freetobook HMS vs. Preno HMS:
Which Is Right for You?

The Decision

Choosing between freetobook HMS and Preno HMS hinges on your hotel's specific needs, budget, and operational complexity. Both products aim to streamline hotel management, but they diverge significantly in features, user experience, and customer support. With more recent reviews and a higher review count, freetobook's user feedback provides a clearer picture of its strengths and weaknesses compared to Preno. Which one aligns better with your hotel's goals?

Is freetobook or Preno Better for Hotels?

Both freetobook and Preno serve as comprehensive hotel management solutions, offering core features like booking management, channel integration, and automation. However, freetobook emphasizes an all-in-one platform tailored to smaller, independent hotels and B&Bs, with a focus on ease of use and cost-effectiveness. Preno, on the other hand, is designed for hotels seeking a scalable, cloud-based PMS that integrates deeply with financial systems and offers automation for daily admin tasks. Do you need a straightforward system or a more integrated, feature-rich platform?

Notably, freetobook has a higher score (85.13 vs 76.23) and significantly more recent reviews (18 vs 0 in the last 6 months), indicating current user satisfaction levels are more robust. Their reviews highlight intuitive operation, effective channel management, and excellent support, making it a popular choice for small to medium-sized properties. Preno's reviews emphasize its ease of learning, strong support, and automation features but lack recent feedback, which could suggest slower update cycles or less current user experience. Are you prioritizing recent feedback or looking for a broader feature set?

freetobook vs Preno: Which Should Your Hotel Choose?

If your hotel is a small, independent operation or B&B that needs simple, cost-effective booking and channel management, go with freetobook. It offers a user-friendly experience with a notable 4.87/5 ease of use rating and over 110 reviews, many praising its straightforward onboarding and support.

If your hotel is larger or requires advanced automation, integrated accounting, and more extensive features like group bookings or website development, Preno might be more suitable. It has a strong reputation for simplicity and reliable support, but with fewer recent reviews, its current performance might be less predictable.

For hoteliers focused on maximizing direct bookings and minimizing administrative effort, freetobook's comprehensive all-in-one approach makes it the clear choice. Conversely, if your operations demand sophisticated financial integrations and automation, Preno offers targeted features that can enhance efficiency—though its narrower recent review base makes it less certain how well these features perform today.

Is freetobook or Preno Easier to Use?

freetobook scores highly on ease of use, with a 4.87/5 rating based on 113 reviews, and recent feedback confirms its intuitive interface. Users describe it as simple to learn, with straightforward onboarding and support, making staff adoption quick even for less tech-savvy teams.

Preno, with a 4.86/5 rating from 58 reviews, also enjoys strong ease-of-use scores, with many users highlighting its intuitive design and responsive support. However, its slightly smaller review base and the absence of recent feedback mean its current ease of use could be less clear.

Edge: freetobook. Its larger, more recent review pool underscores its ease of adoption for small hotels.

Which Has Better Features: freetobook or Preno?

freetobook offers 18 features exclusive to its platform, including multi-currency, digital registration, guest app, revenue management, and integrated payment terminals—features tailored to small independent hotels and B&Bs. With a total of 20 shared features, it excels in core booking, messaging, and automation functions.

Preno has 9 features unique to it, such as automated night audit, native email marketing, group booking engine, and a drag-and-drop tapechart. These cater to properties seeking deep operational automation and more advanced financial and group management tools.

The clear edge goes to freetobook for its broader feature set, especially considering its extensive automation and guest engagement functionalities that are highly valued by small hotels.

Edge: freetobook. Its larger, more diverse feature catalog offers more tools to streamline your operations.

Which Has Better Customer Support: freetobook or Preno?

freetobook boasts a customer support rating of 4.86/5 with over 113 reviews, many praising its quick, helpful, and friendly assistance. Review quotes emphasize their support team’s responsiveness and the personal, family-like approach, which helps smaller hotels feel well cared for.

