Thai guests pay for almost everything by scanning a QR code. If your booking page only takes cards, or only sends people to an OTA, you're making your own direct bookings harder than they need to be. A PromptPay hotel booking should take a guest about as long as paying for a coffee, and the money should land in your account without anyone at the desk chasing a transfer slip.
I'll cover what the research says about cost and who can use it, then how HotelDesk handles it, module by module.
What is a PromptPay hotel booking?
PromptPay is Thailand's national instant payment system. It links a bank account to a phone number, ID or tax number, and shops and websites show a Thai QR code that the guest scans with their banking app. Xendit's 2026 write-up on hospitality payments calls it the cheaper local rail and says the hotel gets the funds the moment the guest pays.
It's also everywhere. Juspay's summary of Bank of Thailand data reported 2.16 billion PromptPay transactions in September 2025, worth 4.2 trillion baht, and more than 81 million registrations as of March 2025. Thai guests already live in it.
So a PromptPay hotel booking just means a guest reserves on your own website and pays the deposit or the full amount by QR, instead of by card or by bank transfer plus a screenshot on LINE.
Why does PromptPay matter for direct bookings?
Two reasons: cost and friction.
On cost, the numbers vary a lot by provider, so treat these as a range, not a promise. Boldrails' 2026 gateway comparison, using published rate cards from April 2026, put PromptPay QR at 1% to 1.65% against 3% to 3.65% for cards at the same providers, before 7% VAT. Qashier, a Thai POS provider, says it charges 0.3% on PromptPay dynamic QR through its own system. Different providers, different deals. Ask for the rate in writing.
I can't give you a fee for your property, because it depends on who processes your payments.
On friction, think about the alternative. A guest messages you, you send bank details, they send a slip, someone checks the slip, someone updates the booking. That's a lot of hands for one deposit.
Can foreign guests pay with PromptPay?
Honestly, mostly not. PromptPay needs a Thai bank account, so a typical visitor from Europe or North America will pay by card. That's why your booking page needs both.
There's an exception for the region. The Bank of Thailand lists cross-border QR linkages between Thailand and Malaysia (DuitNow), Vietnam (VietQR) and Singapore (PayNow, for transfers), plus others. Guests from those countries with a participating bank can scan Thai QR codes. Check the Bank of Thailand page for the current list of banks and limits, because they change.
The practical takeaway: offer PromptPay for Thai and regional guests, cards for everyone else, and don't assume one covers the other.
What should a PMS do with a PromptPay payment?
A QR code on a web page isn't the hard part. Here's how HotelDesk covers the rest.
Booking website: card or PromptPay, no commission
Every property gets its own booking website. Guests pay by card or PromptPay, and there's no commission on the bookings that come through it. That's the direct channel this whole piece is about.
Channel manager: so direct bookings don't double up
HotelDesk has a built-in channel manager with 135+ channels, including Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda, Airbnb, Hostelworld, Trip.com and Traveloka. A booking from your own site and one from an OTA land in the same calendar, so you aren't selling the same room twice.
Reservations and calendar: rooms and beds
HotelDesk assigns rooms itself, so every night can be sold. New bookings show as Unassigned until the plan is made, staff see the plan, and nothing moves until they press OK. If a guest needs to change rooms mid-stay, that's a Room change (same booking), not a second reservation.
Dorm beds are assigned bed by bed, next to private rooms, so a hostel and a guesthouse can run the same calendar.
Payments and folio: what the guest owes and has paid
The payments and folio module is where the front desk sees a stay's charges and payments. It's the page you open when a guest says "I already paid the deposit."
Front desk, guest profiles and housekeeping
Front desk handles arrivals and departures, and a guest shows as In-House once they're in. Guest profiles keep the details, and housekeeping and maintenance sit in the same system.
Night audit, reports and accounting
Night audit, reports and accounting are all included. Plans differ by size, not by features.
Staff and shifts, and the staff app
Staff and shifts are built in. The staff app installs on Android, iPhone and desktop from the browser, with no app store, so a housekeeper can use their own phone.
Multi-property
If you run more than one place, multi-property is on every plan too.
How much does HotelDesk cost?
All prices are in USD, month to month, with no setup fee. Paying yearly takes 20% off.
| Plan | Price | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $50 a property a month | up to 15 beds |
| Growth | $100 a property a month | up to 150 beds |
| Pro | $500 a month flat | up to 25 properties |
Every module is on every plan. The only thing that changes is how big you are. Those prices are for the software. Ask whoever processes your payments for their PromptPay and card rates before you go live.
What if I'm already on another system?
If you're on Cloudbeds, Little Hotelier, Hostelworld or a spreadsheet, you drop in the exports and check a preview of every night before anything goes live. If the preview looks wrong, you fix it before guests see anything. I won't tell you how long it takes, because it depends on how tidy your data is.
Try it before you decide
There's a 14-day free trial with no card. There's also a live demo hotel at hoteldesk.tech/demo, where all you need is a name and email. Click through the calendar and see if it fits how your desk works.
Questions people ask
Do I need a Thai bank account to accept PromptPay?
Yes, in practice. PromptPay is built on Thai bank accounts, and the money settles into one. Ask your bank or payment provider what they need from you to set it up.
Does PromptPay cost less than cards?
Usually, yes. Boldrails' April 2026 rate-card comparison found QR at roughly a third of the cost of cards at the same providers, though rates differ by provider. Get the actual rate in writing.
Can guests from other countries use PromptPay?
Only some. Visitors from countries with a cross-border QR link to Thailand, such as Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore, can scan with a participating bank. Everyone else should have a card option, which the HotelDesk booking website offers.
Will direct bookings stop my OTA bookings?
No. The channel manager keeps your direct and OTA bookings in the same calendar. Direct bookings just avoid the commission.
Image suggestion: a phone showing a Thai QR code on a booking page, beside the HotelDesk calendar. Alt text: "A guest scanning a PromptPay QR code to pay for a hotel booking, next to the HotelDesk calendar".