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 53 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:
Backyou.io shines in ease of use and customer support , with exclusive features like Meeting Room Utilization & KPI Reporting and Mobile Sales CRM.
Explara shines .
Side-by-side ratings based on 53 verified hotelier reviews on HTR.
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| Starting Price | From $300/mo | Contact sales |
| Verified Reviews | 53 | 0 |
After analyzing 53 verified reviews, Backyou.io users most value its ease of use, customizable quotes, statistics and reporting, while Explara users highlight . Click any theme to see what reviewers say.
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Ease of Use
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Customizable Quotes
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Statistics and Reporting
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Support Responsiveness
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Job Descriptions
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How each product ranks among Hotel Sales Software 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) ▾ | #3 8 reviews | — |
| Mid-Size (25-74 rooms) ▾ | #5 32 reviews | — |
| Large (75-199 rooms) | #12 0 reviews | — |
| X-Large (200+ rooms) ▾ | #6 5 reviews | — |
By Property Type
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| Boutique ▾ | #8 12 reviews | — |
| Luxury ▾ | #8 8 reviews | — |
| Branded / Chain ▾ | #7 20 reviews | — |
| Extended Stay | #9 0 reviews | — |
By Region
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| North America | #11 3 reviews | — |
| Europe ▾ | #4 38 reviews | — |
| Asia Pacific | #7 2 reviews | — |
Choosing between Backyou by Backyou.io and Explara by Explara hinges on your hotel’s specific sales and event management needs. Both products aim to streamline event and group booking processes, but Backyou.io is tailored for hospitality sales teams focusing on booking management, while Explara caters more broadly to event organizers handling a variety of event types. The core difference is their target audience and functionality scope. Are you seeking a hotel-centric sales platform or a versatile event management system?
Backyou.io is designed specifically for hotels seeking to improve their group and event sales processes. It centralizes requests, automates proposals, and offers robust CRM and reporting tools, making it ideal for property sales teams aiming to boost revenue and efficiency. Explara, on the other hand, is a cloud-based event platform that handles ticketing, registration, and post-event engagement, suited for organizers managing diverse event formats beyond hotel groups.
While Backyou.io has a dedicated focus on hospitality with 47 recent reviews and an average score of 85, Explara hasn't accumulated recent hotel-specific feedback or review data, making Backyou the more validated choice for hotel sales teams. Does your hotel need a specialized sales tool, or are you exploring a broader event platform?
If your hotel needs a dedicated platform to streamline group and meetings sales, Backyou.io is the clear choice. Its features like meeting room occupancy, lead time analysis, pipeline CRM, and automated workflows directly support hotel sales operations, especially if your primary goal is increasing group booking conversions.
If you require a comprehensive event platform that manages everything from ticketing to post-event surveys, Explara might seem appealing. However, its lack of recent hotel-specific reviews and integrations makes it less reliable for hotel sales teams focused on group reservations. For hotels prioritizing sales efficiency and revenue growth, Backyou.io is the more appropriate solution.
Backyou.io scores a 4.98 out of 5 for ease of use, with users highlighting its intuitive interface, straightforward quote management, and efficient workflow automation. Its onboarding process also receives a high rating of 4.86, making it accessible for hotel teams with varying tech familiarity.
Explara’s ease of use remains unverified due to the absence of recent reviews or ratings, leaving its user experience uncertain. For hotel teams seeking a proven, user-friendly platform with a high satisfaction record, Edge: Backyou.io.
Backyou.io offers 20 unique features tailored for hotel sales, including meeting room occupancy, demand pace analysis, dashboard reporting, BEO management, mobile CRM, and workflow automations. Its feature set directly addresses the complexities of managing group bookings, contracts, and revenue tracking.
Explara provides a unified event management platform but lacks the specialized hotel-focused features that Backyou.io offers. It is more suited for general event organizers rather than hotel sales teams. With a feature advantage and hotel-aligned functions, Edge: Backyou.io.
Backyou.io boasts a 4.94 out of 5 support rating, with reviews praising its responsiveness, ease of onboarding, and ongoing assistance. One review states, "The support team was quick to adapt to our needs and provided dedicated help, which made implementation smooth."
Explara’s support and onboarding ratings are unverified due to no recent reviews, making it difficult to gauge support quality. Given Backyou.io’s proven track record and recent positive feedback, Edge: Backyou.io.
