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 26 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:
Gustaffo digital Service GmbH shines , with exclusive features like Local Recommendations.
LIKE MAGIC shines in ease of use and customer support , with exclusive features like Payments and Mobile Checkout.
Side-by-side ratings based on 26 verified hotelier reviews on HTR.
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| Value for Money |
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| Starting Price | From $500/mo | From $700/mo |
| Verified Reviews | 0 | 26 |
After analyzing 26 verified reviews, Gustaffo digital Service GmbH users most value its , while LIKE MAGIC users highlight operational efficiency, guest experience, complexity reduction. Click any theme to see what reviewers say.
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Operational Efficiency
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Guest Experience
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Complexity Reduction
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Booking Engine Performance
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Customization and Branding
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Room Upgrade Functionality
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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) ▾ | — | #8 10 reviews |
| Mid-Size (25-74 rooms) ▾ | — | #14 8 reviews |
| Large (75-199 rooms) | — | #13 3 reviews |
By Property Type
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| Boutique ▾ | — | #17 6 reviews |
| Luxury | — | #28 2 reviews |
| Branded / Chain | — | #16 3 reviews |
| Extended Stay ▾ | — | #4 13 reviews |
By Region
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| North America | — | #30 1 reviews |
| Europe ▾ | — | #9 24 reviews |
Choosing the right guest app can dramatically impact your hotel's efficiency, guest satisfaction, and revenue. Both Gustaffo Digital Guest Journey and LIKE MAGIC aim to streamline guest interactions, but their strengths and weaknesses differ notably. Your decision hinges on what your hotel values most—whether it’s comprehensive features, recent user feedback, or regional presence.
Gustaffo has been around since 2016 with a small review footprint, while LIKE MAGIC, founded in 2023, boasts a growing, highly reviewed platform. Which one aligns best with your needs?
Gustaffo’s platform focuses on transforming the entire guest experience through mobile check-in, keyless access, and personalized services. However, it has zero recent reviews and a 0/5 overall rating, indicating limited current user feedback or adoption.
LIKE MAGIC, by contrast, has a robust 26 reviews, with two recent ones, and a high 77.1/100 overall score. It’s praised for automation, ease of use, and a comprehensive digital guest journey. The long-standing presence of Gustaffo with no recent reviews raises questions about ongoing support and product evolution. Does your hotel prefer an established but less-reviewed platform or a newer, highly-rated solution?
If your hotel needs a highly customizable, local-recommendation-capable guest app with a focus on personalized guest journeys, Gustaffo’s local recommendations feature is a plus. But its limited feature set—only one proprietary feature—may fall short for hotels seeking a broader array of functionalities.
LIKE MAGIC is ideal if your hotel prioritizes automation, seamless integrations, and AI-powered features. Its extensive partner network of 10 verified integrations supports a more scalable, flexible operation suitable for various regions. If you want a platform with recent, positive reviews and extensive integrations, LIKE MAGIC is the clear choice.
Gustaffo lacks ratings and recent reviews, making it difficult to assess its usability. Its onboarding process is unreported, which adds uncertainty for new users.
LIKE MAGIC, on the other hand, has a 4.96/5 ease-of-use score based on 26 reviews, and its onboarding is rated 4.8/5. Users praise its intuitive interface, quick setup, and minimal staff training requirements. The difference in recent review scores indicates LIKE MAGIC is more likely to offer a frictionless experience. Edge: LIKE MAGIC.
Gustaffo offers core features: mobile check-in, keyless access, and personalized services, plus a unique local recommendations feature. It has only six shared features with LIKE MAGIC, and the latter offers four additional functionalities: web app, payments, mobile checkout, and mobile check-in.
LIKE MAGIC’s broader feature set, especially its integrated booking engine, AI-driven communication, and extensive automation, enhances operational efficiency. Its features are more aligned with hotels seeking a comprehensive digital guest experience. Edge: LIKE MAGIC.
Gustaffo’s support ratings are unreported, with no recent reviews to gauge responsiveness or quality. This lack of recent feedback makes it difficult to judge their support service.
LIKE MAGIC scores 4.85/5 for customer support based on 26 reviews, with reviewers highlighting quick, friendly, and helpful assistance. Its recent positive feedback suggests it provides a reliable support experience. Edge: LIKE MAGIC.
Gustaffo’s integration count is just one—Stripe—limiting its ability to connect with broader hotel management systems.
