The right replacement depends on whether you run rooms, rentals or both. Hotels and guest houses usually want a property management system with a booking engine, holiday let managers want strong channel sync, and anyone keeping their current system only needs a channel manager. Whatever you choose, test calendar sync before you move live bookings.
Is it the hotel side or the holiday let side of your business that's outgrown its software? Beds24 keeps reservations, payments, guest messages and every channel's calendar under one roof, so leaving it means finding a mix that still does all of that. Here are ten alternatives, in no particular order, starting with a quick comparison so you can rule options in or out fast.
Ten booking and channel systems compared
| Tool | Type | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudbeds | Hospitality management system | Hotels that want property and distribution tools from one supplier |
| eviivo | Hotel and holiday let PMS | Hotels and holiday lets on one system |
| freetobook | Booking system for small properties | Bed and breakfasts, guest houses, hostels and cottages |
| HotelRunner | Sales-focused hospitality platform | Growing direct and channel sales from one place |
| Octorate | Cloud hospitality suite | PMS, booking engine and guest messaging in one |
| Rentals United | Channel manager for rentals | Connecting an existing PMS to many booking sites |
| RoomCloud | Channel manager | Hotels and apartments distributing across channels |
| RoomRaccoon | Hotel management software | Reservations, check-ins and channels on one screen |
| Sirvoy | Hotel booking system and PMS | More direct bookings with less admin |
| Smily | Vacation rental management | Listing rentals across several travel platforms |
Each option in a line
Sorted by name, with none placed above the rest. I've put each vendor's own pitch into plain words.
Cloudbeds
Best for: Hotels with growth plans that want one hospitality management system covering property, channels and bookings, which is how the vendor frames it.
eviivo
Best for: Mixed portfolios of hotel rooms and holiday lets; the vendor pitches an AI-assisted property management platform covering both.
freetobook
Best for: Bed and breakfasts, guest houses, hostels and cottages wanting an easy booking system, with the vendor promising more bookings and more control.
HotelRunner
Best for: Properties focused on selling rooms, since the vendor describes a sales-first approach inside an all-in-one management platform.
Octorate
Best for: Owners who'd like the whole stack from one cloud supplier: property management, channel sync, direct booking, payments, self check-in and guest replies drafted by AI; a free plan is named.
Rentals United
Best for: Rental managers who already have a PMS and want rates, availability and inventory synced to Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com, per the vendor.
RoomCloud
Best for: Small hotels and apartment operators looking mainly for a channel manager rather than a full hotel suite.
RoomRaccoon
Best for: Independent hotels that want reservations, rates, check-ins and channel connections handled in one place the vendor describes as easy to use.
Sirvoy
Best for: Small hotels wanting a booking system and hotel management in one, with the vendor stressing direct bookings, less admin and round-the-clock support.
Smily
Best for: Holiday let managers wanting one system to run properties and reach travellers on several platforms; the vendor says it's a preferred partner of major booking sites.
Double bookings start in the sync
Before anything else, put each system through one job: keeping every calendar, every channel and every guest message in agreement, so no room is ever sold twice. A double booking usually means two calendars disagreed for a few minutes, and the busier your channels, the more those minutes matter. Every system on this list talks about channels, but the only way to know how well it keeps them aligned is to watch it happen.
When you trial a system, connect one room or one property to two channels, block a date on one, and watch how quickly it closes on the other. Then cancel a booking and check the date reopens everywhere. Do the same with a rate change. It takes an hour and tells you more than any sales call.
Guest messages deserve the same test. Send a booking confirmation, a pre-arrival note and a check-in message from inside the tool, and check they arrive with the right names, dates and directions. If messages need manual fixing every time, you've swapped one kind of admin for another.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
Payments are the last piece to check. Beds24 handles them inside the same system, so ask each vendor how deposits, card details and refunds flow, and whether that's built in or relies on a separate provider. You don't want to find out on the day a guest cancels.
Matching a system to your property
These groups come from how each vendor describes its own customers, so treat them as a starting point rather than a rule. Plenty of guest houses run happily on rental software, and some holiday let managers prefer a hotel-style system. What matters is that it fits the way you take bookings today.
Hotels, B&Bs and guest houses
RoomRaccoon, Sirvoy, freetobook and Cloudbeds are built around rooms rather than whole homes. They bring reservations, check-ins and a booking engine together, which suits independent hotels and smaller guest houses that want more direct bookings.
Mixed hotel and rental portfolios
eviivo, Octorate and HotelRunner cover both hotels and holiday lets on one platform. If you run a few rooms plus a cottage or two, this middle group saves you running two systems side by side.
Holiday lets and channel-first setups
Smily runs vacation rentals across several travel platforms, while Rentals United and RoomCloud focus on the channel manager itself. The last two make sense if you're happy with your property management system and only want the distribution side replaced.
Keep, replace or rebuild: my advice
Decide what you're keeping before you look at anything new. If your property management system works and only channel sync is letting you down, a dedicated channel manager is the smaller, safer change. If the whole setup feels like a patchwork, an all-in-one system is worth the bigger move, but only after it passes the sync test above.
Plan the switch for a quiet week, keep your old system running until every future booking shows correctly in the new one, and export your guest records first. I've also rounded up channel managers for hotels and property management software if you want a wider field.
Do you make hotel and vacation rental software? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Frequently asked questions
Must I pause bookings while I switch systems?
No. Run the old and new systems side by side, move your channels across a few at a time, and only close the old account once every future stay shows correctly in the new one.
Can I keep my booking history when I switch?
Ask each vendor what it can import, and export your bookings, guest records and rates yourself before you cancel anything. Keep a copy for your own records too.
Do I need a licence to let rooms or a holiday home?
Possibly. Registration, licences and visitor taxes differ from one town to the next, so ask your local council or tourism authority what applies to you before you open the calendar.
What's a booking engine?
It's the part of your website where guests check dates and book direct, without going through a travel site. Most hotel systems include one or connect to one.
What's a rate plan?
It's a version of a room you sell under its own conditions, such as refundable or non-refundable, a minimum stay or breakfast included. Each one usually needs mapping to every channel you sell on.
