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 20 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 .
Shiji Group shines in ease of use and customer support .
Side-by-side ratings based on 20 verified hotelier reviews on HTR.
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| Likelihood to Recommend |
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| Ease of Use |
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| Customer Support |
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| Value for Money |
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| Starting Price | From $100/mo | Contact sales |
| Verified Reviews | 19 | 1 |
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
| Segment |
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| Small (10-24 rooms) | #21 3 reviews | — |
| Mid-Size (25-74 rooms) ▾ | #18 7 reviews | #36 0 reviews |
| Large (75-199 rooms) | #27 1 reviews | #28 0 reviews |
By Property Type
| Segment |
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| Boutique | #25 3 reviews | #36 0 reviews |
| Luxury | #25 3 reviews | #33 0 reviews |
| Branded / Chain | #19 3 reviews | #32 0 reviews |
| Extended Stay | #17 1 reviews | — |
By Region
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| North America | — | #20 0 reviews |
| Europe ▾ | #14 13 reviews | #35 0 reviews |
Choosing between Gastfreund | Hotelcore and Shiji Stellaris Digital hinges on what your hotel values most in a guest app. Both aim to enhance the guest experience and streamline operations, but their approach and feature sets differ significantly. Gastfreund, with its more recent reviews and higher review count, presents a more tested solution that your team can rely on. Shiji Stellaris offers a broad integration network and a suite of digitization tools, but its lack of recent user feedback makes it a more uncertain choice at this moment.
Do you prioritize proven user satisfaction and ease of implementation? Or are you seeking a scalable, fully integrated platform with extensive tech partnerships? Let’s explore.
Gastfreund | Hotelcore and Shiji Stellaris Digital both serve to modernize the guest experience, but they differ heavily in their development focus. Gastfreund concentrates on digital guest directories, apps, and communication tools that improve direct guest engagement and operational efficiency. Shiji, on the other hand, provides a broader ecosystem that digitizes multiple hotel touchpoints, including mobile check-in, in-room dining, and secure payments.
Gastfreund’s high recent review count (11 reviews, 2 in the last 6 months) and solid ratings in ease of use (4.27/5) and customer support (4.27/5) suggest a solution that’s actively tested and refined by users. Shiji’s lack of recent reviews makes it difficult to assess current performance, though its extensive integration network (64 partners) hints at a versatile, scalable system.
Are you looking for a mature platform with recent user feedback? Or a highly customizable system with a vast partner ecosystem? The answer will help direct your choice.
If your hotel needs a user-friendly, proven guest app solution that improves guest communication, simplifies operations, and has recent positive reviews, Gastfreund is the better fit. It’s especially suitable for boutique hotels, resorts, and properties seeking to enhance guest engagement without complex integrations.
If, however, your hotel requires a comprehensive, fully integrated platform that digitizes multiple guest touchpoints like mobile check-in, payments, and in-room service, and you are comfortable with a less recent feedback record, Shiji Stellaris could be appropriate. It’s better suited for larger properties or chains with existing tech infrastructure aiming for a unified system.
In summary, choose Gastfreund if you want a well-reviewed, easy-to-implement guest app. Opt for Shiji if you prioritize a broad, scalable digital ecosystem and can navigate less recent user feedback.
Gastfreund’s ease of use is highly rated at 4.27/5, with users praising its modern interface and straightforward onboarding process (4.44/5). Reviewers highlight that staff adoption has been smooth, and the platform’s modular design allows for quick customization, which minimizes training time.
Shiji Stellaris, lacking recent reviews, provides scant information on user experience or onboarding, making it impossible to accurately compare. Its large-scale, integrated approach suggests it might require more extensive staff training and onboarding.
Edge: Gastfreund.
Gastfreund offers an array of features focused on guest engagement, including digital guest directories, push notifications, multilingual support, and automated messaging—altogether 11 shared features with Shiji. Notably, it has no exclusive features but emphasizes ease of communication and content management.
