The Hospitality Newsletter
Today Monday, September 7, 2026

pms comparison

Shiji vs StayNTouch

In short

Choose Shiji if you run mid-market to enterprise groups. Choose StayNTouch if you run mid-size to large hotels, chains and resorts. Deployment: Cloud (Shiji Enterprise Platform) versus Cloud, mobile-first.

Shiji StayNTouch
Best forGroups and chains wanting an enterprise platform spanning PMS and POS, with implementation support as part of the package.Properties putting mobile check-in and a guest-facing front desk at the centre of the operation.
Property sizeMid-market to enterprise groupsMid-size to large hotels, chains and resorts
DeploymentCloud (Shiji Enterprise Platform)Cloud, mobile-first
Pricing modelEnterprise agreement — not publishedPer-room subscription — not published
Where it is strongestStrongest in Asia-Pacific, growing in EMEAPrimarily North America
Known forA single hospitality technology group covering PMS and POSMobile-first check-in and untethered front desk
Our coverage10 stories8 stories

The companies

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 →

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.

Shijifounded 1998StayNTouchfounded 201219982026

How each got here

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

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.

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.

Frequently asked

+What is the difference between Shiji and StayNTouch?

Shiji — Cloud (Shiji Enterprise Platform), built for Mid-market to enterprise groups, known for A single hospitality technology group covering PMS and POS. 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, Shiji or StayNTouch?

Shiji targets mid-market to enterprise groups. 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 Shiji priced compared with StayNTouch?

Shiji: Enterprise agreement — not published. 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