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 21 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:
Gastfreund shines in ease of use and customer support , with exclusive features like Guest Messaging and Mobile Checkin.
TigerTMS shines .
Side-by-side ratings based on 21 verified hotelier reviews on HTR.
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| Likelihood to Recommend |
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| Ease of Use |
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| Value for Money |
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| Starting Price | From $100/mo | Contact sales |
| Verified Reviews | 21 | 0 |
How each product ranks among Hotel Guest Apps 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) | #21 3 reviews | — |
| Mid-Size (25-74 rooms) ▾ | #18 7 reviews | — |
| Large (75-199 rooms) | #27 1 reviews | — |
By Property Type
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| Boutique | #25 3 reviews | — |
| Luxury | #25 3 reviews | — |
| Branded / Chain | #19 3 reviews | — |
| Extended Stay | #17 1 reviews | — |
By Region
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| Europe ▾ | #14 13 reviews | — |
Choosing between Gastfreund | Hotelcore and iPortal by Tiger TMS hinges on your hotel’s specific needs. Both aim to improve your guests’ digital experience, but they approach it differently. Gastfreund | Hotelcore offers a broad set of features tailored to various property types, while iPortal emphasizes streamlined, mobile guest services with a focus on operational efficiency. Which aligns better with your current priorities?
Gastfreund | Hotelcore has more recent reviews and a larger user base, making it the more tested option. Its high ratings across ease of use and support indicate it’s a reliable choice for hotels eager to digitalize their guest interactions.
Gastfreund | Hotelcore stands out with a more extensive feature set, including request management, room service, and multilingual translations, all designed for diverse property types. iPortal, on the other hand, concentrates on providing a single, integrated mobile platform for essential guest services like chat, F&B ordering, and bill viewing.
If your hotel needs a versatile guest experience platform with proven support and recent positive reviews, Gastfreund | Hotelcore is the better pick. If operational automation through mobile services is your priority, consider iPortal, despite its limited reviews.
Gastfreund | Hotelcore excels for hotels seeking a comprehensive digital guest experience, especially those with complex needs like multilingual support, request management, and digital directories. Its modular system allows for customization, making it suitable for resorts, boutique hotels, and vacation rentals.
iPortal suits properties aiming for straightforward, mobile-based guest services, such as F&B ordering, chat, and automatic check-out, ideal for hotels prioritizing operational efficiency. Its limited review data makes it less proven in diverse hotel settings, and its focus on core services may limit flexibility.
If your hotel values a broad suite of features with proven support, go with Gastfreund | Hotelcore. If you prioritize mobile automation for specific guest interactions, iPortal could be enough, though it’s less tested.
Gastfreund | Hotelcore boasts a high ease of use rating (4.27/5), thanks to a modern, intuitive interface and a strong onboarding process (rated 4.44/5). Its review highlights quick support and user-friendly features, with many users praising the platform’s simplicity for staff and guests alike.
iPortal’s user ratings aren’t available, and reviews are absent altogether, making it impossible to assess its usability. Its focus on mobile services suggests a user-friendly experience for tech-savvy guests, but without recent data, its ease of use remains unverified.
Edge: Gastfreund | Hotelcore.
Gastfreund | Hotelcore offers 11 unique features, including request management, room service ordering, digital guest directory, local recommendations, multilingual automatic translations, and more. These tools allow hotels to customize the guest experience and streamline operations effectively.
iPortal’s feature set is primarily focused on guest communication and basic services like chat, F&B ordering, bill viewing, and auto check-out, but lacks the extensive, customizable features found in Gastfreund | Hotelcore. Its narrow feature scope limits adaptability for hotels needing broader digital solutions.
Edge: Gastfreund | Hotelcore.
Gastfreund | Hotelcore’s support and onboarding reviews are rated 4.27/5, with comments emphasizing quick, friendly, and solution-oriented assistance. Users appreciate the company’s responsiveness and willingness to adapt to individual needs.
iPortal’s customer support data isn’t available, with no reviews to assess responsiveness or quality. Its limited user base and absence of recent feedback make it difficult to judge support reliability.
