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Travel · head to head

SiteMinder vs ThinkReservations

SiteMinder logo

SiteMinder

Travel

Hotel channel manager and distribution platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
ThinkReservations logo

ThinkReservations

Travel

Property management and booking system for North American inns, B&Bs and small hotels

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: SiteMinder quote-only pricing scaled by rooms and channels, so comparison requires a sales conversation; ThinkReservations no pricing is published anywhere, so you cannot compare it against Cloudbeds or Little Hotelier without first sitting through a sales call and extracting a quote.
  • They diverge on capability: SiteMinder covers Channel manager, ThinkReservations covers Reservation calendar.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which SiteMinder and ThinkReservations actually diverge.

Attributes where SiteMinder and ThinkReservations differ
AttributeSiteMinderThinkReservations
PlatformsWeb, CloudWeb

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 SiteMinder

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

Only in ThinkReservations

  • Reservation calendar
  • Direct booking engine
  • Channel management
  • Integrated payments
  • Yield rules
  • Reporting

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 ThinkReservations
  • Properties wanting direct bookings alongside OTA distributionnot ThinkReservations
  • Groups managing rates centrally rather than channel by channelnot ThinkReservations

ThinkReservations

  • A fourteen room inn moving off a spreadsheet and a phone diary that needs breakfast counts and minimum stay rules handled nativelynot SiteMinder
  • A B&B selling gift certificates and packages that wants them redeemable in the same system that takes the bookingnot SiteMinder
  • An owner of three small New England properties wanting one login and consolidated occupancy reportingnot SiteMinder
  • A campground or cabin operator needing nightly and multi-night rules plus OTA distribution without buying a separate channel managernot 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

ThinkReservations

  • No pricing is published anywhere, so you cannot compare it against Cloudbeds or Little Hotelier without first sitting through a sales call and extracting a quote.
  • The product is built for North American operations, so European tax handling, guest registration requirements and local OTA mix are not supported and it is effectively unsellable outside the region.
  • There is no revenue management or dynamic pricing, so rates rely on manual seasonal and day of week rules that go stale unless someone actively maintains them.
  • Payment processing is bundled, which is convenient but means the effective card rate is negotiated inside a software deal rather than shopped separately, and operators rarely check it against a standalone merchant account.
  • There is no native point of sale, spa or restaurant module, so an inn with a dining room runs a second system and reconciles revenue by hand.

Pricing, plan by plan

SiteMinder

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the SiteMinder review.

ThinkReservations

On request
  • ThinkReservations$undefined/month
    • Property management system
    • Direct booking engine
    • Channel management to major OTAs

Which should you pick?

Choose SiteMinder if

  • You need channel manager.
  • You work on Web, Cloud.
  • You also want booking engine.
SiteMinder review

Choose ThinkReservations if

  • You need reservation calendar.
  • You also want direct booking engine.
ThinkReservations review

Questions people ask

Is SiteMinder or ThinkReservations better?
Neither clearly leads. SiteMinder starts at On request and ThinkReservations at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, SiteMinder or ThinkReservations?
SiteMinder starts at On request and ThinkReservations at On request.
Does SiteMinder or ThinkReservations run on more platforms?
SiteMinder runs on Web, Cloud. ThinkReservations runs on Web.
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 ThinkReservations is typically brought in for.
What can SiteMinder do that ThinkReservations cannot?
SiteMinder covers Channel manager, Booking engine, Wide channel reach, Rate management. ThinkReservations covers Reservation calendar, Direct booking engine, Channel management, Integrated payments.

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.

ThinkReservations: How much does ThinkReservations cost?

It is not published. Pricing is quoted per property, generally scaled by room count, after a sales conversation.

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.

ThinkReservations: Is the channel manager an extra subscription?

No. OTA connectivity is part of the platform rather than a separately priced module, which is the main saving against a PMS plus channel manager pairing.

SiteMinder: Is it a full property management system?

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

ThinkReservations: Does it work outside the United States?

In practice no. Tax, payments and support are built around North America.

ThinkReservations: Can it handle more than one property?

Yes, small portfolios are supported, but it is designed for a handful of properties rather than dozens.

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