Pricing models
Per user or per room: which pricing fits a hotel?
Short answer
Per-user pricing charges for every login, so the bill follows headcount and seasonal hiring. Per-room pricing charges for the size of the hotel, so every colleague can have an account at no extra cost. Per-room suits hotels with large or changing teams; per-user can be cheaper for a small team in a large hotel.
Written by the founder of Oste, who is building it with ten founding hotels. Reviewed by the founder. Last updated: . First published: .
Key facts
- Per user: the bill moves with headcount, including seasonal staff.
- Per room: the bill moves with the size of the hotel, not the team.
- Per-user pricing tempts hotels to share logins, which breaks the audit trail.
- Per-room pricing can cost more when a large hotel has a very small team.
- Oste prices per room; the whole team is included.
What is the difference between the two models?
Under per-user pricing, the software company charges a fee for each person with a login, often with a minimum. Under per-room pricing, the fee is a number of euros per room in the hotel each month, whoever uses it.
| Aspect | Per user | Per room |
|---|---|---|
| What the bill follows | Headcount | Size of the hotel |
| Seasonal hiring | Raises the bill | No change |
| Account for every colleague | Costs more | Included |
| Small team, many rooms | Often cheaper | Often dearer |
| Predictable budget | Varies with staffing | Varies with rooms only |
What does it cost in a worked example?
An invented hotel with 40 rooms. In winter it has 18 people on the team; in summer, 30. Assume a per-user tool at €6 per user a month and a per-room tool at €5 per room a month. These are example rates, not anyone’s price list.
| Month | Per user (€6 × people) | Per room (€5 × 40 rooms) |
|---|---|---|
| Winter, 18 people | €108 | €200 |
| Summer, 30 people | €180 | €200 |
| Summer, every seasonal colleague with a login (36) | €216 | €200 |
In this example per-user is cheaper most of the year, until every colleague really gets an account. The question is less which number is lower and more whether the housekeeper, the night porter and the seasonal waiter are on the system or not.
Why does shared login matter?
When every seat costs money, hotels share one login per department. Then nobody knows who closed a task, who read a guest instruction or who changed a room status, and translated chat cannot work because the system does not know who is reading. Per-room pricing removes that pressure.
Which model should a hotel choose?
- If only a few managers will ever use the tool, per user is usually cheaper.
- If the floor team should use it on their phones, per room is usually simpler and fairer.
- Ask either way: are there setup fees, a minimum, a price-rise cap, and what happens to your data when you leave?
Questions people ask
How does Oste price?
Per room per month for the core, with modules on top that switch on or off any month. Everyone on the team is included. The current numbers are on the pricing page as a founding price, subject to change.
Is per-room pricing always cheaper?
No. A large hotel with a very small team can pay less per user. Per room is cheaper when many colleagues use the system.
Do seasonal staff cost extra with Oste?
No. The price follows rooms, not people, so a seasonal colleague gets an account at no extra cost.
Read next
Oste is in build
Where to next?
This is the paper version. Per-user or per-room pricing for hotel staff software: how each scales with seasonal teams, a worked example, and when each model is the better deal.
I run a hotel
Put your hotel forward for one of ten founding places. Shape how it’s built, and go live first. Founding pilots are targeting early 2027.
I work on the floor
See the phone app as it is designed, with example data. Nothing to sign up for. If you like it, tell your manager.
I build hotel software
See the API before it opens. It’s included in every plan.
Just want the monthly update? Shift handover: one email a month, three parts: done, open, watch out. Get the monthly update