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Travel · head to head

Apaleo vs BCD TripSource

Apaleo logo

Apaleo

Travel

API-first hotel property management platform sold per room with a monthly floor

From
€8/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
BCD TripSource logo

BCD TripSource

Travel

Traveller-facing itinerary and trip management app bundled with a BCD Travel programme

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Apaleo the €400 monthly floor means a property under fifty rooms pays well above the headline €8 per room, so a twenty five room hotel pays €16 per room and the advertised rate is misleading at the small end.; BCD TripSource it cannot be bought or used without a BCD Travel TMC contract, so it is not a genuine alternative to an independent app like TripIt for a company using a different agency.
  • They diverge on capability: Apaleo covers Open REST API, BCD TripSource covers Trip timeline.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Apaleo and BCD TripSource actually diverge.

Attributes where Apaleo and BCD TripSource differ
AttributeApaleoBCD TripSource
Starting price€8/monthOn request
Pricing modelPer room per monthquote
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Travel).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Apaleo

  • Open REST API
  • Apaleo Store
  • Multi-property inventory
  • Apaleo Pay
  • Unit group model
  • Night audit and accounting export

Only in BCD TripSource

  • Trip timeline
  • Real-time alerts
  • Entry requirement guidance
  • Itinerary sharing
  • Driving directions
  • Policy and booking links

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Apaleo

  • A serviced apartment group building its own branded check-in and access flow that needs full PMS control through an API rather than a vendor-built kiosknot BCD TripSource
  • A European hotel group standardising twenty properties on one system with central rate management and DATEV-ready accounting exportsnot BCD TripSource
  • A new-build lifestyle hotel operating with no permanent front desk, where door locks, kiosks and messaging come from specialists and the PMS is the record of truthnot BCD TripSource
  • A revenue team that wants to plug Duetto or IDeaS into live inventory without paying a per-connection interface feenot BCD TripSource

BCD TripSource

  • A company already contracted to BCD Travel wanting a single itinerary view for travellersnot Apaleo
  • A travel manager needing entry requirement and flight alert information pushed automaticallynot Apaleo
  • An assistant or arranger who needs to share a travelling executive's itinerary quicklynot Apaleo
  • A duty of care programme that wants trip data visible without travellers logging into a separate portalnot Apaleo

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Apaleo

  • The €400 monthly floor means a property under fifty rooms pays well above the headline €8 per room, so a twenty five room hotel pays €16 per room and the advertised rate is misleading at the small end.
  • Apaleo ships no point of sale, no spa or golf module and no conference and banqueting system, so full service hotels must buy and integrate three or four more products before the stack is complete.
  • Because the model assumes you assemble the guest-facing layer from the Store, the real monthly cost is the platform fee plus several third-party subscriptions, and that total is nowhere on the pricing page.
  • Support and documentation lean towards developers, so an operator without technical capacity or an implementation partner will find configuration and troubleshooting harder than with a conventional PMS.
  • The product and integration ecosystem is strongest in German-speaking Europe, and North American buyers will find fewer local integrations for payments, tax rules and accounting than a US-focused PMS offers.

BCD TripSource

  • It cannot be bought or used without a BCD Travel TMC contract, so it is not a genuine alternative to an independent app like TripIt for a company using a different agency.
  • Feature depth trails purpose-built consumer itinerary apps, and companies sometimes end up recommending a personal TripIt subscription alongside it for travellers who want more.
  • Because it is bundled, there is no separate pricing to negotiate down, and the cost is buried inside the overall BCD Travel service fee.
  • Manually forwarded bookings made outside BCD Travel channels are not always captured cleanly, leaving gaps in the trip timeline for off-channel purchases.
  • Switching TMC away from BCD Travel means losing the app entirely, adding a hidden switching cost beyond renegotiating the agency contract itself.

Pricing, plan by plan

Apaleo

€8/month
  • Apaleo Platform$8/month
    • €8 per room per month
    • Minimum €400 per month regardless of room count
    • All APIs included at no extra cost

BCD TripSource

On request
  • BCD Travel programme (TripSource included)$undefined/year
    • Bundled into a BCD Travel managed travel contract
    • No standalone licence available
    • Traveller download is free once a company is a BCD Travel client

Which should you pick?

Choose Apaleo if

  • You need open rest api.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want apaleo store.
Apaleo review

Choose BCD TripSource if

  • You need trip timeline.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want real-time alerts.
BCD TripSource review

Questions people ask

Is Apaleo or BCD TripSource better?
Neither clearly leads. Apaleo starts at €8/month and BCD TripSource at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Apaleo or BCD TripSource?
Apaleo starts at €8/month and BCD TripSource at On request.
Does Apaleo or BCD TripSource run on more platforms?
Apaleo runs on Web, API. BCD TripSource runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Apaleo best used for?
Apaleo is most often used for a serviced apartment group building its own branded check-in and access flow that needs full pms control through an api rather than a vendor-built kiosk, a european hotel group standardising twenty properties on one system with central rate management and datev-ready accounting exports, a new-build lifestyle hotel operating with no permanent front desk, where door locks, kiosks and messaging come from specialists and the pms is the record of truth, a revenue team that wants to plug duetto or ideas into live inventory without paying a per-connection interface fee. Of those, a serviced apartment group building its own branded check-in and access flow that needs full pms control through an api rather than a vendor-built kiosk and a european hotel group standardising twenty properties on one system with central rate management and datev-ready accounting exports are not what BCD TripSource is typically brought in for.
What can Apaleo do that BCD TripSource cannot?
Apaleo covers Open REST API, Apaleo Store, Multi-property inventory, Apaleo Pay. BCD TripSource covers Trip timeline, Real-time alerts, Entry requirement guidance, Itinerary sharing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Apaleo: What does Apaleo actually cost for a sixty room hotel?

€480 per month for the platform at €8 per room, plus payment processing from 0.6% and whatever Store integrations you add. Below fifty rooms you pay the €400 floor.

BCD TripSource: Can we buy TripSource without using BCD Travel as our agency?

No. It is bundled with a BCD Travel managed travel contract and is not sold separately.

Apaleo: Is API access charged separately?

No. All APIs are included in the per room fee, which is unusual in the PMS market where interface fees per connection are common.

BCD TripSource: Is the app free for travellers?

Yes, once the employer is a BCD Travel client, travellers download it at no separate charge.

Apaleo: Does it include a channel manager?

No. You connect one from the Store, such as SiteMinder, and pay that vendor separately.

BCD TripSource: Does it replace an online booking tool?

No, it is an itinerary and alert hub; booking happens through BCD Travel's separate online booking tool or agents.

Apaleo: Can it run a full service hotel?

Only with additional systems. There is no native POS, spa or events module.

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