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 137 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:
freetobook shines in ease of use and customer support , with exclusive features like Transactional Emails (booking, folios, etc) and Payment Requests.
Softstar shines .
Side-by-side ratings based on 137 verified hotelier reviews on HTR.
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| Starting Price | From $200/mo | Contact sales |
| Verified Reviews | 137 | 0 |
After analyzing 137 verified reviews, freetobook users most value its ease of use, pricing/value for money, guest experience enhancements, while Softstar users highlight . Click any theme to see what reviewers say.
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Ease of Use
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Pricing/Value for Money
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Guest Experience Enhancements
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Channel Management
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Customization
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Self-Catering Focus
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Handling of Single vs. Double Occupancy Rates
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How each product ranks among Property Management Systems 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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Softstar |
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| Small (10-24 rooms) ▾ | #28 26 reviews | — |
| Mid-Size (25-74 rooms) | #53 2 reviews | — |
| X-Large (200+ rooms) | #25 1 reviews | — |
By Property Type
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Softstar |
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| Boutique ▾ | #23 24 reviews | — |
| Luxury ▾ | #26 20 reviews | — |
| Branded / Chain ▾ | #31 6 reviews | — |
| Extended Stay ▾ | #26 5 reviews | — |
By Region
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Softstar |
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| North America ▾ | #28 6 reviews | — |
| Europe ▾ | #8 94 reviews | — |
| Asia Pacific | #22 2 reviews | — |
| Middle East | #14 2 reviews | — |
Choosing between freetobook by freetobook and Softstar hinges on your hotel’s specific needs. Both aim to streamline property operations, but freetobook’s focus is on independent hotels and B&Bs with a robust set of booking, channel management, and guest engagement tools. Softstar, on the other hand, is tailored for property management with a strong emphasis on automation and data-driven insights, primarily for rental properties or larger portfolios. Which suite better aligns with your operational priorities?
freetobook offers a comprehensive, easy-to-use platform with a proven track record backed by over 129 recent reviews and a high customer satisfaction score. Softstar’s offering remains largely unreviewed, providing no current user feedback to gauge its effectiveness. Given the recent reviews and high ratings, freetobook’s established reputation makes it the more reliable choice for hoteliers today.
freetobook is explicitly designed for small to medium-sized hotels and B&Bs, providing tools tailored for their needs—like channel management, booking engine, guest messaging, and revenue tracking. Softstar’s core strengths lie in property automation, tenant management, and financial reporting, which are less relevant for most hotel operations.
While freetobook boasts a 4.91/5 ease of use and support rating, Softstar’s lack of review data means we cannot confirm its user-friendliness or support quality. For hotels seeking reliable, proven PMS with a focus on direct bookings and guest experience, freetobook’s recent reviews and high NPS score favor it. Are you prioritizing guest engagement or operational automation?
If your hotel needs an all-in-one property management system that simplifies bookings, enhances guest communication, and manages distribution channels, go with freetobook. Its over 129 recent reviews, 4.91/5 support rating, and 87+ overall score demonstrate its effectiveness in small hotel environments.
However, if your property heavily emphasizes automation of tenant management, maintenance, or rental income optimization, Softstar could be more suitable—though the lack of current hotel reviews makes this uncertain. For now, freetobook’s proven track record and dedicated hotel features make it the clearer choice for most hotel operators.
freetobook’s intuitive interface, rated 4.91/5 for ease of use, makes onboarding straightforward for staff—even those less tech-savvy. Its recent reviews praise its simplicity, with many users highlighting how new staff can quickly learn the system, reducing administrative burdens.
Softstar has no available user ratings or recent reviews, so its ease of use remains unverified. Given the detailed user feedback for freetobook, the edge clearly goes to it for user-friendliness and quick onboarding.
Edge: freetobook.
freetobook offers 38 unique features—including a channel manager, booking engine, guest messaging, real-time reporting, online check-in, integrated payment processing, and revenue management modules—specifically tailored for hotel operations. Softstar’s features focus on property automation, tenant tracking, and maintenance scheduling, with no hotel-specific functionalities listed.
The extensive feature set and hotel-centric tools in freetobook, along with its dedicated integrations like Stripe and RoomPriceGenie, give it a significant advantage. For comprehensive hotel management, freetobook’s features are unmatched in this comparison.
Edge: freetobook.
freetobook’s recent reviews consistently praise its customer support, rating it 4.91/5 with comments emphasizing quick response times and knowledgeable assistance. Reviewers describe support staff as friendly, helpful, and proactive, which is crucial for small hoteliers relying on timely help.
In contrast, Softstar has no current reviews or support ratings available, making it impossible to assess its customer service. Based on available data, freetobook’s support quality is a clear advantage.
