Side‑by‑Side Comparison
We lined up the metrics hostel managers actually lose sleep over—no jargon, just the euros, seconds and clicks that hit reception every day.
Beds24
Hostel Mate
Beds24
vsHostel Mate
$79+
Price (Monthly)
$37
Price (Monthly)
$79+
$37
2 % per booking + channel fees
Channel / Booking Engine Fees
$0
Channel / Booking Engine Fees
2 % per booking + channel fees
$0
Per‑module + per‑channel
Pricing Transparency
Flat subscription
Pricing Transparency
Per‑module + per‑channel
Flat subscription
≈1 week
Setup Time
Live in <4 h
Setup Time
≈1 week
Live in <4 h
Third‑party add‑on
Dynamic Pricing Included
Native hourly
Dynamic Pricing Included
Third‑party add‑on
Native hourly
3‑5 days
Staff Training Time
<30 min
Staff Training Time
3‑5 days
<30 min
Why Pay‑Per‑Module Pricing Hurts Hostels
Beds24 bills by features—switch on the channel manager or booking engine and your subscription snowballs. Hostel Mate’s flat subscription fee means the only thing skyrocketing is your occupancy, not your invoice.
- Extra module fees for booking engine, channel connections and API
- Dated interface that buries key settings four clicks deep
- No built‑in payment gateway—manual card entries after every booking
- Dorm calendar lacks gender‑split and bunk‑swap drag‑and‑drop
- Steep learning curve—new volunteers need a mini‑course before first check‑in
Built by backpackers during a night‑shift, not number‑crunchers in cubicles
The first Hostel Mate wireframe was scribbled on a surf wax lid at 4 a.m. while juggling six walk‑ins and a broken keycard reader. We kept the energy drinks but ditched the spreadsheets.
Beds24 earns kudos for flexibility across many property types, yet hostels juggle 10× the turnover. You need workflows tuned for shared dorms and 12‑person karaoke check‑ins—not polite continental breakfasts.
12 Ways Hostel Mate Hands You Your Evenings Back
- Bulk‑edit dorm rates for an entire year—20‑second revenue hack straight in the calendar
- Commission‑free payment links slash €1,800 average annual gateway fees
- Role‑based permissions keep volunteers out of sensitive folios (and your accountant sane)
- Real‑time dorm map flags overbookings before they reach reception desk
- Wait‑list autoswaps cancel‑outs into confirmed beds in milliseconds
- SMS and WhatsApp pre‑arrival packs drop reception emails by 60 %
- Tap‑to‑check‑in kiosks capture passports and e‑signatures even after lights‑out
- Smart lockers unlock via QR code—no more 5 a.m. metal jingles
- Hourly revenue dashboard tracks RevPAD and dorm utilisation without spreadsheets
- Granular audit log answers "who voided invoice #2937?" in one click
- Built‑in upsell widgets move surf lessons and bar crawls—extra €4 per guest on average
Real‑World Hostel Problems We Fix
We sliced out the buzzwords and tackled actual 2 a.m. reception nightmares.
Module Fee Surprise
One price covers everything—no separate invoice for each feature you switch on.
Dynamic Pricing Paralysis
Stop copy‑pasting from spreadsheets. Hostel Mate adjusts rates hourly based on demand, weather and local events.
Dorm Shuffle Drama
Drag‑and‑drop bunks, flag gender prefs, auto‑balance rooms—all on one colour‑coded map.
OTA Lag
60‑second pushes keep Booking.com, Hostelworld and Airbnb synced—goodbye double‑bookings.
Volunteer Permission Chaos
Granular roles mean a two‑week volunteer can’t accidentally void your end‑of‑year financials.
Spreadsheet Sundays
Revenue, occupancy and RevPAD dashboards auto‑email your inbox every Monday morning—no manual reports.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Beds24’s base subscription only gets you the dashboard. Need the booking engine, channel manager or an extra API? Each one stacks a new fee on top. With Hostel Mate you pay one flat per‑subscription price—no guessing game when accounting season rolls around.
Not really. Beds24 grew up in the apartment and B&B scene. It can technically list bunks, but the screen real estate still speaks in ‘rooms’. Colour‑coding upper vs lower, separating genders or drag‑and‑dropping a late group booking often turns into tab roulette. Hostel Mate was sketched during a 60‑bed dorm night shift, so every click lands where tired receptionists expect at 3 a.m.
User chatter pins Beds24’s refresh timeline at two to three minutes on popular channels. That’s a lifetime when a live‑music weekend sends bookings in bursts. Hostel Mate clears the queue in under 60 seconds—no more double‑booking apologies and free beer handouts.
No. You’ll need to wire up Stripe or another gateway yourself, then copy tokens back into the settings page. Hostel Mate ships with a PCI‑compliant checkout—Apple Pay, Google Pay and cards—included. Zero tech tickets required.
Let’s just say Reddit threads recommend ‘a full Sunday and strong coffee’. Unlabelled icons, nested menus and legacy terminology can turn new volunteers into deer in headlights. Hostel Mate’s interface mirrors hostel workflows, so a first‑day intern can check‑in a bus group without summoning you from the rooftop bar.
Ready to Manageyor dearm Hostel?
All competitor information was gathered from publicly available sources as of July 22 2025. Pricing, features and trademarks belong to their respective owners and may change without notice. Hostel Mate is not affiliated with or endorsed by Beds24.