LIKE MAGIC offers 10 verified integrations, including major PMS and system providers like 4SUITES, Mews, SALTO, Adyen, and TrustYou. This extensive network allows hotels to create a more connected and automated operation. Edge: LIKE MAGIC.
Gustaffo has no recent reviews, so there’s no recent hotel feedback to judge.
LIKE MAGIC’s reviews are recent and consistently positive, with high satisfaction in ease of use, onboarding, and support. Its 9.92/10 NPS score and 99% likelihood to recommend reflect strong hotel confidence. Its user base spans multiple segments, including boutique hotels, branded hotels, and city center properties, with high ratings across these segments. Edge: LIKE MAGIC.
Gustaffo’s pricing is listed at a flat $500, with no mention of trial periods or additional fees.
LIKE MAGIC costs $700 per month, also without a trial or implementation fee. While slightly more expensive, its broader feature set and integrations may justify the premium depending on your hotel’s needs.
Gustaffo’s platform is a basic, customizable solution with personalized local recommendations, best suited for hotels that value simplicity and guest personalization. Its limited recent reviews and lack of broad integrations make it less appealing for hotels seeking a scalable, feature-rich platform.
LIKE MAGIC offers a highly-rated, rapidly evolving platform with extensive automation, integrations, and AI features. Its recent reviews and high customer satisfaction make it the preferred choice if your hotel prioritizes operational efficiency, guest engagement, and reliable support.
In summary, if you want a proven, highly-rated solution with broad integrations and recent positive feedback, LIKE MAGIC is the clear winner. For hotels seeking minimal features with a focus on local guest experience, Gustaffo may suffice—though its future support and evolution are less certain.
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 $500/mo | From $700/mo |
According to HTR's product database, Gustaffo Digital Guest Journey and LIKE MAGIC share 6 features. Here are the key differences — features one has that the other lacks.
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| Local Recommendations | ||
| Mobile Checkin | ||
| Mobile Checkout | ||
| Payments | ||
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We analyzed 4 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.
"Like Magic allowed us to operate with just six staff members, without compromising guest experience. The platform is easy to use, fun to work with, and has revolutionized how we ru..."
No published case study for this goal yet.
"LIKE MAGIC isn't just a tool for us, it's the backbone of our overall guest experience. If I ever worked somewhere else, I'd bring it with me."
Unique capabilities
What hoteliers love
LikeMagic significantly enhances operational efficiency by offering features such as online check-in and an integrated booking engine. It allows hotel... LikeMagic significantly enhances operational efficiency by offering features such as online check-in and an integrated booking engine. It allows hotels to automate many processes, reducing the need for external systems and enabling staff to focus more on guest experiences.
Guests benefit from a smooth and comprehensive experience using the app, enjoying seamless interactions and a well-organized journey from check-in to... Guests benefit from a smooth and comprehensive experience using the app, enjoying seamless interactions and a well-organized journey from check-in to check-out. The tailored guest journey is a notable positive aspect, enhancing satisfaction.
LikeMagic reduces the complexity of hotel operations by providing a consolidated solution that eliminates the need for multiple third-party interfaces... LikeMagic reduces the complexity of hotel operations by providing a consolidated solution that eliminates the need for multiple third-party interfaces, thus lowering operational costs and complexity.
Where hoteliers push back
Some users are disappointed by the cancellation of custom branding functionality for the platform, highlighting a need for more personalized control o... Some users are disappointed by the cancellation of custom branding functionality for the platform, highlighting a need for more personalized control over the guest portal's UI and UX for better alignment with their brand.
Users have expressed a desire for a room upgrade function to be integrated, allowing guests to easily upgrade their rooms through the app, which is cu... Users have expressed a desire for a room upgrade function to be integrated, allowing guests to easily upgrade their rooms through the app, which is currently lacking and noted as a potential improvement.
Unique capabilities
Where the ratings diverge most
It depends on your requirements. Gustaffo Digital Guest Journey and LIKE MAGIC share many core Hotel Guest Apps features, but each has unique capabilities. Gustaffo Digital Guest Journey offers 1 verified integration partners, while LIKE MAGIC offers 10. Review the feature comparison above to see where they differ before switching.
Small hotels should prioritize ease of use and fast onboarding. LIKE MAGIC leads in ease of use at 5.0/5 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.
Gustaffo Digital Guest Journey: No. LIKE MAGIC: 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. Gustaffo digital Service GmbH has an HT Score of 0 and LIKE MAGIC has 78. 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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