Looking for an alternative to Chekin? UpMarket covers the check-in, identification and compliance work you already rely on — and then automates the guest conversations, payments, access and operational exceptions that come after arrival.
Online check-in has changed how accommodation providers manage arrivals. Guests can register before travelling, submit identification documents, sign agreements and complete mandatory formalities without visiting reception.
But check-in is one moment in a longer journey.
Every reservation also brings questions, requests, payments, access instructions and, occasionally, problems that need attention. Managing those interactions can take considerably more time than registering the guest in the first place.
This comparison looks at operating models rather than feature lists. Chekin and UpMarket overlap: both automate digital check-in and guest registration. The difference is where the automation stops — and the better question for a buyer is which platform removes more of the work your team does today.
UpMarket vs Chekin: The Short Answer
Both platforms automate online check-in, guest identification and guest registration.
Chekin is built around automating check-in, identity collection and guest registration. UpMarket is an AI-powered guest-operations platform that automates work across the post-booking journey — communication, check-in, compliance, payments, access, upselling and escalation to staff — with the objective of reducing manual intervention.
That is not a claim that one product has more features. It is a difference in scope, and in what is left for your staff to do.
The Five Questions That Decide This Comparison
Rather than comparing screens, evaluate both platforms against the same questions:
- Can it manage the entire guest journey with minimal staff intervention?
- How are guest communication, registration, payments and access coordinated?
- What happens when something goes wrong, or a guest needs something unexpected?
- How much manual work is left for the property manager?
- Can you replace your existing solution without changing your PMS?
The sections below answer those questions. Which capabilities UpMarket can automate on a given property depends on your plan and on the connected PMS and access-control provider.
1. Replace Your Check-in Solution Without Changing Your PMS
Switching software shouldn’t mean rebuilding the processes your business already depends on.
For supported configurations, UpMarket provides the functionality accommodation operators use Chekin for: online guest registration, document collection, digital agreements and signatures, compliance reporting, payments, deposits and access automation.
It also sits on top of your existing PMS. Reservations and property information flow into the guest management process, so replacing your check-in solution doesn’t mean changing how you manage reservations.
Guest registration and identification. Guests complete their registration online, submitting the required personal information and identification documents before arrival. UpMarket supports document scanning and validation, configurable registration forms and digital contract signing, so the process can run without chasing each guest individually.
Legal guest registration. Where a reporting duty applies and is supported, UpMarket handles mandatory guest reporting inside the check-in process itself. In Spain, reporting runs through SES Hospedajes at national level, while establishments in Catalonia report through Mossos d’Esquadra, the Catalan channel for the traveller-registration duty that applies to accommodation there. In Portugal, it includes the accommodation bulletin to the UCFE (Unidade de Coordenação de Fronteiras e Estrangeiros) through SIBA. Reporting duties are set by where a property is, so confirm the channel that applies in your region.
Payments, deposits and tourist taxes. UpMarket handles the financial requirements attached to a reservation, including tourist taxes, outstanding charges and refundable deposits, as part of the automated guest journey rather than as separate administrative tasks. What can be collected automatically depends on your plan and on the payment and PMS connections in place.
Property access. UpMarket connects with supported access-control systems to manage and deliver guest access credentials. For properties operating without reception staff, that links check-in, payment requirements and arrival instructions into one coordinated process. Which locks can be driven automatically depends on the access provider you use.
2. Check-in Is Only a Small Part of the Work
Consider a property manager running 100 apartments.
Online check-in removes much of the administrative work involved in arrivals.
But what happens when guests have questions?
“Our flight is delayed. Can we arrive after midnight?”
“Where can we park?”
“What’s the Wi-Fi password?”
“Can we check out two hours later?”
“The air conditioning isn’t working.”
These aren’t unusual situations. They’re part of running an accommodation business, repeated across properties, guests and reservations every day — and traditionally handled through a combination of WhatsApp, email, OTA inboxes and telephone calls.
As the portfolio grows, so does the workload.
UpMarket’s Virtual Concierge handles guest conversations across supported channels, drawing on reservation information and property-specific knowledge to answer questions and provide relevant instructions.
Unlike fixed message templates, it can handle questions expressed in different ways, including requests that weren’t anticipated when the communication workflow was configured. Guests get help in their own language, while staff spend less time answering the same questions repeatedly.
3. How Communication, Registration, Payments and Access Connect
The value of a guest-operations platform is not one workflow in isolation. It is what happens when several have to work together.
Take a booking that requires the guest to complete their identification, sign a contract and settle a deposit before receiving the instructions needed to get in.
