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Travel · head to head

Protel vs Sirvoy

Protel logo

Protel

Travel

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

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sirvoy logo

Sirvoy

Travel

Low-cost booking and property management system for small independent accommodation

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Sirvoy has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Sirvoy the channel manager is only on the Pro plan, so the Starter plan at €11 cannot connect to Booking.com and many buyers discover this after committing to a workflow.
  • They diverge on capability: Protel covers Front desk and reservations, Sirvoy covers Commission-free booking engine.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Protel and Sirvoy actually diverge.

Attributes where Protel and Sirvoy differ
AttributeProtelSirvoy
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotePer property per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Windows, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android

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 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

Only in Sirvoy

  • Commission-free booking engine
  • Channel manager
  • Hosted website
  • Guest correspondence
  • Invoicing
  • Multi-currency

What people use each for

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

Protel

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

Sirvoy

  • A six room bed and breakfast replacing a paper diary and wanting direct bookings without paying commission on themnot Protel
  • A hostel that needs Hostelworld and Booking.com kept in sync but cannot justify a channel manager subscription on top of a PMSnot Protel
  • A campsite or small guesthouse in Scandinavia needing a system in local currency with no annual contractnot Protel
  • An owner testing whether a direct booking engine reduces OTA dependence before committing to a larger platformnot Protel

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Sirvoy

  • The channel manager is only on the Pro plan, so the Starter plan at €11 cannot connect to Booking.com and many buyers discover this after committing to a workflow.
  • Each additional property costs €20 per month on top of Pro, and the multi-property view is weak, so small chains end up with several loosely linked accounts rather than one portfolio.
  • There is no revenue management or dynamic pricing, so rates must be set and adjusted by hand or through a third-party tool that Sirvoy may not integrate with.
  • Reporting is limited to basic occupancy and revenue summaries, which is not enough for a lender, an investor or a serious year on year analysis.
  • SMS is charged per message on top of the subscription, and at €0.10 per message on Starter a property sending pre-arrival and post-stay texts to a hundred bookings a month adds a meaningful and variable cost.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Sirvoy

Free
  • FreeFree
    • One unit only
    • Booking engine
    • Free hosted website
  • Starter$11/month
    • Multiple rooms
    • Invoicing
    • 24/7 support
  • Pro$41/month
    • Everything in Starter
    • Channel manager for Booking.com, Airbnb and Expedia
    • Guest history

Which should you pick?

Choose Protel if

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

Choose Sirvoy if

  • You need commission-free booking engine.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want channel manager.
Sirvoy review

Questions people ask

Is Protel or Sirvoy better?
Neither clearly leads. Protel starts at On request and Sirvoy at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Protel or Sirvoy?
Sirvoy has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Protel and Free for Sirvoy.
Does Protel or Sirvoy run on more platforms?
Protel runs on Web, Windows, iOS, Android. Sirvoy runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Sirvoy for free?
Yes. Sirvoy has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Protel starts at On request.
What is Protel best used for?
Protel is most often used for a german or austrian hotel needing fiscal and tax compliance handled natively rather than bolted on, a property with substantial conference and banqueting business that a rooms-only pms cannot handle, an existing protel on-premise site deciding whether to move to the cloud edition or change vendor, a group wanting pms and card acquiring from one supplier under a single contract. Of those, a german or austrian hotel needing fiscal and tax compliance handled natively rather than bolted on and a property with substantial conference and banqueting business that a rooms-only pms cannot handle are not what Sirvoy is typically brought in for.
What can Protel do that Sirvoy cannot?
Protel covers Front desk and reservations, Conference and banqueting, Cloud and on-premise editions, Integrated payments. Sirvoy covers Commission-free booking engine, Channel manager, Hosted website, Guest correspondence.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Sirvoy: Does the cheapest paid plan connect to Booking.com?

No. Channel management starts on the Pro plan, at roughly four times the Starter price.

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.

Sirvoy: Does Sirvoy take commission on direct bookings?

No. Direct bookings through its engine carry no Sirvoy commission, which is the main financial argument for adopting it.

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.

Sirvoy: Is there a contract?

No written contract and no setup fee. Billing is monthly or annual, with about 8% off for paying yearly.

Protel: Where is Protel strongest?

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

Sirvoy: What is the practical size limit?

It works well up to roughly thirty rooms. Beyond that the lack of revenue management and group handling starts to bite.

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