How to Choose a Hotel PMS
Step 1 — Match the system to your property type
Section titled “Step 1 — Match the system to your property type”| Property type | Recommended |
|---|---|
| Hostel / small hotel up to 20 rooms | Bnovo or MaxiBooking |
| Aparthotel / glamping | Bnovo (strong in short-term rentals) |
| City hotel 3★ (20–60 rooms) | TravelLine LITE/STANDARD |
| City hotel 4–5★ (60+ rooms) | TravelLine PREMIUM or Logus HMS |
| Sanatorium / resort | Logus HMS or Saby Hotel |
| Hotel chain | TravelLine or Logus HMS with centralized management |
| 1C / SBIS ecosystem | Kontur.Hotel or Saby Hotel |
Step 2 — Required features checklist
Section titled “Step 2 — Required features checklist”- Room chart (grid view of rooms and dates)
- Create and edit reservations
- Check-in / check-out with billing calculation
- Guest registration compliance (police/FMS reporting)
- Fiscal compliance (online cash register)
- Channel manager — built-in or integrated
- Direct booking engine for your website
- Mobile app for the manager
Step 3 — Questions to ask every vendor
Section titled “Step 3 — Questions to ask every vendor”- Is Channel Manager included in the plan? — Bnovo and MaxiBooking include it; TravelLine charges separately
- How is police/FMS registration handled? — Automatic via integration or manual?
- How many OTA channels does the Channel Manager support? — Minimum: Booking.com, Ostrovok, Expedia, Airbnb
- Is dynamic pricing available? — Automatic rate increases during high demand
- How does it integrate with accounting software? — 1C export or direct integration
- What happens when internet goes down? — Room chart and cash register must work locally
- How is data migrated when switching? — Reservation history, guest database
Step 4 — Total cost of ownership (TCO)
Section titled “Step 4 — Total cost of ownership (TCO)”| Cost item | TravelLine | Bnovo | MaxiBooking |
|---|---|---|---|
| PMS (up to 30 rooms) | ₽1,600/mo (LITE) | from ₽1,600/mo | from ₽1,500/mo |
| Channel Manager | +₽3,000/mo | Included | Included |
| Booking Engine | Separate | Included | Included |
| Setup | Free (self-service) | Free (self-service) | Free |
| Training | Self-service / webinars | Self-service / webinars | Self-service |
Bottom line for a small hotel:
- TravelLine: ~₽4,600/mo (PMS + CM)
- Bnovo: ~₽1,600/mo (all-in-one)
- MaxiBooking: ~₽1,500/mo (all-in-one)
Step 5 — Test before you buy
Section titled “Step 5 — Test before you buy”- TravelLine — demo by request on their website
- Bnovo — free trial period available
- MaxiBooking — free test access
What to test:
- Create a manual reservation in under 2 minutes
- Sync with an OTA (create a test listing)
- Pull a monthly occupancy report
- Generate a guest registration form
Red flags
Section titled “Red flags”- Channel Manager doesn’t sync in real time — overbooking risk
- No police/FMS integration — manual compliance work, missed deadlines
- No mobile app — manager can’t operate remotely
- Email-only support — critical during peak season failures
- No data migration — you’ll lose your reservation history and guest database