17 years helping Australian businesses
choose better software
What Is SiteMinder?
33,000 hoteliers trust SiteMinder for smart and simple reservation management. With over 2 million reservations annually, coupled with the world's most powerful channel manager and an ecosystem of 700+ of the industry's best channels and applications, SiteMinder helps hotels of all sizes acquire guests, drive profit and manage property operations with ease.
Who Uses SiteMinder?
Independent hotels or hotel groups, across the globe, that are looking to bring in more guests through online reach, and seeking technology that provides solutions to attract, and convert guests.
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Reviews of SiteMinder
Works as expected, tons of integrations
Comments: Simplifies my life, a lot.
Pros:
Tons of integrations, at a pretty much fixed price. Lots of others charges per reservation, per connection, or whatever, but Siteminder only charges per room. Nothing else. It's super clear and transparent. Interface is fairly easy to use. I especially like that you can choose to resend a failed reservation, which usually fixes any problems. In general, Siteminder rarely causes problems, and there's very little I need to contact support about.
Cons:
It still functions as a middle-man. Lots of new PMSs are offering integrated Channel Managers, and they will be more native, which will inherently have an advantage over traditional Channel Managers. Another thing is there support is super slow. You have to submit a ticket and wait for them to get back to you. Good thing though is that there is VERY little I had ever needed to contact them about. A few connections I'd like to see a better connection with, in particular HostelWorld and HotelTonight.
SiteMinder Response
6 years ago
Thanks for the great feedback - really pleased you enjoy using our technology. We'd love to hear more about how we can improve on those two connections so feel free to send an email to [email protected] and we'll direct your comments to the right place. Thanks again! Clare @ SiteMinder
Alternatives Considered:
Very user friendly.
Pros:
We were looking for one product with which to manage our inventory for several different OTAs. This is what SiteMinder does beautifully. We are also able to offer unique specials on our own site by using Channel Manager as our booking engine.
Cons:
The only criticism is minor. When using the calendar feature in the RESERVATIONS menu to jump to a specific date, after entering the start date, you must also go back to the last calender and page forward to the required finish date. For example, if it is Feb and you want to look at arrivals in August, after selecting the "From Date" of 08/01, the "To Date" does not automatically change to August, but remains in Feb until manually moved to August.
SiteMinder Response
5 years ago
Hi Cynthia, Thank you for taking the time to share your review with us! We really appreciate your insightful feedback and certainly hope we can keep focusing on improving your experience. We can pass along your feedback to our product team related to the calendar. We are always looking for ways to give our customers the best possible experience. As such, we regularly release products and updates which you can check out on the SiteMinder Release page here: https://help.siteminder.com/s/Releases?language=en_US It's excellent that you've gotten great results using the product! Thank you again for trusting us to be your partner. It's fabulous customers like you that make what we do so worthwhile. All the best, Misha
DO NOT USE FOR HOLIDAY LETS : COWBOYS WITH CONTRACTS
Comments: Sales person who tells you what you want to hear. This product doesnt work for holiday lets. And absolutely not as it states for 'Little' companies at all. Constantly told 'I will refer that to product development' - which has no answer or time scale to the problem and apparently zero guarantee of it being changed. 4 weeks of effort, I decide to cancel (within my 30 day trial) buy another product (which took 24 hours to install and set up) then I get a bill for £600 and a development person contacts me so I can help him understand the issues, wanting explanations screen shots etc (I have already sent this ).
Pros:
The front desk is impressive if you had a small hotel. I was sold the product for a holiday let company, given a free trial and invoiced a full £600 because I made it live to test (the only way to test is to make it live).
Cons:
This software is for a fledgling company, I run another company that turns over £20mill, I am not a stranger to software. The invoicing just doesn't work. The only option if you take a deposit is 'pay at property' . Also if you take payments yourself and not with their products - the invoice will not update the amounts correctly. All invoices were wrong in amount and direction to the customer how to pay. My communication emails to guests says 'Pay at property' - Support told me just write somewhere else on the email that they should ignore that and what they should really do.
