Small hotel software in the UK and Ireland: what it must do in 2026
A hotel with 10 to 30 rooms has almost the same obligations as a large one, and rarely the same staff. Whoever is on reception also updates the rates, the owner answers the emails and housekeeping is planned on a sheet of paper. Hotel software (a PMS, or property management system) should take repetitive work away, not add more. This guide sets out what it must do in 2026 and the questions to ask before you choose.
- The core is the tape chart: room types, meal plans and room moves without rebooking.
- The channel manager belongs inside the same software, not in a second system.
- Guest records and any visitor levy should come from check-in data, with no retyping.
- Till, housekeeping and invoices are daily work: what the software cannot see stays on paper.
1. Tape chart, room types and meal plans
A hotel sells room types (single, double, superior) and allocates room numbers. The tape chart has to show both at once: how many doubles are still free tonight, and who is sleeping in room 104. You also need meal plans with their own price (room only, bed and breakfast, half board, full board), the option to move a guest to another room mid-stay without rebooking, and a place where bookings that do not fit any room land, instead of disappearing.
2. A channel manager that is part of the system
For small hotels in the UK and Ireland, Booking.com usually brings the largest share of online bookings, followed by Expedia and, depending on the location, Airbnb. All of them should receive availability and rates from the same calendar where you enter phone and direct bookings. A separate channel manager talking to the PMS through an interface is one more place where the numbers drift apart. Ask how many channels are available, whether you can set a mark-up per channel and what happens to a date with no rate: it should close, not sell for zero.
3. Direct bookings and payments
Every booking through your own website is commission saved. The booking engine must read the same availability as the tape chart, take a deposit or store a card as a guarantee, and send a payment link for the balance. At the desk you want to take cards without renting a terminal; today a phone can do the job, as the guide to Tap to Pay explains.
4. Guest records
In the UK, the Immigration (Hotel Records) Order 1972 requires premises that provide sleeping accommodation for reward to record the full name and nationality of every guest aged 16 or over on arrival, with further details for some foreign guests, and to keep those records for at least 12 months for inspection by the police. Ireland has its own rules, and Irish short-term lets now also sit on Fáilte Ireland's register, covered in our guide to the Short-Term Tourist Letting Register. Good software collects guest details once, through online check-in before arrival or at the desk, and turns them into a register you can produce on request.
5. Visitor levies
There is no national tourist tax in England, but the picture is changing. In Scotland, the City of Edinburgh's visitor levy of 5% on the cost of accommodation, capped at five consecutive nights, applies to stays from 24 July 2026, and other Scottish councils are working on their own schemes. Wales has legislated for a visitor levy that councils can introduce from 2027. If your property falls under a levy, the software should calculate it per booking and show it separately on the guest's bill.
6. Till, invoices and tax
Breakfast, bar and minibar should be charged to the room and settled at check-out, with an end-of-day till report, as described in the article on the till with charge to room. If your turnover is above the VAT registration threshold (£90,000 in the UK), your invoices must show VAT correctly; and Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is arriving in stages from April 2026 for sole traders and landlords above the income limits. Ask which reports the software can export for your accountant.
7. Housekeeping, roles and data
The housekeeper needs to see the day's departures, stayovers and arrivals and mark rooms as ready, without seeing rates or revenue. Reception staff do not necessarily need to change prices. That means separate roles, a personal login for each person rather than a shared password, and data stored on servers in Europe.
The checklist to take to the demo
| Area | Question |
|---|---|
| Tape chart | Can I move a guest to another room mid-stay without rebooking? |
| Channels | Is the channel manager part of the same software? What happens to a date with no rate? |
| Guest records | Does the register come from online check-in? Can I export it for any period? |
| Levies | Can I set up a percentage levy with a cap on nights? |
| Till | Can I charge the bar and breakfast to the room and settle at check-out? |
| Team | Does housekeeping have its own login without rates? |
| Cost | What is the monthly price, what is included, are there set-up or exit fees? |
How Vezpa does it
Vezpa was born in a working guest house and is built for owners who run their own property. For a small hotel, that means:
- Tape chart by room type with four meal plans (room only, B&B, half board, full board), room and date changes from the booking, and a separate row for bookings with no room available.
- Built-in channel manager with more than 60 channels, including Booking.com, Expedia and Airbnb, with a mark-up per channel; a date with no rate is closed on the portals.
- Booking engine with Stripe: deposit or card guarantee, payment link for the balance, card payments at the desk, including on a phone.
- Online check-in protected by a PIN, with an ID photo if you ask for one; the guest register exports for any period as PDF, CSV or Excel. Percentage levies can be set up and are calculated per booking.
- Team and housekeeping: Assistant, Housekeeper and Observer roles, housekeeping planner, till with charge to room.
In the UK, plans start at £36 a month (Smart, up to 8 rooms); Smart+ at £55 covers up to 15 rooms and adds team and housekeeping; Pro at £81 covers up to 25 rooms and includes revenue management. Prices include VAT and there is no commission on bookings. In Ireland the same plans cost €39, €59 and €89 (Irish pricing).
Try a hotel that is already set up
Tape chart with room types and meal plans, connected channels, online check-in and guest register. The demo runs in your browser, no sign-up needed.
Try it in your browser →Frequently asked questions
- How much does software for a small hotel cost?
- It depends on the number of rooms and what is included. Compare the total monthly cost: some prices leave out the channel manager, the booking engine or the guest register, which then cost extra. Vezpa plans in the UK run from £36 to £81 a month depending on rooms, with channel manager and booking engine included.
- Do I need a separate channel manager?
- Ideally not. A channel manager inside the hotel software reads the same calendar as your direct bookings and never needs to be reconciled by hand. Two linked systems are one more place where availability and rates can drift apart.
- Do small hotels in the UK have to keep a guest register?
- Yes. The Immigration (Hotel Records) Order 1972 applies to premises that provide sleeping accommodation for reward: you record the name and nationality of guests aged 16 or over and keep the records for at least 12 months. Check the Order for the extra details required from some foreign guests.
- How long does it take to switch hotel software?
- Rooms, room types and rates usually take a few hours. The delicate part is connecting the channels: do it only when all future bookings are already in the new calendar, so you never sell the same room twice.
Sources and caveats. The Immigration (Hotel Records) Order 1972; City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh declares Scotland's first visitor levy; HMRC guidance on the VAT registration threshold and Making Tax Digital. This is not legal or tax advice; check the current rules for your nation and council. Vezpa prices and features as of October 2026.