Best Hotel Management Software of 2026

Here's what we'll cover:

What is hotel management software?

Features of hotel management software

Benefits of using hotel management software

How to choose the best hotel management software for your business

Understanding hotel management software trends

Hotel management software essentials

Hotel management software provides hotels, resorts, and other businesses that offer lodging with the tools to effectively manage various aspects of their business, including reservations, front desk operations, housekeeping, maintenance, and financial management.

We analyzed conversations with nearly 500 hotel management software buyers over the past year and found that 99% prioritize front office and property management functionalities, [1] and current users of this software find reservation management to be the most valuable feature, with over 95% rating it as highly critical or important. [2]

Hotel management software costs vary based on property size, number of rooms, and required features. Our analysis of the data shows that most buyers budget between $75 and $150 per month, with an average monthly budget of $62 across all property types and sizes.

We found that the market offers a wide range of options catering to various accommodation types, from small bed & breakfasts to large resorts and cruise lines. With over 200 vendors and 2,500 product reviews on our site, you'll have plenty of choices to find the perfect fit for your business.

First-time buyers should begin evaluating with a budget, industry-specific use cases, and integration capabilities in mind. Some questions to ask vendors when evaluating hotel software include:

• How does the system handle booking modifications and cancellations?

• Can it manage different room types, rates, and packages efficiently?

• Does it offer a channel manager to sync inventory across various booking platforms?

• How does it handle work orders, task assignments, and inventory management for maintenance?

• Can the software connect with our point-of-sale (POS) and accounting systems to sync guests’ purchases of additional products and services? 

• How does the software handle guest data management and ensure compliance with privacy regulations?

Choosing from so many different software providers can be challenging. This detailed guide will cover the essential components of hotel management software, provide guidance on how to select the right solution, and tap into the expertise of our software advisors, Cassie Kalisz, Terrel Bass, and Bryan Markovic, who have been leading buyers to the right software for many years.

What is hotel management software?

Hotel and hospitality management software is a tool designed to help manage and automate essential administrative and organizational functions for hotels, motels, resorts, bed and breakfasts, condos, recreation vehicle parks (RV parks), and other forms of lodging. These functions include reservations, guest scheduling, accounting, property or maintenance management, customer relationship management, and housekeeping coordination. 

Many vendors offer a variety of hotel management features and integrations. Our site lists over 200 hotel management vendors, and we published over 2,500 reviews for this category in the past year alone.

We found that lodging owners, especially those with smaller or independent properties, often misunderstand their current manual practices or legacy systems as sufficient for their management needs. However, our analysis revealed that this assumption often leads to unexpected challenges in today's digital-first world, where guests book rooms online and expect quick responses. 

Cassie Kalisz, our advisor from Software Advice, explains, "Buyers often discover they need to upgrade their systems when they start listing on online booking platforms like Expedia. They encounter situations where prices don't update across all sites or rooms get booked at incorrect rates. When they try to adjust these issues, they realize their current system doesn't support such changes."

Features of hotel management software

When choosing hotel management software, focusing on features that will directly improve your daily operations and guest experience is important. The right software should simplify your administrative tasks, help manage reservations efficiently, and provide clear financial oversight. Here are some key features to look for, based on their importance to current users:

Core hotel management software features

Common hotel management software features

Optional hotel management software features worth noting

• Calendar management: Track and manage schedules and meetings via an integrated calendar. 91% of users rate calendar management as an important or critical feature. 

• Online booking: Enable guests to make reservations directly through the hotel's website, reducing dependency on third-party booking sites. 90% of users rate online booking as important or critical.

• Rate management: Track or optimize room rates based on occupancy, seasonality, competitors, or special events. 80% of users say rate management is important or critical.

Reservations management screen in hotel management software innRoad

Benefits of using hotel management software

Traditional hotel management methods simply can’t keep pace with modern booking practices and guest expectations, often resulting in inefficiencies, lost revenue, and subpar guest experiences. Our conversations with software buyers and analysis of user reviews reveal that hotel management software significantly improves day-to-day operations and booking efficiency. These improvements directly impact a hotel's bottom line and guest satisfaction.

Terrel Bass, our software advisor, emphasizes the importance of modernization: "Hotels are realizing they need to modernize to stay competitive. And this isn't just about having a sleeker interface; it's about fundamentally changing how they manage their operations."

Here are some of the key benefits users experience by implementing hotel management systems:

• Maximized revenue and occupancy: The software ensures consistent rates and availability across all channels by centralizing the management of multiple booking platforms. This eliminates double bookings and pricing discrepancies, leading to higher occupancy rates. Moreover, real-time updates allow dynamic pricing strategies, maximizing revenue during peak periods.

• Enhanced guest satisfaction: Streamlined operations lead to faster check-ins and quicker response times to guest requests. Plus, access to guest history enables personalized services, targeted marketing, and automated follow-ups, which results in higher ratings, guest loyalty, and repeat bookings.

• Future-proofing the business: By adopting these latest systems, hotels position themselves to easily integrate future technologies, such as AI-driven chatbots or IoT devices, in their operations and adapt to evolving guest expectations.