SiteMinder Response
4 years ago
Hi Leanne, Thank you for sharing your honest feedback. We sincerely regret your experience and know our team has already been in touch with you to resolve your issues. We apologise for the misunderstanding around your free period. The offer of a free period (not a trial period) was made to you for signing an annual contract. When you cancelled your subscription, you cancelled within your contract term and hence received a bill for set-up and cancellation fees, both of which we have refunded to you. Customers always have a choice to pay month to month. The offer was understandably more attractive for the annual contract. Nonetheless, we will do our utmost to ensure that all options are reinforced for every future customer. Our product team researches new enhancements and prioritises the features that have the greatest impact for our customers. We have taken into consideration all your feedback about the invoices. Thanks again for your valuable feedback. Warmest, Mei
Leading Channel Manager
Pros:
I have been using Siteminder for quite a while now and it has proved to be one of the most robust channel management softwares for the hotels. Here's how I am going to break down the Pro's of Siteminder : 1- Simple and Easy to Use 2- Supports many big, mid-size and small OTA's. 3. Reservation & Yield reports. 4. Connectivity with multiple Property Management Systems. 5. It's definitely cost-effective 6. Easy to set-up rooms, rate plans and map them.
Cons:
Apart from all the good things mentioned above Siteminder still needs improvement in certain areas. The thing that I like the least about them are as follows : 1. Customer Support is terrible and very rarely would you get a first call resolution. 2. GDS by Siteminder is not being managed efficiently, the staff seems to have very little information on how GDS works. 3. Their turn around and on-boarding time sometimes take weeks.
SiteMinder Response
6 years ago
Hi Moyyed, Thank you for taking the time to submit your feedback. We have escalated this to our management and customer success teams who will be in touch as soon as possible. We can assure you that your support contact is currently working very closely with representatives from our product team to review your suggestions and feedback. We value the feedback we receive from our customers and are continuously looking for ways to improve our service, so thanks again for taking the time to share this with us. Thanks, Lauren
Great product, less than average support service
Pros:
Great software for hoteliers who wants to reach a global audience. Will save a lot of time, especially if you want to offer many different rates and length of stay. Not expensive at all. Give you ability to connect to so many different booking sites around the world in no time. Another great thing is - they have their own PMS (LittleHotelier).
Cons:
The support service. No words... Having problem during a weekend? Oh, sorry we have no one in the office you can speak about, leave a message... What? Response time for created cases is slow. Accounting: if you have several hotels: your bills could be mixed up easily. After being with them for 7 years quit only because of support service. Still do feel sad about that as I loved the software. Now we are using other software and each time I receive an answer from new software support in less then one hour I remember how I was waiting for SiteMinder answers for days!
SiteMinder Response
7 years ago
Hi Zanneta, Thanks so much for your feedback and taking the time to review us. It's great to hear that you loved our product and found it so easy to use. We were disappointed to hear that our support didn't meet your expectations. The good news is that we improve our support service all the time and should you wish to come back to SiteMinder in the future, we'd love to chat to you about your experience. We hope your properties continue to be successful. Thanks again, Clare @ SiteMinder
Do not waste your time (and money)
Comments:
If you want a very basic system, easy to setup, and budget does not matter, you may be happy with Siteminder.
If you want value for your money, functionalities for your pms, customization for your booking engine, integrations for your pms, accounting system... and a reliable support ... look somewhere else.
Pros:
Easy to setup, functional, good channel manager.
Cons:
Lack of PMS functionalities: no way to handle groups, agents, segments. Little hotelier is more like a functioning beta, lacking most important options.. Lack of updates: no significant improvements (BE/CM) since we started in 2016. It's no surprise that their booking engine is behind their competitors at this point, it lacks customizations and functionalities Bad support: do not expect much from them, clear miscommunications between their services. We have been clients since 2016 and the way they treat us...
SiteMinder Response
7 months ago
Hi Simon, Thank you for your feedback. We appreciate your insights and apologise for any frustrations you've encountered. We're actively working on enhancing our platform's features and support services based on user input. I'd love to assist you further. Could you please email me your details at [email protected]? Your satisfaction is important to us, and we're committed to addressing your concerns and improving your experience with SiteMinder. Warm regards, Ereena
Great CHM with plenty of feature
Pros:
It is a very advance hotel manager software with the most partner connection.
