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 41 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:
Aro Digital Strategy shines , with exclusive features like Google AMP Markup and Review Widgets.
HotelRunner shines , with exclusive features like Conversion Widgets.
Side-by-side ratings based on 41 verified hotelier reviews on HTR.
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| Likelihood to Recommend |
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| Ease of Use |
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| Customer Support |
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| Value for Money |
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| Starting Price | From $1,200/mo | From $100/mo |
| Verified Reviews | 22 | 19 |
How each product ranks among Website Design vendors for different property sizes, types, and regions — based on verified reviews from hoteliers in each segment.
By Hotel Size
| Segment |
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| Small (10-24 rooms) ▾ | #14 4 reviews | #10 6 reviews |
| Mid-Size (25-74 rooms) ▾ | #9 17 reviews | #16 4 reviews |
| Large (75-199 rooms) | #18 1 reviews | #17 0 reviews |
| X-Large (200+ rooms) | — | #17 0 reviews |
By Property Type
| Segment |
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| Boutique ▾ | #13 12 reviews | #11 10 reviews |
| Luxury ▾ | #11 13 reviews | #14 4 reviews |
| Branded / Chain ▾ | #13 5 reviews | #15 2 reviews |
| Extended Stay | — | #19 0 reviews |
By Region
| Segment |
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| North America | #24 0 reviews | #17 1 reviews |
| Europe ▾ | #7 21 reviews | #16 4 reviews |
| Asia Pacific | — | #10 1 reviews |
| Middle East ▾ | — | #1 8 reviews |
When choosing a website design platform for your hotel, you need a solution that not only looks good but also drives bookings, engages guests, and integrates smoothly with your existing systems. Product A, Aró Website Design by Aro Digital Strategy, and Product B, HotelRunner’s Hotel Website, both aim to elevate your online presence. However, their capabilities, reviews, and market presence vary significantly, shaping how well they fit your hotel’s specific needs.
Both products tackle the challenge of creating attractive, functional hotel websites that convert visitors into guests. Product A emphasizes bespoke design and optimization for direct bookings, backed by 25+ years of industry experience. Product B offers a straightforward website builder focused on visual appeal and multilingual support, with a strong emphasis on ease of use. Do you prioritize advanced customization and proven results, or a simple, effective setup?
Aró Website Design specializes in crafting highly customized websites with advanced features like SEO plugins, review widgets, and a drag-and-drop page builder, all aimed at maximizing conversions. It also integrates proprietary booking engines and store vouchers, making it ideal for hotels focusing on direct bookings and branding. However, it comes with a higher price point ($1,200/month) and a single verified integration partner.
HotelRunner’s website tool is designed for quick, appealing setups, with a focus on multilingual support and seamless booking/payment integration. It boasts 17 verified partners, including major channels like Expedia and Airbnb, making it advantageous if your hotel relies heavily on channel management. Its lower entry cost ($100/month) appeals to budget-conscious hotels or those seeking rapid deployment.
The core difference lies in complexity: Aró is geared toward hotels seeking a premium, bespoke website with advanced marketing features. HotelRunner is better suited if you want a straightforward, reliable website that integrates well with your current distribution channels. Which aligns better with your hotel’s strategic goals?
If your hotel needs a highly customized website designed to boost direct bookings, enhance your brand, and showcase unique amenities, go with Aró. Its bespoke approach, powerful SEO tools, and focus on conversion make it a top choice for luxury, boutique, or city-center hotels aiming for premium online presence.
If your hotel prioritizes affordability, ease of setup, and solid integration with multiple channels, HotelRunner is the better fit. Its intuitive platform, multilingual capabilities, and broad partner network suit small to medium hotels, vacation rentals, and B&Bs wanting to streamline online management without the complexity of custom development.
For hotels that desire a tailored, high-performance website with a focus on revenue and branding, Aró provides the most comprehensive solution. Conversely, if quick deployment, affordability, and multi-channel integration are your priorities, HotelRunner is the clear choice.
Both products score highly on ease of use, with Aró earning 4.73/5 and HotelRunner slightly higher at 4.79/5. Aró’s platform features an intuitive drag-and-drop builder, and its onboarding process scores a 4.81/5, reflecting a smooth start for hotel teams familiar with website management. Its dedicated support team is consistently praised for prompt, professional assistance.
HotelRunner’s platform is similarly user-friendly, with a near-perfect rating of 4.89/5 for onboarding, and multiple reviews highlight its quick learning curve and responsive customer service. Its interface is designed to be accessible, even for hoteliers new to website creation.
Edge: HotelRunner. While both are easy to adopt, HotelRunner’s slightly higher ratings and recent review activity suggest it may be marginally easier for your team to get up and running quickly.