• Data-driven decision-making: With detailed reports and analytics on hotel performance, users can make informed decisions about pricing, marketing strategies, and resource allocation. The software helps senior managers pull customized reports, track guest preferences, and spot other trends to identify problems and opportunities quickly.

How to choose the best hotel management software for your business

Step 1: Define your requirements

Before selecting a hotel management system, it’s important to clearly define your property's needs and only pay for the features you'll use. These will guide you toward a system that aligns with your current operational demands and ensure you get the best value.

Consider what type of buyer you are

Hotel management software buyers typically fall into one of the following categories:

Franchises: Many franchises have specific rules on what hospitality software can be used, while others, such as Holiday Inn, allow their franchisees to decide for themselves. Discuss your software options with the franchise to get their input, product recommendations, and requirements.

Hotel chains: At the other side of the table, if you represent a brand with multiple properties, you need to determine whether you want a single hotel PMS across them all or allow them to choose for themselves. Ask yourself how much—and what kind of—information you want to gather from each of your properties and whether it needs to come in automatically or if manual reporting will be sufficient. If you do go with a single unified product, be sure to consider how the needs of each property differ—you may only have one hotel in Las Vegas, but it will need some of the features associated with Casino Management Software, which may necessarily impact your purchase decision.

Large hotels and resorts: The larger the property, the more robust a system you’ll need. Large hotels and resorts typically have many different products and services for people to buy, more maintenance requests, and more complicated reservation and scheduling needs. Paying more for a robust hotel or resort product that can make all your processes smoother should be worth it.

Small property owners: A bed-and-breakfast or a hotel with only a few rooms will have much less robust needs than a large resort. If you are just starting, you may wish to consider a simple but comprehensive system that includes property management and account capabilities. If you already have software that meets those other needs, be sure your new system is compatible with your legacy hotel management system.

Property managers: If you represent an RV park, a condo, or some other form of communal living, you may wish to consider property management software instead of hotel software. That said, if your property has a lot of turnover, it may be easier to use this software category, which is designed to handle reservations and accounting for high-turnover environments.

How much should you spend on hotel management software?

The pricing for hotel management software varies based on property size, number of rooms, and required functionalities. It’s usually in the form of either per room/unit or per user. Remember that for an on-premise system, you’ll pay a single fee, likely with an annual maintenance upgrade, while web-based systems (Software as a Service, or SaaS) will charge monthly.

Nearly three-quarters (75%) of hotel management software buyers who spoke with our advisors last year budgeted between $75 and $150 a month for their system. However, the average monthly budget across all property types and sizes was $62. While many properties allocate higher budgets, a significant number of smaller or budget-conscious properties bring down the average.

Our data shows a diverse range of accommodation types using this software, from motels and bed & breakfasts to resorts and cruise lines. Generally, larger properties with more rooms and complex operations expect to pay more, as they typically require more advanced features and support. The chart below highlights the average monthly buyer budget for the top five industries in hotel management software.

When considering costs, also consider the total cost of owning the software, such as the upfront costs (including a one-time fee for installation and data migration), ongoing expenses (for customer support and system maintenance), extra charges for integration with other systems or additional features, and potential costs for staff training.

Plan around integration options

When choosing hotel management software, consider how it integrates with your other systems. Our data shows that 91% of buyers prefer integrated suites over best-of-breed solutions, highlighting the importance of easy data flow between diverse business functions. 

Bryan Markovic, our advisor, explains: "The common integration between front office management, channel manager, and online booking engine is critical. Without it, hotels manage multiple calendars from different websites, leading to confusion and double bookings." Some key integrations you should consider include:

• Channel management and online booking engines: To prevent overbookings and maintain consistent rates across platforms. Channel refers to any website where people can book to stay at your hotel.

• Point of sale (POS) systems and accounting: To unify guest experience and accounting. It will allow guests to pay upfront or charge their room for hotel products and services like restaurant meals, incidentals like mini-bar items or pay-per-view, health club or spa services, etc.

• Revenue management systems: To optimize room pricing based on real-time data on occupancy trends, competitor rates, etc. 

• Customer relationship management (CRM) tools: To integrate guest data from all touchpoints and enhance their stay experience to boost loyalty.

Step 2: Make a shortlist of hotel management software

With so many hotel management software options to choose from, narrowing the right choices for your property can be challenging—but with the right resources and support, it doesn’t have to be.

Get qualified help from an advisor

At Software Advice, our advisors like Cassie Kalisz, Terrel Bass, and Bryan Markovic, have experience helping hundreds of hoteliers and vacation property managers identify solutions that match their needs and budgets.

Within minutes of your calling, our team of free advisors can give you a personalized short list of software options that fit your needs.

If you need guidance, you can chat online now with an advisor or schedule a phone call. In just a few minutes, your advisor will help you identify a shortlist of options that align with your business requirements.

