The criteria we used
Seven features that can be checked on the vendors’ websites and that matter in the daily running of a guesthouse or holiday rental.Guesthouses and holiday rentals have different concerns from a 60-room city hotel. Often there is no staffed reception, the key is in a key safe, guests come via Booking.com, Airbnb and your own website, and in the end the invoice, including the local tourist tax, has to be right. A large part of the work happens in the evening at the kitchen table. That is why what counts is a price that makes sense even for three units, a built-in channel manager, online check-in and a trial you can start without a sales call.
A criterion only counts as met if the vendor clearly states it on its website. If nothing is stated there or it remains unclear, it doesn’t count, even if it might be possible on request. We deliberately included Airbnb as a separate criterion because for many holiday rentals it is the most important channel alongside Booking.com.
We did not assess app offerings, features for large portfolios with owner statements, or the number of connected channels. For most hosts, three or four channels matter, not hundreds.
| Criterion | Why it matters for guesthouses and holiday rentals |
|---|---|
| Price public and calculable for a few units | You know what three apartments or eight rooms cost before the first conversation, not just a “from” price. |
| Channel manager included, Booking.com and Expedia named | One calendar for all channels, without an extra contract and with protection against double bookings. |
| Airbnb explicitly named | For many holiday rentals, Airbnb is the most important channel alongside Booking.com. |
| Booking engine for direct bookings included | Commission-free bookings via your own website, from the same inventory. |
| Online check-in included | Guests enter their details before arrival. Important when nobody is permanently at reception. |
| Guest invoice with tourist tax named | Local tourist tax, spa tax or other local levies have to appear correctly on the invoice. |
| Free trial without a sales call | You test the software yourself with your units and rates, not just in a demo. |
| Vendor | Price calculable | Channel manager with Booking.com and Expedia | Airbnb | Booking engine | Online check-in | Invoice with tourist tax | Trial | Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 STRYK | Yes, €59 plus €6 per unit, excl. VAT | Yes, in the core price | yes | Yes, in the core price | Yes, separate module in the core price | Yes | Yes, 14 days | |
| Beds24 | Only “from” price and calculator | At extra cost per channel connection | Yes | Yes | Not named as an own feature | Not mentioned | Yes, length not stated | |
| Gastrodat | On request | Yes, channels not named individually | Not mentioned | Yes | Yes, pre-check-in | Yes, tourist tax in invoicing according to the documentation | Not mentioned | |
| HotelFriend | Only “from” price | Yes, including Booking.com and Expedia | Yes, named on the channel manager page | Yes | As an add-on module | City tax report; showing it on the invoice not mentioned | Yes, 7 days | |
| Little Hotelier | Only via calculator by room count | Yes, according to the pricing page | Yes, in the channel list | Yes, according to the pricing page | Yes | Invoices yes, tourist tax not mentioned | Yes, 30 days | |
| Lodgify | Only “from” price and calculator | Yes | Yes | Yes, from the “Starter” plan | Yes, check-in tools | Yes, guest invoices and local taxes | Yes, 7 days | |
| RoomRaccoon | Yes, plan prices | Yes, Booking.com and Expedia named | Yes, named on the channel manager page | Yes, in all plans | Yes | Invoices yes, tourist tax not mentioned | No, demo | |
| Smoobu | Yes, per unit | Yes, in all plans | Yes | Yes, booking system and website builder | Yes | Yes, on the guest invoice according to the Help Center | Yes, 14 days |
The vendors in detail
Vendors are listed with STRYK first; we do not rank them. The table above shows how many criteria each solution meets. What matters is which criteria count for your business: for three holiday apartments, price and Airbnb; for a guesthouse with breakfast, rather invoicing, tourist tax and guest registration.
Meeting few criteria doesn’t mean a solution is bad. HotelFriend and Gastrodat are built mainly for hotels and don’t explicitly mention tourist tax on the invoice, prices for small portfolios or a free trial.
Software for guesthouses and holiday rentals in the DACH region
- Guesthouses run like a small hotelSTRYK Hotel Management
Cloud PMS from Salzburg for small and mid-sized hotels, guesthouses and apartment properties.
- Best for
- Guesthouses, apartment properties and holiday rentals from about eight units that want reception, housekeeping, invoicing and direct sales in one system.
- Pricing
- €59 plus €6 per unit per month, excl. VAT, billed annually (3 units: €77, 8: €107, 15: €149)
Strengths
- Modern, clear interface: edit calendar bookings, check room status and open guest details directly
- Connect Booking.com, Expedia, Airbnb and other channels to STRYK. Manage rates and availability centrally and handle OTA reservations in the calendar.
