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 282 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:
Gourmet Marketing shines in ease of use and customer support .
Simplotel shines when it comes to website design and experience — especially for brand properties (4.9/5) , with exclusive features like Mobile Optimized/Responsive.
Side-by-side ratings based on 282 verified hotelier reviews on HTR.
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| Starting Price | Contact sales | From $600/mo |
| Verified Reviews | 10 | 272 |
After analyzing 282 verified reviews, Gourmet Marketing users most value its , while Simplotel users highlight website design and experience, technical support, user-friendly booking engine. Click any theme to see what reviewers say.
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Website Design and Experience
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Technical Support
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User-Friendly Booking Engine
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Proactive Feature Updates
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Customization Options
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SEO and Online Visibility
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Mobile Responsiveness
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How each product ranks among Website Design 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) ▾ | #23 2 reviews | #2 110 reviews |
| Mid-Size (25-74 rooms) ▾ | #19 5 reviews | #4 130 reviews |
| Large (75-199 rooms) ▾ | #11 3 reviews | #5 19 reviews |
| X-Large (200+ rooms) | #16 0 reviews | #8 1 reviews |
By Property Type
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| Boutique ▾ | #17 6 reviews | #2 123 reviews |
| Luxury ▾ | #16 5 reviews | #1 154 reviews |
| Branded / Chain ▾ | #24 1 reviews | #1 86 reviews |
| Extended Stay ▾ | #8 7 reviews | #7 8 reviews |
By Region
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| North America ▾ | #9 9 reviews | #6 13 reviews |
| Europe | — | #21 1 reviews |
| Asia Pacific ▾ | — | #1 247 reviews |
| Middle East | — | #6 2 reviews |
Choosing between Gourmet Marketing's Custom Websites and Simplotel Hotel Branded Websites hinges on your hotel's specific needs. Both platforms aim to boost your online presence, but they differ significantly in features, support, and recent user feedback. Gourmet Marketing offers bespoke design tailored to luxury and extended-stay hotels, while Simplotel emphasizes robust, SEO-optimized websites with extensive integrations. Where do your priorities lie?
Gourmet Marketing and Simplotel both serve hotels seeking to improve their digital reach, but their approaches diverge. Gourmet Marketing specializes in custom, visually stunning websites tailored for hotels that want a unique digital identity, especially in luxury and boutique segments. Simplotel, on the other hand, provides a scalable solution with pre-designed templates, a comprehensive booking engine, and extensive integrations aimed at increasing direct bookings across all hotel types.
Gourmet Marketing's reviews are limited, with no recent feedback and only 10 reviews overall, leaving some uncertainty about ongoing support and feature updates. Conversely, Simplotel boasts 245 reviews, including 12 from the last six months, indicating active user engagement and recent improvements. Given the recent review volume, Simplotel’s user feedback provides a clearer picture of current performance and customer satisfaction.
If your hotel seeks a highly personalized website with a focus on creative design and tailored marketing strategies, Gourmet Marketing may seem appealing. However, if your priority is a feature-rich, SEO-optimized website with proven results in direct bookings and ongoing support, Simplotel clearly has the edge.
Your choice depends on your property’s segment and digital goals. If your hotel operates in the luxury, boutique, or extended-stay segments and values bespoke design and full-funnel marketing, Gourmet Marketing’s tailored websites could be suitable. It’s especially relevant if your team appreciates a high-touch, consultative approach backed by a well-established agency with a focus on digital marketing.
If your hotel needs a scalable, easy-to-implement website with strong SEO, a built-in booking engine, and extensive integrations, Simplotel is the better fit. It supports hotels across various segments—resorts, boutique, and city hotels—who prioritize increasing direct bookings and online visibility. For hoteliers who want a proven platform with recent positive reviews, Simplotel’s high ratings and active user base make it the recommended choice.
Gourmet Marketing scores a perfect 5/5 for ease of use, with reviews praising its intuitive, straightforward onboarding process and user-friendly interface. Clients report that their teams were able to adopt and manage websites with minimal effort, thanks to clear guidance and dedicated support. However, Gourmet Marketing’s limited recent reviews mean we lack current insights into their ongoing platform updates or support.
Simplotel also scores highly, with a 4.69/5 rating, and recent reviews highlight its user-friendly drag-and-drop builder, simple content management, and quick onboarding process. Support responsiveness and ease of navigation are praised, but some users mention room for improvement in customization flexibility.
Edge: Gourmet Marketing.
Simplotel offers a significantly broader feature set, with 20 exclusive functionalities including hotel website templates, review widgets, social media integrations, multi-lingual support, mobile responsiveness, SEO plugins, and a booking engine. These features enable hoteliers to create dynamic, fully customizable websites that improve conversions and online visibility.
Gourmet Marketing does not list any unique features or integrations, focusing instead on bespoke design and marketing services delivered through their agency expertise. Its core offering is custom website design, but it lacks the extensive built-in functionalities that Simplotel provides.
Edge: Simplotel.
Both products are highly rated for support, with Gourmet Marketing earning a 5/5 score based on recent reviews, while Simplotel scores 4.7/5. Support reviews for Gourmet Marketing emphasize their knowledgeable, attentive team with consistent communication. However, the absence of recent reviews introduces some uncertainty about current support levels.
