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:
Antfor 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, Antfor 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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Ease of Use
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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
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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
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| Boutique ▾ | — | #21 42 reviews |
| Luxury ▾ | — | #21 34 reviews |
| Branded / Chain ▾ | — | #17 33 reviews |
| Extended Stay ▾ | — | #20 9 reviews |
By Region
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| North America ▾ | — | #29 6 reviews |
| Europe ▾ | — | #10 79 reviews |
| Middle East | — | #15 2 reviews |
When choosing a property management system (PMS), your hotel needs a solution that improves operations, enhances guest experiences, and integrates smoothly with your existing tech stack. Avalon by Antfor and protel PMS by Planet both aim to meet these goals, but they differ significantly in maturity, features, and user feedback. Avalon is an AI-driven platform with no recent reviews, whereas protel boasts over 100 reviews in the last six months, making it the more reliable choice today. Which of these platforms will best serve your hotel?
Avalon by Antfor positions itself as a cutting-edge AI-driven review and recommendation platform designed to optimize customer satisfaction and streamline decision-making. However, with zero reviews and no recent user feedback, Avalon remains an untested option for your hotel, especially compared to protel, which has over 105 recent reviews and a proven track record.
Protel PMS offers a comprehensive cloud-native platform with extensive integration capabilities, making it a mature, battle-tested solution. Avalon’s AI features are promising but lack real-world validation at this point, leaving you to decide whether innovation without proof is worth the risk.
If your hotel needs a widely adopted, feature-rich PMS with proven integrations and ongoing support, protel is the clear choice. It caters effectively to medium and large properties, especially those that prioritize automation, multi-property management, and extensive third-party integrations.
Avalon, on the other hand, might appeal to hotels seeking a futuristic, AI-centric approach that promises to analyze reviews and generate actionable insights. But without recent reviews or demonstrated effectiveness, Avalon is better suited for experimental or very small hotels willing to test new tech before fully committing. For most hotels aiming for stability and proven benefits, protel is the safer pick.
Protel scores a 4.12 out of 5 for ease of use, with many reviewers praising its intuitive interface, quick onboarding, and straightforward navigation. Despite some mention of bugs and slow support responses, users generally find it accessible and efficient for daily operations. The onboarding process is rated 3.79 out of 5, indicating room for improvement but still better than Avalon, which has zero reviews to gauge user experience.
Avalon’s lack of user feedback makes it impossible to determine its usability. Given the absence of concrete reviews, we must conclude that Avalon’s user-friendliness is unproven, while protel’s user ratings clearly favor it.
Edge: protel PMS
Protel offers over 46 features, including integrated revenue management, multi-currency and multi-lingual support, booking engine, guest CRM, online support, and shift planning. These features are well-documented and highly valued by users, especially in complex, multi-property settings.
Avalon’s features are primarily centered around AI review analysis and recommendations, with no detailed list of functional modules or integrations available. This makes protel the more comprehensive platform, especially for hotels that need a full suite of operational tools.
Edge: protel PMS
Protel’s customer support is rated at 3.95 out of 5, with reviews acknowledging helpful responses but also citing issues like slow response times and occasional bugs. Hotel managers appreciate the support team’s multilingual expertise and their ability to resolve most issues efficiently, especially for small to mid-sized hotels.
Avalon offers no recent reviews or support ratings, leaving its support quality uncertain. Given the importance of reliable support in PMS, protel’s consistent feedback and active user engagement make it the safer choice.
Edge: protel PMS
Protel boasts over 195 verified integrations, including popular partners like SiteMinder, RateGain, Duetto, and others, offering extensive connectivity across the hospitality tech ecosystem. Many hotels rely on these integrations to automate revenue management, distribution, and guest communication.
Avalon has no publicly listed integrations or ecosystem partnerships, suggesting it is still developing this aspect. For hotels that depend on a connected tech environment, protel’s large integration ecosystem is a decisive advantage.
Edge: protel PMS
With over 105 recent reviews, protel scores an average of 4.11 out of 5, with many users emphasizing its robust functionality, ease of use, and reliable support. Independent hotels rate it 4.5/5, citing its ease of customization and automation features as key benefits.
Avalon, with no recent reviews, cannot be rated by hoteliers. Its lack of proven user satisfaction puts it at a disadvantage, especially for hotels seeking validated, high-rated solutions.
Edge: protel PMS
Avalon’s pricing is not publicly available, and it does not offer a trial or transparent fee structure, making budgeting difficult. Its value proposition remains unquantified without concrete pricing or demo options.
Protel charges a flat $500 monthly fee, with no implementation costs or trial options. This transparent pricing, coupled with a mature product, provides clear value for hotels looking to plan their budgets effectively.
Protel PMS is a mature, well-supported platform with extensive features, proven integrations, and high user ratings. It’s suitable for hotels seeking stability, scalability, and a proven ecosystem, especially in multi-property environments.
Avalon offers a promising AI-driven approach but lacks recent validation and practical features, making it more suitable for experimental hotels or those with minimal operational needs. Its untested status means most hotels should lean toward protel for their core management needs.
If your hotel values proven performance and broad industry acceptance, choose protel. If you’re eager to explore AI and review analytics without critical operational dependencies, Avalon might be worth considering—but only as a supplement, not a replacement.
According to HTR's product database, Avalon and protel PMS (by Planet) share 0 features. Here are the key differences — features one has that the other lacks.
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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. Avalon and protel PMS (by Planet) share many core Property Management Systems features, but each has unique capabilities. Avalon offers 14 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.
Avalon: 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. Antfor 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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