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 44 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:
ChargeAutomation shines in ease of use and customer support , with exclusive features like GlobalPayments (Credit Card Processing) and Lobby Kiosk.
PassportScan shines .
Side-by-side ratings based on 44 verified hotelier reviews on HTR.
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| Starting Price | From $200/mo | Contact sales |
| Verified Reviews | 44 | 0 |
After analyzing 44 verified reviews, ChargeAutomation users most value its payment processing, contactless check-in, customer support, while PassportScan users highlight . Click any theme to see what reviewers say.
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Payment Processing
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Contactless Check-in
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Customer Support
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Upselling Features
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Customization Limitations
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PMS Integration
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Customer Reviews
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How each product ranks among Contactless Check-in 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) ▾ | #6 13 reviews | — |
| Mid-Size (25-74 rooms) ▾ | #5 16 reviews | — |
| Large (75-199 rooms) ▾ | #6 5 reviews | — |
| X-Large (200+ rooms) | #13 1 reviews | — |
By Property Type
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| Boutique ▾ | #6 9 reviews | — |
| Luxury ▾ | #10 6 reviews | — |
| Branded / Chain | #9 4 reviews | — |
| Extended Stay ▾ | #3 18 reviews | — |
By Region
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| North America ▾ | #4 19 reviews | — |
| Europe ▾ | #6 20 reviews | — |
| Asia Pacific | #5 2 reviews | — |
Choosing between ChargeAutomation’s Online Check-in and PassportScan Cloud hinges on your hotel’s specific needs for contactless guest onboarding. ChargeAutomation offers a comprehensive, feature-rich platform with robust automation and upselling capabilities, while PassportScan focuses on streamlining guest registration through digital forms and document uploads. Your decision should reflect whether you prioritize extensive automation and integrations or a straightforward, document-focused check-in process.
Given the review data and recent performance, ChargeAutomation emerges as the clearer choice. Its higher review count, recent positive feedback, and broader feature set make it the more reliable option for hoteliers seeking a complete contactless solution.
ChargeAutomation and PassportScan both aim to simplify contactless check-in, but they do so with differing approaches. ChargeAutomation provides an all-in-one platform automating ID verification, payments, upselling, and guest portal functions, making it suitable for hotels seeking comprehensive operational improvements. PassportScan, by contrast, offers a digital registration process with easy document uploads, ideal for properties prioritizing quick pre-arrival registration.
While PassportScan’s simplicity appeals, ChargeAutomation’s extensive feature set—30 exclusive features—means it addresses a wider range of hotel needs. Do you want an all-in-one platform capable of automating multiple processes or a straightforward digital form solution? The choice depends on your operational priorities.
If your hotel needs a robust, integrated contactless check-in with automation for IDs, payments, upselling, and PMS integration, go with ChargeAutomation. Its 42 reviews, a 4.9/5 customer support rating, and a 98% likelihood to recommend showcase its reliability and popularity among hoteliers.
If your primary focus is a simple, fast pre-arrival registration process that minimizes paperwork without requiring extensive automation, PassportScan might suit you better. However, its lack of recent reviews and no available ratings or feature details make it less convincing for hotels seeking proven solutions.
ChargeAutomation boasts a high ease-of-use rating of 4.71/5, with many reviewers praising its intuitive interface, quick onboarding, and helpful support staff. Users mention that the platform is "powerful yet extremely user-friendly," with a seamless PMS integration that simplifies operations.
PassportScan, on the other hand, has no available usability ratings or recent reviews, making it impossible to assess its user-friendliness. Given the data, ChargeAutomation clearly leads in ease of use.
Edge: ChargeAutomation
ChargeAutomation offers an extensive list of 30 features, including PCI compliance, multi-processor gateways, various credit card integrations, self-service check-in/out, ID verification, device agnosticism, custom questions, multilingual support, and a guest portal with upsell capabilities. These features cater to comprehensive contactless operations, revenue enhancement, and security.
PassportScan provides basic online check-in with digital form completion and document upload, but with no detailed feature list available. Its simplicity may appeal to properties needing minimal automation but lacks the breadth of features found in ChargeAutomation.
Edge: ChargeAutomation
ChargeAutomation’s support team is rated at 4.9/5, with reviews highlighting rapid, friendly, and helpful responses. Reviewers state support is "responsive and knowledgeable," essential for resolving issues quickly during busy check-in times.
PassportScan has no available ratings or recent reviews, making it impossible to evaluate support quality. Given the importance of reliable support in contactless solutions, ChargeAutomation’s higher support score is a significant advantage.
Edge: ChargeAutomation
ChargeAutomation integrates with 18 verified partners, including RoomRaccoon, HotelTime, Sirvoy, Guesty, and Oracle Hospitality, providing greater flexibility for hotels with existing systems. Its broad integration ecosystem facilitates smoother workflows and fewer manual data transfers.