Simplotel’s support is also highly praised, with recent feedback highlighting quick response times and friendly, helpful staff. Some users note occasional delays or the need for faster technical support, but overall, support quality remains strong.
Edge: Gourmet Marketing.
Simplotel vastly outperforms Gourmet Marketing here, with 22 verified integrations—including major partners like SiteMinder, RateGain, Yanolja Cloud, and RezNext. These integrations enable hotels to connect their property management, revenue management, and marketing systems effortlessly.
Gourmet Marketing has only 4 verified partners, including Revinate and The Hotels Network, which are useful but less extensive. The limited integrations may restrict your ability to streamline operations or leverage third-party tools effectively.
Edge: Simplotel.
Simplotel’s recent reviews demonstrate high satisfaction, with an overall rating of 4.78/5 based on 245 reviews, including 12 in the last six months. Hotels commend its ease of use, support, and impact on bookings, especially for resorts and branded hotels.
Gourmet Marketing’s reviews are sparse, with only 10 reviews and no recent feedback, making it difficult to assess current hotel sentiment. The lack of recent reviews and the low overall rating (0/5) suggest less confidence in ongoing performance.
Edge: Simplotel.
Gourmet Marketing does not publish specific pricing, but as a custom agency, its costs are likely project-based or quote-driven, focusing on bespoke website design and digital marketing services. This can make budgeting less predictable but potentially more tailored.
Simplotel charges a flat $600 monthly fee, with no implementation or setup fees. This transparent, subscription-based pricing makes it easier for hotels to budget and plan their digital investments.
Not ideal if:
Not ideal if:
At its core, Gourmet Marketing offers tailored websites backed by a marketing agency with decades of hospitality expertise. Its focus is on creating visually compelling, brand-specific sites with strategic marketing support, but recent reviews are limited, leaving some uncertainty about current support and updates.
Simplotel provides a comprehensive, feature-packed platform with a proven track record of boosting direct bookings through SEO, integrations, and a strong booking engine. Its active review base and recent positive feedback make it the safer choice for hotels looking for scalability, reliability, and measurable results.
If your hotel values bespoke design and personalized marketing strategies, Gourmet Marketing is worth considering. However, for most hotels aiming for a modern, functional website with proven ROI and ongoing support, Simplotel is the clearer, more dependable choice.
Website Design 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 $600/mo |
According to HTR's product database, Gourmet Marketing Custom Websites and Simplotel Hotel Branded Websites share 0 features. Here are the key differences — features one has that the other lacks.
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| Conversion Widgets | ||
| Hotel Website Templates | ||
| Multi-lingual | ||
| Review Widgets | ||
| Social Media Integrations | ||
| Whitelabel Capability |
Showing top differences. 8 more features differ between these products.
What hoteliers love
Simplotel is recognized for its ability to create modern, visually appealing websites that align well with hotel brand identities, improve guest engag... Simplotel is recognized for its ability to create modern, visually appealing websites that align well with hotel brand identities, improve guest engagement, and offer smooth navigation, though some reviews mention a desire for more customization features and aesthetic options.
Hotels commend Simplotel's responsive and committed technical support, essential for smooth operations, although some suggestions for improvement incl... Hotels commend Simplotel's responsive and committed technical support, essential for smooth operations, although some suggestions for improvement include faster response times and more proactive communication regarding updates.
The reviews universally praise Simplotel for its seamless booking engine that significantly improves the guest booking experience, enhancing both spee... The reviews universally praise Simplotel for its seamless booking engine that significantly improves the guest booking experience, enhancing both speed and ease of use and directly contributing to increased conversion rates and revenue.
Where hoteliers push back
There is a noted interest in Simplotel offering additional customization for templates and features to better match individual hotel branding and spec... There is a noted interest in Simplotel offering additional customization for templates and features to better match individual hotel branding and specific business needs, with some reviews hoping for more versatile and dynamic design choices.
Users appreciate improvements in online visibility and SEO functionality provided by Simplotel, contributing to higher website traffic and brand expos... Users appreciate improvements in online visibility and SEO functionality provided by Simplotel, contributing to higher website traffic and brand exposure. However, several reviews express the desire for more proactive and detailed SEO analytics and periodic updates.
Ranks higher for
Unique capabilities
Where the ratings diverge most
It depends on your requirements. Gourmet Marketing Custom Websites and Simplotel Hotel Branded Websites share many core Website Design features, but each has unique capabilities. Gourmet Marketing Custom Websites offers 4 verified integration partners, while Simplotel Hotel Branded Websites offers 22. Review the feature comparison above to see where they differ before switching.
Small hotels should prioritize ease of use and fast onboarding. Gourmet Marketing Custom Websites leads in ease of use at 5.0/5 vs 4.7/5. 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.
Gourmet Marketing Custom Websites: No. Simplotel Hotel Branded Websites: No. Neither product currently offers a free tier. Most Website Design 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. Gourmet Marketing has an HT Score of 0 and Simplotel has 95. 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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