The Hospitality Newsletter
Today Monday, September 7, 2026

pms comparison

Cloudbeds vs StayNTouch

In short

Choose Cloudbeds if you run 20–80 rooms — independents and hostels. Choose StayNTouch if you run mid-size to large hotels, chains and resorts. Deployment: Cloud versus Cloud, mobile-first.

Cloudbeds StayNTouch
Best forSmaller independents that want PMS, channel manager, booking engine and payments from one vendor, with no integration work.Properties putting mobile check-in and a guest-facing front desk at the centre of the operation.
Property size20–80 rooms — independents and hostelsMid-size to large hotels, chains and resorts
DeploymentCloudCloud, mobile-first
Pricing modelPer-room subscription, bundled distribution and paymentsPer-room subscription — not published
Where it is strongestBroad international, strong among independentsPrimarily North America
Known forOne-vendor bundling — the whole stack from a single supplierMobile-first check-in and untethered front desk
Our coverage20 stories8 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 →

StayNTouch

Founded2012
FoundersJos Schaap
HeadquartersBethesda, Maryland
OwnershipOwned by MCR, the US hotel owner-operator

By the numbers

Sale price to MCR (2020)$46M
Visit StayNTouch →

Company timelines

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

Cloudbedsfounded 2012StayNTouchfounded 201220122026

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.

StayNTouch

  • 2012Founded as a mobile-first alternative to desktop-bound front desk systems.
  • 2016Shiji Group invests, later moving to full ownership.
  • Mar 2020The US administration orders Shiji to divest StayNTouch on national security grounds.
  • Aug 2020MCR, then the fifth-largest US hotel owner-operator, buys the company for $46 million — putting a PMS under the ownership of a hotel operator rather than a software group.

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 StayNTouch?

Cloudbeds — Cloud, built for 20–80 rooms — independents and hostels, known for one-vendor bundling — the whole stack from a single supplier. StayNTouch — Cloud, mobile-first, built for Mid-size to large hotels, chains and resorts, known for mobile-first check-in and untethered front desk.

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

Cloudbeds targets 20–80 rooms — independents and hostels. StayNTouch targets mid-size to large hotels, chains and resorts. 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 StayNTouch?

Cloudbeds: Per-room subscription, bundled distribution and payments. StayNTouch: Per-room subscription — 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