Shiji’s standout feature is guest profiles, which support personalized services, and it offers a total of 12 features, including integrations for mobile check-in, secure payments, and in-room dining. Its broader feature set suits properties wanting more comprehensive digital touchpoints.
Edge: Shiji Stellaris, for its broader feature set including guest profiles.
Gastfreund’s recent customer support ratings are 4.27/5, with reviewers praising quick, friendly, and solution-oriented assistance. Guests also commend the team’s friendliness and competence, leading to a high likelihood to recommend (90%).
Shiji has no recent reviews to gauge support quality, and its support ratings are unavailable. Given its size and global reach, support might be extensive but unverified by current users.
Edge: Gastfreund.
Shiji boasts 64 verified partners, significantly more than Gastfreund’s 13, including major integrations like Amadeus, Revinate, and IDeaS. Common partners include SiteMinder and Little Hotelier, ensuring compatibility with many PMS and booking engines.
Gastfreund’s integrations are more limited but include key systems like Mews and RoomRaccoon, sufficient for many hotels but less extensive. If your property relies on a wide array of third-party systems, Shiji’s ecosystem offers more options.
Edge: Shiji Stellaris.
Gastfreund, with 11 recent reviews, has a high approval rate, with 90% of users recommending it. Reviewers from boutique hotels, resorts, and vacation rentals praise its ease of use, fast onboarding, and support quality.
Shiji, with no recent reviews, has no current user ratings or feedback to compare. Its large-scale deployment suggests potential, but without recent reviews, confidence is lower.
Edge: Gastfreund.
Gastfreund charges a flat $400/month fee with no trial, freemium, or implementation costs disclosed. Its transparent pricing makes budgeting straightforward.
Shiji does not publicly share pricing details, requiring direct inquiries for quotes. Larger hotel groups or enterprises may negotiate contracts, but smaller hotels may find the opaque pricing challenging.
Not ideal if you need highly advanced, integrated in-room service solutions or large-scale enterprise systems.
Not ideal if you need a simple, straightforward guest app or prefer recent user feedback before committing.
The core difference is that Gastfreund provides a focused, easy-to-use guest communication platform, while Shiji offers a wide-ranging, integrated digital ecosystem. Gastfreund’s platform is more refined and has recent, positive reviews, making it suitable for hotels wanting quick, reliable guest engagement tools.
Choose Gastfreund if your hotel values ease of use, recent positive feedback, and a clear feature set for improving guest communication and operational efficiency. It suits properties that want a proven, straightforward solution with a quick onboarding process.
Opt for Shiji if your hotel needs a comprehensive, scalable platform that covers multiple digital touchpoints, especially if you already operate within its extensive partner network and can navigate a more complex setup. It is better for larger properties or chains seeking a unified, integrated guest experience.
In conclusion, for most hotels seeking a reliable, well-reviewed guest app with recent updates, Gastfreund is the safer, more confident choice. Shiji Stellaris remains a compelling option if your property demands extensive features and integrations and you are prepared to handle a less recent feedback record.
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 |
We analyzed 3 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.
"Tokenisation, automated posting, and secure payment links have significantly improved internal workflows and guest trust, especially for group and conference bookings."
No published case study for this goal yet.
"We reduced check-in time by over 80%, from up to eight minutes to just about one minute with the new system."
Ranks higher for
Where the ratings diverge most
It depends on your requirements. Gastfreund and Shiji Stellaris Digital share many core Hotel Guest Apps features, but each has unique capabilities. Gastfreund offers 13 verified integration partners, while Shiji Stellaris Digital offers 72. Review the feature comparison above to see where they differ before switching.
Small hotels should prioritize ease of use and fast onboarding. Shiji Stellaris Digital leads in ease of use at 5.0/5 vs 4.4/5. 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. Shiji Stellaris Digital: 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 Shiji Group 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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