Edge: Gastfreund | Hotelcore.
Gastfreund | Hotelcore integrates with 13 verified partners, including prominent PMS and booking platforms like Winhotel, SiteMinder, and HolidayCheck. Its integrations support smooth operation workflows and data sharing.
TigerTMS’s iPortal connects with 28 verified partners, including industry leaders like apaleo, RMS, and protel, offering broader system compatibility. However, the shared integration count with Gastfreund is three, indicating some overlap.
While iPortal has more total integrations, Gastfreund’s focus on hotel-specific systems and the quality of integrations may make it more practical for certain properties.
Edge: TigerTMS (iPortal).
Gastfreund | Hotelcore has 11 reviews, all within the last six months, with an average rating of 0/5, but a strong Likelihood to Recommend at 90% and an NPS of 8.18/5. Review comments praise its ease of use, quick support, and feature set, especially for resorts and boutique hotels.
iPortal lacks reviews entirely, so no direct ratings or recent feedback are available. Without user insights, it’s impossible to determine how hoteliers perceive its value.
Therefore, Gastfreund | Hotelcore is clearly the more trusted and reviewed product currently.
Edge: Gastfreund | Hotelcore.
Gastfreund | Hotelcore charges a base price of $400 per month, with no additional implementation, setup, or recurring fees, offering a straightforward pricing model. No trial information is available, but the clear fee structure aids budgeting.
Pricing for iPortal isn’t publicly available, and there are no details about tiered plans, setup costs, or subscription fees. This lack of transparency makes direct comparison difficult.
If predictable costs matter, Gastfreund | Hotelcore’s transparent pricing offers peace of mind; iPortal’s costs remain unclear.
Not ideal if you prefer a simple, basic guest app without many features or are unwilling to invest in a paid platform.
Not ideal if your hotel requires extensive customization, multilingual support, or integration with many PMS systems.
Gastfreund | Hotelcore offers a comprehensive, feature-rich digital guest experience platform with high user ratings and recent positive reviews. Its modular system and integrations make it suitable for diverse hotel types seeking to enhance guest engagement and operational efficiency.
iPortal provides targeted mobile guest services focused on operational automation, but it lacks recent reviews, a broad feature set, and measurable support ratings. Its broader integration network is appealing, but its limited review data makes its reliability uncertain.
Choose Gastfreund | Hotelcore if you want a proven, versatile platform backed by recent hotel reviews. Opt for iPortal if your primary goal is mobile-enabled operational tasks and you’re comfortable with less review-backed confidence.
Hotel Guest Apps 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 $100/mo | — |
These are the features each vendor has configured, organized by feature group — the same data shown in the vendor dashboard. Expand a group to compare features side by side.
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Communication & Messaging
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| Automatic Translations (Multi-Lingual) | ||
| Request Management | ||
| Room Service Ordering | ||
| Guest Messaging | ||
| App download | ||
| Web-app | ||
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Content Management
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| Hotel Directory | ||
| Guest Profiles | ||
| Local Recommendations | ||
| Web-app | ||
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Upselling
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| Payments | ||
| Room Service Ordering | ||
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Request Management
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| Request Management | ||
| Room Service Ordering | ||
| Mobile Checkout | ||
| Mobile Checkin |
Unique capabilities
Where the ratings diverge most
It depends on your requirements. Gastfreund and iPortal (by Tiger TMS) share many core Hotel Guest Apps features, but each has unique capabilities. Gastfreund offers 14 verified integration partners, while iPortal (by Tiger TMS) offers 30. Review the feature comparison above to see where they differ before switching.
Small hotels should prioritize ease of use and fast onboarding. Gastfreund leads in ease of use at 4.5/5 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.
Gastfreund: No. iPortal (by Tiger TMS): No. Neither product currently offers a free tier. Most Hotel Guest Apps 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. Gastfreund has an HT Score of 0 and TigerTMS 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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