QloApps Booking Engine: The Complete Guide to Free Hotel Reservation Software - Features, Technology Stack & Implementation (2025)

Introduction

QloApps is a free and open-source hotel management and reservation system that provides a comprehensive hospitality technology ecosystem including a Property Management System (PMS), Hotel website, Booking Engine, and Channel Manager to streamline hotel management and reservation processes. The QloApps Booking Engine stands out as a powerful solution that enables hotels to take direct online bookings while eliminating commission rates from third-party platforms.

What is QloApps Booking Engine?

The booking engine allows hotels to take online bookings by displaying the real-time rates and availability of rooms to guests, allowing guests to select dates and complete reservations. QloApps Booking Engine allows guests to easily create and manage their bookings on your website with a separate tab from which guests can track their past bookings and manage their upcoming bookings as well.

Key Features Overview

Real-Time Inventory Management

• Displays real-time availability of room inventory to guests

• Adjusts room type rates dynamically and showcases the best rates to guests

• Prevents overbooking through synchronized inventory management

Guest Management Capabilities

• Separate tab for guests to track and use credit slips and manage refunds

• Sends confirmation emails to guests to notify them about their bookings

• Comprehensive registration forms to collect personal details of guests

Search and Booking Experience

• Quick search field where guests can find the list of all available rooms in just a few seconds

• Allows guests to edit their search and show the most relevant available rooms

• Empowers guests to filter their search based on amenities and pricing

Technology Stack and Architecture

Core Technologies Used

QloApps is built on PHP while MySQL is used to manage databases. Apart from these languages, HTML, CSS, JavaScript and jQuery are also used. Smarty is used as a templating engine.

Primary Technology Stack:

• Backend Language: PHP (compatible up to PHP 7.4)

• Database: MySQL, XML

• Frontend Technologies: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery

• Template Engine: Smarty

• Framework: Bootstrap

• Additional Technologies: SASS for styling

System Requirements

Server Requirements: Web server: Apache 1.3, Apache 2.x, Nginx or Microsoft IIS

PHP Configuration: Memory_limit to "128M", upload_max_filesize to "16M", max_execution_time to "500" and allow_url_fopen "on"

Required PHP Extensions: PDO_MySQL, cURL, OpenSSL, SOAP, GD, SimpleXML, DOM, Zip, Phar

Operating System Support: Windows, Mac, and Linux

Architectural Framework

The technical structure of QloApps is based on 3-tier architecture (MVP). MVC is a software design pattern containing three main logical components where each part works to deal with explicit advancement parts of an application.

How to Use QloApps Booking Engine

Installation Process

Step 1: System Preparation

1. Ensure your server meets the minimum requirements

2. Create a database by going to your database's PHPMyAdmin by entering your URL/phpmyadmin in the address bar

3. Download QloApps from the official website

Step 2: File Upload Unzip QloApps software zip files and upload to your server. Make sure you don't upload the root folder directly, only the files and folders that it contains

Step 3: Installation Setup Access the uploaded QloApps file from your public URL to start the installation. Enter your Store Details and credentials, connect your database by entering database credentials and database name

Configuration and Setup

Hotel Information Setup As an admin, you can effortlessly add your hotel details, including room descriptions, features, pricing, and images

Room Type Management To add a room type in QloApps, go to Catalog > Manage Room Types, then click on Add new room type where you can add room types easily by filling in information about the room type in each section

Booking Policies Configuration Minimum Booking Offset: The number of days mentioned here after which bookings are accepted. Set to 0 to disable this feature. Enable refund by selecting Yes and select refund rules from manage order refund rules

Using the Booking Engine

Guest Booking Process

1. Search Phase: Guests use the quick search field to find available rooms in seconds

2. Filter Options: Guests can filter search based on amenities and pricing

3. Selection: Real-time availability display helps guests choose suitable accommodations

4. Booking Completion: Secure payment processing through integrated gateways

Administrative Management Guests can check room availability and make instant bookings with just a few clicks. You can monitor the booking status and update site information in real-time

Advanced Features and Integrations

Payment Gateway Integration

QloApps supports a majority of payment gateways such as PayPal, Stripe, Razorpay, CCAvenue, Paytm, and many more. PayPal is provided as a free payment gateway with QloApps to accept online payments.

Payment Options:

• Allow guests to book hotel rooms by paying partially for their booking and collect the rest amount at check-in

• Provide guests with safe and secure payment modes through which they can complete their bookings without fear

Multi-Language and Multi-Currency Support

QloApps is a multilingual and multicurrency platform. Guests from different countries can view the prices of rooms and compare them in their local currency.