PassportScan currently has zero verified integrations, which may limit its compatibility with other hotel systems. If your property relies on multiple software tools, ChargeAutomation’s integrations give it a clear edge.
Edge: ChargeAutomation
ChargeAutomation’s 42 recent reviews and a 4.9/5 support rating demonstrate strong user satisfaction. Hoteliers appreciate its automation, ease of use, and support, with comments like, “It’s very user-friendly, and support is quick and helpful.”
PassportScan has no reviews or ratings available, making it impossible to gauge hotel satisfaction. Based on the existing data, ChargeAutomation’s ratings are a decisive advantage.
Edge: ChargeAutomation
ChargeAutomation charges a fixed base price of $200/month, with no freemium or tiered pricing options detailed. Its cost aligns with its broad feature set and high support standards.
PassportScan’s pricing is not listed, and no trial or freemium options are available. The lack of transparent pricing makes it difficult to evaluate its value proposition, but the absence of reviews and features suggests it may be less comprehensive for the cost.
ChargeAutomation offers a comprehensive, well-reviewed contactless check-in solution with 42 recent reviews, broad feature coverage, and high customer satisfaction ratings. It streamlines multiple aspects of guest onboarding, from ID verification to upselling, making it suitable for larger or tech-forward properties.
PassportScan simplifies pre-arrival check-in with digital forms and document uploads but lacks recent reviews, detailed features, and integrations. It’s best suited for hotels with minimal automation needs or those just beginning to explore contactless check-in.
If your hotel seeks a proven, feature-rich platform, ChargeAutomation is the superior choice. For hotels prioritizing simplicity and basic digital registration, PassportScan may suffice but lacks the backing of recent, extensive user feedback.
Contactless Check-in 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 $200/mo | — |
According to HTR's product database, ChargeAutomation Online Check-in and PassportScan Cloud share 0 features. Here are the key differences — features one has that the other lacks.
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| Chase (Credit Card Processing) | ||
| First Data (Credit Card Processing) | ||
| Heartland (Credit Card Processing) | ||
| Multi-Processor Gateway | ||
| PCI Compliance | ||
| Vantiv (Credit Card Processing) |
Showing top differences. 18 more features differ between these products.
What hoteliers love
The software's automated payment processing feature is praised for handling payments, security deposits, and chargebacks. Users appreciate how it mini... The software's automated payment processing feature is praised for handling payments, security deposits, and chargebacks. Users appreciate how it minimizes fraud and error, saving time and reducing labor costs. Payment automation facilitates smoother operations and enhances financial security for both hotels and guests.
ChargeAutomation simplifies the check-in process with its robust contactless solution. Reviews frequently highlight how the system allows guests to co... ChargeAutomation simplifies the check-in process with its robust contactless solution. Reviews frequently highlight how the system allows guests to complete check-in remotely, reducing front desk traffic and wait times. This feature is especially beneficial in minimizing manual work, improving operational efficiency, and creating a better guest experience.
While support is generally praised for being responsive and helpful, a few reviews noted the need for improvements in response time and additional sup... While support is generally praised for being responsive and helpful, a few reviews noted the need for improvements in response time and additional support personnel. Good support is crucial for resolving issues quickly, thereby affecting the overall experience.
Where hoteliers push back
A critical point raised by some users is the need for more customization options. Reviews mention limitations in the ability to customize the guest po... A critical point raised by some users is the need for more customization options. Reviews mention limitations in the ability to customize the guest portal, email formats, and other interfaces. This lack of flexibility can impact how well the software meets specific needs of different properties.
Although several reviews highlight how ChargeAutomation seamlessly integrates with Property Management Systems (PMS), there are also some criticisms a... Although several reviews highlight how ChargeAutomation seamlessly integrates with Property Management Systems (PMS), there are also some criticisms about its PMS connectivity. Users report issues like synchrony problems and the need for more flexible information transfer capabilities.
Unique capabilities
Where the ratings diverge most
It depends on your requirements. ChargeAutomation Online Check-in and PassportScan Cloud share many core Contactless Check-in features, but each has unique capabilities. ChargeAutomation Online Check-in offers 18 verified integration partners, while PassportScan Cloud offers 0. Review the feature comparison above to see where they differ before switching.
Small hotels should prioritize ease of use and fast onboarding. ChargeAutomation Online Check-in leads in ease of use at 4.7/5 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.
ChargeAutomation Online Check-in: No. PassportScan Cloud: No. Neither product currently offers a free tier. Most Contactless Check-in 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. ChargeAutomation has an HT Score of 24 and PassportScan 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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