The verdict in three sentences
For a hotel-restaurant group in London, a custom management platform (direct booking, group purchasing, consolidated reporting) costs 60,000 to 150,000 EUR and ships in 6 to 10 months. The return comes first from direct booking, which avoids 15 to 22 % in OTA commissions, then from pooled purchasing that cuts food costs by 5 to 10 %. Expect a mandatory PMS/POS integration and annual maintenance of 12 to 18 %.
What the platform covers and what it costs
A group of several hotels and restaurants rarely lacks tools; it suffers from their fragmentation: one PMS per hotel, one POS per restaurant, spreadsheets for purchasing and a report rebuilt by hand every month. A custom platform acts as a consolidation layer on top of what you already run.
| Module | Scope | 2026 ballpark (EUR) |
|---|---|---|
| Direct booking engine | Site + widget, rates, availability | 15,000 - 30,000 |
| Multi-property consolidation | PMS/POS aggregation, shared master data | 12,000 - 28,000 |
| Group purchasing | Supplier catalogue, orders, price control | 10,000 - 25,000 |
| Consolidated reporting | Exec KPIs, margins, TrevPAR, food cost | 12,000 - 30,000 |
| Integrations (PMS, POS, accounting) | Connectors, synchronisation | 10,000 - 25,000 |
| UAT, training, rollout | Multi-site | 6,000 - 15,000 |
Total budget therefore lands between 60,000 and 150,000 EUR depending on the number of properties, reporting depth and connector count. A 3-4 site group usually stays under 100,000 EUR.
Custom build or SaaS stack?
| Criterion | Hotel SaaS suite | Custom platform |
|---|---|---|
| Entry cost | 400 - 1,500 EUR/month/site | 60,000 - 150,000 EUR once |
| Multi-brand consolidated reporting | Limited / rigid | Bespoke, exactly your KPIs |
| Commission-free direct booking | Often an add-on | Included, 0 % commission |
| Group purchasing | Rarely covered | Core of the project |
| Vendor lock-in | High | You own the code |
| 5-year cost (4 sites) | ~120,000 - 200,000 EUR | ~130,000 - 200,000 EUR (maintenance included) |
At group scale, custom becomes competitive as soon as the number of sites and reporting depth grow, because SaaS is billed per site per month.
Mini case study
Laurent, managing director of a 4-property group in London (2 hotels, 2 restaurants) generates 6.2M EUR in revenue, 40 % of it via OTAs at an 18 % average commission. Shifting 30 % of that OTA volume to direct booking recovers: 6.2M x 40 % x 30 % x 18 % = about 53,500 EUR/year in saved commissions. Adding 6 % savings on 1.8M EUR of food purchasing (108,000 EUR/year), annual gains exceed 160,000 EUR. On a 95,000 EUR investment, the platform pays for itself in under 8 months.
FAQ
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Do we need to replace our existing PMS and POS?
No. The platform connects to what you already run via API or export. You rarely replace a working PMS; you orchestrate it. Integration runs 10,000 to 25,000 EUR depending on connectors.
How long before the first visible result?
The direct booking engine can ship first, often in 3 to 4 months, triggering commission savings before the full project is even complete.
What annual maintenance budget should we plan?
Budget 12 to 18 % of the initial cost, roughly 8,000 to 22,000 EUR/year, covering enhancements, security and multi-site support.
Does it handle multiple brands and cities?
Yes, the multi-property architecture is built for it: shared master data, per-site permissions and group-level consolidation regardless of location.
Can we start with a single module?
Yes, direct booking or consolidated reporting are excellent high-ROI starting points before extending to group purchasing.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your number of properties, current PMS/POS tools and OTA volume, and we will price the platform and the direct-booking ROI. 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.
