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 22 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:
Sojern stands out with exclusive features like Guest profiles and Guest Feedback Module (comment cards/reviews).
Side-by-side ratings based on 22 verified hotelier reviews on HTR.
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| Ease of Use |
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| Starting Price | From $400/mo | Contact sales |
| Verified Reviews | 22 | 0 |
How each product ranks among Hotel CRM & Email Marketing 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) | #16 2 reviews | — |
| Mid-Size (25-74 rooms) ▾ | #21 6 reviews | — |
| Large (75-199 rooms) | #18 3 reviews | — |
| X-Large (200+ rooms) | #15 2 reviews | — |
By Property Type
| Segment |
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| Boutique ▾ | #21 5 reviews | — |
| Luxury | #27 1 reviews | — |
| Branded / Chain | #21 4 reviews | — |
| Extended Stay | #28 0 reviews | — |
By Region
| Segment |
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| North America ▾ | #9 10 reviews | — |
| Europe | #30 2 reviews | — |
| Asia Pacific | #18 0 reviews | — |
| Middle East | #15 0 reviews | — |
Sojern Guest Marketing Suite and WhatCounts serve the hotel CRM and email marketing space but diverge sharply in hotel-specific capabilities and market presence. Sojern targets hotels with a dedicated guest engagement platform featuring email, SMS, and chat touchpoints tailored for pre-, mid-, and post-stay communications. Its design supports direct bookings and ancillary revenue growth through personalized campaigns. WhatCounts positions as a broader email marketing platform for travel-related sectors, including hotels, but lacks verified hotel-specific features and integrations.
Both platforms aim to help hotels improve guest communication and revenue via targeted marketing. However, Sojern’s features and integrations are explicitly crafted for hotel operations, while WhatCounts offers a general travel-industry email marketing solution without demonstrated hotel-centric functionality or adoption. This fundamental difference shapes their suitability for properties seeking a CRM that integrates into hospitality workflows.
If you run an independent or branded hotel with direct booking goals, Sojern’s 13 verified reviews averaging 4.8+ across ease of use, support, and value indicate strong operator satisfaction. Its 35 integrations with hotel reservation systems like Profitroom and Mirai allow seamless data flows critical for personalized marketing. This is reinforced by segment-specific ratings: City Center Hotels (4.9/5 over 6 reviews), Resorts (5/5 over 4 reviews), and Branded Hotels (5/5 over 4 reviews) all rate Sojern highly.
Conversely, WhatCounts has no verified reviews, no hotel-specific integrations, and does not publish pricing publicly, which limits evidence of fit for any hotel segment. Hotels prioritizing proven ease of reconciliation, GDPR and PCI compliance, or guest feedback modules should favor Sojern. Given the absence of hotel references or reviews for WhatCounts, properties seeking a vetted hotel CRM or email marketing tool would find Sojern the safer choice by evidence.
Sojern scores 4.8/5 ease of use and 4.9/5 onboarding from 13 reviews, with users praising quick reconciliation of bookings and intuitive invoice updates. One reviewer emphasized straightforward monthly invoice reconciliation and clear email information, vital for accounting and front desk workflows. Another noted that initial complexity improved over time with Sojern’s support, a common scenario with integrated marketing platforms.
WhatCounts has no verified reviews addressing usability or onboarding, so no direct comparison data exists. The lack of recent user feedback means its ease of use for hotel operations remains untested.
Edge: Even.
Sojern offers 11 hotel-specific features WhatCounts lacks, including campaign and transactional email templates designed for hospitality, guest profiles, GDPR and CCPA compliance, automatic de-duplication, and PCI compliance. These features directly affect daily workflows: for example, guest profiles centralize reservation and contact data allowing marketing teams to segment and personalize campaigns effectively. The guest feedback module helps hotels collect reviews post-stay, impacting reputation management and Google scores.
WhatCounts does not list any unique hotel features or integrations, indicating a gap in specialized functionality for hotels. Without these, hotels may need additional systems to handle compliance or guest data segmentation.
Edge: Sojern Guest Marketing Suite.
Sojern’s 4.8/5 customer support and 4.9/5 onboarding ratings are supported by reviewer comments highlighting responsive teams and helpful guidance during reconciliation and campaign management. One hotelier appreciated Sojern’s willingness to step through reconciliation issues, a critical operational need to align bookings with marketing spend. Another requested more regular performance updates, suggesting engagement is ongoing.
WhatCounts has no verified customer support ratings or reviews, so its support quality cannot be evaluated.
