 🌅

• Terminals: test Mews payment terminals on a protected network (otherwise it won’t work) run test transactions/refunds as per policy. 🔐💳
• Mews Connector: install/verify Mews Connector is running, paired, and connected to the right property environment. 🧩 (How to set up the Mews Connector app)
• Printers: print a test page and a sample invoice/registration card to confirm printer preferences and routing. 🖨️🧭 (Connect your printer)
• Key cutters: connect, encode a test key, and validate both creation and cancellation/extension flows match hotel SOPs. 🗝️🧪 (List of key cutter articles for Mews PMS)
• Housekeeping: confirm space statuses are accurate and ready for allocation. 🛏️✅ (The Space status report)
• Stayovers: check out stayover guests in old PMS; create new reservations in Mews with the same rooms; record external payments for nights already paid (cross‑settlement). 🔄🧾
• Change control: pull a quick delta of modifications/cancellations since last import—queue them for immediate validation in Mews. 🔍📋
• Old terminals: collect end‑of‑batch/payment reports from legacy terminals for finance reconciliation. 🗂️📑
• Payment notifications: if not already done, disable automatic email notifications for payment rejections during import to avoid noise. 🔕✉️

During Connection/Import 🔌

• Stop‑sell: temporarily apply stop sales/restrictions while importing to avoid accidental new bookings mid‑migration. ⛔🧭
• Validate imports: spot‑check rates, taxes, products, and group reservations; confirm inventory parity versus old PMS. 🧪📊
• Channel and BE checks: verify connections are live and reservations created during the window reach Mews, confirm the booking engine is linked and visible on the website. 🌐🔗
• Integrations: confirm payments, keys, printers, and other connected apps are exchanging data as expected. 🔁🔧

After the Connection: Same‑Day Stabilization 🧘

• Reservation audit: verify a sample set across OTA, direct, and corporate for price, products, segment, and routing.
• Overbooking risk: review remaining availability and holds; address any mismatches from channel parity. 📉
• Operational SOPs: confirm shift procedures in Mews (reports to run, cash handling, task lists), and that the team can locate them quickly. 🧭📘
• Night operations: there is no nightly closure; ensure a clear night shift task list for reconciliations, arrivals/departures, and exceptions. 🌙📝
• Legacy balances: enter outstanding balances from old PMS as external payments or debtor invoices, and close appropriately. 💼✅

End of Shift: Close and Control 🛎️

• Cash registers: close cash registers in Mews per policy and reconcile floats. 💵✅
• User hygiene: ensure users log out properly and shared terminals are locked. 🔒👋
• Exceptions log: note unresolved items (payments to chase, rate overrides to fix, folio routing exceptions) for morning follow‑up. 📓⚠️