What you actually pay for
- PMS subscription. Per property per month, or per user. Ask whether front desk, housekeeping, restaurant and accounts each need their own paid login.
- Channel manager. Check whether OTA connections are included or charged per channel, and which OTAs are connected.
- Restaurant POS. The software, plus hardware: a billing printer, a KOT printer and a screen at each counter.
- Payment gateway fees on online and direct bookings.
- Setup. Room types, rate plans, outlets and menus, plus current reservations and guest balances.
- Training for front office, housekeeping, F&B and accounts.
- The separate accounting package you are still paying for if the PMS does not post to your books.
For reference, WebSoftOS plans are ₹999 per month (2 users), ₹1,999 (5 users) and ₹2,500 (10 users, 2 companies), per property and excluding GST, with a free trial. A 40-room hotel with a front desk, housekeeping, a restaurant and accounts will usually need 5 to 10 logins. A single property typically goes live in 1–2 weeks. See the current pricing.
Three ways small hotels run today
| Option | Fits when | Breaks when |
|---|---|---|
| Register + Excel + Tally | Under about 10 rooms, no restaurant or banquet, one person at the front desk | OTAs bring double bookings, restaurant bills are added by hand at checkout, and GST invoices are typed |
| Standalone PMS + Tally | You want reservations and a folio and are happy to re-enter totals into accounts | Night audit totals, restaurant sales and payroll are re-keyed into the books every day |
| Integrated cloud hotel ERP | Rooms, restaurant, banquets, housekeeping, GST accounts and payroll should share one record | You have no reliable internet at the property. Plan a mobile hotspot as a backup |
See the buyer guide to hotel software in India and the Hotelogix and eZee comparison for more.
The OTA commission maths
OTA commission is where most small hotels lose the most, and it is where a good PMS and a clean guest database earn their keep. Commission rates vary by OTA and plan, and guides commonly quote a range of 15% to 30%. These numbers are assumptions for illustration, so replace them with your own.
| Per room-night, rate ₹3,500 before tax | OTA booking | Direct booking |
|---|---|---|
| Commission or fee (assumed) | 18% = ₹630 | 2% gateway fee = ₹70 |
| Net to the hotel | ₹2,870 | ₹3,430 |
The difference is ₹560 per room-night. If just 10 room-nights a month move from an OTA to a direct booking, that is ₹5,600 a month, and 30 room-nights is ₹16,800, against a software cost of ₹1,999 to ₹2,500. A PMS does not create direct demand by itself. What it does is keep rates in step across channels, hold a clean guest history for repeat and direct bookings, and show you net rate after commission instead of the headline rate. Track RevPAR, ADR and occupancy on net revenue as well.
Signs it is time to switch
- You have had a double booking in the last season.
- Restaurant and room service charges are added to the bill by hand at checkout.
- Night audit takes more than an hour, or someone reconciles cash and card totals every morning.
- GST invoices are typed, and a rate near ₹7,500 is taxed by memory. See GST on hotel rooms.
- Housekeeping status travels by WhatsApp, so clean rooms are not sold.
- Foreign-guest registration (Form C) is done from a separate portal and sometimes forgotten.
- The accountant re-enters PMS totals into Tally every day.
- You cannot easily list last year’s repeat guests to market direct bookings.
Questions for any PMS vendor
- Which OTAs does the channel manager connect, and are connections included in the price?
- How does it handle the GST slab for each room rate, and the ₹7,500 threshold?
- Does night audit post revenue and tax into the accounts, or do I export it?
- Can I export all my guest and booking data if I leave?
- What are the support hours during peak season and weekends?
- What happens when the internet drops?
Frequently asked questions
How much does hotel management software cost in India?
Prices vary by number of rooms, users and modules. Budget for the subscription, POS hardware, setup and training. WebSoftOS hotel ERP runs on plans of ₹999, ₹1,999 and ₹2,500 per property per month excluding GST.
Is cloud hotel software safe if the internet fails?
It needs an internet connection, so keep a mobile hotspot or second line as a backup, and ask the vendor what the front desk can still do offline. Data is backed up daily on managed hosting.
How long does it take to go live?
A single property usually goes live in 1–2 weeks: room types, rate plans, outlets and menus are set up, current reservations and guest balances are imported, and each department is trained.
Practical, India-specific guides from the team behind WebSoftOS cloud ERP, by Ridhi Technologies, Zirakpur, Punjab.