How to reduce software licence costs in a hotel
Licences for former staff that were never cancelled, contracts that renew themselves with a price increase, and tools that overlap are among the most frequent reasons a hotel's IT budget grows year after year while the operation stays the same size. Here is how to audit and cut that spending without losing functionality.
Why software costs rise even when the hotel does not grow
Unlike an electricity bill or a building maintenance contract, spending on software licences is rarely reviewed line by line. New tools are bought to solve a one-off problem and never reassessed, staff leave and their licences stay active, and annual contracts renew automatically, often with a price increase, without anyone having consciously decided to keep paying that amount.
In hotels that have never been through this audit, it is common to find an IT budget larger than needed to support exactly the same operation, without anyone having noticed it happening over time.
Three frequent patterns of waste
- Licences for former staff: email, PMS, antivirus and other accounts that stay active for months (sometimes years) after the person has left the hotel, because removing access is not part of the formal leaver checklist.
- Seats reserved for growth that never happened: plans bought for more users than the hotel has today, usually decided "so we don't have to change it again later".
- Overlapping tools: two different solutions covering the same need, for example a separate internal communication system when the PMS already has an equivalent module, or two backup tools running in parallel as a legacy of old decisions.
How to run the audit
- List every system with a recurring charge: PMS, booking engine, channel manager, antivirus, backup, internal communication, accounting tools and so on.
- For each system, compare the number of paid licences with the number of users actually active in the last 90 days.
- Check the renewal date of each contract and schedule a review 60 to 90 days before that date, not after it.
- Identify overlaps: two different tools being used to solve the same problem in different departments of the hotel.
- Check whether legacy systems, replaced long ago, still have an active contract or a server running with no real need.
- Before cancelling any licence, confirm whether it holds data that needs to be exported or kept, whether another system depends on it and whether removing it opens a security gap, such as losing MFA, backup or access logging.
- Read the contract terms: some plans have a minimum number of users, price bands or annual licence adjustments (true-ups), and reducing users does not always reduce the invoice in the same proportion.
To stop the waste coming back, treat each licence as part of the user lifecycle: hiring, activation, use, review, departure and renewal or cancellation. When an employee leaves, the licence should be released in the same process that removes their access, which reduces cost and risk at the same time.
Negotiate before the automatic renewal, not after
That is why the review starts 60 to 90 days ahead: many contracts require notice to cancel or change the renewal, and it is within that window that cancelling or renegotiating is still simple. Once the contract has renewed automatically, the hotel may be locked into another cycle, usually of 12 months, at the same price, or have to negotiate an early exit on worse terms. Mapping the renewal dates of every software contract in a simple calendar is one of the lowest-effort, highest-return changes in this area.
Consolidation: fewer tools, fewer licences, less support
Beyond eliminating what is not used, there is often room to consolidate tools that do the same thing in different departments of the hotel. This reduces the number of paid licences and also simplifies technical support, since the team deals with fewer different systems. The point to watch is to confirm, before migrating, that the tool that remains covers the needs of the people who used the other one, so as not to create rework or lose functionality that matters to a department.
This does not mean cutting investment in security
Reducing licensing costs should not mean cutting essential security tools, such as antivirus, backup or the firewall, just because they have a visible recurring cost. The aim is to eliminate real waste (unused licences, forgotten contracts, overlapping tools), not to reduce the hotel's protection to save money in the short term and pay a much higher price in a security incident later.
Next steps
A complete review of licences, contracts and actual use usually shows where savings are possible without affecting the operation. Our team carries out this assessment, negotiates with suppliers where it makes sense, and recommends where to consolidate without reducing the hotel's security. Talk to our team.
IT cost savings
Licence audits, contract negotiation and tool consolidation without reducing the hotel's security.
View service- Audit of licences and active users
- Contract renewal calendar
- Negotiation with suppliers
- Tool consolidation
Related reading
How do you know whether the hotel is paying for software licences it does not use?
A simple review compares the list of active users in each system (PMS, corporate email, antivirus, management tools) with the list of staff currently on the payroll. Accounts for former staff that were never removed, licences bought for a project that has ended and seats reserved for an expansion that never happened are frequent patterns of waste found in this kind of audit.
Is it worth renegotiating software contracts before the automatic renewal?
In general, yes. SaaS contracts often renew automatically every year with a price increase, and the hotel's strongest negotiating position is 60 to 90 days before that renewal, while there is still time to evaluate alternatives or negotiate terms. Renegotiating after the contract has already renewed automatically usually yields much smaller discounts, if any.
Is switching software supplier always the fastest way to reduce costs?
Not necessarily. Changing systems involves migration costs, staff training and operational risk during the transition, so the difference in monthly price does not always make it worthwhile. Often the fastest, lowest-risk gain comes from eliminating unused licences and resizing plans with the same supplier, before considering a full change of system.
Do legacy systems that nobody uses any more still cost the hotel money?
Often, yes. It is common to find hotels paying annual maintenance on a system that was replaced years ago but whose contract was never formally ended, or keeping a server running just for a legacy system that almost nobody accesses. A complete inventory of active systems, including the ones the team has forgotten exist, usually reveals this kind of spending.
Does consolidating tools reduce a hotel's IT costs?
Usually, yes, when it is well planned. Hotels accumulate overlapping tools, for example two different internal communication solutions, or a standalone task management system when the PMS already offers an equivalent module. Consolidating into fewer tools reduces the number of paid licences and simplifies technical support, but it requires checking that the tool that remains covers the needs of both.
Find out how much your hotel could save on licences
Talk to our team and get a no-obligation review of your software costs.