Maqami vs Hotelbeds
Hotelbeds is the world's largest B2B bed bank, connecting travel distributors with over 300,000 hotel properties across 195 countries. Headquartered in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, the company serves tour operators, travel agencies, airlines, and loyalty programs worldwide. While Hotelbeds offers extensive inventory and decades of market experience, its legacy technology and complex onboarding process can present challenges for modern travel businesses.
Detailed comparison between Maqami and Hotelbeds Group including pricing, latency, features, onboarding, support, and migration guidance for travel agencies.
Maqami Wins
10
Hotelbeds Wins
2
Ties
3
| Feature | Maqami | Hotelbeds | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subscription / Pricing | Completely free — no monthly fees, no setup costs | Volume-based commercial agreements with minimum commitments | Maqami |
| API Latency | Sub-150ms average response time (Rust-powered engine) | 800ms–2s average response time | Maqami |
| Technology Stack | Modern Next.js frontend, Rust search engine, edge-deployed | Legacy Java/SOAP-based architecture with incremental updates | Maqami |
| AI Integration | Q-Core AI for dynamic pricing, demand forecasting, and smart recommendations | Basic analytics dashboards; no native AI layer | Maqami |
| Property Count | 180,000+ properties across 90+ countries | 300,000+ properties across 195 countries | Hotelbeds |
| Country Coverage | 90+ countries with strong Middle East and Asia presence | 195 countries with broad global coverage | Hotelbeds |
| Onboarding Time | Minutes — self-serve sign-up with instant API keys | 2–6 weeks — commercial negotiation and technical integration required | Maqami |
| Support | 24/7 multilingual support with dedicated account managers | Business-hours support; dedicated managers for high-volume partners only | Maqami |
| White Label Portal | Fully customizable white-label booking engine included at no extra cost | White-label solutions available as a paid add-on (Hotelbeds BookingGo) | Maqami |
| Markup Controls | Granular per-property, per-market, per-date markup rules | Configurable markup rules with moderate granularity | Tie |
| Multi-currency | 65+ currencies with real-time FX conversion | 50+ currencies supported | Tie |
| Real-time Availability | True real-time with sub-second cache invalidation | Near real-time with periodic cache refreshes | Maqami |
| Cancellation Management | Automated cancellation engine with instant refund processing | Standard cancellation workflows; manual intervention for complex cases | Maqami |
| Payment Options | Credit line, prepaid, credit card, and virtual card support | Credit line and prepaid; virtual card available for select partners | Tie |
| Minimum Commitment | None — scale up or down freely | Annual volume commitments required for preferred rates | Maqami |
Where Maqami Has an Advantage
- Zero subscription fees versus Hotelbeds' volume-based commercial commitments, making Maqami ideal for agencies of any size.
- API response times under 150ms compared to Hotelbeds' 800ms–2s, delivering faster search results and higher booking conversion rates.
- Self-serve onboarding in minutes rather than the multi-week negotiation and integration process required by Hotelbeds.
- Built-in Q-Core AI for demand forecasting and dynamic pricing, a capability not natively available in the Hotelbeds platform.
Migration CTA
You can run Maqami in parallel with Hotelbeds during migration and compare conversion, latency, and commercial margin before full cutover.
FAQ
Is Maqami better than Hotelbeds?
Maqami and Hotelbeds serve different market segments effectively. Maqami excels with its free pricing model, sub-150ms API speeds, modern technology stack, and AI-powered features. Hotelbeds offers a larger property inventory and decades of established supplier relationships. For agencies seeking modern technology, zero upfront costs, and fast onboarding, Maqami is the stronger choice. Many partners use both platforms to maximize coverage.
How does Maqami compare to Hotelbeds pricing?
Maqami operates on a completely free model with no monthly fees, no setup costs, and no minimum volume commitments. Hotelbeds typically requires commercial agreements with annual volume targets and tiered pricing structures. This makes Maqami significantly more accessible, especially for small-to-mid-size travel agencies that want to avoid fixed overhead.
Can I switch from Hotelbeds to Maqami?
Yes. Maqami's self-serve onboarding process takes just minutes and our API follows modern REST standards, making migration straightforward. Many agencies run Maqami alongside Hotelbeds during a transition period to compare pricing and availability before fully migrating. Our integration team provides documentation and support to make the switch seamless.
Does Maqami have as many hotels as Hotelbeds?
Hotelbeds currently offers a larger overall inventory with 300,000+ properties. Maqami provides access to 180,000+ properties with particularly strong coverage in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. Our inventory is growing rapidly, and our multi-source aggregation engine often surfaces competitive rates that match or beat larger platforms on overlapping properties.