- Booking engine and voucher sales in the core price; online check-in and self check-in kiosk as separate modules included in the core price
- Tourist tax with age bands and exemptions, applied correctly to price and invoice
- Guest registration for Austria with deadline monitoring, housekeeping plan based on actual occupancy
- Unlimited users, no set-up fee, interface and guest pages in 18 languages
Limits
- More expensive than holiday rental tools for very small portfolios, because a base price of €59 applies
- No direct integration with electronic door locks; key-safe codes are stored in the system.
- For tech-savvy hosts
Beds24
Highly configurable system for holiday rentals, guesthouses and hotels with usage-based pricing.
- Best for
- Tech-savvy hosts who want to configure a lot themselves and only pay for what they use.
- Pricing
- From €15.50 per month plus €0.55 per channel connection; total price via calculator
Facts from: beds24.com/pricingStrengths
- Entry from €15.50 per month, no minimum term and no set-up fee
- Channel manager for Booking.com, Expedia, Airbnb and Vrbo
- Booking engine and payment processing included in the feature set
Limits
- Channel manager costs an extra €0.55 per month for each room type and channel connection
- Online check-in and tourist tax not named as own features on the pricing page
- Additional user log-ins €2 per month according to the pricing page
- Apartment properties in Austria
Gastrodat
Modular hotel software from Salzburg (Simplify Hospitality), also available as a cloud solution.
- Best for
- Austrian apartment properties that want to work with a regionally rooted vendor.
- Pricing
- On request
Facts from: simplify-hospitality.com/gastrodatStrengths
- Channel manager and online booking via the online selling platform
- Pre-check-in, invoices and interfaces to registration systems
- More than three decades of experience, according to the vendor
Limits
- Price on request only
- Trial option and connected channels not mentioned on the website
- Aparthotels built from modules
HotelFriend
Modular hotel software from Berlin, also for apartments and aparthotels.
- Best for
- Aparthotels and serviced apartments that assemble their system from modules.
- Pricing
- “FLEX” plan from €156 per month according to the vendor
Facts from: hotelfriend.com/pricingStrengths
- Channel manager, including Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia, and a booking engine
- Self-service kiosk with room card issuing as a module
- Hosting in Germany, unlimited users, 7-day trial
Limits
- Online check-in and kiosk as add-on modules
- Price only as a “from” price per plan
- Quick start, long trial
Little Hotelier
Software from SiteMinder for small properties with 1 to 30 rooms.
- Best for
- B&Bs and small guesthouses that want to start quickly and test for a long time.
- Pricing
- Depends on room count; no fixed amount published
Facts from: littlehotelier.com/de/preiseStrengths
- Channel manager and booking engine as core features according to the pricing page
- Online check-in via your own website, invoices by email
- Free trial for 30 days
Limits
- No fixed price published; amount only via calculator by room count
- Tourist tax or spa tax not mentioned on the pages we checked
- Focus on your own booking website
Lodgify
Holiday rental software with website builder, channel manager and booking system.
- Best for
- Hosts who put their own booking website at the centre and sell via Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com.
- Pricing
- According to the vendor from €13 per month on an annual plan, depending on the number of properties
Facts from: lodgify.com/de/preiseStrengths
- Website builder and booking widget from the “Starter” plan, 0% fee on direct bookings
- Guest invoices and automated check-in in the “Ultimate” plan, local taxes configurable
- No set-up fee, 7-day trial
Limits
- Price for several properties only via the calculator; no fixed amount per unit published
- “Basic” and “Starter” plans only for one or at most two properties
- Guesthouses with automation
RoomRaccoon
All-in-one hotel software with PMS, channel manager, booking engine and payments.
- Best for
- Guesthouses with a hotel character that value automation and online check-in.
- Pricing
- “Entry” plan €130 or €156 per month according to the pricing page, depending on billing
Facts from: roomraccoon.de/preiseStrengths
- PMS, channel manager, booking engine and payment processing in all plans
- Digital check-in and check-out as well as invoicing according to the website
- Public plan prices
Limits
- Demo only, no free trial to test yourself
- Tourist tax on the invoice not mentioned on the pages we checked
- More expensive than pure holiday rental tools for three apartments
- Holiday rentals via Airbnb
Smoobu
Software for holiday rentals with channel manager, booking system and website builder.
- Best for
- Hosts with one to about ten holiday apartments who rent heavily via Airbnb and Booking.com.
