Is IDeaS or Protel better?

Neither clearly leads. IDeaS starts at On request and Protel at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, IDeaS or Protel?

IDeaS starts at On request and Protel at On request.

Does IDeaS or Protel run on more platforms?

IDeaS runs on Web. Protel runs on Web, Windows, iOS, Android.

What is IDeaS best used for?

IDeaS is most often used for a casino resort deciding whether a convention group displaces more transient revenue than it produces, a hotel group standardising forecasting method across dozens of properties, a city hotel with complex corporate, wholesale and transient segmentation that simple tools cannot separate, a resort optimising length-of-stay controls around peak arrival patterns rather than pricing flat. Of those, a casino resort deciding whether a convention group displaces more transient revenue than it produces and a hotel group standardising forecasting method across dozens of properties are not what Protel is typically brought in for.

What can IDeaS do that Protel cannot?

IDeaS covers Segment-level forecasting, Group displacement analysis, Length of stay controls, Room type optimisation. Protel covers Front desk and reservations, Conference and banqueting, Cloud and on-premise editions, Integrated payments.

Travel · head to head

IDeaS vs Protel

IDeaS

Travel

Enterprise revenue management for hotels and casinos, owned by SAS

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

Protel

Travel

German hotel property management system, now owned and sold by Planet

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: IDeaS nothing about pricing is published, and industry estimates put independent group deployments in the range of one and a half to three and a half thousand US dollars per month, so a buyer cannot even scope a budget without a sales cycle.; 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: IDeaS covers Segment-level forecasting, 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 IDeaS and Protel actually diverge.

Attributes where IDeaS and Protel differ
Attribute	IDeaS	Protel
Platforms	Web	Web, Windows, 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 IDeaS

Segment-level forecasting
Group displacement analysis
Length of stay controls
Room type optimisation
Total revenue view
Two-way system integration
Portfolio management
Automated pricing decisions

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.

IDeaS

A casino resort deciding whether a convention group displaces more transient revenue than it producesnot Protel
A hotel group standardising forecasting method across dozens of propertiesnot Protel
A city hotel with complex corporate, wholesale and transient segmentation that simple tools cannot separatenot Protel
A resort optimising length-of-stay controls around peak arrival patterns rather than pricing flatnot Protel

Protel

A German or Austrian hotel needing fiscal and tax compliance handled natively rather than bolted onnot IDeaS
A property with substantial conference and banqueting business that a rooms-only PMS cannot handlenot IDeaS
An existing Protel on-premise site deciding whether to move to the cloud edition or change vendornot IDeaS
A group wanting PMS and card acquiring from one supplier under a single contractnot IDeaS

Where each one falls short

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

IDeaS

Nothing about pricing is published, and industry estimates put independent group deployments in the range of one and a half to three and a half thousand US dollars per month, so a buyer cannot even scope a budget without a sales cycle.
Contracts are typically multi-year, which locks a property into the platform through a period when its own strategy or ownership may change.
Implementation is long and depends on clean historical segmented data; properties whose PMS has inconsistent segment coding spend months on data hygiene before the forecast is usable.
It expects a revenue manager to interpret and override it, so a property without that skill will either follow bad recommendations or stop looking at them.
The interface and workflow reflect enterprise heritage rather than modern design, and casual users find it dense compared with the simpler tools aimed at independents.

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

IDeaS

On request

IDeaS G3 RMS$undefined/year
- Quoted per property and per portfolio
- No published rate card at any tier
- Contracts commonly multi-year

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 IDeaS if

You need segment-level forecasting.
You also want group displacement analysis.

IDeaS review

Choose Protel if

You need front desk and reservations.
You work on Web, Windows, iOS, Android.
You also want conference and banqueting.

Protel review

Questions people ask

Is IDeaS or Protel better?: Neither clearly leads. IDeaS starts at On request and Protel at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, IDeaS or Protel?: IDeaS starts at On request and Protel at On request.
Does IDeaS or Protel run on more platforms?: IDeaS runs on Web. Protel runs on Web, Windows, iOS, Android.
What is IDeaS best used for?: IDeaS is most often used for a casino resort deciding whether a convention group displaces more transient revenue than it produces, a hotel group standardising forecasting method across dozens of properties, a city hotel with complex corporate, wholesale and transient segmentation that simple tools cannot separate, a resort optimising length-of-stay controls around peak arrival patterns rather than pricing flat. Of those, a casino resort deciding whether a convention group displaces more transient revenue than it produces and a hotel group standardising forecasting method across dozens of properties are not what Protel is typically brought in for.
What can IDeaS do that Protel cannot?: IDeaS covers Segment-level forecasting, Group displacement analysis, Length of stay controls, Room type optimisation. Protel covers Front desk and reservations, Conference and banqueting, Cloud and on-premise editions, Integrated payments.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

IDeaS: What does IDeaS cost?

It is not published. Independent group deployments are commonly discussed in the range of one and a half to three and a half thousand US dollars per property per month, but every deal is quoted.

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.

IDeaS: Who owns IDeaS?

SAS Institute. The forecasting engine draws directly on the parent company analytics platform, which is the substantive reason for the product depth.

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.

IDeaS: Is it suitable for a single independent hotel?

Rarely. Without a revenue manager and clean segmented history, a small property gets more from RoomPriceGenie or PriceLabs at a fraction of the cost and effort.

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.

IDeaS: Does it handle group business?

Yes, group displacement analysis is one of its defining capabilities and a main reason casino and convention hotels choose it.

Protel: Where is Protel strongest?

German-speaking Europe and the Middle East, where its interface catalogue and fiscal compliance are deepest.

IDeaS vs Protel

IDeaS

Protel

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in IDeaS

Only in Protel

What people use each for

IDeaS

Protel

Where each one falls short

IDeaS

Protel

Pricing, plan by plan

IDeaS

Protel

Which should you pick?

Choose IDeaS if

Choose Protel if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on IDeaS

More on Protel

Keep looking

Other head to heads