Explore our FrontRunners list of hotel management

If you’re not ready to talk to an advisor just yet, you can also start compiling your shortlist of hotel management software with our FrontRunners report. Only products that earn top user ratings make it to this list. To be eligible for consideration, a product must:

• Have at least 20 unique user reviews in the last 24 months,

• Be a stand-alone hotel management system, not just a partial tool, and 

• Offer key features.

Check out our full methodology description for more details on how the report is compiled.

Step 3: Pick your best option

Once you've shortlisted potential hotel management software solutions, it's time to schedule demos. These are your chance to see the tools and features in action, understand their costs, and decide whether one is worth your money.

Getting ready for software demos

You need to be prepared to get the most out of these demos. Make a list of your must-have features and pain points. Involve key team members who will use the software. Prepare specific scenarios you want to see demonstrated. Most importantly, be ready to ask questions.

Here are some questions you could ask vendors during demos:

• How does the system handle multiple room types and rate plans?

• Can you show me how to update availability across all connected channels?

• What does the check-in and check-out process look like with software?

• Can you demonstrate how to run occupancy and revenue reports?

• How does the system handle guest profiles and loyalty programs?

• How does the software integrate with our existing POS/accounting systems?

• What kind of customer support do you offer? Is it 24/7?

Remember, the demo is not just about seeing features; it's about understanding how the software will work in your property. Don't hesitate to ask for a second demo if you need more time or want to see specific features in more detail.

Understanding hotel management software trends

Software as a Service (SaaS). Most software is moving away from locally installed software and toward Web-based systems that can be accessed anywhere for a monthly fee. This drastically reduces the up-front costs of purchasing a system and the ongoing need for an IT infrastructure. The disadvantage is that monthly costs can add up over time, but most businesses prefer the flexibility of SaaS systems.

Market fragmentation. Because the software development market has a relatively low barrier to entry, many new companies are entering the hotel management software market. Many come from Canada and Europe and are now looking to enter the U.S. market. Though this will undoubtedly lead to better costs and quality in the long run, buying decisions may be even more confusing than they were a few years ago.

About our contributors

Author

Molly Burke is a senior analyst and writer for Software Advice. She covers customer experience and marketing in the retail and restaurant industries, with a focus on how emerging technology is transforming the way everyday people shop. Her research helps business owners make software investment decisions that will help them navigate the ever-shifting retail landscape. 

Molly’s research and analysis is informed by more than 120,000 authentic user reviews on Software Advice and nearly 8,000 interactions between Software Advice software advisors and retail software buyers. Molly also regularly analyzes market sentiment by conducting surveys of retail and restaurant leaders, as well as consumers, so she can provide the most up-to-date and helpful information to small and midsize businesses purchasing software or services. 

Her insights on generative AI, social media, and other tech trends have been featured in The New York Times, Vogue, BBC, CNBC, Forbes, and the Financial Times, among other publications.

Editor

Caroline Rousseau is a content editor at Software Advice.

A former content analyst, Caroline has, for the past five years, built, written and edited research reports about technological trends, opportunities, and challenges with a SMB audience in mind. Her content has been featured in French Tier 1 media including Le Monde, L’Express and Le Figaro, among other publications.

Her previous experience as a graphic designer, translator and LQA specialist in various industries converged into a skill set that allows her to create compelling content about today’s business matters. Caroline’s personal interests include literature and art and she has a passion for Albert Camus, graphic novels and drawing.

Advisors

Cassie Kalisz is a software advisor. She joined Software Advice in 2024 and she is based in Austin, TX.

As part of the software advisor team, Cassie helps retail, fleet management, and dental professionals who are seeking ecommerce, maintenance management, and billing software. She provides a short list of personalized technology recommendations based on budget, business goals, and other specific needs. 

Cassie’s favorite part of being a software advisor is assisting buyers in solving problems they may not have been aware of beforehand.

Terrel Bass is a software advisor. He joined Software Advice in 2024, and he is based in Fort Myers, FL.

Terrel works directly with small business leaders to connect them with best fit software providers. He assesses the technology needs of small businesses seeking hotel management, retail, property management, and vacation rental software through one-to-one conversations. He provides a short list of potential matches. 

His favorite part of being a software advisor is seeing how much value he adds to buyers’ searches and alleviating them from the burden of the overwhelming number of systems to choose from.

Bryan Markovich is a software advisor. He joined Software Advice in 2024, and he is based in Fort Myers, FL.

Bryan works directly with small business leaders to connect them with best fit software providers. He assesses the technology needs of small businesses seeking property management, retail, ecommerce, and fleet management software through one-to-one conversations and provides a short list of potential matches. 

Bryan’s favorite part of being a software advisor is providing buyers with a sense of direction. He enjoys acting as a helping hand when buyers are not sure of which software they need.

Sources

• Software Advice advisor call notes: Findings are based on data from telephonic conversations that Software Advice’s advisor team had with small-to-midsize businesses seeking hotel management tools. For this report, we analyzed phone interactions from September 13, 2023 to September 13, 2024. 

• Software Advice reviews data: Reviews are collected from verified users for individual software products. For this report, we analyzed reviews from September 13, 2023 to September 13, 2024.