- Pricing
- According to the pricing page, €28 for one unit and €9.60 for each additional unit per month; the plan cards show €31.50 (Professional Pre-paid) or €29 plus a 0.9% booking fee (Flex)
Facts from: smoobu.com/de/preiseStrengths
- Channel manager for Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and, according to the vendor, more than 100 other channels in all plans
- Online check-in, digital guest guidebook and website builder included
- Low entry price per unit, 14-day trial without a credit card, no set-up fee
Limits
- E-invoicing included in the “Teams Pro+” plan, otherwise €5.90 per account per month according to the vendor
- Additional users with write access cost €12 per month according to the vendor
What 3, 8 and 15 units cost
An honest calculation using only public prices. This is where you see where STRYK is more expensive.STRYK charges a base price of €59 plus €6 per room or unit per month, excl. VAT, billed annually. This model is built for properties where a lot happens around the booking: front desk, breakfast, housekeeping, invoicing, guest registration. For very small portfolios the base price is noticeable. Three holiday apartments cost €77 a month with STRYK. Based on the figures on Smoobu’s pricing page, three units come to around €47 there. So if you only let three apartments via Airbnb and Booking.com, a holiday rental tool will cost you less.
As you grow, this reverses, because the price per additional unit is lower with STRYK. At eight units the two vendors are close; at 15 units STRYK is cheaper. In the first contract year STRYK also gives a 20% discount on the base price; for eight units that is €95.20 instead of €107 per month. For the table we deliberately used the regular price.
The table contains no payment fees, extra users or add-on modules. With STRYK, direct bookings paid online carry a platform fee of 1.9% of the payment amount processed; without integrated online payment, there is no fee. Other vendors have their own fee models, such as booking fees on flex plans.
| Vendor | 3 units | 8 units | 15 units | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STRYK | €77 | €107 | €149 | Billed annually; 20% higher when billed monthly (€92.40, €128.40, €178.80). Booking engine and vouchers included, online check-in and kiosk as separate modules in the core price; the channel manager is included in the STRYK core price. |
| Beds24 | from €15.50 | from €15.50 | from €15.50 | Plus €0.55 per channel connection per month; total price only via the calculator. |
| HotelFriend | from €156 | from €156 | from €156 | “FLEX” plan; add-on modules depending on selection. |
| Lodgify | from €13 for one property | Calculator | Calculator | No fixed amount published for several properties. |
| RoomRaccoon | from €130 | from €130 | from €130 | “Entry” plan €130 or €156 depending on billing according to the pricing page; the price calculator shows whether the amount rises with room count. |
| Smoobu | approx. €47 | approx. €95 | approx. €162 | Calculated with the figures on the pricing page (€28 first unit, €9.60 each additional). Plan and term change the amount; the vendor’s calculator is authoritative. |
| Little Hotelier, Gastrodat | Calculator or on request | Calculator or on request | Calculator or on request | No fixed amount published. |
When another system is a better fit
If you let one to five holiday apartments without a reception and mainly want an inexpensive shared calendar for Airbnb and Booking.com, Smoobu, Lodgify or Beds24 are usually the cheaper choice. These systems are built for exactly this case and in some cases have their own smartphone apps.
If you manage a large portfolio with many owners and need owner statements, take a look at Lodgify’s “Ultimate” plan or at international systems such as Hostaway, which sets its price individually by quote. For an apartment property with a classic hotel operation, restaurant and meetings, on the other hand, hotel systems like those in our hotel PMS comparison are a better fit.
STRYK fits best when your guesthouse or apartment property works like a small hotel: with breakfast, housekeeping, tourist tax, guest registration, vouchers and a team that works together in the system. Then STRYK replaces several separate tools, and the base price is spread across more value.
How to make your decision
Decide first by your channel mix and your type of operation, and only then by price. A tool that saves €20 a month but can’t put the tourist tax on the invoice costs you more time at month-end than it saves.
Four steps to the right software
- 01Write down your channel mix
Note how many bookings came via Booking.com, Airbnb, Expedia, phone and your own website last year. If Airbnb is a main channel, check the connection first.
- 02Calculate costs for your size
Work out the monthly price for your current number of units and for your size in two years. With few units, tools with a low price per unit win; with more units, models with a base price and a low per-unit price.
- 03Test the evening without reception
Run through a late arrival during the trial: booking via a channel, online check-in, arrival information with key safe code, departure with an invoice including tourist tax.
- 04Check the month-end close
Ask to be shown how invoices, payments, tourist tax and guest registration come together at month-end. This is where you find out whether side lists will still be needed.
