Protel PMS Reviews

“frustrating and inefficient hotel software”

Pros

Price is one of the few advantages and even that has its limits. It's also useful to get a view of several hotels at the same time which can be interesting when collecting data.

Cons

This application is not simple at all. I've worked with around ten hotel software systems and it is by far the least practical one to use. Because of that, it slows down responsiveness and ends up affecting revenue. The support service is disastrous slow to respond and seemingly not competent with their own software. The training provided at the time of purchase is neither clear nor pleasant. Even just logging into the application wastes time.

“overly complicated system”

Pros

I honestly can't point to a single aspect of this software that competitors should look at as a benchmark or source of inspiration.

Cons

This tool is very slow. The whole system is built around unnecessarily complicated procedures for tasks that should be much more simple. On top of that a lot of information has to be entered repeatedly across different windows in the software.

“Outdated design”

Pros

The interface is simple, clear and pretty self-explanatory for Windows users. It also offers a good range of channels although many of them come at an extra cost and overall the system is relatively stable.

Cons

Performance is slow whether it's cloud-based or server-based and upgrades while not frequently but often seems to reduce stability. The design feels very old-school and the quality of service is completely inconsistent I've seen everything from an issue being fixed within an hour to week-long back-and-forth, across three different hotels. It also becomes fairly expensive if you need the complete functions and integration with different third-party software.

“beginner-friendly tool”

Pros

I found the software simple and fast to use even for beginners.

Cons

The price-performance ratio no longer works well for small hotels.

“Life- saver for us!”

Pros

Managing a hotel has become much easier with this PMS. It really feels like a lifesaver for hoteliers because it offers a wide range of features while still being simple to navigate. Even with just a bit of training, it's possible to understand how to use all the functions effectively. It also delivers strong value for money, with plenty of options to explore across operations management, distribution connectivity, reservations, rate and inventory control and payments, all of which work very efficiently.

Cons

Bulk data imports or exports can be problematic and the system may freeze or stop responding during the process.

“fast property onboarding”

Pros

Implementing it to install new properties across a group setup has been very simple and efficient for us.

Cons

The reports feel fairly standard and customizing them can be challenging at times.

“helpful support and reporting”

Pros

The customer support has been excellent and the reporting features are quite good.

Cons

In our experience because the PMS was cloud-based, it ran pretty slowly. It also had limited features and many issues had to be sent to Germany for fixes which took months and some of them were never resolved at all.

“Amazing support team”

Pros

I can say that their support team is polite which is a big contrast to my experience with Hotelfriend. The person I dealt with there was very rude and honestly the whole Hotelfriend team was difficult to work with. Even simple emails took weeks to get a response so this has been a much better experience.

Cons

Our team compared it with Hotelfriend, this is definitely the better option.

“strong reporting, weaker resort tools”

Pros

What stands out to us is one thing protel does really well is reporting. It gives access to reports for nearly everything so when it comes to revenue tracking and all kinds of analysis, it's honestly very impressive. Another big plus is the support team because they are consistently available whenever help is needed.

Cons

The limitations are quite obvious for example it still doesn't seem built for large resorts. There's no real way to handle table reservations for the hotel, overbookings can happen too easily since the system warns you sometimes but not reliably, it lacks a CTD and the event department functions are fairly complicated. The most concerning part is that, as the system has grown, the backend has become overly complex, with elements from older versions clashing with newer features.

“Constant server outages”

Pros

Honestly there's nothing positive I can mention about it. I regret buying this product.

Cons

Whole product has been disappointing and it hasn't performed well at all. On top of that the server has been down for a very long time.

“reliable cloud fit for resorts”

Pros

Running a small resort with this tool covers everything we need. The cabin planning is easy to use and the support team responds quickly and handles issues efficiently. Being cloud-based was also one of the biggest reasons we chose it.

Cons

Since we do not use the invoicing module, it would be better if there were an option to turn that feature off.

“Quick access to hotel details”

Pros

Finding every information about my hotel operations is really simple which our daily operations really convenient.

Cons

It still lacks a lot of features when it comes to handling group reservations.

“amazing features!”

Pros

From the on-prem Portal setup to the Air version, the range of possibilities has been amazing. We also received excellent support from their partner, "Flow," throughout the transition.

Cons

What we love is one thing we'd still like to see is a pickup repport option.

“Pathetic experience with this tool”

Pros

I observed that the front-end display is clean and simple to use and during the initial setup we were at least able to create our own confirmation letters. That's really the only positive point.

Cons

The API experience has been extremely disappointing. We were told that the system would support third-party integrations and allow us to build and connect our own booking platform but that promise did not match reality. Even after 18 months and more than 200 calls, we still have not been able to get Protel to communicate properly through its own API which itself took eight months just to obtain access to. Even basic questions often go unanswered for at least five days and receiving actual solutions can take weeks. What was presented as a simple plug-and-play integration turned into a lengthy and frustrating process. Their online module was not helpful either since it offered virtually no customization options. We also faced serious issues with the QAS system, their address lookup software. After replacing a PC, it took six months just to get Protel functioning on the new machine and their QAS software still remains unresolved and unusable. Reporting capabilities were another major weakness. Although they recommend using TAA for charging extras, those charges do not appear in overall reports, forcing us to calculate totals manually. Customer support has been particularly frustrating. We have interacted with teams across the UK, Germany and the US yet resolving issues has remained difficult and communication inconsistent. When the system experiences downtime, responses often suggest that the issue is not considered urgent, leaving us waiting in support queues for days before receiving any meaningful update. Our experience with account management was equally disappointing. Despite repeatedly raising concerns about missed callbacks, our complaints were dismissed with claims that there was no record of them. Overall based on our experience, we would recommend exploring other options if reliable implementation and support are important factors.

“reliable uk-based support team”

Pros

Despite what some people say, the customer support isn't overseas at all the team is actually based in the UK and they've been fantastic. The customer service representatives are excellent and whenever you call, there's always someone available and ready to help.

Cons

I do agree with some of the concerns. The new interface seems like it could take months to arrive. I ran into the same issue with ReviewPro after being told the interface was already available but more than a year later I'm still waiting for a proper response.

“STAY FAR AWAY from this tool”

Pros

There's nothing positive I can say about it. The only "credit" I'd give is to the sales team they're extremely polished at covering up the reality and twisting the truth until it sounds convincing.

Cons

This system is painfully slow and the excuse they give is that it's a cloud product with too much traffic. Try explaining that to your guests. It isn't PCI compliant either the system does not log users out and guest information stays visible on screen. There's no support for Groups or MICE, no payment integration and really no meaningful interface integration at all. Don't believe the promises about an Open API or simple plug-and-play connections. Push them before signing anything to actually build and deliver an interface, then be prepared to wait six months for something buggy and incomplete. It also lacks overbooking and override feature. The system date and time are consistently wrong not because of end-of-day processing but because I can make a change right now and the system records it as if it happened four hours earlier. Reservations and guest details can simply vanish from the system without explanation. The reporting is useless and whatever reports you can pull are shown in gross instead of net. Guest confirmation letters and invoices are basically unusable we can't generate proper guest-facing documents and end up creating them manually. There's no rate mapping either so you have to depend on Protel support which can take a month. That makes flash sales and promotions nearly impossible.