Free Bed and Breakfast Management Software for India
In India, a bed and breakfast is usually called a homestay or guest house. Whatever you call yours, the job is the same: keep track of who is arriving, who is staying, and what breakfast they ordered. One free system handles reservations from Booking.com, Airbnb, MakeMyTrip and walk-ins, with GST invoices and CP rate plan billing built in.
OnlineHotelier PMS is free bed and breakfast management software for Indian homestays, guest houses and B&Bs. It puts every reservation in one calendar: Booking.com, Airbnb, MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, phone and walk-in. It handles CP rate plan billing (room plus breakfast on one folio), GST invoices at the correct slab, guest check-in, room status and daily reports. No subscription, no trial period. The optional paid add-on is the channel manager, which keeps your OTA calendars in sync automatically.
What a B&B in India actually needs from software
A bed and breakfast in Coorg, a homestay in Manali or a guest house in Varanasi all face the same handful of problems every day.
- A booking arrives on Booking.com while another guest is calling about the same room. Without one place to check, you guess.
- A couple asks for the CP rate (Continental Plan, meaning room with breakfast). You quote a price, then work out the GST invoice by hand.
- At check-out, you need a GST invoice with the correct rate. You are not always sure which slab applies.
- Your guest is a foreign visitor. You need to record their passport details.
These are not big-hotel problems. They are small-property problems. The PMS is built to handle exactly these, and nothing more complicated.
| Product | OnlineHotelier PMS, free cloud reservation and management system |
|---|---|
| Price | Free. No subscription, no trial period |
| Who it is for | B&Bs, homestays and guest houses in India, typically with 2 to 20 rooms |
| GST handling | 5% GST on rooms up to ₹7,500 per night, 18% above ₹7,500 per night, where it applies to your property |
| Breakfast billing | Breakfast posted as a charge on the guest folio, at booking or at any point during the stay |
| Paid add-on | Channel manager that syncs to Booking.com, Airbnb, MakeMyTrip, Goibibo and other OTAs. Pricing on WhatsApp |
| Runs on | Any web browser on a phone, tablet or laptop. Nothing to install |
| How to start | Sign up online, or message on WhatsApp for guided setup |
One calendar for every booking: Booking.com, Airbnb, phone and walk-in
You run a small homestay in Rishikesh. A booking arrives on Booking.com for Room 2 on Saturday. Ten minutes later, a guest calls to ask about the same room on the same night. You look at your notebook. Or your phone. Or the Booking.com extranet. A mistake is easy to make.
The OnlineHotelier calendar puts every booking in one place, whatever its source:
- Booking.com and Airbnb (via the channel manager add-on, or entered manually)
- MakeMyTrip and Goibibo (via the channel manager add-on)
- Phone calls and WhatsApp messages (entered at the front desk)
- Walk-ins (entered directly)
- Direct bookings from your own website
When a room is taken, the calendar marks it as blocked. No double booking. Nothing slips through. If you add the channel manager add-on, a Booking.com booking closes that room on Airbnb and MakeMyTrip automatically.
Direct booking matters for B&Bs. OTA commissions on Booking.com and Airbnb are typically 15 to 20% of the room rate. On a ₹2,500 room, that is ₹375 to ₹500 per night going to the OTA. A direct booking from your own website, a WhatsApp message or a returning guest paying by UPI costs you nothing in commission. The PMS records all three in the same calendar.
Breakfast billing: CP rate plans and add-on charges
The CP rate plan (Continental Plan) means the room rate includes breakfast. It is the most common rate plan for Indian homestays and B&Bs. Where the rate already includes breakfast, the amount the guest pays is simply the CP rate. Where breakfast is sold separately, you post it as a charge on the folio.
Where breakfast is sold separately, post it to the guest folio as a charge, and it appears on the final bill with everything else. Nothing to add up by hand at check-out.
Some guests book on the EP rate (European Plan, room only) and decide to add breakfast when they arrive. You can post breakfast as a separate charge to any folio at any point during their stay.
Here is how a typical CP folio looks for a one-night stay:
| Room rate (EP, 1 night) | ₹2,500 |
| Breakfast (CP add-on) | ₹300 |
| Subtotal | ₹2,800 |
| GST (5% on accommodation, where applicable) | ₹125 |
| Total payable | ₹2,925 |
The GST on the food component depends on whether your property is a "specified premises" under GST rules. See the rate plans guide for how CP, MAP and AP rates work in practice, and the GST guide for the full rules on meal-inclusive rates.
MAP and AP plans: Modified American Plan (breakfast and dinner) and American Plan (all meals) are quoted to the guest as a package rate. If you sell meals separately, post each one as a charge on the folio, so a guest can add or drop a meal mid-stay.
GST invoices for Indian B&Bs
The PMS generates a GST invoice at check-out. You set your GSTIN (GST Identification Number) and the system applies the correct rate based on the room charge.
The rates in India since 22 September 2025:
| Room rate per night | GST rate | Input Tax Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Up to ₹7,500 | 5% | Not available |
| Above ₹7,500 | 18% | Available |
Most Indian homestays and B&Bs charge under ₹7,500 per night. If your rate is ₹2,500, the GST is 5% on that amount: ₹125 per night. The rate is based on the actual amount charged, not a declared tariff.
GST registration: you must register for GST if your annual turnover from accommodation exceeds ₹20 lakh (₹10 lakh in some special category states). Below that threshold, GST registration is optional. If you are unregistered, you do not charge GST and do not issue GST invoices. The PMS works for registered and unregistered properties.
The food component on a CP rate has its own GST calculation, which depends on whether your property is a "specified premises" under the rules. The hotel GST guide covers the specified-premises test and how it affects meal billing.
Check-in, room status and check-out
The front desk workflow for a B&B is simpler than a full hotel. But the basics still need to be right: ID on file, the right room assigned, the folio open and ready.
Guest check-in
Record the guest's name, ID or passport number, nationality and room at arrival. The folio opens the moment you check them in. For foreign guests, the system captures passport details for C-Form (Form C) compliance. Guest-list exports are available on request.
Room status
Mark rooms as occupied, vacant, dirty or clean after housekeeping. If you are running the property alone, you update status yourself. If you have help, your housekeeper can update from their phone as they finish each room.
Folio and billing
Room charges, breakfast, any extra services and payments all go on the guest folio. At check-out, review the balance, generate the GST invoice and you are done. No separate spreadsheet or handwritten bill.
Daily reports
At the end of the day, you have a report showing occupancy, total room revenue and payments received. These are the numbers you need to run the property. No building them by hand each morning.
Running a B&B solo: many homestays in India are run by one or two people, often family members. The PMS runs on a phone browser. You do not need a desktop computer or a dedicated front desk person. One person can manage check-ins, billing and reports from the same device they use for everything else.
Channel manager: for when you are on more than one or two OTAs
If you are listed on Booking.com and Airbnb and you update availability yourself after each booking, the free PMS is enough. Most small B&Bs start this way.
The channel manager add-on becomes useful when you are on three or more platforms and updating each one by hand after every booking takes time you do not have. A missed update on one OTA causes a double booking, and a double booking on a small property is a problem you cannot absorb easily.
The add-on connects your PMS calendar directly to Booking.com, Airbnb, MakeMyTrip, Goibibo and other OTAs. When a booking arrives on any channel, the room closes on all the others automatically. Read the channel manager guide before deciding whether you need one.
The channel manager add-on is paid. Message us on WhatsApp and we will give you the current price for your property.