Cons:
Too complex for small or medium properties and also it is a bit too expensive
SiteMinder Response
7 months ago
Hi Zsolt, Thank you for your review of our CHM software. We're glad you appreciate SiteMinder's advanced features and connectivity with various partners. We understand your concerns about complexity and cost, especially for smaller properties. We're committed to improving accessibility and affordability for all users. For pricing, we offer different packages based on property size. Please reach out to our support team to explore options that better suit your needs. It's great to hear that SiteMinder's PMS connectivity has been beneficial for your operations. If you have more feedback or questions, feel free to contact me directly at [email protected] I'll be happy to connect you with the right person. Thank you for choosing SiteMinder! Regards, Ereena
Overall Good Experience
Pros:
Very complete Channel Manager with everything you need to run several properties mapped through different OTAs. Working properly, never had a real issue. Their customer support got back to us promptly each time we had a problem in understanding something or for a set up. Like some says it's easy to use when you know what you're doing. It's a very professional Channel Manager. The price is also professional but nothing surprising when you have stability and efficiency. I would definitely recommend it.
Cons:
Like I said above, it's a very professional Channel Manager so you should expect having troubles understanding what should be done and what should be left untouched. That has been the major issue for us, to understand what to manage and what not to touch. We didn't have the experience we have now with channel managers so as profanes it was pretty hard to do the set up.
SiteMinder Response
6 years ago
Thanks so much for your positive feedback - we're pleased to hear the product surpassed your expectations. As always, our support team is available to help you navigate your set up and ongoing use of The Channel Manager. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you need any guidance. Thanks again for taking the time to review SiteMinder. Clare @ SM
Affordable Channel Manager but Support is Lacking!
Comments: Overall Siteminder does what it needs to do and when everything is working as it should, the system is great, saves a lot of time and speeds up processes. For larger organisations that operate at high occupancies, it is inevitable that in occasions overbookings can come in.
Pros:
Great all round system when everything is going well.
Cons:
Support is very slow with a lot of chasing required. When things don’t go right and an error has been made between the PMS and channel manager a lot of finger pointing can happen. On some channels, some information like email addresses cant be delivered to the PMS.
SiteMinder Response
6 years ago
Hi there, Thanks again for taking the time to leave us your feedback. We really appreciate your comments and we're sorry to hear that your experience with us didn't live up to our usual standards. Many of our 30,000 customers enjoy contacting us so to learn that this wasn't the case for you was disappointing. Kindly let me know if there's anything else I can help you with to give you a great experience with Siteminder. We thank you again for trusting us as a customer and look forward to solving your issues. Best, Lauren
Very Reliable and easy to use
Pros:
I have used SiteMinder for almost 10 years. This channel manager is very reliable and easy to use. I highly recommended to revenue manager and general manager of small to mid sized properties
Cons:
none, I did not find anything that i would consider a flaw
SiteMinder Response
2 years ago
Hi there We are so happy to hear you are enjoying your experience with SiteMinder. Reading this has made our day. Thank you for being our loyal customer for over a decade now and taking the time to leave positive feedback about how you find the system is easy to navigate. This is wonderful to read. Don't forget, if you need help with anything, please jump on our 24/7 chat. One of our team will be more than happy to assist you. Thanks!
Horrible all around
Comments: Horrible- I would not wish this service for anyone.
Pros:
I like that I can get out of using it as soon as possible- they make it time consuming to try to setup and get working but at least I can leave after months of horrible service and no functionality.
Cons:
Absolutely no customer support- their phone line support always responds that everything is working when nothing is setup correctly. Their email support just never gets back to you. I have been manually checking reservations for nearly 6 months because of no help or functionality from Siteminder!
