Softwr

Travel · head to head

Mews vs Protel

Mews logo

Mews

Travel

One pricing plan should not fit all

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Protel logo

Protel

Travel

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

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Mews no pricing published on pricing page; specific per-room or per-property costs require requesting a quote; 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.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mews and Protel actually diverge.

Attributes where Mews and Protel differ
AttributeMewsProtel
PlatformsWebWeb, 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 Mews

Nothing recorded that Protel does not also cover.

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.

Mews

  • Property management system for hotels and accommodationsnot Protel
  • Guest experience enhancement with AI-driven preferencesnot Protel
  • Revenue optimization and business intelligencenot Protel

Protel

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

Where each one falls short

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

Mews

  • No pricing published on pricing page; specific per-room or per-property costs require requesting a quote
  • Exact implementation fee structure not disclosed
  • Revenue Management System (RMS) and Point of Sale (POS) add-on costs not specified

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

Mews

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Mews review.

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 Mews if

Nothing in the data separates Mews from Protel on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Mews 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 Mews or Protel better?
Neither clearly leads. Mews 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, Mews or Protel?
Mews starts at On request and Protel at On request.
Does Mews or Protel run on more platforms?
Mews runs on Web. Protel runs on Web, Windows, iOS, Android.
What is Mews best used for?
Mews is most often used for property management system for hotels and accommodations, guest experience enhancement with ai-driven preferences, revenue optimization and business intelligence. Of those, property management system for hotels and accommodations and guest experience enhancement with ai-driven preferences are not what Protel is typically brought in for.
What can Mews do that Protel cannot?
Protel covers Front desk and reservations, Conference and banqueting, Cloud and on-premise editions, Integrated payments.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Mews: What are the main pricing tiers offered by Mews?

Mews offers three tiers: Essentials (basic PMS with automated payments), Advanced (popular tier with customizable guest journey and SMS check-in), and Enterprise (unlimited integrations and no implementation fees). Specific costs require requesting a quote.

Source
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.

Mews: What core features are included in the Mews Essentials plan?

Essentials includes property management system, booking engine, guest portal, automated payments platform, 8 Mews Marketplace integrations, 24/7 chatbot support, and exportable reports.

Source
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.

Mews: What additional features does Mews Advanced tier provide?

Advanced tier (marked as popular) adds AI-driven guest preference summaries, customizable booking engine, custom domain email communications, automated SMS check-in reminders, and digital contactless check-in via phone.

Source
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.

Mews: What makes the Mews Enterprise tier different from other plans?

Enterprise tier includes unlimited Mews Marketplace integrations (1,000+), custom dashboards with business intelligence, enhanced data connectors, automated report exports, access to Booking Engine and Channel Manager APIs, and notably eliminates implementation fees.

Source
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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