What it is
Online check-in collects information before or during arrival and sends it into an operational workflow. Depending on the product and integration, that may include registration details, documents, signatures, arrival times, payments or access instructions. These steps are not interchangeable. Uploading an identity document does not itself prove identity verification; completing a form does not prove that a government report was accepted; receiving a mobile key does not prove the room is ready. Some products are guest-experience layers above a PMS, while others connect registration to a broader operations app. A self-service kiosk adds another hardware and support project. Start by deciding which steps you want to move online and which decisions your staff must retain.
Understand the market
Operations and Colombian registration
Sixto connects registration to the broader operation. Chekin provides a specialist option with documented Colombian reporting. Compare the complete review and filing workflow, including prerequisites and exceptions, rather than treating the two products as identical.
Guest-experience layers
Duve, Canary and Guestnet each place arrival within a guest-facing experience. Their precise scopes differ: inspect registration, communications, services and check-out against your existing PMS and the responsibilities retained by reception.
Self-service arrival infrastructure
Virdee adds kiosk and key-issuance considerations to the buying decision. Evaluate the complete software, hardware and support chain. A self-service deployment should have an equally clear assisted path when the normal journey cannot finish.
Summary table
Scroll the table horizontally to compare all criteria. Each product links to its detailed assessment below.
| Product | Best fit | Product type and strength | Colombia and integration fit | What to verify | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sixto | Colombian operators connecting registration and daily work | Integrated hospitality operations | Documented Colombian workflow with prerequisites | Credentials, review and downstream activation | Sixto |
| Chekin | Operators keeping a PMS and adding specialist registration | Specialist check-in and registration | Documented SIRE and TRA workflow | TRA status, credentials and failure recovery | Chekin |
| Duve | Hotels connecting pre-arrival data to the guest journey | Guest-experience specialist | Colombian filing requires confirmation | PMS eligibility, add-ons and digital-key requirements | Duve |
| Canary Technologies | Hotels digitizing arrivals while retaining reception | Hotel mobile check-in specialist | Colombian filing requires confirmation | PMS, payments and staff approval steps | Canary Technologies |
| Guestnet | Properties combining check-in and a guest directory | Guest app and arrival specialist | Colombian availability and filing require confirmation | Language, support and data synchronization | Guestnet |
| Virdee | Hotels investing in kiosk-assisted or self-service arrivals | Self-service hotel arrival platform | Colombian deployment and filing require confirmation | Hardware, payments, keys and local support | Virdee |
What matters in the comparison
- Guest coverage: test a booking with several travelers, a changed lead guest and incomplete companion details. Evaluate the whole party, not only the person who booked.
- PMS integration: inspect which fields are imported and written back, how duplicates are handled and what happens after a reservation changes.
- Colombian workflow: require a named SIRE and TRA process where needed, including credentials, review, status and failed-submission handling. A generic compliance label is insufficient.
- Verification and privacy: distinguish data entry, document capture and identity checks. Review permissions, retention, exports and the guest-facing explanation of data use.
- Arrival completion: distinguish pre-registration from room assignment, payment clearance, check-in status and key release. Verify each dependency in the proposed setup.
- Guest usability: try the actual form on a phone in Spanish and your other guest languages. Include poor connectivity and someone who needs staff assistance.
We reviewed official product pages and available help documentation. We did not conduct hands-on trials, measure reliability, obtain private quotes or certify legal compliance. A documented feature still requires confirmation for your plan, integration and property.
Sixto: registration tied to the Colombian operation
Best for: Colombian operators connecting registration and daily work
Sixto approaches check-in as part of the accommodation operation. Guest information and document review sit alongside reservations, conversations and team tasks, with related SIRE and TRA workflows. The useful comparison is how a submitted form becomes something the team can review and act on, including incomplete information that needs follow-up. This makes Sixto a relevant starting point for Colombian aparthotels and rental managers who want fewer handoffs between registration and daily work. Ask for the actual journey from invitation to review and onward to the configured filing or access step.
Confirm your organization credentials, permissions and enabled services before assessing automation. Demonstrate several guests, a poor-quality document and a changed stay. The important outcome is that staff can see what remains incomplete and who should resolve it. Do not assume every related workflow is active merely because it appears in a product overview. [1]
Chekin: specialist registration with documented Colombian filing
Best for: Operators keeping a PMS and adding specialist registration
Chekin is a specialist worth comparing when you want to improve guest registration while keeping your existing PMS. Unlike a generic international check-in form, its official Colombia pages explicitly describe SIRE and TRA reporting. Its help documentation explains account connection and TRA configuration, making the local integration a concrete topic for the demonstration. Evaluate how reservations arrive from your PMS, how guests complete the flow and how staff review the resulting records. This is a documented Colombian offering, not a claim that the product automatically satisfies every obligation in every circumstance.
