How RMS built a 42-year legacy of adaptability.
In the world of tech, few names last more than a decade. Start-ups launch with a bang, grow fast, and just as quickly disappear. However, RMS has an interesting story, one that began in Melbourne more than forty years ago and has continually evolved, proving its resilience in an industry defined by rapid change.
Back in the early ’80s, while the likes of Microsoft and Amazon were making their mark, RMS was taking shape too. What’s remarkable is that through every big shift, from DOS, Windows, the jump to cloud, and now the era of AI, RMS has kept moving forward and helping operators adapt.
It hasn’t been a straight line of success. It’s been about anticipating change, adapting, pivoting, and leaning into innovation before it was popular. And through it all, RMS has stayed partly family-owned, with the same steady, humble approach guiding it from those early caravan park days to powering hospitality businesses around the world today.
In this fireside chat, Founder Peter Buttigieg and CEO Adam Seskis reflect on how it all began, the ways RMS stayed ahead of change, and where we’re heading next.
Watch the full interview.
Catch the interview highlights.
Adam: Peter, let’s rewind to the beginning. Forty-two years ago, you were driving around with floppy disks in the back seat. What was that like?
Peter:
(Laughs) It was worse than floppy disks. Back then, we were lugging computers the size of washing machines from caravan park to caravan park. People would say, “Why would I check in a guest on a computer when I can just write it down?”
Some even timed us against their paper booking charts, and the truth is, the manual was quicker in those days. We had to close that gap just to convince people to give us a chance.
Adam: Did you ever imagine it would become a global business?
Peter:
Not in the slightest. I wasn’t from hospitality. I was working in IT at the Melbourne Stock Exchange. A mate of mine had a caravan park with one of the first microcomputers, and I was the only person who knew how to set it up.
That’s how it started, by accident, really.
I’d also been writing software for insurance brokers, but hospitality felt like a bigger opportunity. From there, one step led to another.
Adam: One step at a time, but always ahead of the curve. You went from MS DOS to Windows, and later to cloud before almost anyone else. How did you know when to make those calls?
Peter: It wasn’t about knowing. It was about seeing what was clunky and what wasn’t. MS-DOS worked until Windows came along, and suddenly, you had to rewrite everything. Then we tried running Windows apps remotely, but it was messy. The future was clearly cloud, so we jumped.
Sometimes being early is risky, but it meant we stayed relevant.
Adam: RMS today is talked about as a platform, not just a PMS. Where does AI fit into that future?
Peter: AI is the next big change. Eventually, you’ll be able to tell the system what you want, “move this guest”, “create this reservation”, and it will just happen. The goal is to take away the repetitive stuff so operators can focus on guests, not admin.
Adam: It’s not just the tech that’s lasted, though. RMS has people who’ve been here 25, even 39 years. What’s the secret?
Peter: It really comes down to relationships. The journey has been as much about the people as the product. Some of our staff have been here 25 or even 39 years. Customers, too, and many I consider friends.
I think being a family-owned business has shaped that culture. We’ve never been about chasing hype. We’ve focused on building trust, and that’s why people have stuck with us.
Adam: That’s what drew me in, too. When I joined, what struck me was the heritage and the potential. It’s incredibly rare to find a tech company that’s lasted 40 years, has a loyal customer base, and still plays a critical role in day-to-day operations.
Hospitality technology is undergoing a huge transformation right now. With opportunities in North America, RMS Pay, and our platform strategy, it felt like the right time to join. My first six months have only confirmed that this company has a massive opportunity ahead.
Peter: So, where does RMS go from here?
Adam: Looking forward, over the next 12 months, we plan to focus on these three pillars:
- Product innovation that delivers real outcomes.
Our platform has to do three things for our customers: help them drive revenue, improve operational efficiency, and create personalised guest experiences. If we’re not doing one of those, we’re missing the mark. That means our roadmap, including how we use AI, has to be more than just hype. It has to solve real problems inside our customers’ businesses, not just be another chatbot. - Customer partnerships, not just support.
We want to build a moat around our customers by moving from reactive service to proactive partnership. That means listening deeply, not just to feature requests, but to the bigger problems they’re trying to solve. If we do that well, we’re not just a vendor, we’re part of their business. - Smart global growth.
North America is a huge opportunity, and we’re doubling down with more sales, marketing, and partnership resources there. But the goal isn’t growth for its own sake, it’s targeted, thoughtful expansion that builds on our heritage of being product- and customer-focused.
If we do those three things right, everything else follows. Technology will keep changing; it has for 40 years. What doesn’t change is the mission: helping our customers grow. If we keep listening to them and have an engaged, passionate team, RMS will be here for the next 40 years, too.
Adam: So, Peter, if you had to sum up RMS in one word?
Peter: A flow on from what we just said, the people. That’s what RMS has always been about.
From its first steps in Melbourne to a global presence today, RMS’s story has always been one of adaptability and people. Listening to Peter and Adam reflect makes it clear that while technology will continue to evolve, the core of RMS: Building trust, driving innovation, and putting customers first.
After 42 years, RMS isn’t just keeping up with change; it’s shaping what comes next in hospitality.
