Migration · Mews → Guest Talk · 10-14 days

Migrating from Mews to Guest Talk.

Mews migrations are the ones we treat with the most respect. Mews is a mature, high-integrity platform with a rich data model; a migration done badly loses fidelity in the guest profile and financial history. This page describes the disciplined path we run, using the Mews Data Portal export plus our own API bridge, with dual-run PMS during the sensitive 48-hour cutover window.

Phase 1 — scoping (days 1-3)

Kickoff, target go-live date and audit of your Mews configuration. We look for anything non-standard: custom fields, third-party marketplace apps that write to Mews (accounting integrations, loyalty engines, kiosks), Mews Payments (in-house payments processing), and Mews Kiosk. Each non-standard element influences the migration plan.

Mews Payments deserves specific attention. If you use Mews Payments as your processor, you have card references stored inside Mews' payments infrastructure. Those references cannot be exported. During the migration we run a controlled cutover: reservations that arrived pre-cutover keep their card on file inside Mews for a defined 30-day post-live window (used only for pending charges); reservations from cutover forward use Guest Talk plus Stripe. We provide a clear guest-facing script for the exception cases.

Phase 2 — export and dry run (days 4-6)

Mews Data Portal export runs, covering reservations, guests, folios, invoices, room types, rate plans and configuration. Guest Talk's migration engineer ingests into a dry-run workspace within 24 hours. You review the dry-run and note corrections.

Phase 3 — parallel setup (days 7-9)

Production workspace configured with corrections. Front-office, housekeeping and accounting training run in 90-minute, 60-minute and 60-minute sessions. OTA re-certification kicks off for Booking.com and Expedia.

Phase 4 — cutover (days 10-12)

Final delta export from Mews. Mews channel connections paused. Guest Talk channel manager takes over on Saturday at 09:00. First 48 hours observed by our channel team plus your revenue manager.

Phase 5 — stabilise and decommission (days 13-14)

First working days live. Reports compared against Mews' last full week for material divergence. Mews subscription cancelled at day 14; the 30-day payments window continues to run on Mews for the specific pre-cutover reservations noted above.

Marketplace app disconnects

If you use Mews marketplace apps that write to Mews (accounting, loyalty, kiosk), each app needs its own disconnect plan. We list them in the scoping phase and either replace them with a Guest Talk-native feature, migrate them to an equivalent Guest Talk marketplace app, or (rarely) keep them Mews-side during a longer transition. Every marketplace app is discussed line-by-line in the kickoff call.

Kiosk migration

Mews Kiosk hardware and software is proprietary to Mews. Guest Talk supports self check-in via partner kiosks (Zaplox, Ariane, Zenfy). If self check-in is essential to your operation, we plan the kiosk swap into the migration schedule; typically the new kiosks arrive on Day 9 and are commissioned during Day 10-11 so guests never see a gap.

Custom fields and process customisations

Mews' custom field model is richer than most PMS; mapping to Guest Talk custom fields is straightforward but manual. Where Mews' Rules Engine automates behaviours (auto-move to a preferred room, auto-apply a discount for repeat guests), we replicate those with Guest Talk automations. The mapping is documented in the workspace so your team knows where each Mews behaviour ended up.

Financial reconciliation

Financial history from Mews (invoices, payments, refunds) is imported in full for audit access. Going forward, Guest Talk becomes the source of truth for new invoices and payments. The bridge produces a reconciliation report for the 30-day overlap window so your accountant can match Mews-issued invoices to Mews-received payments unambiguously.

What can go wrong

Mews Payments card references. As noted, cards on file in Mews Payments cannot be exported. Any pending charges must be executed inside Mews before cutover; new pre-authorisations happen in Guest Talk plus Stripe. The 30-day overlap window handles the mixed period cleanly.

Rate plan derivation semantics. Mews' rate plan hierarchy is very expressive; a small number of derivations do not have a direct Guest Talk equivalent. We convert them to Guest Talk's derivation model with equivalent output prices; where the derivation logic itself matters to a downstream integration, we document the change.

Kiosk continuity. If Mews Kiosk is central to your check-in flow, the migration timeline must include the new kiosk deployment. We typically run the two systems in parallel for 24-48 hours to avoid gaps.

Getting started

Email hello@talkg.fabriza.org with your Mews property name and preferred cutover window. We reply within one business day with a firm plan and quote.