Chekin Alternatives for Spanish Vacation-Rental Managers (2026)

Chekin is the first name that comes up when you look for guest-registration software in Spain, and not without reason: on the market since 2018, 45+ countries, and a module catalogue covering nearly everything that surrounds a check-in. The doubt tends to arrive later, when you set that catalogue against what you will actually use and against what ends up on the invoice.

And the per-property price will not settle it, because both tools land in the same bracket. What settles it is two lines of fine print, how many properties each billing option requires and when the money leaves your account, plus one question only you can answer: how many of those modules you will really switch on.

If you want the whole market rather than just Chekin, it is in the online check-in apps comparison, with six tools and their published prices.

What Chekin is

Chekin is a Seville-based company founded in 2018. The core product does what you’d expect (online check-in and automated submission to SES.HOSPEDAJES), and from there the model is to sell extra modules: payments, deposits, smart locks, tourist tax. Each one carries its own commission.

Their official figures page claims 45+ countries with active service, more than 200,000 properties, and more than 25 million check-ins as of May 2026¹; the marketing site itself is published in seven languages².

In Spain their legal-coverage map lists SES.HOSPEDAJES, Mossos d’Esquadra and Ertzaintza, plus statistical filing to the INE and the TURESPAZO return in Galicia. Outside it, Alloggiati Web, ISTAT and PayTourist in Italy, the SEF in Portugal, Croatia’s eVisitor or the Czech Uby Port². Their own figures page sums it up as 18 countries with direct legal integration and more than 30 legal systems integrated¹. That international reach is probably their single strongest argument.

Chekin pricing and minimums

Three plans, and two prices per plan depending on how you are billed. Their rates are published excluding VAT³:

The minimum is the piece of fine print that decides most, and it is tied to how you pay:

• The annual plan takes a single property. Their own calculator offers to switch anyone who needs only 1 or 2 to annual billing.
• The monthly plan starts at 3 accommodation units for holiday rentals, and at 20 if the property type you pick is hotel or hostel.

Chekin counts an accommodation unit as each room or space where a guest stays. A twenty-room hostel clears that minimum with a single establishment; a manager with two apartments cannot clear it at all. And the up-to-20% saving on the annual plan is not monthly billing with a discount: the whole year is charged as one payment covering twelve months.

The volume discount applies in bands: each slice of properties bills at its own price. For holiday rentals billed month to month:

• Properties 1 to 5: €4.95 each.
• 6 to 20: €4.50.
• 21 to 50: €4.00.
• 51 to 100: €3.50.
• 101 and up: €3.00.

That is why the average price falls as you grow: at ten properties it works out at €4.72 per property per month, or €3.78 if you prepay the year. Their calculator stops there, because the counter never goes past “10+” and the total it shows is still the one for ten units, so above that figure you have to ask them for the price.

On top of the SaaS, Chekin charges per-transaction fees:

• Security deposits: 1.5% + €0.30.
• Damage protection: $2.50 per booking ($1,500 coverage), $3.50 ($2,500), or $4.00 ($5,000), charged in dollars.
• Tourist tax: 1.5% + €0.99.
• Online payments: 1%.
• Upselling and experiences: 10%.
• Unified inbox: channel fees (per call, WhatsApp, or SMS), not a percentage.

Those fees only accrue if you switch on the modules that carry them. Use the SaaS for compliance alone and you pay none of them. The free trial is 14 days⁴.

What RegistroViajero costs

One plan, no minimum, monthly billing, and also excluding VAT:

We don’t sell payments, deposits, or upsells, so there are no per-transaction fees. The trial is 15 days, no card required.

Chekin vs RegistroViajero: head-to-head comparison

Both tools file the guest report using your credentials and in your name. That is not a shortcut; it is the route the platform itself contemplates:

“The communication of the data may be made through a third party provided that the third party is authorised by the obliged party by any of the forms admitted in law to act on behalf of another person.”

What does not change hands is responsibility. The establishment answers for the accuracy of the data entered in the reports, which must match the documents proving the guest’s identity⁵. For you that means a fine for a badly captured field arrives in your name and not the vendor’s, so what the tool validates before filing matters as much as what it files.

Here is how the two tools stand on the criteria that decide the invoice and the coverage³¹²:

The certification and the partner badge look like details until they show up in a tender: neither vendor publishes external security audits and neither is on Airbnb’s preferred-partner list. If a corporate client demands them, it’s better to know before you sign.

When Chekin is the right choice

There are profiles where Chekin wins, and spotting yours early saves you two months of trial-and-error.

You manage properties outside Spain. Chekin covers 45+ countries: Italy, Portugal, Croatia, Hungary, Brazil, or the United Arab Emirates, among others. One bill, one vendor. If your portfolio isn’t 100% Spanish, that matters more than any monthly price difference.

You want a single vendor for check-in, payments, deposits, locks, and tourist tax. Chekin packages all of that and charges commission per transaction. If you already have Stripe and Nuki set up yourself, the suite is overkill. If you don’t have them and don’t want to wire them up, the suite saves you real work.

You operate a physical self-check-in kiosk. Chekin sells one as integrated hardware. We don’t build kiosks.

