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 215 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:
HolidayHero shines , with exclusive features like Payments and Mobile Checkin.
STAY shines in ease of use and customer support — especially for brand properties (0.0/5) , with exclusive features like Mobile App.
Side-by-side ratings based on 215 verified hotelier reviews on HTR.
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| Value for Money |
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| Starting Price | From $300/mo | From $300/mo |
| Verified Reviews | 0 | 215 |
After analyzing 215 verified reviews, HolidayHero users most value its , while STAY users highlight guest experience optimization, mobile and user experience, operational efficiency. Click any theme to see what reviewers say.
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Guest Experience Optimization
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Mobile and User Experience
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Operational Efficiency
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Support and Service
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CMS and Customization
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Integration Capabilities
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Analytics and Reporting
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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) ▾ | — | #9 10 reviews |
| Mid-Size (25-74 rooms) ▾ | — | #4 83 reviews |
| Large (75-199 rooms) ▾ | — | #2 89 reviews |
| X-Large (200+ rooms) ▾ | — | #2 24 reviews |
By Property Type
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| Boutique ▾ | — | #2 77 reviews |
| Luxury ▾ | — | #2 88 reviews |
| Branded / Chain ▾ | — | #3 91 reviews |
| Extended Stay ▾ | — | #6 7 reviews |
By Region
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| North America ▾ | — | #5 27 reviews |
| Europe ▾ | — | #3 112 reviews |
| Asia Pacific | — | #6 3 reviews |
| Middle East | — | #7 2 reviews |
Choosing the right guest app for your hotel hinges on understanding your operational needs, guest experience goals, and the value each platform offers. HolidayHero aims to enhance guest satisfaction through personalized communication and upselling, while STAY focuses on digitizing hotel services to streamline operations and reduce queues. Both products address guest engagement, but their core functionalities and maturity differ significantly.
HolidayHero's recent lack of reviews makes it difficult to gauge its effectiveness or user satisfaction. Conversely, STAY's robust review base, with over 200 recent reviews and a high NPS score of 9.59/10, underscores its market presence and reliability. Do you want a platform with proven operational impact or one still emerging in the space?
HolidayHero targets hotels that want to enrich their guest experience with personalized upselling, local recommendations, and tailored communication. Its AI-driven insights can help improve service by analyzing guest reviews and preferences, fostering guest satisfaction and revenue growth.
STAY, however, is designed for hotels prioritizing operational efficiency and service digitization. It reduces queues, streamlines internal processes, and offers real-time updates, making it particularly suitable for large chains and properties seeking to modernize their service delivery.
The key divergence lies in focus: HolidayHero emphasizes guest engagement and personalized experiences, while STAY concentrates on operational automation and service digitization. Which of these priorities aligns better with your hotel’s strategic goals?
If your hotel needs to boost guest satisfaction through tailored communication, upselling, and insights, HolidayHero is worth considering. Its features like mobile check-in and payments (unique to HolidayHero) can enhance the guest journey, especially for hotels looking to differentiate through guest experience.
If your hotel needs to reduce operational bottlenecks, eliminate queues, and digitize service delivery, STAY is the superior choice. Its extensive integrations, user-friendly CMS, and proven impact on operational efficiency make it ideal for large or chain hotels aiming to streamline staff workflows and improve the guest experience at scale.
For properties seeking to blend guest engagement with operational excellence, it’s worth evaluating whether HolidayHero’s personalized communication can complement STAY’s service automation.
HolidayHero has no current rating data, but its core features focus on guest communication and upselling, which typically require straightforward implementation. However, its limited review activity suggests uncertainty around its ease of onboarding or staff adoption.
STAY boasts a high ease-of-use rating of 4.78/5 based on over 200 recent reviews. Users consistently praise its intuitive app interface, simple CMS, and quick setup, with many remarking that staff adoption was seamless after initial training.
Edge: STAY.
HolidayHero offers two exclusive features: mobile payments and mobile check-in, adding convenience for guests. It also covers standard guest experience functions like personalized messaging and local recommendations, totaling a total of 12 features including those shared with STAY.
STAY provides four features unique to its platform: chatbot, message routing, automated replies, and a mobile app. Its shared features include content management, real-time notifications, and guest feedback tools, totaling 10 shared features.
Given the broader feature set and unique functionalities tailored to operational digitization, STAY edges ahead for hotels seeking a comprehensive solution.
Edge: STAY.
HolidayHero's review data does not report on support ratings, making it difficult to evaluate customer service quality. Its lack of recent reviews further limits insights into post-implementation support.
STAY’s support rating is 4.83/5, with reviewers consistently describing its team as helpful and responsive. Comments highlight fast issue resolution, helpful onboarding, and ongoing assistance, making it a dependable partner for hotels needing reliable support.
