Stayntouch alternative for small hotels and inns without a monthly minimum
Innkeeper is a Stayntouch alternative for independent hotels, inns and B&Bs with 4 to 80 rooms that do not want to pay a monthly minimum built for 150-room hotels. Stayntouch prices its mobile PMS from $5 per room per month with a $750 monthly minimum on its own pricing page, so a 20-room inn pays the minimum. Innkeeper costs $49, $149 or $499 a month by room count, with channel sync, the booking engine, invoices and housekeeping included, no setup fee and no contract.
Run a week at the front desk before you talk to sales
Stayntouch shows its system in a booked demo. Innkeeper lets you open the front desk screen right now. Replay a busy week at a small hotel, drag a stay to another room on the tape chart, and switch channel sync off and on to watch the conflict check stop a double booking.
- Tape chart with 6, 8 or 12 room layouts and drag and drop between rooms
- Bookings from Booking.com, Expedia, Airbnb and your own website on one calendar
- Invoice preview for every stay with editable tax lines
Innkeeper vs Stayntouch at a glance
Stayntouch is a cloud, mobile-first PMS from Bethesda, Maryland, founded in 2012 and bought by hotel owner-operator MCR. It says it runs more than 100,000 rooms, and Hotel Tech Report lists 401 reviews averaging 4.7, with 208 of them from mid-size hotels of 25 to 74 rooms and only 51 from hotels of 10 to 24 rooms. Reviewers praise the training, the tablet interface and housekeeping.
| What you compare | Innkeeper | Stayntouch PMS |
|---|---|---|
| How price is set | Published, one price per property by size band | From $5 per room per month on its pricing page, quote for most hotels |
| Monthly minimum | None | $750 on its pricing page; directories report a start of $550 to $800 |
| 12-room inn | $149 a month, or $74 a month paid yearly | Pays the minimum, about $62 per room |
| 30-room hotel | $149 a month, or $74 a month paid yearly | Pays the minimum, about $25 per room |
| Mobile check-in, iPad front desk, lobby kiosk | Not offered | Add-on modules at $2 per room each, one included |
| Channel manager and booking engine | Included on every plan | Through integration partners |
| Setup | No setup fee, data import included on Boutique | Remote setup included, on-site help $1,000 a day |
| Integrations | Booking engine, channels, payments, API and webhooks on Boutique | 200 listed on Hotel Tech Report, Oracle interfaces |
| How you see it | Live demo, no account or call needed | Booked demo with sales |
| Contract | Monthly or yearly, no lock-in | Set in the quote |
Stayntouch figures come from its own pricing page plus Capterra, Software Advice and Hotel Tech Report listings, and may differ from your quote. Every Innkeeper plan is on our hotel PMS pricing page, and the cost by hotel size is worked out in our Stayntouch pricing article.
Why owners of smaller hotels look for a Stayntouch alternative
Stayntouch is a good system with strong reviews. Owners who compare it with other PMS vendors usually raise three points, and all three come from size.
The minimum fee lands hardest on small properties
A per-room price with a floor means everyone under the floor pays the same. At $5 per room and a $750 minimum, any hotel under 150 rooms pays $750 a month, which works out to $62.50 per room at 12 rooms and $37.50 at 20 rooms. Innkeeper's Hotel plan covers up to 30 rooms for $149 a month.
The guest app and kiosk are built for hotels with a lobby crowd
Stayntouch made its name with mobile check-in, iPad front desks and self-service kiosks. That earns its keep at a 120-room select-service hotel with a 4 pm check-in rush. A 14-room inn where the owner greets each guest at the door rarely needs a kiosk, but the system and its pricing assume one.
Distribution sits with partners
RoomMaster's review notes that Stayntouch connects its channel manager and booking engine through integration partners rather than its own stack. That can mean a second contract and a second bill for OTA sync. Innkeeper includes channel sync and a commission-free booking engine on every plan.
Where Stayntouch is the better pick
Be fair about it. A 100-room hotel, a property that wants mobile keys and a lobby kiosk, a hotel that must interface with Oracle systems, or a management company running branded and independent hotels will get more from Stayntouch than from us. Hotel Tech Report ranks it second for hotels with 200 rooms or more, and it lists 200 integrations. If that is you, stay, and use this page to negotiate your renewal.
How to move from Stayntouch to Innkeeper
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01
Export reservations and guests
Ask Stayntouch support for an export of future reservations, guest profiles and open folios, and leave your channel partner connected there until the move is done.
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02
Import and check the tape chart
Upload the files to Innkeeper. Future stays land on the tape chart with guest, dates, room and total. On Boutique we run the import with you in an onboarding session.
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03
Connect channels and the booking engine
Connect Booking.com, Expedia, Airbnb and Google in Innkeeper and place the booking engine on your website, so direct bookings arrive without a commission.
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04
Switch over on a quiet night
Disconnect the OTAs from your old channel partner, confirm the next 90 nights of availability match in Innkeeper, run the first night audit, then give notice under your Stayntouch agreement and cancel the channel partner contract if you had one.
Who should pick Innkeeper, and who should stay
Innkeeper fits owner-run hotels, country inns and B&Bs from 4 to 80 rooms that sell on two or more OTAs and want one predictable monthly price with channels included. Our pages on small hotel management software and inn management software show the daily routine at that size.
Stay with Stayntouch if you run more than 80 rooms, want guests to check in on their phones or at a kiosk, need an Oracle interface, or manage a portfolio of larger hotels. A switch costs staff time, so it pays off when the daily fit and the monthly bill are both clearly better.
Stayntouch alternative questions
What is the best alternative to Stayntouch?
For an independent hotel, inn or B&B under 80 rooms, the best Stayntouch alternative is a cloud PMS without a monthly minimum and with channel sync included. Innkeeper does this from $49 a month for up to 10 rooms and $149 for up to 30. Larger hotels usually compare Stayntouch with Mews, Cloudbeds, RoomMaster and Oracle OPERA Cloud.
How much does Stayntouch cost per month?
Stayntouch lists its mobile PMS from $5 per room per month with a $750 monthly minimum on its pricing page. Capterra and Software Advice show a start of $550 a month and Hotel Tech Report $800. Add-on modules such as mobile check-in, the iPad front desk and the kiosk cost $2 per room each, with one included.
Does Stayntouch have a channel manager?
Stayntouch connects to OTAs through channel manager partners rather than a channel manager of its own, according to RoomMaster's review, so many hotels run a second system for distribution. Innkeeper includes two-way channel sync with Booking.com, Expedia, Airbnb and Google on every plan, with four channels on Inn and unlimited from Hotel.
Who owns Stayntouch?
Stayntouch was founded in 2012 in Bethesda, Maryland, and was acquired by MCR, a US hotel owner and operator, in a deal reported at $46 million. It says its mobile PMS runs more than 100,000 rooms across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
Can I switch from Stayntouch without losing reservations?
Yes. Export future reservations and guest profiles from Stayntouch, import them into the new PMS, connect your channels there, and only then disconnect the OTAs from the old setup. Check the next 90 nights of availability in both systems before you give notice, so no booking falls between them.
Innkeeper plans for hotels leaving Stayntouch
No setup fee, no monthly minimum beyond the plan price, no booking commission and no contract. Full details on the hotel PMS pricing page.
A hotel PMS priced for the rooms you actually have
Create your account, import your reservations and run every channel from one calendar at one published price, with no minimum built for a bigger hotel.