Softwr

Travel · head to head

SiteMinder vs Skyscanner

SiteMinder logo

SiteMinder

Travel

Hotel channel manager and distribution platform

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: SiteMinder quote-only pricing scaled by rooms and channels, so comparison requires a sales conversation; 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: SiteMinder covers Channel manager, Skyscanner covers Flight price comparison.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which SiteMinder and Skyscanner actually diverge.

Attributes where SiteMinder and Skyscanner differ
AttributeSiteMinderSkyscanner
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteFree for travellers, referral fees from booking partners
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, CloudiOS, 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 SiteMinder

  • Channel manager
  • Booking engine
  • Wide channel reach
  • Rate management

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.

SiteMinder

  • Hotels selling across several OTAs that must not double-booknot Skyscanner
  • Properties wanting direct bookings alongside OTA distributionnot Skyscanner
  • Groups managing rates centrally rather than channel by channelnot Skyscanner

Skyscanner

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

Where each one falls short

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

SiteMinder

  • Quote-only pricing scaled by rooms and channels, so comparison requires a sales conversation
  • A channel manager only, so a property management system is still needed alongside it
  • Sync depends on the OTAs at the other end, and their API changes and outages present as your problem
  • Setup and channel mapping is more involved than the marketing suggests

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

SiteMinder

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the SiteMinder review.

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 SiteMinder if

  • You need channel manager.
  • You work on Web, Cloud.
  • You also want booking engine.
SiteMinder 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 SiteMinder or Skyscanner better?
Neither clearly leads. SiteMinder 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, SiteMinder or Skyscanner?
Skyscanner has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for SiteMinder and Free for Skyscanner.
Does SiteMinder or Skyscanner run on more platforms?
SiteMinder runs on Web, Cloud. 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. SiteMinder starts at On request.
What is SiteMinder best used for?
SiteMinder is most often used for hotels selling across several otas that must not double-book, properties wanting direct bookings alongside ota distribution, groups managing rates centrally rather than channel by channel. Of those, hotels selling across several otas that must not double-book and properties wanting direct bookings alongside ota distribution are not what Skyscanner is typically brought in for.
What can SiteMinder do that Skyscanner cannot?
SiteMinder covers Channel manager, Booking engine, Wide channel reach, Rate management. Skyscanner covers Flight price comparison, Flexible date and destination search, Hotel and car hire comparison, Price alerts.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

SiteMinder: What does SiteMinder cost?

It quotes per property based on rooms and channels and does not publish standard rates.

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.

SiteMinder: What does a channel manager actually do?

It keeps rates and availability in step across every booking site, so a room sold on one channel is immediately closed on the others. Without it, double bookings are inevitable.

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.

SiteMinder: Is it a full property management system?

No. It handles distribution; reservations, housekeeping and billing still need a PMS.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on SiteMinder

More on Skyscanner

Keep looking

Other head to heads