HostelMate vs Mews for hostels
Mews is a modern platform with a lot of automation and a large marketplace, built for hotel and hostel groups with revenue staff. It sells beds and rooms from the same inventory. If you run several properties with a central team, look at Mews; if you run one or two hostels and want a published price, HostelMate is the simpler fit.
| What we compared | HostelMate | Mews |
|---|---|---|
| Price a month | $19 up to 30 beds, $45 with no bed limit, per property | No public price; quoted per room |
| Fees per booking or channel | None | Quoted |
| Sells single dorm beds | Yes | Yes, sells beds and rooms |
| Channel manager | Included in both plans | Included |
| Price published | Yes, on our pricing page | No; quote only |
| Built for | Hostels, from one small hostel to a small group | Hostel and hotel groups with a revenue team |
HostelMate prices are from our pricing page. Mews publishes no price; its details are from its own site, read 5 October 2026.
Where Mews is the better choice
Mews is the more powerful platform: deep automation, an API-first design and a marketplace of connected apps. For a group with revenue and finance staff, that matters.
- You run several properties with central revenue and finance teams.
- You want to build your own setup on an open, API-first platform.
- You need a large marketplace of connected apps.
Built by people who ran hostels
HostelMate was sketched on a surf-wax box in Bali by two hostel managers who couldn't find software that treated a bunk as something you sell.
That's still the brief: the bed is the unit, and the price is on the website.
What HostelMate does day to day
- Change dorm prices for a whole season at once, by date range, weekend or event.
- Let prices move with demand through the day, if you switch it on.
- Send pre-arrival messages by email or WhatsApp with directions, check-in times and house rules.
- Give staff their own permissions, so the night shift and the owner see different things.
- Keep Booking.com, Hostelworld, Airbnb and the rest on one calendar, with each bed sold once.
- Let guests check in online before they arrive.
- Open smart lockers by Bluetooth from an app, with a PIN as backup.
- Hold unpaid bookings on a waitlist for your OK, while the bed stays on sale.
- Put a group on one booking, with each guest able to pay their own share.
Where HostelMate is the better choice
If most of what you sell is dorm beds and you want one published price, these are the cases where we fit better.
Mostly dorms
Every bed is its own unit for selling, pricing and assignment, so mixed, female and male dorms stay apart.
You want the price first
Both plans are on the pricing page. No call, no quote and no setup fee.
Hostelworld matters
HostelMate is on Hostelworld's list of connected channel managers, and its bookings land bed by bed.
Direct bookings
The booking engine on your own website takes no commission and shares one calendar with every OTA.
Moving over
Send us your export as it is. It's usually loaded within the day, often within the hour.
Volunteers on the desk
Give each person their own permissions, so a two-week volunteer sees what they need and nothing else.
Frequently asked questions
Mews doesn't publish prices; it quotes per room. HostelMate is $19 a month for up to 30 beds or $45 with no bed limit, on our pricing page.
Yes, it sells beds and rooms from the same inventory.
It can run one, but it's built and priced for bigger operations. A small hostel usually gets more from a simpler system with a published price.
Yes, distribution is part of the platform. HostelMate's channel manager is included in both plans.
Export your bookings and guest list from Mews and email the files as they are to contact@hostelmate.co. Small files are usually loaded within the hour, a full property within the day, and you keep taking bookings the whole time. How switching works.
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Competitor information comes from public sources, checked on 5 and 6 October 2026. Prices, features and trademarks belong to their owners and may change. HostelMate is not affiliated with or endorsed by Mews.