SiteMinder Response
5 years ago
Hi Abby, We're really sorry to hear about your experience as that is not usual for us. Thank you for taking the time to submit your feedback. We have escalated this to our management and customer success teams who have been in touch. We can assure you that your support contact is currently working very closely with representatives from our product team to review your suggestions and feedback and get back to you more information as soon as possible. We value the feedback we receive from our customers and are continuously looking for ways to improve our service, so thanks again for taking the time to share this with us. Thanks, Misha
Do your homework, check them out before commiting as to price and function
Comments:
We entered on a 30 day free trial, then 6 months 1/2 price, 6 months full price. There is a sense as you go further down the track of total commitment and no escape as considerable time committed to set-up and link the channels. With an extensive background in both IT and major Hotel PMS systems, we found key reporting and functionality missing. When the full monthly cost hit, we viewed the product as unviable.
The Canvas website template is very poor and expensive.
Pros:
The calendar integration to multiple channels is essential by methods other than iCal. This one feature changes the picture for any operation with more than one channel. In the end, this was the only attractive feature.
Cons:
My personal experience was the product is not at all intuitive, in other words you had to ask lots of questions rather than figure it out for yourself. Support and personnel are unresponsive to client suggestions when problems or difficulties encountered. Simple questions often take days for response. With 1-5 rooms, very expensive when you consider revenue versus accumulated expenses for this plus OTA commissions, payment discounts, housekeeping etc. No meaningful reports for revenue, Mobile app on Android was useless, had to use the browser version.
Very bad and faulty system, terrible customer support
Comments: Being in the hotel industry, we operate 24/7, and when there is a need for customer support follow up, you would expect 24/7 or at least decently efficient follow-up. During a period when our hotel was fully booked, we closed the allotments for the higher room types, while increasing the rates for our standard rooms, so that if a booking were to come in, we could easily afford to book the guest in a neighbouring hotel, most of which happen to be full or high occupancy as well. Having set up the system, and input the values, one week before the period we are full, I had expected the system to have updated all our online agent sites. Lo and behold, we received a booking 5 days after I had input the new values. And at our normal standard rates at that. Obviously this would be a problem for us. So I called up the agent to check if they had been linked up with Siteminder. They checked on their back-end, and it showed all up and running. So I immediately called Siteminder to get them to check on their back-end, and informed them that the guest would be arriving in 2 days time, so I needed an answer before then. The amazing part was to be told that I needed to wait 3 days for a reply. Despite knowing that the guest would be arriving in 2 days time. They just threw the problem back to me. Up until the guest arrived, there was still no resolution from Siteminder. For a company that is so closely linked to the hospitality industry, and who claims to be one of the best there is, this is abysmal performance. Why should I be paying them, when I end up having to solve problems created by them?
Pros:
It makes it easy for revenue managers to combine all OTAs into one platform, to manage rates and availability.
Cons:
Terrible response time, error in their software but they make the customer solve the problem for them and pay for the damages caused.
SiteMinder Response
8 years ago
Hi Rank, Thanks for leaving us your feedback. We are disappointed to hear about your experience with us and we have escalated your observations to our customer success team and senior leaders. We are continuously looking at ways to improve our service for our valued customers - rest assured, your feedback is very helpful to us during that ongoing process. Thanks again for taking the time to share this with us. The team @ SiteMinder
DO NOT use this CMS if you're looking to improve SEO performance
Pros:
Adding basic content to the CMS is fairly straightforward but there is nothing this offers which cheaper competitors don't.
Cons:
There doesn't seem to ever be any updates made. As someone who works in digital marketing, making updates to the site to improve SEO performance is critical. However this CMS doesn't even allow the simplest of updates. It doesn't allow you to update page titles without the H1 header and main navigation title being updated. So just to be clear, updating page titles on their own is NOT POSSIBLE. This is 2017! We've been asking the question for over a year about when this will be updated and it's still not done! We still can't update page titles (some of the most important elements for SEO) and therefore are losing out on revenue because of this CMS. It also doesn't allow users to set up 301 redirects, which is simply laughable. Again, this is also impacting our performance. If it was solely my choice I'd have changed a long time ago. Avoid the canvas CMS at all cost if you're looking to improve SEO performance.
