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Travel · head to head

Hostaway vs Shiji

Hostaway logo

Hostaway

Travel

Vacation rental management platform for professional operators

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Shiji logo

Shiji

Travel

Enterprise hospitality platform covering PMS, point of sale and payments, owned by a Chinese listed group

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Hostaway quote-only pricing scaled by listing count, with an onboarding fee commonly reported, so entry cost is real; Shiji chinese ownership and a Shenzhen listing raise data residency and supply chain questions that must be settled during procurement, and in United States government or defence-adjacent accounts they can end the evaluation outright.
  • They diverge on capability: Hostaway covers Multi-channel distribution, Shiji covers Daylight PMS.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hostaway and Shiji actually diverge.

Attributes where Hostaway and Shiji differ
AttributeHostawayShiji
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, CloudWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), 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 Hostaway

  • Multi-channel distribution
  • Unified inbox
  • Automation
  • Owner statements

Only in Shiji

  • Daylight PMS
  • Infrasys POS
  • Payments
  • Distribution
  • Guest engagement
  • Open API access
  • Regional data centres
  • Multi-language and multi-currency

What people use each for

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

Hostaway

  • Managers running portfolios across several booking channelsnot Shiji
  • Operators whose margin goes to manual guest messaging and turnover coordinationnot Shiji
  • Companies producing owner statements for managed propertiesnot Shiji

Shiji

  • An international luxury group replacing Opera across dozens of properties without moving to a small cloud vendornot Hostaway
  • A resort with a dozen restaurants and bars needing one point of sale across all outletsnot Hostaway
  • An Asia Pacific group requiring native multi-currency, multi-language operation across marketsnot Hostaway
  • A hotel company consolidating PMS, POS and payment onto a single vendor contractnot Hostaway

Where each one falls short

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

Hostaway

  • Quote-only pricing scaled by listing count, with an onboarding fee commonly reported, so entry cost is real
  • Built for professional operators; single-property hosts find the cost per unit hard to justify
  • Channel sync inherits the reliability of the booking platforms it connects to
  • Depth in individual modules is shallower than dedicated point tools

Shiji

  • Chinese ownership and a Shenzhen listing raise data residency and supply chain questions that must be settled during procurement, and in United States government or defence-adjacent accounts they can end the evaluation outright.
  • Pricing is entirely quoted with no published figures at any product level, so comparing Shiji against Oracle or Mews on cost requires a full sales engagement.
  • The portfolio is partly assembled from acquisitions, and the degree of integration between products varies, so a group buying several Shiji modules should test the joins rather than assume them.
  • Implementation timelines at enterprise scale run to many months and require interface development that is charged on top of licence, which is a substantial hidden budget line.
  • It is not a realistic option below roughly the mid-scale group level; a single independent hotel will not get sensible pricing or attention.

Pricing, plan by plan

Hostaway

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Hostaway review.

Shiji

On request
  • Shiji Enterprise Platform$undefined/year
    • Quoted per property and per portfolio
    • PMS, POS and payments priced as separate lines
    • Implementation and interface development charged separately

Which should you pick?

Choose Hostaway if

  • You need multi-channel distribution.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Cloud.
  • You also want unified inbox.
Hostaway review

Choose Shiji if

  • You need daylight pms.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want infrasys pos.
Shiji review

Questions people ask

Is Hostaway or Shiji better?
Neither clearly leads. Hostaway starts at On request and Shiji at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hostaway or Shiji?
Hostaway starts at On request and Shiji at On request.
Does Hostaway or Shiji run on more platforms?
Hostaway runs on Web, iOS, Android, Cloud. Shiji runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Hostaway best used for?
Hostaway is most often used for managers running portfolios across several booking channels, operators whose margin goes to manual guest messaging and turnover coordination, companies producing owner statements for managed properties. Of those, managers running portfolios across several booking channels and operators whose margin goes to manual guest messaging and turnover coordination are not what Shiji is typically brought in for.
What can Hostaway do that Shiji cannot?
Hostaway covers Multi-channel distribution, Unified inbox, Automation, Owner statements. Shiji covers Daylight PMS, Infrasys POS, Payments, Distribution.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Hostaway: What does Hostaway cost?

It quotes by listing count and modules and does not publish rates. An onboarding fee is commonly part of the arrangement.

Shiji: What do you actually buy from Shiji?

Most commonly Daylight PMS, Infrasys point of sale, or both, plus payments. The group name covers a wider portfolio than any one hotel purchases.

Hostaway: Hostaway or Guesty?

They compete for the same professional operator market with broadly similar feature sets. Differences usually come down to quoted price, onboarding and specific channel or PMS integrations.

Shiji: Does Chinese ownership matter?

It can. For United States government-adjacent business and some corporate accounts it triggers data residency and supply chain review, so raise it at the start of procurement rather than at contract stage.

Hostaway: Is it worth it for one or two listings?

Generally not. It is built for portfolios, and the per-unit cost is hard to justify below a handful of properties.

Shiji: Is Shiji an alternative to Oracle Hospitality?

Yes, and that is largely its positioning at the enterprise end, particularly in international luxury groups where Infrasys already has deployment.

Shiji: Can a single hotel buy it?

In principle, but the commercial model, implementation cost and support structure assume a group, and small properties are better served elsewhere.

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