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Travel · head to head

Opera PMS vs Skyscanner

Opera PMS logo

Opera PMS

Travel

Oracle property management system used by large hotel groups and chain estates

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Skyscanner logo

Skyscanner

Travel

Flight, hotel and car hire metasearch engine that compares prices across booking sites and earns referral fees rather than selling the ticket itself

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Skyscanner has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Opera PMS integration is billed rather than open, so every connected system carries a per-property interface fee that inflates the running cost well beyond the quoted subscription.; Skyscanner because Skyscanner is not the merchant of record for most bookings, customer service, cancellations and fare accuracy responsibility sit with whichever partner site the traveller is referred to, not with Skyscanner itself.
  • They diverge on capability: Opera PMS covers Reservations and front desk, Skyscanner covers Flight price comparison.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Opera PMS and Skyscanner actually diverge.

Attributes where Opera PMS and Skyscanner differ
AttributeOpera PMSSkyscanner
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteFree for travellers, referral fees from booking partners
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Windows, iOS, AndroidiOS, Android, Web

Identical on both: 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 Opera PMS

  • Reservations and front desk
  • Rate and yield management
  • Sales and catering
  • Housekeeping and maintenance
  • Night audit and accounting
  • OHIP integration platform

Only in Skyscanner

  • Flight price comparison
  • Flexible date and destination search
  • Hotel and car hire comparison
  • Price alerts
  • Direct booking for select flights
  • Multi-city and layover search

What people use each for

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

Opera PMS

  • A hotel group standardising several hundred properties on one reservation and reporting spinenot Skyscanner
  • A conference hotel where function space, banquet orders and group blocks drive most revenuenot Skyscanner
  • A franchisee whose brand agreement mandates OPERA and a specific central reservation systemnot Skyscanner
  • A resort with multiple outlets that needs tight posting between POS, spa and the guest folionot Skyscanner

Skyscanner

  • A traveller wanting to compare flight prices across many airlines and agents quickly before deciding where to booknot Opera PMS
  • Someone with flexible travel dates wanting to browse the cheapest dates or destinations without a fixed itinerarynot Opera PMS
  • A traveller wanting hotel or car hire price comparison across multiple sites in one searchnot Opera PMS
  • Someone who wants a price alert on a specific route to book when the fare drops, before committingnot Opera PMS

Where each one falls short

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

Opera PMS

  • Integration is billed rather than open, so every connected system carries a per-property interface fee that inflates the running cost well beyond the quoted subscription.
  • Implementation typically requires an Oracle partner and runs for months, which puts a property opening timeline at the mercy of partner availability.
  • Configuration is dense enough that properties rely on one or two trained staff, and losing that person leaves rate and package changes stuck in a support queue.
  • The older OPERA 5 estate is on a migration path to OPERA Cloud, so on-premise customers face a forced project on a timetable set by Oracle rather than by their own budget cycle.
  • Small independent properties pay for group, catering and multi-property machinery they will never use, and lighter systems deliver a working front desk in days rather than months.

Skyscanner

  • Because Skyscanner is not the merchant of record for most bookings, customer service, cancellations and fare accuracy responsibility sit with whichever partner site the traveller is referred to, not with Skyscanner itself.
  • Prices shown in comparison results can occasionally be inaccurate or unavailable by the time the traveller reaches the partner site, since prices are pulled from partner feeds that update on their own schedule.
  • Booking through a smaller, unfamiliar third-party travel agent surfaced in comparison results carries more risk around customer service quality and fare rules than booking directly with an airline or a well-known agency.
  • The referral fee business model can create an incentive to surface partners paying higher commission prominently, and Skyscanner does not publish which listed results are influenced by commission versus pure price ranking.
  • The newer direct booking option covers only some flights, so most bookings still route the traveller through a third-party partner site, meaning the core experience remains a redirect rather than a self-contained transaction.

Pricing, plan by plan

Opera PMS

On request
  • OPERA Cloud$undefined/year
    • Per-room subscription with tiered functionality
    • Implementation and configuration services quoted separately
    • Interface and integration fees charged per property

Skyscanner

Free
  • SkyscannerFree
    • Free to search and compare for travellers, no subscription or comparison fee charged
    • Revenue comes from referral or affiliate fees paid by airlines, agents and hotel sites on completed bookings
    • Skyscanner does not hold the payment or booking relationship for most results, the partner site does

Which should you pick?

Choose Opera PMS if

  • You need reservations and front desk.
  • You work on Web, Windows, iOS, Android.
  • You also want rate and yield management.
Opera PMS review

Choose Skyscanner if

  • You need flight price comparison.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want flexible date and destination search.
Skyscanner review

Questions people ask

Is Opera PMS or Skyscanner better?
Neither clearly leads. Opera PMS starts at On request and Skyscanner at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Opera PMS or Skyscanner?
Skyscanner has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Opera PMS and Free for Skyscanner.
Does Opera PMS or Skyscanner run on more platforms?
Opera PMS runs on Web, Windows, iOS, Android. Skyscanner runs on iOS, Android, Web.
Can I use Skyscanner for free?
Yes. Skyscanner has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Opera PMS starts at On request.
What is Opera PMS best used for?
Opera PMS is most often used for a hotel group standardising several hundred properties on one reservation and reporting spine, a conference hotel where function space, banquet orders and group blocks drive most revenue, a franchisee whose brand agreement mandates opera and a specific central reservation system, a resort with multiple outlets that needs tight posting between pos, spa and the guest folio. Of those, a hotel group standardising several hundred properties on one reservation and reporting spine and a conference hotel where function space, banquet orders and group blocks drive most revenue are not what Skyscanner is typically brought in for.
What can Opera PMS do that Skyscanner cannot?
Opera PMS covers Reservations and front desk, Rate and yield management, Sales and catering, Housekeeping and maintenance. Skyscanner covers Flight price comparison, Flexible date and destination search, Hotel and car hire comparison, Price alerts.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Opera PMS: Is OPERA Cloud the same product as OPERA 5?

No. They share a name and much of the data model, but OPERA Cloud is a separate multi-tenant application. Moving between them is a migration project, not an upgrade.

Skyscanner: Does Skyscanner sell the ticket or hotel room?

For most results, no. It compares prices and refers the traveller to the airline, agent or hotel site to complete the actual booking and payment; it has recently added direct booking for some flights only.

Opera PMS: Why do integration partners charge a monthly fee per hotel?

Because Oracle charges them for certification and API usage through OHIP. Partners pass that on, so budget for it per connected system per property.

Skyscanner: How does Skyscanner make money if it is free to use?

It earns referral or affiliate fees from airlines, travel agents and hotel booking sites when a comparison click leads to a completed booking on their site.

Opera PMS: Can a single independent hotel buy OPERA?

Yes, but the economics rarely work below roughly 100 rooms unless a brand agreement requires it.

Skyscanner: Is Skyscanner the same kind of company as Booking.com or Expedia?

No. Those are merchants of record that process payment and hold the booking directly, earning commission or package margin. Skyscanner is a metasearch comparison layer that mostly refers travellers elsewhere to book.

Opera PMS: How long does implementation take?

Plan for three to six months for a single complex property, longer for a multi-property rollout.

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