Preno’s support rating stands at 4.69/5 from 58 reviews, with users appreciating its responsiveness but noting occasional limitations in availability and the need for ongoing improvements. Some reviews mention that Preno continues to evolve, but recent feedback is scarce, making current support performance less certain.

Edge: freetobook. Its larger, more recent review base underscores consistently high support quality, especially for small property owners.

Which Has More Integrations: freetobook or Preno?

freetobook has verified integrations with 5 partners, including Stripe, Pitchup.com, and a channel manager. While it covers essential OTA connections, its integration ecosystem is more limited than Preno’s.

Preno boasts 17 verified partners, including major channel managers, Xero, Revinate, and Zingle, offering extensive options for financial, marketing, and guest engagement tools. Its broader integration network makes it suitable for hotels requiring advanced connectivity.

Edge: Preno. Its larger partner ecosystem facilitates smoother, more automated workflows across various hotel functions.

Which Do Hoteliers Rate Higher: freetobook or Preno?

freetobook has more recent reviews (18 in the last 6 months) and a higher overall rating of 85.13. Hotel owners across segments like B&Bs, boutique, and limited service hotels consistently praise its ease of use, support, and value, with a 99% likelihood to recommend.

Preno’s reviews, while positive, are fewer and less current, with a 76.23 score, and generally focus on its support and automation capabilities. Hoteliers value its simplicity but are less vocal about recent performance.

The stronger, more current review base favors freetobook, making it the more highly-rated choice for most small to medium-sized hotels.

Edge: freetobook. More recent, higher-rated reviews support its current lead.

How Much Do freetobook and Preno Cost?

freetobook charges a flat monthly fee of $100, with no implementation or additional fees, making it accessible for small hotels and B&Bs. Its pricing structure simplifies budgeting and offers flexibility without surprise costs.

Preno’s base price is $600, with no mention of implementation fees or tiered plans. Its higher cost reflects its more extensive feature set, appealing to larger properties or those needing advanced automation and integrations.

If budget is a concern, freetobook’s lower price point offers clear value, especially for smaller hotels.

What Type of Hotel Should Use freetobook?

• Hotels that operate independently or as B&Bs, with a focus on simplicity and affordability.
• Teams seeking an all-in-one platform with an extensive channel management system.
• Small hotels prioritizing guest messaging, online check-in, and revenue management.
• Properties that want to grow bookings through direct channels and automation.
• Hotels that prefer a straightforward, no-fuss setup with quick onboarding.

Not ideal if your hotel requires advanced financial integrations, group management, or website development, as these features are limited in freetobook.

What Type of Hotel Should Use Preno?

• Hotels that need automation for nightly audits, billing, and advanced reporting.
• Properties looking for seamless integration with accounting tools like Xero.
• Larger hotels or those with multiple rooms and group booking needs.
• Teams wanting a simple yet scalable platform with a focus on operational efficiencies.
• Hotels prioritizing a cloud-based system with a clean, easy-to-learn interface.

Not ideal if your hotel is small, budget-conscious, or currently seeking a broader suite of guest engagement features, as Preno’s focus is more on automation and integrations.

The Bottom Line for Hotels

freetobook and Preno both offer valuable solutions, but they cater to different hotel profiles. freetobook is an all-in-one, budget-friendly choice for small, independent properties that want ease of use, strong support, and extensive channel management. Preno, meanwhile, appeals to hotels seeking automation, financial integrations, and a scalable cloud system with a broader partner network.

If your hotel is a small B&B or boutique property looking for straightforward management and quick results, freetobook provides more recent, positive feedback and a richer feature set. For larger hotels or those requiring automation and deep integrations, Preno’s strengths lie in its support for operational efficiency, though recent user feedback is limited.

In summary, for most small hotels prioritizing current user satisfaction and affordability, freetobook remains the more reliable and highly-rated option today.