Handled across separate systems, each requirement is a manual checkpoint. Handled in one workflow, the guest is guided through the steps, reminders go out automatically, and the arrival instructions follow once the requirements are met. Which steps can be gated this way depends on the payment and access connections in place.
That coordination is where the operational saving comes from: fewer handovers, and less information moved between tools.
4. What Happens When Something Goes Wrong
Some interactions need more than an informative reply.
A guest who follows the access instructions and still can’t get in. A request the AI can’t resolve. A maintenance problem that should reach a different team from a reservation question.
UpMarket can create an escalation and route it to the appropriate people according to rules you configure, carrying the conversation context with it.
Both platforms offer AI-assisted guest messaging. The more useful comparison is what happens after the AI understands the request and cannot complete it. AI messaging alone is not the same as guest-operations automation: answering a question is one thing; recognising that the answer didn’t solve the problem, and getting it to the right person, is another.
5. What More Automation Actually Changes
It is tempting to start with the subscription price. The more informative figure is the total cost of running the guest operation.
How much time does your team spend answering routine questions? Chasing missing guest information? Handling access issues? Processing payments? Moving information between systems?
UpMarket addresses those activities together, so the objective is fewer interactions that need a person at all — not simply faster replies.
For an operator with a small portfolio and limited guest communication, a dedicated check-in tool can be enough. As the portfolio and the volume of guest messages grow, the balance changes, and a platform that also removes communication and coordination workload — and can add revenue per stay — tends to look different against the cost per property.
Commercial terms change, so check each provider’s current plans directly rather than relying on figures quoted in an article about them.
6. Switching From Chekin to UpMarket
Moving from Chekin to UpMarket doesn’t require changing your property management system.
UpMarket sits on top of your existing PMS, so reservations and property information flow into the guest management process — our guide to running guest communication on top of your PMS sets out what to check before you commit.
A typical transition has four steps:
- Connect your PMS. Import the properties and reservations you want UpMarket to manage.
- Configure your check-in workflows. Set up registration requirements, contracts, legal reporting, tourist taxes, deposits and access systems.
- Activate guest communication. Connect the relevant channels, configure your Virtual Concierge, and define how guest requests should be handled or escalated.
- Validate and switch over. Test the guest journey — registration, compliance reporting, payments and access — before transitioning your properties.
Once configured for a supported setup, there’s no need to run both platforms side by side for the same workflows.
7. Which Platform Should You Choose?
Chekin can be a suitable choice when your principal requirement is automating online check-in, identity collection and guest registration — and the rest of the guest relationship is manageable with the tools you already have.
If you’re looking to automate more of the work around the reservation, the decision extends well beyond check-in. UpMarket is designed to replace the check-in workflows you use Chekin for, while bringing guest communication, payments, access, upselling and operational escalations into the same platform, for supported configurations.
So under what circumstances should you choose UpMarket? Broadly: when check-in is already solved for you, and the recurring cost is the communication, coordination and exceptions around it. In that case, a platform that covers the whole journey can save more than it costs. When the check-in requirement is genuinely the only one you have, a dedicated check-in tool can be enough.
Why stop at automating check-in when you can automate the guest journey?
Comparing more than one platform? Our head-to-head with Enso Connect asks the same questions of a different architecture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is UpMarket a complete alternative to Chekin?
For supported configurations, yes. UpMarket covers the core workflows accommodation operators use Chekin for — online registration, document collection, digital contracts, legal reporting, payments, deposits and access automation — and adds AI-powered communication and operational automation. Which of those are available depends on your plan, your destination and the connections in place.
Can UpMarket replace Chekin without changing my PMS?
Yes, for supported property management systems. UpMarket sits on top of your existing PMS, so replacing your check-in solution doesn’t mean changing how you manage reservations.
Which countries and regions does UpMarket report guests to?
UpMarket’s authority integrations cover Spain and Portugal. In Spain they include SES Hospedajes for the national system and Mossos d’Esquadra for properties in Catalonia; in Portugal, the accommodation bulletin to the UCFE through SIBA. Which system applies depends on where the property is registered.
Does UpMarket handle security deposits and tourist taxes?
Yes, as part of its automated workflows, depending on your plan and the payment and PMS connections in place.
Do I need to keep Chekin if I switch to UpMarket?
For supported configurations, no. UpMarket can take over the check-in, compliance and payment workflows you currently use Chekin for, while adding guest communication and operational automation.
Replace Chekin. Automate the rest.
Everything you need to manage guest check-in, plus automation for the rest of the stay.
UpMarket brings together online registration, compliance, payments, access management, guest communication and operational automation in one platform.
Whether you’re looking to replace Chekin or to reduce the growing workload of managing guests, we’ll show you how UpMarket can simplify your operation.
Book a demo and see UpMarket in action.