Edge: Even.
Sojern integrates with 35 verified hotel technology partners, including Profitroom, Mirai, ROIBACK, and Bookassist. These integrations enable automated data exchange between PMS, booking engines, and marketing platforms, essential for accurate campaign targeting and performance tracking. For example, syncing with Profitroom automates guest data import, reducing manual errors at the front desk and marketing teams.
WhatCounts has zero verified integrations for hotels, offering no evidence of compatibility with common hotel systems. This absence impedes seamless operations and may require manual processes or third-party middleware.
Edge: Sojern Guest Marketing Suite.
Sojern holds a 5/5 overall rating across 13 reviews, with 99% likelihood to recommend. Its segment-specific reviews show consistently high ratings: Resorts and Branded Hotels at 5/5, City Center Hotels at 4.9/5, and Boutique Hotels at 4.9/5. This breadth suggests Sojern’s platform meets diverse hotel operational needs. The last six months have one review, reflecting limited but steady ongoing usage and satisfaction.
WhatCounts has no verified hotel reviews, making its rating and recency impossible to assess. Without user feedback, its perceived value and fit for hotels remain unproven.
Edge: Even.
Sojern publishes a base price of $400.00, with no freemium, monthly flat, or per-room pricing. There is no implementation fee or trial period. This transparent pricing aids budgeting for mid-sized and larger properties with established marketing budgets.
WhatCounts does not disclose pricing publicly. The lack of pricing transparency can complicate cost comparisons and procurement decisions for hotels.
Not ideal if:
Not ideal if:
The core difference lies in Sojern’s dedicated focus on hotel CRM and multi-channel guest engagement tailored to hospitality workflows, versus WhatCounts’ broader, unverified email marketing platform for travel. Sojern’s 11 hotel-specific features, 35 integrations, and strong ratings across hotel segments demonstrate clear operational fit. WhatCounts lacks hotel reviews, integrations, or pricing transparency, limiting evidence of suitability.
Choose Sojern if your hotel values automated guest data syncing with PMS and booking engines, GDPR and PCI compliance, and built-in guest feedback mechanisms to improve guest satisfaction and direct bookings. Sojern’s 5/5 rating across multiple hotel segments and 99% recommend rate confirm its relevance.
Consider WhatCounts only if your property seeks a general email marketing tool without hotel integration needs or if you represent a travel sector outside hotels. Without hotel-specific evidence, WhatCounts carries risk for properties needing proven hotel CRM functionality.
Hotel CRM & Email Marketing 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 $400/mo | — |
These are the features each vendor has configured, organized by feature group — the same data shown in the vendor dashboard. Expand a group to compare features side by side.
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Marketing Automation
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| Personalized one-to-communication | ||
| A/B Testing | ||
| Event Based Automations | ||
| Email Newsletters | ||
| Database Health Monitoring | ||
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Template Builder
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| Template Editor | ||
| WYSIWYG - HTML Editor | ||
| Campaign Templates | ||
| Transactional Templates | ||
| Template Importing | ||
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Guest Profiles
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| Guest profiles | ||
| Database Health Monitoring | ||
| GDPR Compliant | ||
| CCPA Compliant | ||
| Automatic De-Duping | ||
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Segmentation
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| Segmentation | ||
| Database Health Monitoring | ||
| Tagging | ||
| Loyalty Segmentation | ||
| Attribute Based Segmentation | ||
| Geographic Based Segmentation | ||
| Channel/Market Based Segmentation | ||
| Lead Time Based Segmentation | ||
| Room Type Based Segmentation | ||
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Privacy & Compliance
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| GDPR Compliant | ||
| CCPA Compliant | ||
| PCI Complaint | ||
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Data Management
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| Centralized data warehouse | ||
| Database Health Monitoring | ||
| Open API | ||
| Centralized multi-hotel/multi-brand solution | ||
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Feedback & Surveys
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| Guest Feedback Module (comment cards/reviews) | ||
| Trip Advisor Connectivity Partner |
Unique capabilities
It depends on your requirements. Sojern Guest Marketing Suite and WhatCounts share many core Hotel CRM & Email Marketing features, but each has unique capabilities. Sojern Guest Marketing Suite offers 35 verified integration partners, while WhatCounts offers 0. Review the feature comparison above to see where they differ before switching.
Sojern Guest Marketing Suite: No. WhatCounts: No. Neither product currently offers a free tier. Most Hotel CRM & Email Marketing 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. Sojern has an HT Score of 0 and WhatCounts 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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