Which booking system is right for your holiday park, campsite, hotel or B&B?
A holiday park has different requirements for a booking system than a hotel, holiday rental company or small campsite. Based on our day-to-day experience, we explain which systems we would consider for each type of accommodation business.
We look beyond the PMS itself. Pricing strategy, distribution, automation and guest communication also determine how much value you get from your system.
Which PMS is right for each type of accommodation business?
There is no single best system. The size of your business, operating model, property owners and automation requirements ultimately determine which solution makes the most sense.
A PMS is the foundation. The return comes from how you use it.
Software only delivers real results when its configuration, pricing strategy, distribution and guest communication work well together.
That's why we look at your entire rental operation, not just the booking system.
Why we often recommend Booking Experts
For professional holiday parks, campsites, resorts and holiday rental agencies, Booking Experts is often our starting point, whether the business operates a single location or multiple sites.
For us, its main strength lies in bringing together reservations, pricing, owner management, distribution and operational processes within one solid system.
Equally important is its open API. This allows Booking Experts to connect with a wide ecosystem of specialised solutions, giving us more opportunities to automate and extend processes.
Where Booking Experts performs well
Don't just look at what a PMS can do. Consider what you can build on top of it.
At Meer Leisure, we consider a good API important. It turns the PMS from an isolated system into a central data source that other applications can build upon.
Booking Experts
Reservations, guests, pricing and accommodation.
API
Making data available to other applications.
Meer Leisure
Additional automation, analytics and commercial applications.
Better returns
Less manual work and more value from the same data.
This is exactly how Meer Leisure uses Booking Experts
We use Booking Experts for more than managing reservations. Using the available data, we develop additional tools and automations that help leisure businesses work more efficiently, make better decisions and get more value from their guest data.
Meer Leisure RMS
Use occupancy, booking pace and pricing strategies to actively adjust rates, automatically where required.
Price Spy
Compare competitors' current consumer prices daily to quickly see how your rates compare with the market.
Loyalty Programme
Recognise returning guests and automatically reward them with personalised benefits, offers and rewards at relevant moments.
Review Studio
Turn guest feedback into concrete follow-up tasks, labels and actions within your organisation.
Giftcard Studio
Automatically link gift cards sold online to vouchers within Booking Experts.
Guest Communication
Use reservation data to deliver relevant guest communication via email, WhatsApp and AI.
Booking Experts or Mews for your hotel?
Both systems can be strong choices for hotels. The main differences lie in the type of hotel, the wider operation and the systems the PMS needs to integrate with.
Strong in front-office management and wider hotel operations
Booking Experts is suitable for much more than resorts. It also provides a solid foundation for day-to-day hotel operations, including front-office management, guest processes, reservations, payments, group bookings and automation.
- strong front-office processes;
- hotels, resorts and aparthotels;
- multiple accommodation types within one organisation;
- group bookings and guest communication;
- extensive options for external sales channels;
- open API and extensive integration options.
Strong in hotel operations and F&B
Mews is designed around traditional hotel operations and can be particularly interesting when hotel, restaurant and other hospitality processes need to work closely together.
- city hotels and boutique hotels;
- hotel groups;
- traditional hotel processes;
- strong integrations with restaurants and F&B;
- POS and hospitality integrations;
- digital guest journey and payments.
B&B, holiday rental agency or small campsite?
Not every business needs the same level of technical complexity. For smaller or more specialised businesses, simplicity can be more important than having every possible feature.
B&B / small hotel
Little Hotelier / Booking ExpertsLittle Hotelier is worth considering when simplicity is the priority. If automation, multiple accommodation types or further growth become more important, we would also consider Booking Experts.
Holiday rental agency
Booking Experts / LodgifyLodgify can be a sensible choice for straightforward holiday rentals. When working with private property owners, multiple locations, more complex pricing structures and larger professional operations, we tend to favour Booking Experts.
Small campsite
TOMM.An accessible option when your main requirements are managing reservations, availability calendars, pricing and online bookings. As the business grows, we would compare it with Booking Experts again.
PMS, channel manager, booking engine en RMS: wat is het verschil?
De termen worden regelmatig door elkaar gebruikt, terwijl ieder onderdeel een andere functie heeft.
PMS
Het centrale systeem voor reserveringen, gasten, accommodaties, betalingen en operationele processen.
Channel manager
Wisselt beschikbaarheid en tarieven uit met externe verkoopkanalen en touroperators.
Booking engine
De Zoek & Boek waarmee een gast rechtstreeks via je eigen website reserveert.
RMS
Ondersteunt prijssturing op basis van onder meer bezetting, boektempo en vraag.
What should you consider when choosing a booking system?
Don't start with the most impressive demo or the longest feature list. Start with your own business, how you operate and where you want to be in the coming years.
How much does a PMS cost, and what should you consider when switching systems?
Look beyond the monthly subscription fee. The total investment also depends on implementation, integrations, manual work and how your business is organised.
How much does a booking system cost?
Don't just compare licence fees. Consider the total cost of using and managing the system.
Switching to a different PMS?
Don't use a migration to simply replicate your existing setup. It's an opportunity to reassess:
- accommodation types and units;
- pricing structures;
- sales channels;
- automations;
- guest communication;
- existing manual processes.
Frequently asked questions about booking systems
Answers to common questions about PMS solutions for holiday parks, campsites, hotels and other accommodation businesses.
What is the best booking system for a holiday park?
For professional holiday parks, Booking Experts is usually the first system we consider at Meer Leisure. Its leisure-specific features, smart owner management, distribution options, automation and scalability are particularly important factors.
What is the best PMS for a campsite?
For professional campsites, we often recommend considering Booking Experts, particularly when camping pitches and rental accommodation are offered together. For a small campsite, a simpler and more affordable system may be sufficient.
Can Booking Experts also be used for hotels?
Yes. Booking Experts is also well suited to hotels, offering strong front-office processes, guest communication, payments, group bookings and extensive integration options.
Which is better for a hotel: Booking Experts or Mews?
That depends on how the hotel operates. Booking Experts supports both hotel and leisure operations and offers an open ecosystem. Mews can be particularly interesting when hotel and restaurant processes need to be closely integrated.
Which booking system is suitable for a B&B?
Little Hotelier can be a sensible choice for a small B&B. When growth, integrations and further automation become more important, we would also include Booking Experts in the comparison.
Why is an open API important for a PMS?
An open API allows the PMS to connect with specialised software and custom applications. This makes it possible to extend processes for revenue management, guest communication, loyalty, reviews and automation.
Can Meer Leisure help with Booking Experts?
Yes. Meer Leisure supports leisure businesses with Booking Experts configuration, revenue management, external sales channels, guest communication, automation and tools such as the Meer Leisure App and Price Spy.
Choosing the right PMS matters.
How you use it makes the difference.
We help leisure businesses bring together software, pricing strategy, distribution, automation and guest communication so they work as one.