The project dashboard is a free tool that is only available to verified hoteliers to make adopting new technology easier by streamlining their research and simplifying their communication workflow.
TLDR
We analyzed 108 verified hotelier reviews, compared feature sets, pricing, and real-world case studies to break down where each platform delivers. The right choice depends on your property type and priorities:
Arion shines .
Planet shines in ease of use and customer support — especially for brand properties (5.0/5) , with exclusive features like On premise and Revenue management module.
Side-by-side ratings based on 108 verified hotelier reviews on HTR.
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| Starting Price | Contact sales | From $500/mo |
| Verified Reviews | 0 | 108 |
After analyzing 108 verified reviews, Arion users most value its , while Planet users highlight functionality and features, ease of use, multi-property management. Click any theme to see what reviewers say.
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Functionality and Features
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Ease of Use
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Multi-property Management
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Support Issues
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System Performance and Reliability
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How each product ranks among Property Management Systems vendors for different property sizes, types, and regions — based on verified reviews from hoteliers in each segment.
By Hotel Size
| Segment | Arion |
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|---|---|---|
| Small (10-24 rooms) ▾ | — | #27 32 reviews |
| Mid-Size (25-74 rooms) ▾ | — | #15 50 reviews |
| Large (75-199 rooms) ▾ | — | #15 10 reviews |
| X-Large (200+ rooms) | — | #17 3 reviews |
By Property Type
| Segment | Arion |
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| Boutique ▾ | — | #21 42 reviews |
| Luxury ▾ | — | #21 34 reviews |
| Branded / Chain ▾ | — | #17 33 reviews |
| Extended Stay ▾ | — | #20 9 reviews |
By Region
| Segment | Arion |
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| North America ▾ | — | #29 6 reviews |
| Europe ▾ | — | #10 79 reviews |
| Middle East | — | #15 2 reviews |
Choosing the right Property Management System (PMS) is crucial for your hotel’s operational efficiency, guest satisfaction, and revenue growth. You’re evaluating Arion by Arion and protel PMS by Planet, both designed to streamline hotel management but with notably different offerings. Your decision hinges on understanding their core differences, strengths, and weaknesses within your specific hotel environment.
Arion promises AI-driven feedback management and review insights but lacks a substantial user base or recent reviews. Conversely, Planet boasts a robust, well-reviewed platform with extensive integrations and a large, recent review count. Is your hotel better served by a newer, AI-focused tool or a proven, feature-rich PMS with broad industry adoption?
Arion aims to enhance customer engagement through review automation and AI-based recommendations, primarily focusing on reputation management. However, it has no recent reviews or ratings, making it difficult to gauge ongoing performance or user satisfaction.
Planet, with over 105 recent reviews and an overall rating of 4.11 out of 5, clearly demonstrates its market presence. Hotel managers appreciate its reliability, extensive features, and seamless integrations, though some criticize slow support and high costs. Given the recent reviews, Planet’s user feedback is more current and trustworthy. Do you prioritize AI-driven review insights or a comprehensive property management platform?
If your hotel needs a system centered on reputation management, review aggregation, and AI-powered insights, Arion might seem appealing. But without recent customer feedback or a sizable user base, this solution lacks proven effectiveness for day-to-day PMS needs.
For hotels seeking a full-fledged, reliable PMS with broad industry support and extensive features, Planet is the clear choice. Its established presence, detailed integrations, and positive recent reviews make it suitable for properties of various sizes, especially those looking to automate bookings, payments, and guest communication. Is your primary goal reputation monitoring or comprehensive hotel management?
Arion’s interface and onboarding details are unavailable, and no reviews speak to its usability. Its lack of user feedback makes assessing ease of use impossible.
Planet, rated 4.12 out of 5 for ease of use based on recent reviews, is considered user-friendly by hoteliers. Users highlight its intuitive dashboard, straightforward workflows, and helpful onboarding process. Support response times are generally good but could improve. Edge: Planet.
Arion’s focus is on AI review summaries and recommendation tools, but it offers no detailed list of features or integrations, and no proprietary features are highlighted.
Planet delivers 46 unique features, including a booking engine, multi-currency support, revenue management, guest profiles, online support, integrated CRS, and digital registration. Its extensive ecosystem supports automation and customization, enabling hotels to optimize operations. Edge: Planet.
Arion provides no data on customer support, and with no current reviews, support quality remains unknown.
Planet’s reviews note an overall 3.95 out of 5 for support, with many users praising quick, helpful responses but some citing slow support during busy periods. Its 24/7 multilingual support is valued, especially for global properties. Edge: Planet.
Arion offers no verified integrations, indicating a likely limited or nonexistent ecosystem.
Planet boasts over 195 verified integrations, including popular systems like RMS, CRM, channel managers, and payment gateways. Its open API and extensive ecosystem simplify connectivity with third-party tools, boosting operational flexibility. Edge: Planet.
Arion has no reviews or ratings, making assessment impossible.
Planet’s recent reviews average 4.11/5, with independent hotels rating it slightly higher at 4.5/5. Small to mid-sized hotels, especially boutique and city-center properties, appreciate its reliability and feature set. Larger chains are more critical of support delays but still rate it favorably overall. Given the recent review activity, Planet’s ratings are more reflective of current user sentiment. Edge: Planet.
Arion’s pricing information is unavailable, and no free trial or demo details are provided.
Planet charges approximately $500 per month, with no mention of implementation fees or discounts. The platform’s pricing reflects its extensive feature set and integration ecosystem, but may be high for small or budget-conscious hotels. Is budget a concern, or are you seeking a comprehensive solution regardless of cost?
The core difference: Arion is a specialized review and feedback tool, while Planet offers a comprehensive, multi-feature PMS platform backed by extensive integrations.