There is a documentation detail to resolve before purchase: the TRA help article still carries a BETA title and describes correction and retry behavior. Ask Chekin to confirm the current production scope, correction process and evidence of successful transmission. Demonstrate a failed submission and a late completion. Marketing promises about compliance or deadlines should not replace that verification. [2] [3] [4]
Duve: check-in inside a wider guest journey
Best for: Hotels connecting pre-arrival data to the guest journey
Duve combines online check-in with a guest-experience offering. Its standard online flow runs in a browser and supports configurable steps, with PMS connectivity described in its product documentation. That makes it useful for hotels that want arrival information to support communications, services and the broader stay. Keep the demonstration focused on your actual PMS and intended guest journey. A guest who completes pre-arrival registration may still need room assignment, payment approval or a key, and those additional steps should be included explicitly in the proposal.
Do not equate every Duve integration with its full contactless arrival flow. The reviewed help article restricts that QR-triggered add-on to specified Mews and Oracle connections and describes a native app for digital-key access in that flow. Confirm current eligibility and costs. Colombian SIRE and TRA processing requires a separately demonstrated workflow; this review does not verify it. [5] [6]
Canary Technologies: mobile arrivals for hotel teams
Best for: Hotels digitizing arrivals while retaining reception
Canary is a hotel-focused candidate when the goal is to move registration steps onto the guest phone and improve the front-desk arrival process. Its Mobile Check-In offering documents a flow without an app download, covering guest details and related identity and payment steps. This is especially relevant when reception remains part of the service model and needs clearer preparation before guests arrive. Evaluate the staff view as carefully as the form: the person welcoming the guest must know what has been completed and what still needs attention.
Confirm the exact PMS, payment setup and fields synchronized for your property. Ask what remains manual when a guest cannot complete a step, and whether key delivery is included or separately integrated. Colombian filing should be confirmed explicitly with the vendor or a named partner. The reviewed mobile check-in page does not establish that country-specific scope. [7]
Guestnet: registration within a guest-information app
Best for: Properties combining check-in and a guest directory
Guestnet belongs in the comparison when check-in is one part of a wider guest-information and service experience. Its official product connects pre-arrival messages, the check-in link, property information and check-out in its guest app offering. For an operator already considering a digital directory or in-stay services, that may be a more coherent purchase than a separate arrival form. Evaluate the journey across arrival and departure, and ask which functions depend on your PMS. The emphasis here is the guest-facing service layer rather than a replacement for every back-office process.
Verify commercial availability, language coverage and support hours for your Colombian team. Require a field-level demonstration of the PMS connection and identify the system handling SIRE and TRA. The reviewed material establishes guest-experience functions, not Colombian filing. Also check what guests can complete without staff intervention and what happens when they have not opened the pre-arrival message. [8]
Virdee: self-service arrival with kiosks and key issuance
Best for: Hotels investing in kiosk-assisted or self-service arrivals
Virdee is relevant when the project extends beyond a form to the mechanics of arrival. Its documented workflows include mobile and kiosk journeys, identity verification, payment, room assignment and mobile or physical keys through integrations. That creates a different procurement discussion for a hotel redesigning reception or introducing assisted self-service. Consider how the guest moves from completing information to entering the room, and where staff provide help. The kiosk, payment and lock stack needs to be evaluated as a complete implementation rather than a simple software subscription.
Confirm the proposed hardware, PMS, payment and lock combinations and their support arrangements in Colombia. Demonstrate a guest who needs remote assistance and a failed key issuance. Determine who installs and maintains kiosks and who can resolve an arrival overnight. Local registration requirements need a separately verified process; a working kiosk does not establish SIRE or TRA coverage. [9] [10]
Choose around the operation you actually run
These illustrative situations show how the shortlist changes with your existing systems and staffing. They are not customer case studies.
An aparthotel needs complete guest records
A small team collects information from several travelers per booking and then prepares local reporting.
Compare Sixto for the integrated operational workflow and Chekin for a specialist layer on your existing PMS. Use the same multi-guest booking in both demonstrations. Follow an incomplete traveler record through the reminder, staff review and configured filing process. Ask which status proves preparation and which indicates transmission, and how a rejected record is corrected. Select the product that makes unfinished work visible to the responsible person. An attractive form is useful only if the team can reliably finish the administrative work after submission.
- Register a lead guest and companions.
- Correct an incomplete document record.
- Inspect a failed filing and recovery.
A staffed hotel wants calmer arrivals
Reception stays in place, but guests should complete routine steps before reaching the desk.
Compare Duve and Canary around the PMS and payment systems already in use, and Guestnet when a guest directory and in-stay services are also priorities. Ask staff to handle a guest who arrives without completing the form, one with an unpaid balance and one whose room is not ready. Confirm that optional services do not obscure the essential arrival steps. Keep Colombian reporting in the evaluation as a separate, named workflow. A pre-arrival product should reduce repeated work while leaving reception with a clear view of exceptions.
