The Hospitality Newsletter
Today Saturday, September 12, 2026

pms comparison

Cloudbeds vs Shiji

In short

Choose Cloudbeds if you run 20–80 rooms — independents and hostels. Choose Shiji if you run mid-market to enterprise groups. Deployment: Cloud versus Cloud (Shiji Enterprise Platform).

Cloudbeds Shiji
Best forSmaller independents that want PMS, channel manager, booking engine and payments from one vendor, with no integration work.Groups and chains wanting an enterprise platform spanning PMS and POS, with implementation support as part of the package.
Property size20–80 rooms — independents and hostelsMid-market to enterprise groups
DeploymentCloudCloud (Shiji Enterprise Platform)
Pricing modelPer-room subscription, bundled distribution and paymentsEnterprise agreement — not published
Where it is strongestBroad international, strong among independentsStrongest in Asia-Pacific, growing in EMEA
Known forOne-vendor bundling — the whole stack from a single supplierA single hospitality technology group covering PMS and POS
Our coverage20 stories10 stories

The companies

Cloudbeds

Founded2012
FoundersAdam Harris and Richard Castle
HeadquartersSan Diego, California
OwnershipPrivate, venture-backed

By the numbers

Countries (2026)150+
Total funding raised (2026)$244.9M
Visit Cloudbeds →

Shiji

Founded1998
FoundersLi Zhongchu
HeadquartersBeijing, China
OwnershipPublicly listed — Shenzhen Stock Exchange since 2007

By the numbers

Hotels served (2026)60,000+
Restaurants served (2026)200,000
Employees (2026)4,000
Subsidiaries and brands (2026)70+
Visit Shiji →

Company timelines

Founding and ownership milestones on one axis. Each dot is an event described below.

Cloudbedsfounded 2012Shijifounded 199819982026

How each got here

Ownership and funding history — it shapes roadmap, support and pricing more than any feature list does.

Cloudbeds

  • 2012Founded in San Diego by Adam Harris and Richard Castle, aimed at independent properties underserved by enterprise systems.
  • 2021Raises a large growth round with investors including SoftBank and Viking Global, funding international expansion.

Shiji

  • 1998Founded in Beijing by Li Zhongchu.
  • 2007Lists on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
  • 2016–2020Invests in and acquires StayNTouch, then is ordered by the US administration to divest it on national security grounds — a rare instance of geopolitics reshaping the hotel software market.

What has happened lately

From our daily desk, rebuilt on every publish — funding, launches, contracts and leadership moves at each company.

From our reporting on alternatives

Where our newsroom has already looked at switching options in this category.

Top 18 Cloudbeds Alternatives and Competitors for 2026

Hotel Tech Report ranks the leading alternatives to Cloudbeds using data from nearly 6,000 verified reviews, identifying Little Hotelier as the top overall performer.

10 Jun 2026

Frequently asked

+What is the difference between Cloudbeds and Shiji?

Cloudbeds — Cloud, built for 20–80 rooms — independents and hostels, known for one-vendor bundling — the whole stack from a single supplier. Shiji — Cloud (Shiji Enterprise Platform), built for Mid-market to enterprise groups, known for A single hospitality technology group covering PMS and POS.

+Which is better for a smaller property, Cloudbeds or Shiji?

Cloudbeds targets 20–80 rooms — independents and hostels. Shiji targets mid-market to enterprise groups. Match the system to the property size before comparing features — it settles most of this decision on its own.

+How is Cloudbeds priced compared with Shiji?

Cloudbeds: Per-room subscription, bundled distribution and payments. Shiji: Enterprise agreement — not published. Neither publishes list pricing, so both quote per property — any figure quoted elsewhere is a sales quote, not a price list.

Sources for the comparison table