If your hotel’s focus is on reputation management, guest reviews, and AI-driven insights, Arion might suit narrow needs—though its lack of current reviews is a concern. For hotels seeking a proven, scalable PMS with broad functionality, automation, and a large ecosystem, Planet is the clear choice due to its recent positive reviews and extensive capabilities.
Choose Arion if reputation insights are your top priority and you already have a solid operational system. But if you need an all-in-one PMS that can grow with your hotel, support your daily operations, and integrate with other tools, Planet is the better option by far.
In conclusion, the decision largely depends on your hotel’s immediate priorities. For reputation-focused hotels, especially those wanting to delve into AI review management, Arion could be appealing—but the lack of recent data makes it risky. For most hotels seeking a reliable, scalable, and feature-rich PMS—particularly those with multi-property operations—Planet’s large, recent review base affirms its position as the superior choice.
According to HTR's product database, Arion and protel PMS (by Planet) share 0 features. Here are the key differences — features one has that the other lacks.
| Feature | Arion |
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| Booking Engine | ||
| Cloud based | ||
| Multi-currency | ||
| Multi-lingual | ||
| On premise | ||
| Revenue management module |
Showing top differences. 34 more features differ between these products.
We analyzed 4 verified case studies to compare what hotels actually achieve with each platform across four key business objectives.
No published case study for this goal yet.
"It feels like a partnership, not a product. Our feedback is always heard and acted on. We’re working together for the shared goal of great guest service."
What hoteliers love
Users appreciate Protel's extensive features for managing single properties, with comprehensive tools for reporting, room plans, and rate management.... Users appreciate Protel's extensive features for managing single properties, with comprehensive tools for reporting, room plans, and rate management. However, many reviews expressed disappointment that a lot of these functionalities are incomplete, buggy, or missing entirely when dealing with more complex setups or multi-property environments. Custom reports and seamless integration with other tools are also highlighted as beneficial.
The user interface is generally praised for being intuitive and easy to navigate. Many users found Protel Air particularly user-friendly and noted the... The user interface is generally praised for being intuitive and easy to navigate. Many users found Protel Air particularly user-friendly and noted the efficiency in managing daily operations. However, certain updates have made certain functions more complex and less intuitive than before.
Protel's performance in catering to multi-property environments received mixed feedback. While some users praised its organizational tools and interfa... Protel's performance in catering to multi-property environments received mixed feedback. While some users praised its organizational tools and interfaces, many found the system frustratingly limited for multi-location setups, highlighting significant bugs and reduced functionalities.
Where hoteliers push back
Customer support is a consistent area of concern. Reviews mentioned long waiting times for support requests, lack of phone availability, and poor resp... Customer support is a consistent area of concern. Reviews mentioned long waiting times for support requests, lack of phone availability, and poor response times after the acquisition by Planet. Users recommend improving the speed and reliability of customer service.
Users are generally happy with the level of customization available in Protel, allowing them to adapt the system to better fit their specific needs. H... Users are generally happy with the level of customization available in Protel, allowing them to adapt the system to better fit their specific needs. However, this flexibility often comes at a high cost, and some required features are only available through paid custom development.
Unique capabilities
Where the ratings diverge most
It depends on your requirements. Arion and protel PMS (by Planet) share many core Property Management Systems features, but each has unique capabilities. Arion offers 0 verified integration partners, while protel PMS (by Planet) offers 194. Review the feature comparison above to see where they differ before switching.
Small hotels should prioritize ease of use and fast onboarding. protel PMS (by Planet) leads in ease of use at 4.1/5 vs 0.0/5. Look for transparent pricing and a trial or demo option. Filter reviews on each product page by property size to hear from hotels like yours.
Arion: No. protel PMS (by Planet): No. Neither product currently offers a free tier. Most Property Management Systems vendors offer demos or trials — request one from each to evaluate before committing.
The HT Score is a composite ranking that considers 4 criteria groups and over a dozen variables to help hoteliers objectively compare hotel technology products. Arion has an HT Score of 0 and Planet has 33. Here is how the score is calculated.
| Criteria Group | Weight | What It Measures |
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| Customer Ratings & Reviews |
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How highly do users recommend this product? Ratings Score, Review Volume, Share of Voice, Review Depth, Review Recency, Success Stories ▾ The most heavily weighted factor. Analyzes average satisfaction ratings (likelihood to recommend, ease of use, support, ROI), total review count relative to category peers, review recency (at least 20 reviews in the trailing 6 months), and share of voice across unique hotel clients to detect selection bias. |
| Partner Ecosystem |
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How highly do tech partners recommend this company? Partner Recommendations, Integration Quantity, Integration Quality ▾ Evaluates partner recommendations as expert votes of confidence, the number of verified integrations, and ecosystem quality — the average HT Scores of integration partners. Products with higher-quality integration ecosystems are more likely to deliver a connected tech stack. |
| Customer Centricity |
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How customer-centric is this organization? Certified Support, Review Consistency, Profile Completeness ▾ Assesses whether the company has earned HTR Customer Support Certification, maintains consistent review collection over time (an indicator of feedback-driven culture), and keeps product profiles complete with capabilities, screenshots, pricing, and features. |
| Reach, Staying Power & Resources |
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How extensive is this company's reach and resourcing? Geographic Reach, Staying Power, Company Resources, Trending Score ▾ Measures global presence (countries and regions served), years in business as a stability proxy, team headcount as a resource proxy, and a trending score based on trailing-twelve-month buyer inquiries, reviews, partner recommendations, and press activity. |
Customer ratings and reviews are by far the most important factor in the HT Score algorithm. HTR does not accept payment for higher rankings. All reviews are verified — only hotel industry practitioners with confirmed affiliations can submit ratings. View full HT Score methodology →
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