Switching to a hotel PMS
From a standalone channel manager to a PMS with a channel manager
Platform connection, booking calendar, prices and invoicing sit together in STRYK. The channel manager is included in the STRYK core price. On the cutover date you disconnect the old platform link, so two systems never offer the same room.
- Platform connection after mapping and a connection test
- Import from CSV, XLSX and ZIP with a dry run
- Prices for website and platforms from one calendar
In short
A standalone channel manager distributes availability and prices to booking platforms, but it does not run the booking calendar or invoicing. STRYK is browser-based hotel software that combines channel manager, calendar, prices, booking engine and invoicing in one system. You switch on a set cutover date and import your data from CSV, XLSX or ZIP. Cost: a base fee plus an amount per room or unit and month; a separate channel manager subscription is no longer needed once your platforms are confirmed as connected in STRYK.
Updated
What goes wrong day to day with separate systems
A standalone channel manager keeps the platforms in sync. But phone bookings, website prices and invoices still live in Excel, Word or a second program, and that is where the errors happen.
- Today
The channel manager shows apartment 3 as free, but in your Excel list it has been booked by phone since yesterday evening. You only find out which version is right when the guest is standing at the door.
With STRYKReception, website and connected platforms all book into the same booking calendar. Once a phone booking puts apartment 3 in the calendar, every other booking channel in STRYK checks whether it is still free before saving; for platforms this applies after a successful sync. Platform bookings, changes and cancellations land in the same calendar.
Read more - Today
The weekend gets more expensive. You change the price in the channel manager, then in the website booking engine, and finally in the price list for phone guests. With bad luck, you forget one of the three.
With STRYKYou maintain prices, rate plans and rules in the STRYK price calendar. A preview shows the effect before you save. The booking engine on your website reads the same prices.
Read more - Today
The invoice is written on the day of departure in a Word template. You retype the name and dates from the platform booking, and write down the guest registration separately.
With STRYKName, dates and price of the platform booking are already in STRYK, and the invoice is created from them without retyping. Guests can fill in their registration details online before arrival, and your reception checks them.
Read more
A day in an apartment building, three weeks after the cutover date
A sample day in an apartment building with 14 units, run by the owner with one cleaner and part-time reception.
No more morning reconciliation
Previously the owner compared the channel manager and the Excel list every morning. Now she only opens the booking calendar: two platform bookings from overnight are already in it. The cleaning plan follows from departures and arrivals, and the cleaner reports each unit as finished.
Check-out of unit 5
At check-out of unit 5, STRYK sets the cleaning status and adds open items to the invoice. The PDF goes to the guest. You no longer need a Word template.
Adjusting the weekend price
The owner raises the price for the coming weekend in the price calendar and checks the preview. The booking engine shows the new price on the website. Prices for the platforms are sent through the channel manager.
Platform booking for next Friday
A booking arrives through a booking platform. It appears in the booking calendar without anyone reloading the page, and the team gets a notice. The guest's message is in the inbox of that booking.
Phone booking from a regular guest
A regular guest phones to ask about a week in June. Reception enters the booking in the same calendar that holds the platform bookings. STRYK checks availability before the booking is saved.
Two open items before closing time
The end-of-day check flags open items, drafts and departures that have not yet been invoiced. The owner resolves two items and closes the day.
What a channel manager alone does not handle
What used to run alongside the channel manager in Excel, Word and on paper now sits in the same system as the platform connection after the switch.
Platform connection in the same system
STRYK sends availability, prices and booking rules to the platforms, and bookings flow back into the booking calendar. We confirm which platforms your hotel can connect after mapping and a connection test. You keep your contracts with the platforms.
Read moreOne calendar for all booking channels
The calendar offers day, week, two-week and month views with room status. Bookings from every channel sit side by side, and room planning reassigns guests before arrival.
Read moreRates and rate plans
You maintain rate plans, price rules and discount codes in one place. The price calculator checks a stay for category, rate plan and channel without creating a booking.
Read moreWebsite bookings at calendar prices
Your booking page runs on a STRYK address or your own domain and reads prices and availability directly from STRYK. It does not need a separate contract; it is part of the core price.
