Crave Interactive (Tablets) vs. Lava:
Which Is Right for You?

The Decision

Your hotel is evaluating in-room tablet solutions to enhance guest experience and streamline operations. Crave Interactive offers a dedicated hotel-focused platform with extensive features and proven customer satisfaction, while Lava provides hardware and connectivity devices primarily for technical integration. Both aim to improve your in-room amenities, but they serve different core needs: Crave enhances guest engagement directly, Lava ensures robust connectivity. Which solution aligns better with your immediate priorities?

Is Crave Interactive or Lava Better for Hotels?

Crave Interactive specializes in in-room tablets designed specifically for hospitality. It boasts a high customer rating of 4.6/5 from 147 reviews, with recent feedback confirming its ease of use and feature-rich platform. Lava, by contrast, scores no ratings or reviews, indicating limited customer feedback in the hotel sector, focusing instead on industrial and technical connectivity hardware.

While Crave offers a comprehensive guest engagement solution with 55 features tailored for hotels—like digital directories, room service ordering, multilingual support, and guest messaging—Lava's offerings are primarily hardware devices for connectivity, such as Ethernet-to-serial interfaces and IoT modules. If your goal is to directly enhance guest interactions and services, Crave is the more relevant choice. But if your hotel needs robust connectivity hardware for customized integrations, Lava’s solutions might be necessary.

Given the recent and abundant reviews for Crave, it provides clearer insights into real hotel implementations. Lava’s lack of reviews creates uncertainty about its suitability for hospitality applications. Ultimately, the decision hinges on whether your focus is guest-facing services or technical infrastructure.

Crave Interactive vs Lava: Which Should Your Hotel Choose?

If your hotel needs a ready-to-deploy, feature-rich in-room guest engagement platform, go with Crave Interactive. Its extensive hotel-specific functionalities and positive reviews make it a top contender for improving guest satisfaction and operational efficiency. Conversely, if your team requires hardware components like serial interfaces, PoE devices, or IoT connectivity to support existing or custom systems, Lava’s industrial-grade devices are the better fit.

Crave serves hotels seeking a complete guest experience solution, with a user-friendly interface, multi-language support, and upselling capabilities. Lava appeals to technical teams aiming to build or upgrade infrastructure with reliable, industry-standard connectivity devices. Your choice should depend on whether your priority is guest interaction or backend connectivity.

Is Crave Interactive or Lava Easier to Use?

Crave has an impressive ease-of-use rating of 4.5/5, supported by numerous positive reviews praising its intuitive interface and quick setup. Users report minimal difficulties for staff and guests, with many mentioning how the tablets simplify service access, dining, and hotel info.

Lava does not have usability ratings or user reviews, as its core offerings are hardware components rather than user-facing platforms. Without customer feedback, it's impossible to determine how user-friendly Lava’s products are in a hospitality context.

Edge: Crave Interactive.

Which Has Better Features: Crave Interactive or Lava?

Crave offers 55 unique hotel-focused features, including digital directories, multilingual support, contactless payments, room service ordering, guest messaging, local recommendations, and integrations with POS and PMS systems. These features directly enhance guest engagement and streamline hotel operations, enabling upselling and personalized services.

Lava’s product lineup consists solely of hardware and connectivity solutions, with no software features tailored for hotel guest services. It provides essential connectivity tools but lacks the built-in features found in Crave’s platform.

Edge: Crave Interactive.

Which Has Better Customer Support: Crave Interactive or Lava?

Crave’s support team consistently earns a 4.6/5 rating, with reviews highlighting their responsiveness and assistance during setup and maintenance. Hotels appreciate their quick responses and proactive service, making onboarding and ongoing support smoother.

Lava lacks recent reviews or ratings from hotel clients, focusing instead on technical industries. There’s no available feedback to assess support quality within the hospitality sector.

Edge: Crave Interactive.

Which Has More Integrations: Crave Interactive or Lava?

Crave integrates with 17 verified partners, including major industry players like Oracle Hospitality, Infor, and Amadeus. These integrations facilitate seamless connectivity with PMS, POS systems, and other hotel management tools, extending its functionality.

Lava has no publicly verified integrations with hotel software systems, as its products primarily serve industrial automation and connectivity in other sectors. For hotel-specific integrations, Crave clearly leads.

Edge: Crave Interactive.

Which Do Hoteliers Rate Higher: Crave Interactive or Lava?

Crave’s hotel reviews reflect a 4.6/5 overall rating, with recent feedback emphasizing ease of use, support quality, and feature richness. Brands like Nobu Los Cabos and Foxhills Resort praise how Crave improves guest satisfaction and operational efficiency.

Lava has no hotel-related reviews or ratings, making it impossible to gauge hotelier satisfaction. Its reputation appears confined to industrial and technical markets, not hospitality.

Edge: Crave Interactive.

How Much Do Crave Interactive and Lava Cost?

Crave’s pricing is clear at a base of $1,200, with no mention of ongoing monthly fees or implementation costs. This straightforward model offers transparency for hotel budgets.

Lava’s pricing is not publicly available, as its focus is on hardware and bespoke connectivity solutions tailored to clients’ technical needs. Since no hotel-specific pricing is provided, cost comparison favors Crave’s transparent model.

What Type of Hotel Should Use Crave Interactive?

• Hotels that want to improve guest satisfaction through digital engagement, especially those with a focus on modern amenities.
• Properties seeking to reduce front desk workload via self-service check-in, bill viewing, and service ordering.
• Hotels looking to upsell services like dining, spa, and activities through digital menus and messaging.
• Resorts, boutique hotels, and luxury properties aiming for a high-tech guest experience.
• Teams that value ongoing support and frequent feature updates.

Not ideal if:

• Your hotel has limited budget for initial hardware investment.
• You prefer customized hardware solutions rather than an out-of-the-box platform.
• Your property primarily relies on traditional service models without digital guest touchpoints.

What Type of Hotel Should Use Lava?

• Hotels or facilities that require industrial-grade connectivity hardware for customized systems.
• Properties with a technical team capable of integrating advanced devices into existing infrastructure.
• Resorts or large properties with complex operational setups needing reliable serial, Ethernet, or IoT interfaces.
• Teams focused on seamless device connectivity rather than direct guest interaction via tablets.

Not ideal if:

• Your hotel seeks a ready-to-use guest engagement platform.
• You prefer software solutions with built-in hotel-specific features.
• Your team lacks technical expertise for hardware integration.

Crave Interactive vs Lava: The Bottom Line for Hotels

Crave Interactive offers a comprehensive, hotel-specific in-room tablet platform with a proven track record, high user satisfaction, and extensive integrations. Its 147 recent reviews and high ratings solidify its reputation as a top choice for enhancing guest experience and operational efficiency.

Lava provides industrial hardware and connectivity solutions, but its lack of hotel-focused features and absence of recent reviews make it less suitable for direct guest engagement. If your priority is guest-facing services, Crave is the clear winner.

Choose Crave if you want a plug-and-play solution with proven hotel success. Opt for Lava only if your hotel’s needs are strictly technical, and you have the resources to develop a custom interface or integration.

In summary: Crave Interactive’s hotel-tailored platform is the stronger, more reliable choice for hoteliers seeking to elevate the guest experience today. Lava’s hardware solutions are better suited for technical infrastructure needs, not direct guest engagement.