The verdict in three sentences
A cloud PMS equips each hotel for 5 to 15 MAD / room / month, but it thinks property by property, not as a consolidated group. A custom build costs 400,000 to 1,200,000 MAD and 6 to 12 months, centralising reservations, rates and multi-site reporting. In Dubai, the point isn't one hotel's PMS: it's the consolidated view and a single channel manager across the whole brand.
Cloud PMS or custom: the real trade-off
A hotel group runs three layers: each property's PMS, the channel manager (OTAs, direct site) and consolidated reporting (RevPAR, occupancy, ADR per site and group-wide). Cloud PMSs shine on one hotel; multi-site aggregation, inter-property transfers and brand-level steering stay their weak spot.
| Criterion | Cloud PMS (per hotel) | Custom (group) |
|---|---|---|
| Entry cost | Low (light setup) | 400,000 to 1,200,000 MAD |
| Subscription | 5 to 15 MAD/room/month | 0 (owner) |
| Timeline | 1 to 3 months/hotel | 6 to 12 months |
| Consolidated reporting | Limited or add-on | Native, multi-site |
| Channel manager | Per property | Unified across brand |
| Group rates & yield | Per hotel | Centralised rules |
| Maintenance | Included | 8,000 to 25,000 MAD/month |
The 5-year TCO, in numbers
2026 order of magnitude by portfolio size (rooms across all properties).
| Scenario | 150 rooms | 400 rooms | 800 rooms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud PMS (10 MAD/room/month) over 5 years | 90,000 MAD | 240,000 MAD | 480,000 MAD |
| Custom (800,000 MAD + 15,000 MAD/month maintenance) | 1,700,000 MAD | 1,700,000 MAD | 1,700,000 MAD |
| Gap | +1,610,000 MAD | +1,460,000 MAD | +1,220,000 MAD |
Custom is never justified on licence cost alone: it's justified by occupancy gains and brand steering. A group under 3 hotels stays better served by a good multi-property cloud PMS.
Mini case study
Yassine, operations director of a 5-hotel group in Dubai (400 rooms total). A unified channel manager and centralised yield lift occupancy by 2 points, from 68% to 70%. That's 8 extra rooms/night sold, ≈ 2,920 room-nights/year. At an ADR of 950 MAD, it generates 2,774,000 MAD of additional revenue/year. Against an 800,000 MAD project plus 180,000 MAD/year maintenance, the investment pays back in under a year on occupancy gains alone.
FAQ
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
How much does hotel-group software cost in Dubai in 2026?
Budget 400,000 to 1,200,000 MAD depending on property count, channel manager and consolidated reporting. Maintenance 8,000 to 25,000 MAD/month.
Isn't a cloud PMS enough?
For a standalone hotel, yes. For a group it shows its limits on consolidation, inter-hotel transfers and brand-level rate steering.
How long to roll out across the portfolio?
Between 6 and 12 months. A pilot hotel can be live in 3 to 4 months, then each property connects to the central core.
Can we keep the OTAs (Booking, Expedia)?
Yes. The custom channel manager connects to OTAs and your direct site, syncing availability and rates in real time.
Does consolidated reporting replace my spreadsheet?
Yes. RevPAR, ADR, occupancy per site and group-wide are computed continuously, with no re-keying or monthly manual consolidation.
Let's scope your project. Give us the number of properties, total rooms and your distribution channels, and we'll frame a scope and an indicative budget between 400,000 and 1,200,000 MAD. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
