Travel · head to head
Chekin vs Protel
Chekin
Travel
Guest check-in, identity verification and police registration for European rentals
- From
- €3.95/month
- Rated
- -
Protel
Travel
German hotel property management system, now owned and sold by Planet
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Chekin there is a three unit minimum on the published plans, so a single-property host cannot buy the entry tier at the advertised rate.; Protel the vendor is now a payments company, so the economics of a deal run through card processing rates as much as software fees, and a hotel with good existing acquiring terms may lose more on processing than it saves on licence.
- They diverge on capability: Chekin covers Police and authority registration, Protel covers Front desk and reservations.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Chekin and Protel actually diverge.
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 Chekin
- Police and authority registration
- Identity verification
- Tourist tax calculation
- Self check-in and digital keys
- Deposits and damage protection
- Upsells and branded guest app
Only in Protel
- Front desk and reservations
- Conference and banqueting
- Cloud and on-premise editions
- Integrated payments
- Interface catalogue
- Multi-property operation
- Night audit and reporting
- Tax-free shopping links
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Chekin
- A manager with twenty apartments in Barcelona who must file guest data with the Ministry of the Interior for every arrival and cannot do it manually at scalenot Protel
- An Italian host needing Alloggiati Web submissions and city tourist tax collected from the guest rather than absorbednot Protel
- A property with no staffed reception issuing door codes only after identity documents have been verifiednot Protel
- An operator wanting damage deposits taken and released automatically instead of chasing bank transfersnot Protel
Protel
- A German or Austrian hotel needing fiscal and tax compliance handled natively rather than bolted onnot Chekin
- A property with substantial conference and banqueting business that a rooms-only PMS cannot handlenot Chekin
- An existing Protel on-premise site deciding whether to move to the cloud edition or change vendornot Chekin
- A group wanting PMS and card acquiring from one supplier under a single contractnot Chekin
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Chekin
- There is a three unit minimum on the published plans, so a single-property host cannot buy the entry tier at the advertised rate.
- The compliance value is regional; outside Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece there is often no authority integration to use and the product becomes an ordinary check-in form at a per property price.
- Transaction fees sit on almost every money-handling feature, including 1.5% plus EUR 0.99 on payments and 10% on unified inbox transactions, so the effective cost is far above the subscription for anyone using them.
- It is a layer on top of a PMS rather than a replacement, so you are paying a second per property subscription alongside your existing platform and reconciling two sources of guest data.
- Identity verification and self check-in sit behind the Premium tier and Premium only includes one premium feature, so an operator wanting both verification and digital keys must move to Enterprise.
Protel
- The vendor is now a payments company, so the economics of a deal run through card processing rates as much as software fees, and a hotel with good existing acquiring terms may lose more on processing than it saves on licence.
- The Protel name persists on the product but the corporate identity has moved to Planet, which makes contract, support and roadmap ownership harder to pin down than it looks from the product page.
- Hotels on the older on-premise edition face a migration to cloud that is a re-implementation rather than an upgrade, with the data and interface work that implies.
- Nothing about pricing is published, so a buyer cannot benchmark against Mews or Cloudbeds without a full sales process.
- Strength is concentrated in German-speaking Europe and the Middle East; support depth and partner ecosystem are noticeably thinner in North America and Asia Pacific.
Pricing, plan by plan
Chekin
€3.95/month- Basic$3.95/month
- Minimum three units
- Online check-in and legal compliance filing
- Tourist taxes
- Premium$5.95/month
- Everything in Basic
- One premium feature of your choice
- Options: identity verification, self check-in and digital keys, branded guest app, digital guidebooks or e-invoicing
- Enterprise$7.95/month
- All premium features included
- Identity verification, self check-in, branded app, guidebooks, e-invoicing
- Custom pricing above volume thresholds
Protel
On request- protel PMS by Planet$undefined/year
- Quoted per property, no published rate card
- Cloud and on-premise editions priced differently
- Payment processing rates negotiated alongside the software
Which should you pick?
Choose Chekin if
- You need police and authority registration.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want identity verification.
Choose Protel if
- You need front desk and reservations.
- You work on Web, Windows, iOS, Android.
- You also want conference and banqueting.
Questions people ask
- Is Chekin or Protel better?
- Neither clearly leads. Chekin starts at €3.95/month and Protel at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Chekin or Protel?
- Chekin starts at €3.95/month and Protel at On request.
- Does Chekin or Protel run on more platforms?
- Chekin runs on Web, iOS, Android. Protel runs on Web, Windows, iOS, Android.
- What is Chekin best used for?
- Chekin is most often used for a manager with twenty apartments in barcelona who must file guest data with the ministry of the interior for every arrival and cannot do it manually at scale, an italian host needing alloggiati web submissions and city tourist tax collected from the guest rather than absorbed, a property with no staffed reception issuing door codes only after identity documents have been verified, an operator wanting damage deposits taken and released automatically instead of chasing bank transfers. Of those, a manager with twenty apartments in barcelona who must file guest data with the ministry of the interior for every arrival and cannot do it manually at scale and an italian host needing alloggiati web submissions and city tourist tax collected from the guest rather than absorbed are not what Protel is typically brought in for.
- What can Chekin do that Protel cannot?
- Chekin covers Police and authority registration, Identity verification, Tourist tax calculation, Self check-in and digital keys. Protel covers Front desk and reservations, Conference and banqueting, Cloud and on-premise editions, Integrated payments.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Chekin: Why would I buy this rather than use my PMS check-in form?
Because it files guest data with national police registration systems and calculates local tourist tax, which PMS check-in forms do not do.
Protel: Can you still buy Protel?
Yes. Planet acquired it in December 2021 and continues to sell it as protel PMS, though the corporate branding is Planet.
Chekin: What does it really cost?
From EUR 3.95 per property per month with a three unit minimum, plus 1.5% plus EUR 0.30 on deposits, 1.5% plus EUR 0.99 on payments, 1% on upsells and 10% on unified inbox transactions.
Protel: Why does the payments ownership matter?
Because the vendor earns on your card volume. Evaluate the processing rate alongside the software price rather than treating them as separate decisions.
Chekin: Does it work outside southern Europe?
The check-in, verification and key features do. The automated authority filing that justifies the price largely does not.
Protel: Is the on-premise edition still supported?
It remains in the field with a large installed base, but new investment is directed at the cloud edition, so ask for an explicit support horizon in writing.
Chekin: Can I get both identity verification and digital keys on Premium?
No. Premium includes one premium feature. Both requires Enterprise at EUR 7.95 per property per month.
Protel: Where is Protel strongest?
German-speaking Europe and the Middle East, where its interface catalogue and fiscal compliance are deepest.
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