InnSoft Check-Inn alternative in the cloud for motels, inns and small hotels
Innkeeper is a cloud alternative to InnSoft Check-Inn for motels, inns and small hotels with 4 to 80 rooms that want to stop running their PMS on one Windows computer at the desk. Plans cost $49, $149 or $499 a month by room count, with the channel manager, the booking engine, invoices and housekeeping included, so there is no separate service contract, no monthly channel manager fee and no license to buy. Innkeeper (innkeeper.ai) is a separate company and is not affiliated with Innsoft.
Run your front desk from any browser before you move a single booking
Check-Inn lives on the computers at your front desk. Innkeeper opens in a browser on the desk PC, a tablet in the back office or your phone at home. Open the live demo, take a walk-in, move a stay to another room on the tape chart, and send a Booking.com reservation in to watch the same night close everywhere else.
- Tape chart with 6, 8 or 12 room layouts and drag and drop between rooms
- Booking.com, Expedia, Airbnb and your own website on one calendar
- Folio and invoice for every stay with editable tax lines
Innkeeper vs InnSoft Check-Inn at a glance
Innsoft is an Oregon company that has sold Check-Inn, a Windows-based PMS, to independent hotels and motels for decades. Yanolja Cloud bought it in 2023 for $8.3 million, and innsoft.com now points visitors to Yanolja Cloud Solution. The Check-Inn column below comes from the price calculator on Innsoft's own pricing page (prices it lists as starting points) and from its published add-on list, so confirm your own quote before you decide.
| What you compare | Innkeeper | InnSoft Check-Inn |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | $49, $149 or $499 a month by room count, or half that billed yearly | One-time license from $899 (1 to 25 rooms) to $1,399 (251+ rooms) |
| Yearly support and updates | Included in the plan | Service contract at $660 a year, first six months included with the license |
| Channel manager | Included (4 channels on Inn, unlimited from Hotel) | From $100 a month up to 20 rooms, $150 up to 70 rooms, $200 up to 200 rooms |
| Booking engine on your website | Included, no commission | From $50 a month, rising with room count |
| OTA connections | Part of the plan | Need an active service contract plus Connect-Inn |
| Where it runs | Cloud, any browser, nothing to install | Windows desktop software on your own PCs, with a network module for several stations |
| Backups | Automatic, off-site | Local backups on the PC, Innsoft's support article recommends a manual daily copy to a USB drive |
| Year one at 12 rooms with channels and booking engine | $1,788 on Hotel paid monthly, $888 paid yearly | about $3,029 ($899 license, $330 contract, $1,200 channels, $600 booking engine) |
| Hardware add-ons | Not sold | ID scanner $550, signature pad $650 to $850, card lock interfaces |
| Best fit | Owner-run motels, inns and small hotels that sell on several OTAs | Properties that want a one-time license, sell mostly walk-in and phone, or need its hardware interfaces |
Every plan and limit is on our hotel PMS pricing page. The full cost by room count, including hardware and the cloud option, is in our Check-Inn PMS pricing breakdown.
Why motels and small hotels look for an InnSoft Check-Inn alternative
Check-Inn has a loyal base, and owners on Capterra rate its US-based phone support highly. The people who shop around usually run 8 to 40 rooms and now sell a large share of their nights online. Their reasons are practical.
The cheap license is not the real bill
A Check-Inn license from $899 looks like a bargain next to a monthly subscription, and for a motel that sells only walk-ins and phone bookings it often is. Once you add Booking.com and Expedia, the channel manager costs at least $100 a month, the booking engine at least $50 a month, and the $660 yearly service contract becomes mandatory, because Innsoft requires an active contract for any online travel connection. A 12-room property selling online pays about $2,460 a year from year two. Innkeeper's Hotel plan for up to 30 rooms is $888 a year paid yearly with all of that included.
The PMS is tied to one computer
Desktop software means the reservation book lives on the PCs at your desk. If the computer fails, the data is only as safe as your last backup, and Innsoft's own support article asks properties to copy files to a USB drive every day on top of the automatic backup. If you want to check arrivals from home, someone has to set up remote access. A cloud PMS keeps the calendar off-site and opens on any device you sign in from.
