Updated 03 Feb 2021 (CS)

In this article, we will compare two popular software for booking hotel rooms: CultBooking and Profitroom. This analysis and comparison of the two services will be from the user’s point of view. Make sure you read the whole article to find the best software for you.

Product Overview

Before we start with the comparison, it is best to first explain what a hotel booking engine actually is, and what advantages you can bring to your hotel. A booking software is integrated directly into your site, allowing potential guests to check room prices and availability in real time. They can also book a room with a few quick clicks. Here are just a few of the advantages of such a service:

• The system is always accessible, so you can take commission-free bookings at any time.
• In addition, guests are required to book a room with their credit card, which simply insures you in case of cancellation.
• The Hotel Booking System centralizes the room reservation and replaces manual operations such as telephone calls or email exchanges.
• As a consequence, the use of a booking system relieves your staff and allows them to concentrate fully on customer service on site.
• In addition, booking systems are a great complement to sites such as Booking.com, Expedia or other OTAs, and offer you increased control over your marketing strategy – not to mention the significant boost to your visibility for your property.

Company Overview

CultBooking is a division of the well-known company Cultuzz Digital Media GmbH, a leading manufacturer of software and technology solutions for the tourism and travel industry, based in the German capital Berlin. Profitroom is a product of Profit Room GmbH, also based in Berlin and with main headquarters in Poznan, Poland. 

TABLE

For CultBooking we use the Hotel O Valentim in Matosinhos, Portugal as an example: https://www.ovalentim.com/ 

As an example of Profitroom’s services, we use the website of the Hotel West in Frankfurt am Main:
htps://www.hotelwest.de/

1. Booking Calendar

1.1 Smart calendar

A smart calendar is a simple tool to check the availability of rooms, prices, and restrictions. No customer wants to waste time checking unavailable data. It is also possible to calculate the daily low price. The O Valentim calendar not only shows availability but also the low price option.

The Hotel West in Frankfurt am Main does not use the Smart Calendar System from CultBooking. Here are some more examples:

2. Functions

2.1 Promo Codes

A Promotional code field, integrated into your search engine page gives your guests the opportunity to enjoy specific discounts or vouchers for rooms and special services. The Hotel West has not taken this option, and accordingly, an option for promo codes does not appear on the booking page of the hotel. In addition, CultBooking’s Voucher Option is tailored to the individual wishes of users and can, for example, also be integrated on the page where hotel rooms and dates are selected, allowing for special discounts and promotions. 

2.2 Room prices

For both hotels, it is possible to select the number of guests per room. The number of guests determines the price of the room

O Valentim:

Hotel West:

2.3 Children prices

Both systems give you the opportunity to set children’s prices.

2.4 Booking several rooms

Only CultBooking offers you or your customers the possibility to book several rooms at the same time. By quickly entering the desired number of rooms, your guests can book as many rooms as are available.

On the Hotel Westside, however, the situation is different, because here you first have to make and complete a whole booking until you get the opportunity to book a second room. Compared to CultBooking, this process is much less complicated.

2.5 Gateway for payments

CultBooking and Profitroom both offer two payments possibilities:
“Pay at the house or hotel, on departure:” in this situation, guests pay directly at the house, usually on the last day of their stay. Those who cancel at short notice usually pay a fee in this situation. Often this is about the same price as one night in the room.

“Full payment” for the whole stay is made directly. In this case, guests have the possibility to choose between different payment methods, such as credit cards and Paypal.

CultBooking reservations offer the following gateway for payments:

The Hotel West in Frankfurt am Main offers the following payment form with the service of Profitroom. This is a payment guarantee and the funds are not processed automatically into the account of the hotel owner:

3. Add-ons

3.1 Travel insurance

Neither CultBooking nor Profitroom gives users the option of booking travel insurance.

3.2 Special Requests & Add Ons

The CultBooking system allows hotels to incorporate an upsell right into the booking process. For example, if you would like to book a massage or other service, you can do so directly from here. There is also a possibility to add a field where guests can enter their special wishes, as you can see here:

At Profitroom it looks like this:

4. Internationality

4.1 Multiple languages

Especially in the hospitality industry it is of course important to be able to communicate with many different people. On the Hotel West website, guests have the possibility to choose from 5 different languages.

On the site of O Valentim guests can choose between Portuguese and English German.

5. Personalization

5.1

Neither Hotel West nor O Valentim’s homepage gives guests the possibility to go directly from the homepage to a cancellation option. However, this option can theoretically be added later on at CultBooking.

5.2 Login

The login works with both systems simply via the respective homepage

6. Support

6.1 Live chat

CultBooking offers customers the possibility to integrate a widget for live chat directly on the page for your hotel. In contrast, Profitroom does not offer live chat, so it must be assumed that there is no such possibility in Profitroom’s system.

7. User interface

7.1 Responsive

Nowadays it is absolutely necessary to have a website that is mobile-friendly and optimized. Just like all other transactions, it is now perfectly normal for customers to use their mobile phone or even tablet for hotel bookings. Accordingly, both platforms offer response interfaces

8. Hierarchy

8.1 Several houses

Profitroom offers customers the possibility to manage several houses via the system. In response to inquiries, CultBooking has also introduced this and offers interested clients the possibility of booking several houses through the system.

8.2 Room-related booking link, directly on the room page
With this function it is possible to go directly from a description page for individual rooms to the booking. This is not possible on the Hotel West page, so we have to assume that this is not an integral part of the basic Profitroom package.

8.3 Product link (packages or promo actions)
CultBooking offers customers the opportunity to put together special packages for their guests. Discounts for longer stays, or combination packages in connection with other offers are thus possible.

8.4 Vouchers
In addition to hotel rooms, you can also sell other products via your homepage. Whether wine, gifts or flowers, with the system of CultBooking you can build up your own e-commerce through your site.

9. integration
9.1 Property Management System (PMS) Integration
According to the company, Profitroom is compatible with other PMS systems, but since Profitroom operates and promotes its own PMS, these supported systems are not listed on the homepage.
In contrast, CultBooking offers integration with 40 different PMS. The complete list can be found here:

If you visit Profitroom’s homepage, you will unfortunately only find references to the company’s integrated system, where all processes run via Profitroom:

10. offer
10.1 Free Demo
CultBooking offers interested customers (in contrast to Profitroom) the opportunity to test the CultBooking software for one month free of charge. Here is a screenshot:

10.2 Free trial
CultBooking offers new and interested customers the opportunity to test the innovative booking system for a whole month free of charge.

On Profitroom’s homepage you will search in vain for an appropriate offer.
10.3 Price
The monthly price of 29€ paid by CultBooking clients is not only one of the cheapest on the market for booking systems, but also clear and intuitive to understand. Many providers take sliding commissions based on room prices or offer the full package of services only after certain payments have been made.

The monthly fee Profitroom charges your hotel depends entirely on how much service you book. With CultBooking, all customers benefit directly from the great service of the booking system, with no gradations or hidden fees.
Why do our clients choose CultBooking?
Low price: It costs only one euro per day and helps you to get good results quickly when you acquire new guests.
Simple installation: The installation of a CultBooking booking system is quick, simple and unproblematic.
Simple PMS and Channel Management Integration:
CultBooking is the best system for an unproblematic integration with your existing systems.
We hope that we could convince you that a good booking system is worth every cent. If you would like to get a more detailed picture, you have the possibility to try CultBooking for a whole month for free. Do you have any further questions for us? Then you can reach us quickly and easily at the following address: info@cultbooking.com