Backyou.io integrates with eight verified partners, including Stayntouch, Mews, Opera Cloud, and Salesforce, enabling seamless data flow across systems used in hospitality. Explara, meanwhile, has no verified integrations, limiting its ability to connect with existing hotel systems.
For hotels seeking a connected, streamlined workflow, Backyou.io’s integrations offer a significant advantage. Edge: Backyou.io.
Backyou.io has a strong review base with 47 reviews, 11 of which are recent, and consistently high ratings in ease of use, support, and value. Hotels across segments, particularly branded hotels and city center properties, rate it highly, with a 98% likelihood of recommendation.
Explara lacks recent hotel-specific reviews or ratings, making it impossible to determine hotel satisfaction levels. Based on available data, Backyou.io clearly has the higher hotel-rated reputation.
Backyou.io’s pricing starts at $300 per month, with no free tier or trial, reflecting its enterprise focus. Explara does not publicly disclose pricing and offers a variety of solutions, often tailored to event organizers, which may involve custom quotes.
For hotels seeking transparent, predictable pricing for a dedicated sales platform, Backyou.io’s flat-rate model offers clarity.
Not ideal if you:
Edge: Hotels that want a dedicated, sales-focused platform with automation and integrations.
Not ideal if you:
Edge: Not applicable for hotel-specific sales but suitable for hotels acting as event organizers or hosts.
Backyou.io and Explara serve vastly different markets, with Backyou.io tailored to hotel sales teams managing groups and events. Its 85 HTR score, recent reviews, and extensive features make it a dependable choice for hospitality professionals looking to streamline group sales. Explara is more suited for event organizers handling external events, not specifically designed for hotel sales operations.
Choose Backyou.io if your hotel aims to grow its group booking revenue, automate workflows, and integrate seamlessly with property systems. Explara may be helpful if your hotel functions as an external event organizer or hosts large public events but isn't ideal for direct sales management.
In conclusion, for your hotel’s sales and group management needs, Backyou.io outperforms Explara by a significant margin—more recent reviews, better support, deeper integrations, and hotel-centric features make it the clear choice.
Hotel Sales Software 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 $300/mo | — |
According to HTR's product database, Backyou and Explara share 0 features. Here are the key differences — features one has that the other lacks.
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| Dashboard | ||
| Demand Pace Analysis | ||
| Lead Time Analysis | ||
| Meeting Room Occupancy | ||
| Meeting Room Utilization & KPI Reporting | ||
| Sales Conversion Analytics |
Showing top differences. 8 more features differ between these products.
What hoteliers love
BackYou’s intuitive interface and ease of navigation receive numerous positive mentions. These aspects contribute significantly to time savings and us... BackYou’s intuitive interface and ease of navigation receive numerous positive mentions. These aspects contribute significantly to time savings and user satisfaction. The software is often described as user-friendly and straightforward.
Users appreciate the robust quote customization options which allow personalized branding and design. This feature is noted for enhancing professional... Users appreciate the robust quote customization options which allow personalized branding and design. This feature is noted for enhancing professional communication with clients. However, additional features to better match brand identity have been suggested.
There is notable praise for the tool's ability to generate insightful reports and statistics, crucial for decision-making and tracking performance. A... There is notable praise for the tool's ability to generate insightful reports and statistics, crucial for decision-making and tracking performance. A few users pointed out discrepancies and improvement opportunities in report detail and accuracy.
Where hoteliers push back
Job description management is an aspect where BackYou could improve its flexibility. Users indicate difficulties and seek more dynamic creation and mo... Job description management is an aspect where BackYou could improve its flexibility. Users indicate difficulties and seek more dynamic creation and modification capabilities.
Unique capabilities
Where the ratings diverge most
It depends on your requirements. Backyou and Explara share many core Hotel Sales Software features, but each has unique capabilities. Backyou offers 8 verified integration partners, while Explara offers 0. Review the feature comparison above to see where they differ before switching.
Small hotels should prioritize ease of use and fast onboarding. Backyou leads in ease of use at 5.0/5 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.
Backyou: No. Explara: No. Neither product currently offers a free tier. Most Hotel Sales Software 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. Backyou.io has an HT Score of 85 and Explara 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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