Write down your operating day before the demo
Start with daily decisions, not menu items: ready rooms, arrivals with an open balance, room moves, invoice charges and direct-booking inventory. Turn them into test cases.
Six carefully chosen scenarios are enough for a small hotel. Define starting state, expected result and involved roles, then share them before the demo.
| Scenario | Expected outcome | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New reservation | Guest, stay, price and room are confirmed without conflict. | Front desk |
| Early arrival, room not ready | Housekeeping prioritises; front desk sees readiness immediately. | Front desk + housekeeping |
| Room move during stay | New occupancy is correct and old room follows the operational workflow. | Front desk + housekeeping |
| Departure with partial payment | Balance, payment and final invoice reconcile. | Front desk + finance |
| Mobile direct booking | Guest completes; reservation reaches PMS without re-entry. | Guest + front desk |
| Cancellation and released capacity | Cancellation is traceable and availability is released correctly. | Front desk + management |
Test connections, not only attractive screens
A modern calendar is useless if housekeeping sees another room state. Watch whether booking, guest, room, price, housekeeping, document and payment remain connected.
Ask to see exceptions: unavailable room, possible guest duplicate, partial payment and out-of-order room. Good software blocks or clearly resolves risky states.
Test usability across roles in a small hotel
One person in a small hotel often moves between front desk, communication, invoice and management. Test that journey without repeated search or re-entry.
Require a role demo with separate accounts for front desk, housekeeping, finance and management. Shared passwords or universal admin rights create control problems.
20-minute usability review
- Explain today’s arrivals and departures without a side list.
- Change a reservation and show the calendar impact.
- Pass room state between housekeeping and front desk.
- Find an open balance and open the matching invoice preview.
- Verify a restricted role cannot perform an unrelated action.
Follow direct booking from phone to operations
Complete the booking journey yourself on a phone. Search, compare, understand rate and policies, choose extras and finish. Verify the same reservation reaches the PMS.
Ask where categories, photos, prices, availability and policies are maintained. Duplicate maintenance creates conflicting truth.
Calculate the complete cost for a realistic year
Do not compare headline prices alone. Ask vendors to show the base price, included rooms, price per additional room, setup, mandatory modules, users, support, booking engine, updates, term and cancellation separately. Add the internal cost of duplicate work before comparing offers.
The STRYK core price follows property size: a €59 base fee plus €6 per room per month, net plus VAT, with annual billing (12 months, renewing for a further 12 months each time); monthly billing costs 20% more. All core apps, unlimited users, setup and personal support are included. In the first contract year, 20% off applies to the base fee only. STRYK Pricing Intelligence and STRYK Guest AI are optional after one free trial month; direct-booking and third-party costs are shown separately.
| Cost item | Required written evidence | STRYK |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing formula | Base fee, price for every room and term | €59 base fee + €6 per room per month, net, billed annually (12 months, renewing for 12 months); monthly +20% |
| PMS revenue share | Percentage and clear calculation basis | 0% |
| Setup | One-off amount and included service | No setup fee |
| Modules and apps | Mandatory packages and future add-ons | Core apps included, two AI modules optional |
| External partners | Provider, service and separate fees | May charge separately |
Test support, onboarding and help before buying
Read three guides before buying: common task, exception and troubleshooting. Good documentation gives prerequisites, exact steps, visible outcomes and typical errors.
Clarify onboarding in writing: responsibilities, migration scope, tests, approvals and first-week support. A reliable plan names owners, dates and evidence.
Clarify data control, exit and future readiness
Before signing, clarify export of bookings, guests, rooms, invoices and other relevant data: format, scope, timing and cost. Ask about auditability and user deactivation.
Compare the connected hotel workflow, not a staged click-through. In STRYK, booking, channel management, check-in, housekeeping, invoicing and payment stay connected from start to finish.
Test the export with a small sample, not only in the contract. Request five test bookings with their guest, room and payment references, open the files and verify dates, states, amounts, identifiers and post-contract availability.