Your PMS is already in their marketplace. Hostaway, Smoobu, Lodgify, Cloudbeds, Avantio, and others. If you live inside one of these and don’t want to touch iCal, a native integration weighs more than a separate dashboard.

You run a hotel, a hostel, or a campsite. Chekin prices that property type separately and far lower per unit. Básico runs from €1.20 per unit per month on the annual plan to €1.50 billed month to month, and Enterprise, with every module, from €4.00 to €5.00³. In exchange, a subscription of that type starts at 20 units. We charge per property, not per room, so above a certain size their hotel tariff wins outright.

When RegistroViajero is the right choice

You manage 1 or 2 properties and don’t want to prepay the year. Chekin does take a single property, but only on the annual plan, charged in one go: about €48 for twelve months on Básico. Its monthly route starts at 3 units, €14.85/month even if you only own one flat. Here you pay for what you actually operate, month by month: one property, €5 + VAT.

You want monthly billing. No twelve months up front: you pay for the month you are in and, if it doesn’t fit, you stop paying for it.

You already use Stripe (or Redsys) and Nuki (or Akiles). What’s missing is the compliance layer. We don’t sell payments, deposits, or locks, so there are no per-reservation commissions stacked on top.

You operate only in Spain. The core obligation is still SES.HOSPEDAJES. Around it sits local fine print an international vendor does not always follow: the penalty framework, minors, SES error codes and the Catalan and Basque regimes, which don’t go through SES.

You want an assistant that actually understands this. ReVi reads guest documents and answers operational questions inside the dashboard, replying in whichever language you write to it, Spanish or English. It’s not magic: it’s useful when a guest shows up with an unfamiliar document and you have 30 seconds before key handoff. We covered it in AI in vacation rental management.

Real cost at 1, 3, and 10 properties

Básico plan, no per-transaction fees, using the figures their own calculator returns³. Both tariffs are published excluding VAT, so the columns are comparable. The annual column is what it works out to per month once you have paid the twelve months at once.

At small and medium volumes, both options are in the same order of magnitude. With one property, Chekin is cheaper if you accept prepaying the year and slightly dearer if you don’t. From three on, its annual plan sits below us and its monthly plan sits right on our price. At ten, its annual plan is clearly below and its monthly plan lands under three euros from ours.

The deciding factor is rarely those few euros. It is usually whether you prepay twelve months and whether you will switch on the modules you are buying.

How to migrate from Chekin to RegistroViajero

If you decide to switch, the process is reasonably direct:

1. From your Chekin dashboard, export the CSV of properties and the guest history. Básico and higher plans include data export.
2. Create your RegistroViajero account at app.registroviajero.com. The 15-day trial doesn’t ask for a card.
3. Paste the CSV into the importer, or email us at [email protected] and we migrate it for you before your trial ends.

Changing vendor does not reset the retention clock, because the period is set by the decree and not by your contract:

“The data in the computerised register must be retained for a period of three years counted from the end of the contracted service or provision.”

The three years run from the end of each stay, so the reports you filed with your previous vendor remain your obligation after you cancel. Export the history while the old account is still open: once it is closed, getting it back depends on what that vendor retains and how fast they answer.

FAQ

Does Chekin offer a free plan in Spain? Chekin has no free plan in Spain, only a 14-day trial. The cheapest plan is Básico, from €3.95 per property per month excluding VAT if you contract the year as a single payment.

Can I sign up to Chekin with a single property? You can sign up to Chekin with a single property, but only on the annual plan: the monthly subscription requires a minimum of 3 accommodation units for holiday rentals, and 20 if the property type you pick is hotel or hostel.

Can I pay Chekin monthly instead of yearly? You can pay Chekin monthly, on two conditions: the per-property price goes up (€4.95 instead of €3.95 on Básico) and the minimum becomes 3 units.

What happens to my data if I switch providers? What happens to your guest data when you switch providers is set by RD 933/2021, which requires guest reports to be retained for 3 years from the end of the service. Both providers comply with that, so the retention window is covered regardless.

Does RegistroViajero cover Catalonia and the Basque Country today? RegistroViajero does not cover Catalonia or the Basque Country today. Mossos d’Esquadra and Ertzaintza operate outside SES.HOSPEDAJES, and we have them in development. If your business is mainly there, we’re not your best choice yet: you can read why those two territories sit outside SES.

Are there volume discounts on RegistroViajero? There are no volume discounts on RegistroViajero today: a flat €5 + VAT per active property per month. If you manage a large portfolio and need custom pricing, email [email protected].

Do you charge fees on payment gateways? We charge no fees on payment gateways, because we don’t sell them. If you want to collect reservation payments from your own brand, you use your Stripe or Redsys directly; we only handle Ministry of the Interior compliance.

Chekin or RegistroViajero: the decision in one line

Chekin has been stacking modules and direct legal coverage across 18 countries since 2018. If you need that reach, the price matters less than the catalogue. If what’s missing from your stack is the SES.HOSPEDAJES piece and the rest is already in place, a specialist comes with less fine print.

See how RegistroViajero works and hold it against this month’s invoice.

Prices and conditions of the tools named here can change at any time: check their site before deciding. RegistroViajero is the product of this blog’s authors.