Crave Interactive Tablets (acq by HCN) vs. SuitePad:
Which Is Right for You?

The Decision

Choosing the right in-room hotel tablet system can significantly influence your guest experience, operational efficiency, and revenue. Crave Interactive and SuitePad are two leading options, each with unique strengths and weaknesses. Both platforms aim to streamline guest communication and enhance engagement, but they diverge in their feature sets, user experience, and support. Your decision hinges on which product aligns best with your hotel’s specific needs and priorities.

Crave Interactive is known for its extensive feature set, robust integrations, and a broader global presence, while SuitePad emphasizes premium hardware, high guest satisfaction scores, and a focus on sustainability. Given the current market data, which product offers the most value for your hotel?

Is Crave Interactive or SuitePad Better for Hotels?

Both Crave and SuitePad aim to elevate your guest experience with in-room tablets, but they serve slightly different hotel types and operational philosophies. Crave leans toward hotels seeking deep customization and a versatile set of features like multi-lingual support, digital menus, and integrated payments, making it ideal for upscale properties with complex service offerings. SuitePad, on the other hand, excels in delivering a sleek, user-friendly interface with a focus on communication, upselling, and eco-friendly practices, suited for properties aiming for simplicity and sustainability.

Crave’s strength lies in its extensive integrations and feature count—over 26 unique features—targeting hotels that want comprehensive control and advanced options. SuitePad offers a more curated experience with 29 shared features and a focus on ease of use, guest engagement, and safety, such as its no-camera policy. Given these differences, your choice depends on whether your hotel values feature depth or streamlined simplicity.

Are you looking for a platform with extensive customization and advanced integrations, or one that prioritizes intuitive design and guest safety?

Crave Interactive vs SuitePad: Which Should Your Hotel Choose?

If your hotel operates in a luxury or boutique segment that values high customization, multi-language support, and payment integrations, Crave is the better choice. Its feature set includes in-room ordering, guest messaging, web-app access, and NFC, making it suitable for hotels that want to offer a versatile, multi-functional guest experience.

Conversely, if your hotel emphasizes guest communication, sustainability, and quick implementation, SuitePad is preferable. It’s rated higher for ease of use, with a 4.68/5 UI rating, and offers robust in-room features like booking, hotel directory, and TV control. For properties focused on high guest engagement and simplicity, SuitePad’s reputation for high user satisfaction makes it stand out.

For hotels seeking a feature-rich, highly customizable system, Crave is ideal. If your goal is intuitive operation with a focus on communication and sustainability, SuitePad is the recommended choice.

Is Crave Interactive or SuitePad Easier to Use?

Crave’s platform scores 4.5/5 for ease of use, with reviews noting the intuitive interface and seamless guest interactions. Its onboarding process is rated 4.37/5, which suggests solid but potentially room for improvement in staff training and implementation.

SuitePad edges out slightly with a 4.68/5 UI rating and onboarding score of 4.65/5, with users praising its simplicity, quick setup, and minimal learning curve. Many hotel staff and guests find SuitePad’s interface more approachable, leading to faster staff adoption and higher guest satisfaction.

Edge: SuitePad.

Which Has Better Features: Crave Interactive or SuitePad?

Crave offers 26 features exclusive to its platform, including in-room payments, request management, web-app access, QR code integration, contactless ordering, and POS system integration. Its extensive feature list supports complex service environments and upselling strategies.

SuitePad provides a slightly smaller but highly curated set of 29 shared features, including guest directory, booking, room control, and eco-friendly options like Green Option. Its features are tailored for straightforward, engaging guest interactions, with a focus on communication and sustainability.

Edge: Crave Interactive.

Which Has Better Customer Support: Crave Interactive or SuitePad?

Crave’s customer support scores 4.6/5, with reviews praising their responsiveness and support team’s effectiveness during setup and ongoing operations. Some users, however, mention occasional delays in content updates and limited customization in support.

SuitePad outperforms slightly with a support rating of 4.84/5, and reviews highlight their proactive communication, quick response times, and dedicated onboarding assistance. Many users describe SuitePad’s support as a key factor in their positive experience.

Edge: SuitePad.

Which Has More Integrations: Crave Interactive or SuitePad?

Crave boasts 17 verified integrations, including partners like PressReader, Book4Time, Kipsu, and Google Pay. Its integrations support a broad range of hotel operations, from guest entertainment to payments.

SuitePad has 23 verified partners, including FLEXIPASS, Mews, hotelkit, and Beekeeper, offering extensive options for property management, guest communication, and access control. Its high number of integrations provides flexibility for diverse hotel ecosystems.

Edge: SuitePad.

Which Do Hoteliers Rate Higher: Crave Interactive or SuitePad?

SuitePad leads with an overall rating of 4.78/5, based on 290 reviews, and a recent review count of 13 in the last six months. Hoteliers across segments like luxury and city center properties express high satisfaction with its ease of use and guest engagement.

Crave scores 4.6/5 from 147 reviews, with a focus on its feature depth and customization. However, its fewer recent reviews and slightly lower overall rating suggest SuitePad currently enjoys a higher user approval.

Edge: SuitePad.

How Much Do Crave Interactive and SuitePad Cost?

Crave’s pricing starts at $1,200 for a base package, with no mention of monthly fees or implementation charges—indicating a straightforward licensing model. SuitePad’s base price is $1,400, also without additional implementation fees, but with a slight premium.

While both are similarly priced, SuitePad’s performance-based pricing model in some cases offers more flexibility, especially for hotels wary of upfront costs. Pricing details should be confirmed directly to tailor the best plan for your property.

What Type of Hotel Should Use Crave Interactive?

• Hotels that prioritize extensive customization and feature depth.
• Properties with complex service offerings needing integrated payments, request management, and multi-language support.
• Hotels aiming to reduce paper waste and promote digital check-ins.
• Larger resorts or boutique hotels with dedicated IT support and the capacity to handle rich content updates.

Not ideal if your hotel seeks a simplified, easy-to-deploy system or has limited staff capacity for complex integrations.

What Type of Hotel Should Use SuitePad?

• Hotels that want a highly intuitive, guest-friendly platform.
• Properties focusing on sustainability, with features like Green Option.
• Hotels prioritizing fast onboarding and high guest satisfaction scores.
• Resorts or city hotels seeking to boost engagement and upselling with minimal fuss.

Not ideal if your hotel requires deep customization, advanced integrations, or a highly technical platform with extensive backend controls.

The Bottom Line for Hotels

Crave Interactive is a versatile, feature-rich platform that suits hotels needing extensive customization, multi-lingual support, and deep integration. It’s best for larger, upscale properties with dedicated technical teams and complex service needs.

SuitePad offers a sleek, user-friendly experience with excellent guest engagement and support for sustainability initiatives. Its high ratings, ease of use, and extensive integrations make it a top choice for hotels wanting quick deployment and high guest satisfaction.

If your hotel values comprehensive features and flexibility, Crave is the clear winner. For properties prioritizing simplicity, guest experience, and support, SuitePad is the stronger candidate.

In conclusion, SuitePad's higher recent review count, user ratings, and support quality position it as the leading choice for most hoteliers focused on guest engagement and operational ease. However, if your hotel demands a highly customizable system with advanced features, Crave will serve you well—just be prepared for a steeper learning curve and potentially longer setup times.