SiteMinder Response
7 years ago
Hi Jonathan, Thanks for taking the time to provide us with your feedback. Canvas is a tool that is designed for hoteliers looking to simplify their website management. We believe it's best for the page titles to reflect the web page contents and we place the hotel name there too, in accordance with SEO best practice. Many hoteliers don't have the knowledge to update this themselves and so the limitation in our design was deliberate. I have passed your comments onto the team who will consider adding in some flexibility for our more advanced users. The 301 redirects issue is being addressed on our current plans as we know this is important. If you have any further feedback for us, don't hesitate to contact [email protected] Thanks again, Clare @ SiteMinder
Siteminder, impossible to dislike
Pros:
I have worked with different channel managers, however Siteminder has been the most intuitive to work with and the support of the team has been amazing since day one. The connection with our PMS was and is perfect. Overall the benefits are more than enough for us to keep Siteminder as our channel manager for a long long time.
Cons:
I believe that what can be improved are the yield rules. To close availability upon percentage of total sold rooms. This is an action we, specifically, would love to have.
SiteMinder Response
2 years ago
Hi Mafalda Thank you so much for leaving us a positive review. We are happy to hear that you prefer SiteMinder Channel Manager after using many other channel managers in the market. We are delighted to hear that you find it easy and intuitive. Regarding yield rules and percentage of total sold rooms, we have logged this as feedback and have shared it with the respective team to be considered in future updates and enhancement. Meanwhile, we are here 24/7 via our chat if you need us. Whenever you need us, you can reach out to us via live chat, where our team of professionals is always happy to help. Thanks!
The Technical department needs a few lessons in caring about customers
Comments: It is the only real serious booking engine available to local hoteliers and we would have a problem getting direct bookings if it was not available to us.
Pros:
The staff that answer the phone are lovely and try to be helpful when you phone and the on hold music we spend hours listening to is good
Cons:
Those that answer the support phone are lovely people and try their best to assist. However, they seem quite often not to fully understand what the product can and cannot do. And if your problem (one that is caused by a siteminder malfunction and one that can be losing your small business money)) ends up in the tech department - then watch out. They sit on the problem for a week and try finding out when it is going to be fixed. They are like elusive Gods who think they are answerable to no one, least of all the customers!
SiteMinder Response
7 years ago
Hi Wendy, Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry to hear that you have had this experience. Your feedback has been passed onto our customer success team as well as management who will investigate the matter further. Thanks again for taking the time to submit your feedback. The team @ SiteMinder
Easiest Channel Mapping software
Pros:
Easy to use, very friendly and insightful helpdesk
Cons:
Overall, its very system orientated, not very focused on user experience
SiteMinder Response
2 years ago
Hi Wei Shing, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We are happy to hear that you find SiteMinder easy to use and system oriented. If you need support with anything, you may reach out to our 24/7 chat support. One of our team will be more than happy to assist you. If there's anything I can do to help you, please let me know. Thank you!
Excellent
Pros:
At our hotel (Hotel & Gasthof zum Hirsch) we have been using SiteMinder technology for 3 years. We love that we can make changes to our Canvas website without needing professional IT background. Our direct bookings have increased by around 18%, we have more independence for 3rd parties and we are gaining a lot more traffic.
Cons:
.....
SiteMinder Response
7 years ago
Hi Dominik, Thank you for reviewing SiteMinder. We're pleased to hear that you are having a positive experience using our software for your hotel, Hotel und Gasthof zum Hirsch. We can't wait to continue to work with you to achieve more success in the future. Thanks, The team @ SiteMinder
Terrible system and support
Comments: Terrible
Pros:
The initial pitch was that the current system we use and siteminder were compatible. I asked on a number of occasions if any other customers worked with the 2 systems and never received a response. The bottom line is It does not integrate with our hotel management system . After numerous attempts to contact support they were unable to provide solutions and response time was terrible. Was told I could not speak with a supervisor.
Cons:
The system does not work and the support team terrible
SiteMinder Response
2 years ago
Hi Kelly, We apologise that your experience didn't meet our usual standards. I'd love to help you with the experience above, especially with integrating your hotel management system with ours, we hear that you have difficulty reaching out to our support, and I hope I can help you. If you could drop me an email at [email protected], I could help to assist you further as I don't have your details in this review to assist. I'll be waiting for your email and hope to hear from you soon.