Edge: freetobook.
freetobook integrates with four verified partners, including Stripe, RoomPriceGenie, and Pitchup.com, facilitating payments, dynamic pricing, and distribution. Softstar currently has no verified integrations, limiting its connectivity with other systems.
The ability to connect with popular payment and marketing tools makes freetobook more adaptable for hotels seeking to optimize their tech stack. Its integrations significantly enhance operational flexibility, favoring freetobook.
Edge: freetobook.
freetobook’s recent reviews, from active users over the last six months, maintain a 99% likelihood to recommend and a 4.91/5 support and ease-of-use rating. Hotels across segments, especially small B&Bs and inns, highlight its simplicity, value, and operational efficiency.
Softstar’s lack of recent reviews makes it impossible to gauge user sentiment. Given the consistent positive feedback for freetobook, it is clearly the hotelier-preferred option based on current ratings.
Edge: freetobook.
freetobook charges a flat base fee of $200, with no additional implementation, monthly per-room fees, or freemium options. Pricing details for Softstar are not publicly available, which could complicate budgeting decisions.
The transparent, straightforward pricing of freetobook makes it easier for hoteliers to evaluate ROI. Without clear Softstar costs, freetobook provides better financial clarity.
freetobook is a well-established, highly-rated property management system with a focus on independent hotels and B&Bs. Its extensive features, ease of use, and recent positive reviews make it a reliable choice for small to medium-sized hoteliers looking to grow and streamline operations.
Softstar’s offering, while promising in automation and tenant management, currently lacks the hotel-specific features and user feedback needed to evaluate its fit. For most hoteliers, freetobook’s proven track record and comprehensive suite give it the edge.
Choose freetobook if you want a straightforward, hotel-focused platform with proven support and features. Opt for Softstar only if your property management needs extend into automation and rental management, and you’re prepared to navigate unreviewed territory.
In conclusion, for today’s hotelier seeking stability, user satisfaction, and operational efficiency, freetobook stands out as the clearly superior choice.
Property Management Systems 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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Softstar | |
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| Starting Price | From $200/mo | — |
According to HTR's product database, freetobook and Softstar share 0 features. Here are the key differences — features one has that the other lacks.
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Softstar |
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| Automated Space Optimization | ||
| Booking Engine | ||
| Centralized Messaging | ||
| Channel Manager | ||
| Payment Requests | ||
| Transactional Emails (booking, folios, etc) |
Showing top differences. 26 more features differ between these products.
What hoteliers love
The software’s user-friendly nature is a major highlight, enabling even less tech-savvy users to manage their properties efficiently. This simplicity... The software’s user-friendly nature is a major highlight, enabling even less tech-savvy users to manage their properties efficiently. This simplicity allows property owners and managers to easily navigate the system, reducing the time required for administrative tasks and thereby increasing focus on improving guest services.
Freetobook is perceived as excellent value for money, offering advanced features at competitive pricing. Users recognize its affordability in comparis... Freetobook is perceived as excellent value for money, offering advanced features at competitive pricing. Users recognize its affordability in comparison to other systems, which is particularly attractive to small accommodation businesses looking to maintain professional operations without significant outlays.
Freetobook enables hotels to enhance the guest experience through features like the GuestAppy system, which provides personalized booking confirmation... Freetobook enables hotels to enhance the guest experience through features like the GuestAppy system, which provides personalized booking confirmations and tailored options. Users note these additions positively impact guest satisfaction and help in delivering a more professional service.
Where hoteliers push back
Although generally praised for its flexibility, some users feel there's room for improvement regarding customization options, particularly for invoice... Although generally praised for its flexibility, some users feel there's room for improvement regarding customization options, particularly for invoices and booking summaries. Enhanced options would allow users to better tailor the system to specific operational needs, improving overall satisfaction.
The system is primarily designed for hotels, and some reviewers have indicated a need for more self-catering features, suggesting potential for expans... The system is primarily designed for hotels, and some reviewers have indicated a need for more self-catering features, suggesting potential for expansion in this area. Addressing this could make Freetobook more attractive to a wider variety of accommodation providers.
Unique capabilities
Where the ratings diverge most
It depends on your requirements. freetobook and Softstar share many core Property Management Systems features, but each has unique capabilities. freetobook offers 4 verified integration partners, while Softstar offers 0. Review the feature comparison above to see where they differ before switching.
Small hotels should prioritize ease of use and fast onboarding. freetobook leads in ease of use at 4.9/5 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.
freetobook: No. Softstar: No. Neither product currently offers a free tier. Most Property Management Systems 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. freetobook has an HT Score of 87 and Softstar 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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