- Complete the form from a Spanish-language phone.
- Show the staff view of incomplete arrivals.
- Confirm which fields return to the PMS.
A hotel is considering kiosk-assisted arrivals
The operator wants guests to complete arrival and obtain access with less desk involvement.
Evaluate Virdee when kiosks and physical key issuance are central to the project. Compare Duve only after confirming eligibility for the specific fully contactless flow and the required key technology. For an integrated Sixto operation, demonstrate the configured guest-review and connected-access process on your actual locks. In every case, test the journey when a phone fails, a payment is declined or a room remains unready. Decide who can help immediately. The business is buying a supported arrival process, including exception handling, rather than simply removing a reception interaction.
- Test a guest without a working smartphone.
- Withhold access when a required step is incomplete.
- Resolve a failed credential with staff assistance.
A practical rollout plan
Map decisions before designing the form
List the information needed for the stay and the person responsible for reviewing it. Separate required registration steps from optional offers. Decide what completion means at each stage: information received, reviewed, report handled, room ready and access released. Document the staff-assisted path before you configure automated messages or remove an existing arrival step.
Configure and connect a limited pilot
Use a representative property and the intended PMS integration. Configure languages, permissions, credentials and the guest explanation of data use. Confirm field mappings and avoid collecting the same information twice. Use approved test data for demonstrations; do not upload real identity documents into a sales demo simply to make it look realistic.
Exercise incomplete and failed journeys
Test companions, poor document images, changed dates, missing payments and a guest who arrives without a phone. Where filing is included, demonstrate rejection and correction without creating duplicate submissions. Where access is included, demonstrate a room that is not ready. Staff should see a readable status and have a defined recovery action.
Launch with a staffed fallback
Send invitations for a controlled group of arrivals and keep help available. Review completion and exception patterns, then simplify confusing steps. Check that changes made by guests and staff reach the intended records. Evaluate success through reduced repeated entry and resolved exceptions, not through a vendor-wide completion percentage presented as your expected result.
Compare the complete cost
Compare the modules needed for your actual journey: online form, document or identity checks, messaging, payments, filing, guest app and access. Ask which are included and which add transaction, usage or per-unit charges. A fully contactless flow may be a separate product from pre-arrival registration. For kiosk projects, include devices, installation, connectivity, maintenance and replacement in the proposal.
Price the remaining operational work as well as the subscription. Confirm who supports the PMS connection and Colombian filing, whether historical records can be exported, and how data is handled when the contract ends. Request a written scope for the exact property setup. This guide does not compare unverified headline rates or assume that a vendor demonstration represents the package you will purchase.
Demo checklist
Questions
Does online check-in complete every arrival step?
Not always. A guest may complete registration online and still visit reception for payment, room assignment or a key. Completing arrival digitally adds those dependencies and an exception path. Ask the vendor to identify the precise point where the booking becomes checked in and the guest can enter, then demonstrate a case where that point must be delayed.
Which options document Colombian SIRE and TRA workflows?
Sixto includes related Colombian filing workflows subject to credentials, permissions and activation. Chekin explicitly documents SIRE and TRA in its Colombia offering, with current TRA status and correction behavior to confirm. This review does not establish that scope for every other product. Request a named, demonstrated process rather than assuming absence or relying on a generic compliance claim.
Does uploading a document mean the guest is verified?
No. Capture, data extraction, document checks and identity matching are different steps. Ask exactly what the proposed product performs, what staff must review and how uncertainty is surfaced. Demonstrate a blurry image and a mismatch using test data. Avoid describing a completed form or a successful upload as conclusive identity verification.
Can guests use it without installing an app?
Some products document browser-based registration, including Duve and Canary. That does not mean every later step is app-free. For example, the reviewed Duve contactless add-on documentation describes a native app for digital keys. Test the complete proposed journey on the phones your guests use, including a different browser and a guest who needs assistance.
What happens if a report or integration fails?
The answer should be demonstrated before purchase. Staff need to know what was saved, what was sent, what failed and whether retrying could duplicate work. Chekin documents manual resubmission in its TRA help material, but the current behavior should be confirmed. Apply the same acceptance standard to every vendor and preserve the responsible person’s review process.
Should the check-in form also sell extras?
It can, if the booking and payment setup support the offer, but required arrival tasks should remain easy to understand. Test the flow with someone who declines every optional service. Confirm how charges reach the PMS and what happens when a purchase fails. Evaluate the core registration and arrival journey before using projected ancillary revenue to justify the contract.
Official sources
Official product documentation and authority sources reviewed for this guide. Features, eligibility and commercial terms should be confirmed for your property.