Siteminder for small motel
Comments: It is reliable which is of great importance to any business. Easy to use.
Pros:
Ease of use, practicality, reliabilty. Daily arrivals in one report for all channels.
Cons:
Could not fault Siteminder. Overall a very important part of my business.
SiteMinder Response
5 years ago
Hi Jim, Thank you so much for taking the time to review SiteMinder! We appreciate your feedback and hope to continue providing you with the best possible customer experience. Our system has been purposely designed to be easily understood by all users so we're pleased to hear that you find our system intuitive and user-friendly. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to further assist you get the most out of your products. We are here to help so please don't hesitate to let us know if a customer success person can reach out to assist you. Thank you again for trusting us to be your partner. All the best, Misha
Great integration and channel management
Pros:
The ability to distribute inventory to all channels with a click of a button. Being able to access booking information across all channels and manage them accordingly. Integration between our PMS and SiteMinder.
Cons:
The software is easy to use and has many Pros, there are no cons to report.
SiteMinder Response
2 years ago
Hi Mikhail Thank you for leaving us a review! We are happy to hear that with SiteMinder, you can distribute inventory to all channels with a click of a button. We are here to support hoteliers and property owners. We aim to provide you with a user-friendly experience and better control over your marketing and distribution strategy, plus more time to delight your guests. Let me know if there's anything I can assist you with. Thank you! Best regards, Ereena R.
Very Satisfied
Comments: It is a one stop shop in updating and controlling inventory. As stated above the support is exceptional with very friendly, professional and knowledgeable staff. I am not a computer whizz and I find the support staff are very understanding of this.
Pros:
I find the software very easy to work around and when you have any issues or problems the help facilities and also customer service staff are very helpful.
Cons:
I have no negative issues with this software.
SiteMinder Response
5 years ago
HI Wayne, Thank you so much for your review and feedback! We so greatly appreciate the time you've taken to do this and will share your feedback with our teams internally. Thank you for allowing us to be a partner in your journey. It's our privilege to be of service. Thank you, Mei Customer Marketing @ SiteMinder
Siteminder Feedback
Pros:
Very smart and technical software, will continue to use. Especially the multi language customer service is much help, thanks for [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] always give me much much more help on any of kinds of problems, 5 star service for her.
Cons:
could be more colorful or App download use.
SiteMinder Response
3 years ago
Hi Cary, Thank you so much for sharing your valuable feedback. We are so happy our support team is doing their best to support you. You will be pleased to know that we are already working on a mobile application to make things easier for our customers. in the meantime we will keep you updated with any future enhancements. We appreciate your partnership with us! Warmest, Jessi
Customer Support
Comments: Very good. I find Siteminder support exceptional. We have recently been updating our systems, rate plans, room types etc and the support desk have been invaluable. Responses are quick and any issues resolved quickly.
Pros:
Once experienced on the software it is very straightforward to use
Cons:
Possibly a reporting option see what updates have been sen t from PMS
SiteMinder Response
2 years ago
Hi Clare, Thank you so much for leaving us a positive review. We are happy to hear that you enjoy using the software and find our support team exceptional! We have shared your recommendations with our team on reporting options. Unfortunately, we don't have this now, but we value your suggestion and definitely will log this feedback. Meanwhile, we are here 24/7 via our chat if you need us. Also, whenever you need us, you can reach out to us via live chat, where our team of professionals is always happy to help. Thanks!
Excellent Channel Manager - Fantastic Support
Comments: We are a boutique hotel of 14 rooms and have been using SiteMinder (and the Booking Button) for over 7 years. One of the great things about this product is it is in constant development. New features are released regularly, and the product evolves with market feedback. Compared to most software companies one of the best things about Siteminder is their support. A phone call to an Australian call centre, no waiting on hold for hours, and satisfactory and immediate assistance!
Pros:
Easy to use, functional, great support
Cons:
Nothing to report
SiteMinder Response
8 years ago
Hi Rob, Thank you for your amazing review and support over the past 7 years. You are truly a SiteMinder advocate and we love having you be a part of the SiteMinder family. Regards, The Team at SiteMinder