Industry notes
One system, not twenty: the case for running your hotel on a single screen
How independent hotels ended up juggling a dozen disconnected tools, and what it looks like to put the whole house, guests included, on one.
The Tribii JournalMonday, September 7, 2026 · AmsterdamFree to read · Free to share
Notes from the independent house
Notes from the independent house.
A working journal for independent hoteliers, written by people who have stood at the desk, set the rates, and balanced the books. Read, share, argue with us.
The lead story
This week
Filed under
The latest dispatches
Fresh notes from the desk.
Playbook·8 min
The street outside is part of your hotel
How guest messaging, local experiences and a traveller board turn a stay into three connections, and why one of them lands as a real line on the folio.
Daniel Vidal
Playbook·8 min
Free booking engine with a payment gateway: what a small hotel should actually look for
Three business models hide behind the word "free", and only one of them leaves your direct bookings alone. Plus the payment question most vendors would rather you didn't ask.
Tribii
Playbook·6 min
What is a hotel PMS? A plain-language guide for independent hoteliers
Not a definition from a brochure. What the software actually does between 7am and midnight at a twenty-room property, and which words mean what.
Tribii
Playbook·6 min
Open-source hotel software vs free SaaS: the real cost of self-hosting
The licence costs nothing. The server, the updates, the backups and the person who fixes it during check-in are not included.
Tribii
Playbook·6 min
How to move your small hotel off spreadsheets
The spreadsheet got you here, and it is not stupid. But there are four specific places it fails, and each one costs you money quietly.
Tribii
Playbook·6 min
Is there a truly free hotel PMS? What "free" covers in 2026
Three different things get called free hotel software, and only one of them is free in the way you mean. Here is how to tell them apart.
TribiiThe contributors
People who have done the work.
Every byline here belongs to someone who has either run an independent property or built the software that does. No outside agencies, no ghost-writers.
The full register
Everything we've filed this season.
Filed underTitleAuthorDateRead
PlaybookHow much does a hotel booking engine cost in 2026?TribiiJul 31, 202606 min →PlaybookDo small hotels need a channel manager?TribiiJul 29, 202606 min →PlaybookCommission-free booking engine: what it really meansTribiiJul 27, 202606 min →PlaybookCloudbeds pricing for small hotels: what you will actually pay in 2026TribiiJul 24, 202606 min →PlaybookChannel manager vs booking engine: what a small hotel actually needsTribiiJul 22, 202606 min →PlaybookHow much commission does Booking.com take, and how to pay lessTribiiJul 20, 202607 min →Industry notesOTA Commission Rates: What Booking.com, Expedia and Airbnb Really ChargeTribiiJul 18, 202607 min →PlaybookHow to add a booking engine to your existing websiteTribiiJul 17, 202606 min →PlaybookTwelve ways to get more direct bookings at a small hotelTribiiJul 14, 202607 min →Industry notesThe Second Tab: Why Guests Find You on Booking.com and Book Somewhere ElseDaniel VidalJul 07, 202611 min →Industry notesRebalancing TourismNicola VillaJun 18, 202608 min →ManifestoWelcome to Tribii: a fairer deal for independent hotelsDaniel VidalJun 01, 202607 min →The platforms told us we were too small to matter. They were half right: small is a fact. Mattering is a choice.
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