Edge: STAY.
HolidayHero integrates with five verified partners, including Sihot and PMS systems, but its integrations are relatively limited compared to STAY. Its partnerships cover a few core hotel systems, but the platform’s ecosystem remains narrower.
STAY boasts 20 verified partners, including major PMS and CRM systems like Hotelkit, SiteMinder, Oracle Hospitality, and Unifocus. Its extensive integrations support complex hotel operations, offering a flexible, multi-system environment.
Edge: STAY.
Given HolidayHero's lack of recent reviews, it has no current ratings or property segment data, making evaluation impossible. Conversely, STAY’s 206 reviews in the last six months with a 3/5 overall rating reflect steady, recent feedback from a broad range of hotel types.
Large chain hotels and resorts rate STAY highly, appreciating its operational impact and ease of use. Smaller properties and boutique hotels also find value in its simplicity and integration capabilities.
Edge: STAY.
Both platforms are priced at a flat rate of $300 per month, with no mention of additional implementation fees, freemium models, or usage tiers. The uniform pricing simplifies comparison for hotels considering either platform.
Since both cost the same, your decision should focus on features, support, and fit rather than price.
HolidayHero is suitable for hotels seeking to elevate guest relationships and revenue through targeted messaging and upselling.
STAY is best for hotels aiming to modernize operations, optimize staff workflows, and provide real-time service updates.
HolidayHero is designed to boost guest satisfaction through personalized messaging, upselling, and AI insights. Its focus on guest engagement makes it appealing for hotels emphasizing guest experience and revenue growth.
STAY, on the other hand, excels in operational efficiency and service digitization, proven by its extensive reviews, integrations, and client success stories. Its high support ratings and broad industry adoption make it a safer choice for hotels seeking a comprehensive guest experience platform.
If sample reviews and recent data matter most to your decision, STAY’s strong market presence and high satisfaction ratings clearly position it as the more reliable, scalable solution. For hotels focused on guest interaction and upselling, consider HolidayHero, but be aware of its current limited review data and untested market presence.
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 $300/mo | From $300/mo |
According to HTR's product database, HolidayHero and STAY Guest App share 10 features. Here are the key differences — features one has that the other lacks.
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| Automated Replies | ||
| Chatbot | ||
| Message Routing | ||
| Mobile App | ||
| Mobile Checkin | ||
| Payments |
We analyzed 8 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.
"Thanks to STAY, we offer our guests an interaction tool with our staff. We can make real-time decisions with it. This simplifies our staff's duties at the same time. The guest expe..."
No published case study for this goal yet.
"Implementing STAY contributed to a significant increase in our revenue and customer satisfaction. The app pays for itself. We have seen significant increases in consumption for all..."
Unique capabilities
What hoteliers love
Multiple reviews highlight how STAY dramatically enhances guest experience by providing digital and sustainable ways for guests to access information... Multiple reviews highlight how STAY dramatically enhances guest experience by providing digital and sustainable ways for guests to access information and services. Features like real-time updates, mobile service ordering, and the ability to make restaurant reservations reduce wait times and provide convenience.
The app's user interface and mobile experience are lauded for being intuitive and easy to navigate. Users find it simple to update information and man... The app's user interface and mobile experience are lauded for being intuitive and easy to navigate. Users find it simple to update information and manage content, whether they are hotel staff or guests.
STAY aids in improving hotel operational efficiency by allowing quicker handling of guest requests, optimized internal processes, and reduced front de... STAY aids in improving hotel operational efficiency by allowing quicker handling of guest requests, optimized internal processes, and reduced front desk lines. The tool facilitates sustainable practices by digitizing traditional paper-based services, aiding hotels in their sustainability goals.
Where hoteliers push back
The CMS is highlighted for its ease of use and customization capabilities, though users have indicated some areas for improvement, particularly more f... The CMS is highlighted for its ease of use and customization capabilities, though users have indicated some areas for improvement, particularly more flexibility in design and functionality.
Users appreciate STAY's robust integration capabilities with various internal applications and systems, including PMS and CRM systems. These integrati... Users appreciate STAY's robust integration capabilities with various internal applications and systems, including PMS and CRM systems. These integrations streamline data management and help provide a seamless experience for both staff and guests.
Unique capabilities
Where the ratings diverge most
It depends on your requirements. HolidayHero and STAY Guest App share many core Hotel Guest Apps features, but each has unique capabilities. HolidayHero offers 5 verified integration partners, while STAY Guest App offers 20. Review the feature comparison above to see where they differ before switching.
Small hotels should prioritize ease of use and fast onboarding. STAY Guest App leads in ease of use at 4.8/5 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.
HolidayHero: No. STAY Guest App: 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. HolidayHero has an HT Score of 0 and STAY has 47. 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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