International Features:

• Allow guests to view rates in their local currencies

• Empower guests to translate your website into their native languages

Mobile Optimization

The responsive design adapts to all screen sizes providing a comfortable browsing experience. QloApps allows you to launch your hotel's booking app and allow guests to book rooms from their mobile.

Integration Capabilities

PMS Integration The integration of PMS with the Booking engine will streamline your hotel management to the next level

Channel Manager Integration Integrate a Channel management system to add and manage your hotel's inventory and rates on various OTAs

Additional Features and Add-ons

Core Booking Features

Guest Self-Service Options:

• Offer guests the flexibility to book rooms on behalf of someone else

• Notify guests when the inventory of rooms is low

• Keep guests informed about hotel policies and terms and conditions

Marketing and Promotion Tools:

• Offer vouchers and promotions to offer discounts on bookings to guests

• Offer discount coupons and promotions and attract more guests to your hotel

Advanced Functionality

On-Desk Booking Management You can easily take and manage the bookings of your walk-in customers through the on-desk booking feature of QloApps

Multi-Property Management With QloApps, you can add and manage multiple properties from a single platform

Marketplace Solution Create a marketplace of hotels where any hotel owner can register on your marketplace and manage their property and you can earn commission on every booking

Benefits of QloApps Booking Engine

Cost-Effective Solution

QloApps provides you with free PMS, a free booking website, and a free booking engine. Therefore, with QloApps, you can manage your hotel operations free of cost

Direct Booking Advantages

• Eliminate the commission rates and take direct bookings for your property

• Increased profit margins through reduced dependency on OTAs

• Better guest relationship management through direct communication

Comprehensive Hotel Management

With QloApps, you get a website through which you can increase your hotel's reach and online presence. With QloApps PMS you can streamline your hotel operations and with the booking engine, you can manage all your bookings efficiently in one place

Extensibility and Customization

QloApps provides 100+ Addons. Through these add-ons, you can customize the software and add various features and functionality to it

Security and Support

Security Features

The hotel booking engines are integrated with safe and secure payment modes through which you can easily collect payments

SSL certificate is required if you plan to process payments internally (not using PayPal for instance)

Open Source Licensing

QloApps Core is licensed under OSL-3.0 and Modules authored by Webkul have their applicable license, while other modules are licensed under AFL-3.0

Community Support

QloApps is one kind of a true open-source hotel reservation system and booking engine. The system is dedicated to channeling the power of the open-source community to serve the hospitality industry

Future-Ready Features

Analytics and Reporting

QloApps comes with an inbuilt interactive and insightful dashboard that displays the data of various parameters through charts and graphs. It helps to analyze the performance of the hotel

Cloud Solutions

QloSaaS is a convenient and cloud-hosted solution that can launch your hotel website and manage your booking engine and property management system efficiently

Conclusion

QloApps Booking Engine represents a comprehensive, cost-effective solution for hotels seeking to establish direct booking capabilities while maintaining full control over their reservation system. From small independent hotels to big hotel chains, QloApps is a one-stop solution for all your hotel business needs.

The combination of robust technology stack, extensive customization options through 100+ add-ons, and strong community support makes QloApps an attractive alternative to expensive proprietary booking systems. Its open-source nature ensures transparency, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness, while the comprehensive feature set addresses all aspects of modern hotel reservation management.

Whether you're a small boutique hotel or a large hotel chain, QloApps Booking Engine provides the tools necessary to compete effectively in today's digital hospitality landscape while maintaining direct relationships with your guests and maximizing revenue through commission-free bookings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is QloApps Booking Engine free to use? A: Yes, QloApps is completely free and open-source software that provides a comprehensive booking engine without licensing fees.

Q: What technical skills are required to implement QloApps? A: You must be familiar with Object-Oriented Programming to start development on QloApps, though basic installation can be done by following the step-by-step guide.

Q: Can QloApps handle multiple properties? A: Yes, with QloApps, you can add and manage multiple properties from a single platform.

Q: Does QloApps support mobile bookings? A: QloApps allows you to launch your hotel's booking app and allow your guests to book rooms from their mobile with responsive design that adapts to all screen sizes.

Q: What payment gateways are supported? A: QloApps supports a majority of payment gateways such as PayPal, Stripe, Razorpay, CCAvenue, Paytm, and many more.