Short answer: SiteMinder charges apps up to USD $12 a property a month to read your bookings, and we won’t pass that on to you. If BetterSTR matters to your guests, a PMS we already connect to is the way to go for now. The property managers we’ve helped switch estimate they’re saving 40–60% on their PMS costs, and our partners often offer free onboarding and free months to make the move easier.
If you run your property on Little Hotelier, or on a PMS that talks to the world through SiteMinder, you may have asked us when BetterSTR will connect. You are not alone. It comes up again and again, and every time it does, we go back to SiteMinder and ask again.
We owe those customers a straight answer, so here it is.
What we asked for
BetterSTR connects to more than 40 PMSs today, from Hostaway and Guesty to Mews, Apaleo and Cloudbeds. Each connection does the same simple thing: when a host asks us to, we read their reservations (the guest’s name, dates and check-in details) so their digital guidebook, TV welcome screen and WiFi portal can greet each guest personally.
We don’t manage rates. We don’t touch inventory. We don’t take bookings through SiteMinder’s channels. We asked for read-only access to reservation data that the hotel already owns, and that the hotel has asked to share with us.
What SiteMinder asked for
SiteMinder’s answer was that its SiteMinder Exchange (SMX) is the only way in, and that every application on SMX pays a connectivity fee for each connected property:
| Connected properties | Fee per property, per month |
|---|---|
| 1 to 100 | USD $12 |
| 101 to 500 | USD $10 |
| 501 and up | USD $8 |
On top of that, as it was explained to us:
- There is no read-only rate and no customer-authorised alternative. The price is the same whether an app manages a hotel’s whole distribution or just reads its bookings.
- Billing is by the full calendar month, for the month a property connects and again for the month it disconnects.
- A connection can’t be paused if a customer stops paying. Disconnecting means a deactivation form, and reconnecting means the property applies all over again. None of it can be done through the API.
- The fee can’t be reduced, and SiteMinder’s suggestion for freemium apps like ours is to pass it on to the host.
Why that doesn’t work for hosts
We have not been asked for a per-property connectivity fee by any of the 40+ PMSs we work with. Not one. Those partners see an integration for what it is: something that makes their platform more useful to the customers they already have.
For our customers, USD $12 a month is a lot of money for permission to read their own bookings. To put it in context:
- BetterSTR’s digital guidebook is free. SiteMinder’s fee would turn a free product into a $12 a month one.
- Premium guidebook is $2.99 a property a month. The connection fee alone would be four times the price of the product.
- BetterSTR Simple, which bundles Premium guidebook, TV, WiFi marketing, a companion tablet and upsells, is $15 a property a month. The connection fee would be 80% of it, so we would have to charge SiteMinder customers close to double, or even triple once we cover the risk of paying for properties that have already left.
The hotel is already a paying SiteMinder or Little Hotelier customer. Charging again, per property, every month, for that hotel’s own data to reach a tool it has chosen feels to us like a toll on the hotel, collected through its suppliers. We don’t think that is fair to hosts, and we are not willing to pass it on to them.
We did look hard for a way to make it work. We even told SiteMinder we would proceed and explain the cost to the hosts who wanted it. But full-month billing, no way to pause a connection when a subscription lapses, and manual paperwork to switch every property on and off would leave us paying for properties that had already left. For a platform that serves more than 29,000 properties, mostly on our free plan, that risk doesn’t add up.
What happened to the hosts who asked
When a Little Hotelier customer comes to us and wants BetterSTR, we tell them the truth: we can’t connect to SiteMinder today. Many of them have decided their guest experience matters more than their PMS, especially those who have already invested in our TVs and WiFi hardware.
We have helped a number of property managers move from Little Hotelier to one of our integrated PMSs, working alongside the new PMS to make the transfer painless. Several of our partners have offered these customers free onboarding, one to three months free depending on property count, and referral incentives.
The property managers we helped worked out the numbers for themselves. On their estimates, moving saved them around 40% a property, and up to 60% for those with several properties. That comparison was their whole PMS and connectivity bill, not just our part of it, and every business is different, so do your own sums. But it is a big enough gap that it is worth checking.
SiteMinder, if you are reading this
We would genuinely like to work with you. Your hotels keep asking for us, and we keep sending them somewhere else. That is not good for them, and we don’t think it is good for you.
We are not asking for anything special. We are asking for what every other PMS in our ecosystem already gives us: read-only access to reservations that a mutual customer has authorised, with no per-property toll on hosts. A fair partnership, a free listing in each other’s app stores, and happier guests at your hotels.
Our door is open. Email support@betterstr.com and it will come straight to me.
Barry Murphy, founder, BetterSTR
If you are on Little Hotelier or SiteMinder today
- Want BetterSTR with SiteMinder? Tell SiteMinder. Ask your account manager for a BetterSTR integration. SiteMinder told us it looks for demand from its own hotels before it will consider changing its terms, so every request counts.
- Thinking about switching? See the PMSs we integrate with and the PMS hosts use the most, then get in touch. We will introduce you to partners offering switching incentives and help with the move.
- Want to start now? Our guidebook and TV welcome screen work without any PMS. You can add bookings by hand or by iCal and connect a PMS later.
Frequently asked questions
Does BetterSTR integrate with SiteMinder or Little Hotelier?
Not at the moment. SiteMinder only offers access through SiteMinder Exchange, which charges apps from USD $8 to $12 a connected property a month. We won’t pass that on to hosts, so we haven’t connected.
Do other PMSs charge BetterSTR to connect?
No. None of the 40+ PMSs BetterSTR integrates with charges a per-property connectivity fee.
Can I still use BetterSTR with Little Hotelier?
Yes, without the automatic booking sync. Your guidebook, TV welcome screen and WiFi portal all work, and you can add guests by hand or with an iCal feed.
How do I ask SiteMinder for a BetterSTR integration?
Contact your SiteMinder or Little Hotelier account manager or support team and ask for BetterSTR to be added. SiteMinder has said it looks for demand from its own customers.