What SHS S.A. does

SHS S.A., operating under the brand Swiss Hotel Software, is a privately held Swiss software vendor founded in 1987 and headquartered in Lutry, Switzerland. The company develops the Visual suite, a vertically integrated platform of property management and point-of-sale solutions targeting hotels and restaurants exclusively in the Swiss market. Its core product, Visual Front-Office, is a Property Management System handling reservations, check-in/check-out, billing, and automated regulatory reporting (HESTA statistics and cantonal police bulletins for Neuchâtel, Geneva, and Fribourg). The platform is extended by Visual POS and Visual MobilePOS for restaurant and table-side ordering, Visual HouseKeeper for tablet-based housekeeping coordination, Visual Interfaces for two-way integration with channel managers (HotelSpider, D-Edge, SiteMinder, HotelPartner, GlobeRes, GHIX, Kognitiv), PBX, Pay-TV, and key management systems, Visual e-Checkin for pre-arrival guest registration, and My Visual for bespoke customer development.

The company employs between 11 and 50 people and operates with a direct sales motion, with no resellers, online self-service pricing, or disclosed marketing spend beyond its own product website and a phone/hotline support channel. Revenue mechanics are subscription-based software licensing and customization services, with pricing conducted on a contact basis. The business is bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding rounds, acquisitions, parent company, or institutional investors, reflecting a long-tenured, cash-flowing small incumbent rather than a venture-backed growth company. Over 30 years of continuous operation, founded and run by hoteliers, has produced domain-specific expertise in Swiss hospitality operations and regulatory workflows, which constitutes the company's primary commercial differentiator.

Name

SHS S.A.

Legal name

SHS SA

Website

https://shs.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SHS S.A. (Swiss Hotel Software), founded 1987 and headquartered in Lutry, Switzerland, develops the Visual suite of property management and point-of-sale software exclusively for hotels and restaurants in the Swiss market.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lutry

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software Licensing and Subscriptions: Property management system (PMS) and point-of-sale software licensing for hotels and restaurants, likely with annual or recurring subscription model based on the service/support structure described.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

SHS S.A. (Swiss Hotel Software) develops and sells the Visual suite, a software platform consisting of Visual Front-Office (a property management system for hotels) and Visual POS (a point-of-sale solution for restaurants), along with complementary modules such as Visual HouseKeeper, Visual Interfaces, My Visual, Visual e-Checkin, and Visual MobilePOS. The suite is designed for hotels, hostels, serviced apartments, and food & beverage establishments in Switzerland and French-speaking Europe.

Product overview

SHS S.A. (Swiss Hotel Software) offers Visual, a unified Property Management System (PMS) platform for hotels and restaurants, comprising a core Front-Office PMS product supplemented by integrated modules. The product suite includes Visual POS (restaurant point-of-sale), Visual HouseKeeper (housekeeping and maintenance), Visual Interfaces (channel managers and third-party integrations), My Visual (customization services), and Visual e-Checkin (pre-arrival guest registration). The architecture follows a platform-plus-modules model where Visual Front-Office serves as the central hub, with additional modules extending functionality for specific operational needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Visual Front-Office: PMS (Property Management System) combining simplicity of use and efficiency for hotel management.
• Visual POS
• Visual HouseKeeper
• Visual Interfaces
• My Visual
• Visual e-check-in

Products and services

• Visual Front-Office A property management system (PMS) for hotels, hostels, and serviced apartments that centralises reservations, check-in/check-out, guest profiles, invoicing, and back-office operations. Designed for Swiss and French-speaking hospitality establishments.
• Visual POS A touchscreen point-of-sale solution for restaurants and food & beverage operations, integrated with Visual Front-Office. Manages order taking, billing, table management, and supports Addimat intelligent key-based user switching for waiter/operator identification.
• Visual HouseKeeper A housekeeping staff management and tracking tool designed for hotel operations. Runs on tablet-based, portable, glove-compatible devices for room attendants, enabling real-time status updates and coordination with Visual Front-Office.
• Visual Interfaces A two-way channel manager integration module connecting Visual Front-Office with online booking platforms (Booking.com, Expedia, Hotel.de, HRS, TripAdvisor, Feratel, and others) to synchronise room availability, rates, and reservations in real time.
• My Visual A customisation service providing clients with personalised developments, specific features, and bespoke adjustments to the Visual suite to match the unique needs of each hotel or restaurant establishment.
• Visual e-Checkin An electronic pre-arrival check-in solution that allows guests to complete check-in online before arrival, including guest registration card validation and integration with cantonal authorities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Automated regulatory reporting to HESTA and cantonal authorities (Neuchâtel, Geneva, Fribourg)
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration16 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• HotelSpidercoreTechnology or IntegrationChannel manager integration providing two-way synchronization of reservations and availability data between Visual Front-Office PMS and HotelSpider platform.
• D-EdgecoreTechnology or IntegrationChannel manager integration providing two-way connectivity for hotel distribution management.
• SiteMindercoreTechnology or IntegrationChannel manager integration enabling two-way synchronization with SiteMinder's hotel booking and distribution platform.
• HotelPartnercoreTechnology or IntegrationChannel manager integration for hotel revenue management and distribution.
• GlobeRescoreTechnology or IntegrationChannel manager integration providing two-way connectivity for reservation management.
• GHIXcoreTechnology or IntegrationChannel manager integration for hotel distribution connectivity.
• KognitivcoreTechnology or IntegrationChannel manager integration for hotel guest loyalty and revenue optimization.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• HotelKit: Swiss-headquartered hotel operations platform covering housekeeping, maintenance, guest requests, and internal communication. Direct peer to SHS's Visual HouseKeeper module, especially in the Swiss DACH market.
• Cloudbeds: Cloud-based PMS for independent hotels, hostels, and B&Bs, bundled with channel manager and booking engine functionality. Directly comparable to SHS's integrated PMS + channel manager approach for independent-hotel customers.
• Stayntouch: Cloud-based PMS focused on hotels with mobile-first operations and integrations to POS and guest-experience systems. Comparable to SHS's tablet-centric, cloud-enabled Visual product suite.
• Protel: Established European hotel PMS vendor serving independent hotels and chains with on-premise and cloud deployments. Closely aligned with SHS in targeting mid-market hotels with operations-management software.
• Toast: Restaurant-focused POS and operations platform combining hardware, software, and payments for full-service restaurants. Comparable to SHS's Visual POS in addressing restaurant cash register and order-management workflows.
• TouchBistro: iPad-based point-of-sale system for restaurants with table-side ordering, floor plan management, and integrations. Direct peer to Visual POS for the touchscreen restaurant cash register use case.
• Lightspeed Restaurant: Cloud point-of-sale platform for restaurants and hospitality with table management, ordering, and integrated payments. Direct competitor to SHS's Visual POS and Visual MobilePOS on the restaurant side of the business.
• HotelTime Solutions: Hotel property management system with integrated POS, channel manager, and back-office tools for independent hotels and small chains. Direct peer in the European mid-market hotel software segment.
• Mews: Cloud-native property management system serving hotels, hostels, and serviced apartments with integrated POS, check-in, and payments. Closest comparable to SHS's Visual Front-Office in product scope but with a multi-tenant cloud delivery model and global footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Oracle OPERA (Micros): Market-leading enterprise hotel PMS within Oracle's hospitality suite, serving large chains and integrated resorts. Broader incumbent that competes with SHS at the higher end of the Swiss hotel market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SHS S.A.