Read moreInvoices and registration data
Invoice, quote and payment status are attached to the booking. Online check-in collects registration details before arrival. How guest registration works in your country depends on your local authority and national law.
Read moreCleaning plan from departures
The daily plan is built from departures, stayovers and arrivals. Cleaners set Start and Done, and reception sees the status immediately.
Read more
A channel manager plus manual work, or one system
The table compares day-to-day work with a standalone channel manager plus Excel or Word filing against day-to-day work in STRYK.
| Task | Channel manager plus Excel and Word | With STRYK |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | One version in the channel manager, one in Excel. Differences only come to light at arrival. | One booking calendar, with an availability check before every save. |
| Changing prices | Separately in the channel manager, on the website and in your own list. | In the price calendar, with a preview. Website and platforms take their prices from the same source. |
| Invoice | Word template, data retyped from the platform booking, corrections made by overwriting. | Invoice created from the booking, locked once issued, corrections through cancellation or credit note. |
| Guest registration | A separate paper form or file, updated in the evening. | Registration data online before arrival, checked by reception. |
| Cleaning | A word or a note; reception asks whether the room is ready. | Housekeeping plan with a status that reception sees in the calendar. |
| Contracts | One subscription for the channel manager, and separate software for the rest of the hotel. | One contract with a base fee plus an amount per room. What you pay the platforms does not change. |
One price that grows with your property
For a property of your size you pay a base fee plus a fixed amount per room or unit and month. Compare the total with the running costs of your channel manager subscription and the second software for invoicing.
Pricing in detail€59 base fee + €6 per room or unit per month
Example with 14 rooms€143per month
- 14-day free trial
- No setup fee
- Personal onboarding
Net prices, annual billing. 20% off the base fee in the first contract year.
From the old channel manager to the cutover date
The switch happens on a set cutover date. Until then you keep working in the old setup, and afterwards only in STRYK.
Back up data from the old setup
Export future bookings, guest list, rooms and prices as a file. There is no direct import from a particular third-party system; the route runs through files.
Test import as a dry run
STRYK accepts CSV, XLSX and ZIP with templates. The dry run shows in advance what will arrive. An error report lists rows to correct before the real import starts.
Map and test the platforms
Your platform contracts and access details stay with you. We map your rooms and rate plans to the platforms and confirm after the connection test which platforms your hotel can connect.
Disconnect the old link, set the cutover date
From a fixed time onward, you accept new bookings only in STRYK. Disconnect the old channel manager from the platforms before STRYK takes over, so that two systems never send availability to the same platform at the same time. The old system is then used only for looking things up.
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep using my platform connections?
Yes, your contracts with the platforms remain in place. We set up the connection again in the STRYK Channel Manager: rooms and rate plans are mapped, followed by a connection test. Only after that do we confirm which platforms your hotel can connect.
How do I avoid overbooking on the switchover day?
By making sure bookings are never created in two places. Set a fixed time from which only STRYK accepts bookings. In STRYK, every booking channel checks availability before saving. Beforehand, check the future bookings in the old setup against the import list.
What happens to future bookings from the old system?
You import them from a CSV, XLSX or ZIP file. The dry run shows in advance what will arrive, and an error report lists rows with problems. After the import, spot-check the booking calendar before you use the old system only for lookups.
Which platforms can I connect?
We confirm this for each hotel after mapping and a connection test. In your enquiry, list the platforms your current channel manager is connected to; the mapping starts from that list. We check other platforms, for example Airbnb, in the same way.
Do I still need a separate channel manager subscription afterwards?
No, the connection through the STRYK Channel Manager costs nothing extra. The channel manager is included in the STRYK core price. Only cancel your current contract once the connection has been tested, and check its notice period. Platform commissions continue to be paid directly to the platforms.
Does STRYK import data directly from my previous system?
No, there is no direct access to third-party systems. The import runs via CSV, XLSX and ZIP with templates. We guide you through it, and migration is included in the core price.
Can I set different prices for platforms than for the website?
Yes, through surcharges and discounts per channel group: website, channels, manual and API. The platforms together form the channels group. Whether a platform allows a price that differs from your own website is governed by your contract with that platform.
Work out the price for your hotel and plan the switch
We calculate with your number of rooms and go through your cutover date in the demo. The trial lasts 14 days.