Ownership changed
Since the 2023 acquisition, Innsoft's site redirects to Yanolja Cloud Solution, which also sells its own cloud PMS called Absolute. If you have run Check-Inn for years, ask your account manager in writing where the desktop product is headed before you renew the service contract again, and how long updates for it are planned.
Where Check-Inn is the better pick
Be fair about it. If you sell almost no rooms online, a one-time license with an optional contract is cheaper than any subscription. As desktop software, Check-Inn also keeps working on your local network when the internet goes down, it connects to card lock systems, GDS and ID scanners that Innkeeper does not sell, and it scales to 350 rooms, well beyond our 80-room ceiling for a single property.
How to move from InnSoft Check-Inn to Innkeeper
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01
Export your data
Run the future reservations and guest history reports in Check-Inn and save them as spreadsheets, or ask Innsoft support for an export. Keep Check-Inn and Connect-Inn running until the move is finished.
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02
Import and check
Upload the files to Innkeeper. Future stays land on the tape chart with guest, dates, room and total, and guest profiles keep their history. On Boutique we run the import with you in an onboarding session.
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03
Connect channels and your website
Connect Booking.com, Expedia, Airbnb and Google in Innkeeper and place the booking engine on your website in place of the Booking Button. Compare availability for the next 90 nights side by side.
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04
Switch over
Disconnect the OTAs from Connect-Inn, confirm they are live in Innkeeper, then decide whether to renew the Check-Inn service contract for read-only access to your old records.
Who should pick Innkeeper, and who should stay on Check-Inn
Innkeeper fits owner-run motels, roadside inns, B&Bs and small hotels with up to 80 rooms that sell on two or more OTAs and want one monthly bill with channels and the booking engine included. Our pages on small hotel management software and hotel booking system walk through the daily routine, and the channel manager software page shows how a double booking is stopped.
Stay with Check-Inn if most of your guests walk in or call, if you rely on its card lock or ID scanner interfaces, if you run more than 80 rooms, or if an internet outage at your location is a real risk for your front desk. A migration costs staff time, and it pays off only when the yearly bill and the daily fit are both clearly better.
InnSoft Check-Inn alternative questions
What is the best alternative to InnSoft Check-Inn?
For a motel, inn or small hotel under 80 rooms that sells online, the best Check-Inn alternative is a cloud PMS with the channel manager and a commission-free booking engine inside one monthly price. Innkeeper does this from $49 a month for up to 10 rooms. RoomMaster, WebRezPro, SkyTouch and Cloudbeds are other systems motel owners compare.
How much does Check-Inn PMS cost?
Innsoft's pricing page lists the Check-Inn desktop license from $899 one time for up to 25 rooms, rising to $1,399 for 251 rooms or more. The service contract costs $660 a year after the first six months, the channel manager starts at $100 a month and the booking engine at $50 a month.
Is Check-Inn cloud based?
No. Check-Inn is Windows desktop software installed on the computers at your property, with a network module for several workstations. Innsoft sells a separate cloud PMS called Absolute. Innkeeper is cloud only, so it runs in any browser on a desk computer, tablet or phone with nothing to install.
Do I need the Check-Inn service contract to connect Expedia and Booking.com?
Yes. Innsoft states that a current service contract is required for any online travel reservation interface, including the Connect-Inn channel manager, the Booking Button and Expedia, Booking.com or GDS connections. The contract is $660 a year. Innkeeper includes channel connections in every plan with no separate contract.
Who owns Innsoft now?
Yanolja Cloud, the hotel software arm of the South Korean travel company Yanolja, acquired Innsoft in 2023 for $8.3 million. Innsoft's website now points to Yanolja Cloud Solution, and Check-Inn is listed there as its on-premise PMS next to the Absolute cloud PMS.
Can I move my Check-Inn reservations to Innkeeper?
Yes. Export future reservations and guest history from Check-Inn as spreadsheets and upload them to Innkeeper, where stays land on the tape chart with guest, dates, room and total. Keep Check-Inn running until your channels are live in Innkeeper, so no booking falls through the gap.
Innkeeper plans for motels and inns leaving Check-Inn
No setup fee, no booking commission, no service contract and no lock-in on any plan. Full details on the hotel PMS pricing page.
One monthly price, no PC to babysit
Create your account, import your Check-Inn reservations and run Booking.com, Expedia and walk-ins from one calendar without a service contract or a channel manager bill.