The verdict in three sentences
For a serviced apartment group with 500 to 800 units, the right setup in 2026 combines an off-the-shelf PMS billed at 4 to 8 EUR per unit per month with a custom layer of 35,000 to 80,000 EUR excl. VAT for what the PMS handles poorly. The weak spots of standard hotel PMS are well known: long-stay billing (monthly instalments, deposits, recharging utilities), housekeeping and maintenance scheduling, and multi-site consolidation. Return on investment is measured in back-office hours saved and in revenue per available unit (RevPAR) tracked daily, building by building.
What the PMS does, what the custom layer adds
The operations director of a 9-building operator, with 45% of stays longer than 28 nights, juggles the PMS, the channel manager, a housekeeping tool and a dozen spreadsheets. Replacing the PMS is expensive and adds nothing on distribution. Better to keep it and build around it.
| Need | Off-the-shelf PMS alone | Added custom layer |
|---|---|---|
| Nightly bookings and OTA distribution | Very good, built-in channel manager | Not needed |
| Long stays: lease, instalments, deposit | Weak, manual invoices | Automatic schedule, SEPA direct debit, reminders |
| Recharging utilities, tourist tax per municipality | Partial | Automatic calculation per building and municipality |
| Housekeeping: turnovers, weekly cleans | Daily list | Optimised schedule, mobile app for teams |
| Maintenance and work orders | Missing or basic | Tickets, photos, contractors, tracked lead times |
| Consolidating 9 sites, RevPAR, occupancy | Export per site | Real-time group dashboard |
| Accounting and bank reconciliation | CSV export | Automatic entries into the accounting software |
2026 budget: subscription plus development
| Item | Low end | High end |
|---|---|---|
| Off-the-shelf PMS, 650 units (annual) | 31,200 EUR excl. VAT | 62,400 EUR excl. VAT |
| Long-stay and recurring billing module | 12,000 EUR excl. VAT | 25,000 EUR excl. VAT |
| Housekeeping and maintenance module (web and mobile) | 9,000 EUR excl. VAT | 20,000 EUR excl. VAT |
| Group dashboard (RevPAR, occupancy, ADR) | 6,000 EUR excl. VAT | 15,000 EUR excl. VAT |
| PMS, accounting and bank connectors | 5,000 EUR excl. VAT | 12,000 EUR excl. VAT |
| Data migration, testing, training | 3,000 EUR excl. VAT | 8,000 EUR excl. VAT |
| Custom layer, indicative total | 35,000 EUR excl. VAT | 80,000 EUR excl. VAT |
| Annual maintenance of the layer (15 to 20%) | 5,250 EUR excl. VAT | 16,000 EUR excl. VAT |
Timeline is 3 to 5 months, rolled out building by building. The technical prerequisite is simple: a PMS with an open API. Check it before signing or renewing your contract, as some vendors charge 1 to 2 EUR extra per unit per month for API access.
The indicators to track every week
A serviced apartment group steers three figures per building: occupancy rate, average daily rate (ADR) and RevPAR, the product of the two. With 45% long stays, add the collection rate on monthly instalments and housekeeping cost per night sold. Without automatic consolidation, these indicators arrive at month end, too late to adjust prices or the mix between short and long stays.
Mini case study
Julien, operations director of a group of 9 buildings (650 units) across Lyon, Grenoble and Annecy, has 3 full-time staff on long-stay billing, reminders and reporting spreadsheets, about 135,000 EUR loaded cost per year. The custom layer costs 58,000 EUR excl. VAT, plus 10,000 EUR excl. VAT annual maintenance. It frees 1.5 full-time equivalents (67,500 EUR per year), redeployed to selling long stays to corporate clients. Daily RevPAR tracking also helps adjust prices: a 1 EUR RevPAR gain across 650 units is worth 237,000 EUR of annual revenue. The investment pays back in under 12 months on productivity gains alone.
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FAQ
Do we need to change PMS?
Rarely. If your PMS has a documented API, the custom layer connects to it and migration is avoided, saving 3 to 6 months of transition and training.
How are long stays under mobility or furnished leases handled?
The module generates the contract, the monthly schedule, the deposit and reminders. Tourist tax is applied only when the type of stay requires it, configured per municipality.
Do housekeeping teams need new equipment?
No, the app runs on their smartphones. The turnover and weekly clean schedule is generated every evening, and each unit's status flows back to the PMS in real time.
Who owns the code?
You do. The custom layer's code is delivered with documentation, so you can change maintenance provider without starting from scratch.
Can we start with a single module?
Yes, most groups begin with long-stay billing, between 12,000 and 25,000 EUR excl. VAT, as it is the most time-consuming task. Other modules follow in 6 to 10 weeks each.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your PMS, your number of buildings and your share of long stays: we will price the custom layer between 35,000 and 80,000 EUR excl. VAT, delivered in 3 to 5 months. 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.
