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The PMS bill is twice what was quoted

The per-room price is right; nobody read the lines underneath.

Typical for: properties in the first year after a system switch · operations with cloud PMS and payments from the same vendor · hotels that compared quotes by the per-room price

Documented by Hospis

Updated: 8 November 2026

How you recognize it

  • The quote named one price per room and month, the invoice lists twelve items
  • Setup, data migration and training were billed by effort
  • Payments run through the PMS vendor, with a percentage on every transaction
  • Interfaces to channel manager, POS or door locks each cost separately per year
  • The price rose after twelve months because the introductory rate expired
  • Nobody in the house can put a number on the system's total cost over three years

Matching Hospi

Josef Walch

Josef Walch

Digitalisation · AI in operations · Systems · Lech am Arlberg
Works with protel · Mews · Mews POS · Smart Host
AdviseImplement

Knows the cost components of a cloud PMS (licence, rollout, interfaces, payments) from his own rollout at Rote Wand.

Mapped to root cause
Three-year calculationPayment feesRollout as a project
View profilePersonally vetted · independent match

Matching software

Tools appear here next to the problems they solved, marked as partners, with honest limits and the person who runs the rollout. No ranking.

Partner slot

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No partner has documented a solution for this problem yet. A partner profile shows the problems your tool solved, its honest limits, and your implementation person as a Hospi.

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Which path fits your situation?

01

Diagnosis

390 € fixed price

A vetted Hospi analyses your situation in a structured way, in conversation and with a written result. Every statement clearly labelled: FACT, BENCHMARK, HYPOTHESIS or CONCLUSION. You get a concrete path, not a sales meeting.

  • A legitimate outcome is also: no engagement needed.
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02

Urgent support

Acute situation? Your case is reviewed with priority, with a response within 48 hours.

Cause fields and how to tell them apart

PMS quotes are built to look small. The costs sit in rollout, modules, interfaces and payment fees, and none of those appear in a comparison table.

These fields are complete, and many properties get there on their own. That is what this page is for. The cost simply does not appear on an invoice: internal hours, a few attempts, and a season that keeps running in the meantime.

01

The per-room price was compared, not total cost

How you spot it

Vendor A charges four euros per room, vendor B seven. A wins. That A bills setup, migration and training by the hour while B includes them only becomes visible with the first invoice.

The way out

Project every quote over three years: licence, rollout, training, interfaces, modules, payments, price adjustment after year one. Only then compare. A vendor unwilling to deliver the quote in that form does not want to be compared.

02

Payments are part of the price but not in the quote

How you spot it

More and more PMS vendors bundle payment processing. Convenient, but every transaction costs a percentage, and the percentage sits in a different document. For a leisure hotel with a high card share, payment fees quickly exceed the licence.

The way out

Take last year's card revenue and apply the offered rates. Compare with the current payment provider. Check whether the PMS also works with a third-party payment provider or whether the bundle is mandatory.

03

The rollout was treated as a side issue

How you spot it

Data migration, configuration and training get waved away in the sales conversation with “we'll do that together”. On the invoice they become consultant days. The house budgeted neither money nor time for them.

The way out

Negotiate the rollout as its own fixed-price project: which services, how many days, what happens with extra effort. Your own preparation (data cleansing, rate logic) reduces consultant days more than any discount.

Frequently asked

What is a realistic total price?
There is no market price, only your own calculation: licence over three years plus rollout plus interfaces plus payment fees on your own card revenue. That sum per vendor is the only number that counts.
Can I renegotiate mid-contract?
For modules and interfaces, often yes, especially before a renewal. For payment rates sometimes, if revenue has grown. Do the total-cost calculation first so you know what you are talking about.
Is the cheaper system still worth it?
If the three-year calculation confirms it and the process list fits: yes. If the cheaper system creates workarounds in operations, the house pays the difference in working hours, just invisibly.

Describe your situation

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Problem
The PMS bill is twice what was quoted

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