Free B&B management software: what is actually free
When you start looking for free property management software for your B&B, you will find plenty of offers claiming to be "free," yet almost none of them are free in the same way. Before making a choice, it is worth understanding where the costs actually lie, because there is almost always a catch, and it can significantly change your bottom line at the end of the year.
The four faces of "free"
The first type is the free trial. The software is fully functional, but only for a limited time, after which a subscription fee kicks in. This works well to get a feel for the system, provided you keep an eye on the expiry date and know exactly what the monthly cost will be once the trial ends.
The second is the "free" model paid for via a booking commission. There is no subscription fee, but the software takes a percentage of every stay you sell. For a small B&B, this is the most deceptive form, as it is invisible at first. The percentage might look small on a single night, but it becomes a significant amount once you add it up over the entire season.
The third is the "free" model with add-on modules. The base version costs nothing, but the features you actually need to run a business in Italy, such as reporting guest data to the police, managing tourist taxes, or syncing with booking portals, are activated individually and each comes with a price tag. You only discover the true cost once you have switched them all on.
The fourth is the "free" model with a limit. Everything is included up to a certain number of rooms or bookings, with a different plan for anything beyond that threshold. This is the most transparent approach, provided the limit is clearly stated and matches the size of your property.
Costs that remain even when the software is free
There is one expense that no management software can eliminate, and that is the card processing fee. When a guest pays online by card, the payment provider retains a small portion of the amount, just as it does for any shop that accepts cards. You need to factor this in, but distinguish it from the software's commission: the former is applied by the payment network according to their rates, while the latter is profit for the software provider.
Other costs can arise from messaging. Some platforms charge for SMS or messages sent to guests, billing them on a pay-per-use basis. Others charge for connecting to smart locks or for mandatory legal reporting. None of these items are a problem in themselves, as long as they are clearly disclosed before you sign up.
Finally, there is the cost that never appears on an invoice: your time. A free program that forces you to manually copy guest details into the Italian police portal, or update availability across three different calendars, is costing you hours of work every single week.
Questions to ask before you choose
You can get a clear picture of an offer by asking a few questions before you even upload your first room. Who collects the guest's money, and how many days does it take for the funds to reach the property's account? Does the software take a percentage of bookings, even a small one, or even just on those from specific channels? Are the police reporting, tourist tax, and channel syncing included, or are they paid extras? How many rooms does the free plan cover, and what happens when you exceed that limit?
If the answers are all on a public page, written in plain English, the offer is likely legitimate. If you have to ask a salesperson to find out, make sure to get the answers in writing.
What is free on Roraima, and what is not
On Roraima, your property gets its own dedicated booking page for free, where guests can choose dates, see prices, and book. Roraima does not charge commissions on bookings. The guest pays you directly, in one of two ways you choose: by card on the site, in which case the money arrives in your Stripe account the moment the payment is made, or directly at the property. The money does not pass through Roraima. The payment flow is explained in our article Paying guests directly into your account.
The free plan is valid for up to three rooms or apartments and includes a unified calendar linked via iCal to other channels, a guest page with arrival instructions, the submission of guest data to the Italian police (Alloggiati Web), and tourist tax collected online from the guest. We have a dedicated article on choosing between an iCal calendar and a channel manager: iCal or channel manager: what a small B&B actually needs.
There are two cost items, and they are clearly listed on our pricing page. The first is the card fee when a guest pays online: this is retained by Stripe according to their rates, and you can see it transaction by transaction in your Stripe dashboard. It does not apply to bookings paid at the property. The second is credits, which measure the use of certain services. Each booking received on your page uses 2 credits, each booking imported from another channel uses 1, and the cycle of a door code uses 1 per booking; legal reporting and tourist tax also use credits. The free plan provides 500 credits every month, and even if you were to run out, your bookings would continue to arrive regardless.
A look at the numbers
A B&B with three rooms in peak season receives 15 bookings on its own page and 20 from portals, imported via the calendar. With an average stay of two nights, that is about 70 nights sold out of 90 available. The page bookings use 30 credits, the imported ones use 20, and the door code for each stay uses another 35: that is 85 credits in total, well within the 500-credit monthly allowance, leaving plenty of room for legal reporting.
As for the money, the 15 bookings made on your page pay no commission to Roraima. Those paid by card incur only the Stripe fee, while those paid at the property incur nothing. The 20 bookings from portals follow the terms of the specific portal they came from.
Frequently asked questions
Is there really a completely free B&B management system?
There are programs without a subscription fee, but almost all have at least one cost: a commission on bookings, paid modules, or a room limit. The card processing fee, when a guest pays online, always remains because it is applied by the payment network, not the software.
Does Roraima take a percentage of bookings?
No. Your property page is free and Roraima does not take any commission on bookings. The guest pays you directly, either by card on the site or at the property.
How much is the card processing fee?
It is set by Stripe, the service used to accept cards, according to their public rates. You will see it indicated for every payment in your Stripe account; it does not apply to bookings paid at the property.
What are Roraima credits?
They are the units used to measure the use of certain services: bookings received or imported, door codes, legal reporting, and tourist tax. The free plan provides 500 of them every month.
How many rooms does the free plan cover?
Up to three rooms or apartments. An apartment counts as one unit, and a room sold in multiple identical quantities counts towards the total number of units.
Do I need a Stripe account to get started?
A Stripe account is only needed if you want to accept card payments on your site. Without an account, your page is still fully active, and guests can simply book and pay directly at the property.
You can set up your property page in a few minutes at no cost: open your storefront on Roraima.