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Which PMS / Booking engine / Channel manager to choose?

Front Desk Operations

Jan MW started this discussion 2 years 7 months ago

Hi,

We are starting a brand new hostel with 12 rooms, 3 of which will be dorms. We are trying to do this with limited resources and have to start from zero, so trying to keep costs down while still getting everything organized smoothly. It has become clear to me that a channel manager, PMS and booking engine are very important for the business to succeed.

We will have young, unexperienced staff working at the hostel and I won't be there myself every day, so we need something foolproof.

So far, I have looked at Cloudbeds, Sirvoy and Frontdesk Master. Though I do have a slight preference for Cloudbeds so far, it's pricing is something that puts me off for now. We don't have much to spend (yet) and this is quite a commitment.

I guess my questions are:

- What are your experiences with these systems? Is there one you specifically recommend?

- Did you ever have to switch from one tool to another and why?

- Is there any other system we should add to our shortlist?

Fellow hostel managers, thanks for you valuable input!

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dany1980

2 years

Hi Jan.

I had an hostel for 4 years, closed in 2020 due covid.
It was 32 people hostel, so I suppose bit smaller then yours.

I used BananaDesk for 4 years, and I have to say that using this PMS in my hostel changed my life. It contained just the needed stuff for an hostel of my hostel size. It's the only way to don't lose money. But it was 29.99 USD/month at beginning, and 50USD/month after 2019.
Quite a lot considering my hostel was based in Mexico.

I never used cloudbeds, I know that is better, but was a lot too much expensive for my small hostel, and also hard to learn, and hard to explain at new volunteers (every week I was losing hours explaining the PMS to new volunteers). Even if it has some functionalities that are unique.

So, since I'm at home, in 2020, I decided to spend my time developing a new PMS for hostels, based on my experience using BananaDesk for 4 years. I knew that it was possible, for me, to do something better then it, and with a fair price.

So, I developed something that was similar to what I knew, but, in my opinion, better.
You can check it, if you want: https://www.deskydoo.com

It's online since 3 days.

It's now in Beta, and will be free till september 1st.
After that the 6 months free tier will begin - so free till March 1st, 2023...
and price will be 9.99/14.99 USD after that, depending on your hostel size.
Could be a money saver if you are beginning.

I don't have any hostel subscribed, at this time.
I'd really like to have you as my first hostel subscribed.
Cause both of us, are beginning.

Support would be direrctly with me.
And I promise I'll do the best to help you in what you need, based on my experience.
And also, if you feel that you need something more, I can plan to develope it, and integrate in the existing software.

Cheeers
Daniele

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DarrenOverby

2 years

Hi Jan,

HostelManagement.com developed HostelSnap specifically for small hostels like yours that have tight budgets and don't want to be locked into a monthly fee. HostelSnap uses either a percentage-based fee (less than 1% of gross sales - .7%) or 10 cents per dorm bed night ($1 per roomnight on private rooms. This way we don't make money unless your hostel is making money.

The second reason we build HostelSnap was that other PMS software was way too complicated for itinerant staff. We needed software that literally guides the staff step-by-step through the process so they know exactly what to do. Now, we even have self-check-in and virtual-key-management functionality so the guests can check themselves in (like we all do for airlines now).

We are (ahem, I am) terrible at marketing but our clients are really happy with this software. It's so cheap to use, that they often ask, "when are you start charging me to use this software". I would be happy to give you a free demo.

I provide free setup and we can also often customize features if we feel your request will help other hostels as well.

Darren
https://hostelsnap.com

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DarrenOverby

2 years

Hi Jan,

Darren
https://hostelsnap.com

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