Aró offers 11 exclusive features, including Google AMP Markup, review widgets, customizable attractions maps, website personalization, and a full suite of SEO plugins. Its booking engine and storefront/voucher functionality are designed to increase direct bookings and guest engagement, making it a comprehensive tool for revenue-focused hotels.
HotelRunner’s standout feature is its conversion widgets, providing a quick and effective way to boost online reservations. However, it offers only one unique feature compared to Aró’s eleven. While its core functionalities are solid, it lacks some of the advanced customization and marketing tools present in Aró.
Overall, Aró’s richer feature set makes it the more versatile and capable platform for hotels seeking advanced website capabilities. Edge: Aró Website Design.
Aró’s customer support is highly rated at 4.82/5, with reviewers praising its dedicated support team and proactive communication. Many mention prompt resolution of issues and ongoing strategic guidance, especially for long-term clients.
HotelRunner’s support exceeds that, with a rating of 4.89/5 and recent reviews emphasizing its responsiveness and availability via multiple channels, including WhatsApp. Users appreciate the fast, friendly assistance that helps keep their websites and booking systems running smoothly.
Edge: HotelRunner. Slightly higher recent ratings and ongoing positive feedback on support responsiveness make HotelRunner the more reliable choice for ongoing assistance.
Despite Aró’s high customer satisfaction, HotelRunner holds a marginal edge with its 4.33/5 overall rating, compared to Aró’s 0/5 (likely a scoring anomaly). The most recent review activity favors HotelRunner, with one review in the last six months, reinforcing its current reliability and client satisfaction.
HotelRunner’s users span vacation rentals, boutique hotels, and inns, with many praising its ease of use and channel management. Aró’s reviews, though positive, are fewer and less recent, making HotelRunner the more well-rated platform based on current feedback.
Edge: HotelRunner. More recent reviews and a higher overall rating support its position as a preferred choice among hoteliers.
Aró’s platform is priced at $1,200 per month, with no free trial or freemium options. This premium cost reflects its bespoke design, advanced features, and high level of customization, suitable for hotels seeking a tailored online presence.
HotelRunner offers a significantly lower base price of $100 per month, with no trial available. Its budget-friendly model suits small to medium hotels that need a reliable website without extensive customization.
If your hotel has a larger budget and requires a premium, custom-built website, Aró’s cost is justified. For hotels seeking a cost-effective, straightforward solution, HotelRunner delivers solid value.
Hotels that should consider Aró are those focusing on attracting high-end guests through a refined online presence. Here are some profiles:
Not ideal if your hotel:
Hotels best suited for HotelRunner are those looking for a reliable, easy-to-manage web solution with broad channel support. Consider:
Not ideal if your hotel:
Aró Website Design is a comprehensive, bespoke website platform built for hotels aiming for a high-end, conversion-focused online presence. Its extensive features, strategic approach, and proven industry experience make it ideal for luxury and boutique hotels seeking to differentiate themselves online.
HotelRunner, by contrast, offers a straightforward, affordable website builder with excellent channel integration and multilingual support. It’s perfect for small to medium-sized hotels, vacation rentals, or properties seeking a fast, reliable web solution that keeps costs low and management simple.
Choose Aró if your hotel requires a premium site with advanced marketing tools, and your budget allows for a tailored approach. Opt for HotelRunner if your goal is a cost-effective, easy-to-use website that integrates seamlessly with your distribution channels.
In conclusion, for hotels prioritizing customization, unique branding, and a deeper marketing suite, Aró is the stronger choice. If speed, simplicity, and reliable integration are more important, HotelRunner provides a highly rated platform that meets those needs effectively.
Website Design pricing is rarely straightforward. Here is what we know from each vendor's public pricing data. Always request a custom quote for your property size.
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| Starting Price | From $1,200/mo | From $100/mo |
According to HTR's product database, Aró Website Design and HotelRunner Hotel Website share 8 features. Here are the key differences — features one has that the other lacks.
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| Conversion Widgets | ||
| Customizable Attractions Maps | ||
| Google AMP Markup | ||
| Popups & Alerts | ||
| Review Widgets | ||
| Storefront/Voucher Functionality | ||
| Website Personalization |
Ranks higher for
Unique capabilities
Ranks higher for
Unique capabilities
Where the ratings diverge most
It depends on your requirements. Aró Website Design and HotelRunner Hotel Website share many core Website Design features, but each has unique capabilities. Aró Website Design offers 1 verified integration partners, while HotelRunner Hotel Website offers 17. Review the feature comparison above to see where they differ before switching.
Small hotels should prioritize ease of use and fast onboarding. HotelRunner Hotel Website leads in ease of use at 4.8/5 vs 4.7/5. 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.
Aró Website Design: No. HotelRunner Hotel Website: No. Neither product currently offers a free tier. Most Website Design 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. Aro Digital Strategy has an HT Score of 0 and HotelRunner has 0. 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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