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 244 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:
Exely shines when it comes to ease of use and daily operations — especially for brand properties (0.0/5) .
Viato shines .
Side-by-side ratings based on 244 verified hotelier reviews on HTR.
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| Starting Price | From $100/mo | From $400/mo |
| Verified Reviews | 242 | 2 |
After analyzing 244 verified reviews, Exely users most value its ease of use and daily operations, channel management and multi-ota distribution, support quality and responsiveness, while Viato users highlight . Click any theme to see what reviewers say.
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Ease of use and daily operations
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Channel management and multi-OTA distribution
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Support quality and responsiveness
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Direct bookings and website conversion
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Reporting and analytics depth
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Interface, navigation, and speed issues
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PMS and third-party integrations
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How each product ranks among Channel Managers 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) ▾ | #15 26 reviews | #34 1 reviews |
| Mid-Size (25-74 rooms) ▾ | #9 51 reviews | — |
| Large (75-199 rooms) ▾ | #14 5 reviews | — |
| X-Large (200+ rooms) ▾ | #7 5 reviews | — |
By Property Type
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| Boutique ▾ | #15 29 reviews | — |
| Luxury ▾ | #13 27 reviews | — |
| Branded / Chain ▾ | #15 14 reviews | — |
| Extended Stay ▾ | #14 6 reviews | #30 1 reviews |
By Region
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| North America | #18 2 reviews | — |
| Europe ▾ | #19 10 reviews | #31 1 reviews |
| Asia Pacific ▾ | #5 67 reviews | — |
| Middle East ▾ | #7 13 reviews | — |
Choosing the right channel management solution hinges on your hotel's specific needs, your team's workflow, and your growth ambitions. Both Exely Channel Manager and Viato aim to optimize your online distribution and simplify operations, but they approach this goal differently. Exely, with its extensive regional presence and larger user base, emphasizes ease of use and operational reliability, while Viato offers a more integrated platform, though with a narrower market footprint.
The key question: which product aligns better with your hotel's size, market, and feature priorities? Let’s compare both to help you make an informed choice.
Exely stands out with its high overall ratings, especially in customer support and ease of use, backed by over 102 reviews — and recent feedback remains strong with 34 reviews in the last six months. Its focus on simplifying channel management and reducing manual workload makes it ideal for hotels wanting reliable, straightforward solutions.
Viato, in contrast, has only 2 reviews and no recent feedback, which diminishes confidence in its current performance. While it offers unique features like yield rules and PMS connectivity, the limited review data makes it difficult to gauge its real-world effectiveness.
Given the recent, ample customer feedback, Exely’s reliability is clearer. Are you prepared to risk less proven solutions? Or are you willing to accept limited data in exchange for a broader feature set?
If your hotel primarily needs a robust, easy-to-use channel manager with proven support and a wide regional footprint, go with Exely. It’s especially suitable if operational simplicity, extensive integrations, and strong customer service are top priorities.
On the other hand, if your hotel requires a platform that consolidates reservations, channel management, and a booking engine into one interface—and you’re operating mainly within Europe—Viato could appeal, despite its limited review data. However, the absence of recent reviews makes it less reliable currently.
For hotels seeking proven stability and broad regional coverage, Exely takes the lead. If your operations are localized in Europe and you value an all-in-one platform with specific connectivity features, consider Viato—but proceed with caution.
Exely’s user ratings for ease of use stand at 4.95/5 based on 102 reviews, with a smooth onboarding process rated at 4.86/5. Users consistently praise its intuitive interface, with comments like “The system is stable, and all daily operations are manageable from one dashboard,” and “Very user-friendly, reduces manual work significantly.”
Viato scores a perfect 5/5 for ease of use on just 2 reviews, with users highlighting its structure and simplicity, especially during setup and daily management. However, the small sample size weakens the reliability of this rating.
Edge: Exely. Its larger review base and high ratings confirm it offers a more dependable and user-friendly experience.
Exely provides 13 shared core features, including essential channel management functions. It lacks only additional features like yield rules or PMS connectivity, which are available exclusively in Viato.
Viato, despite having only 2 reviews, offers 2 unique features—yield rules and PMS connectivity—absent from Exely. These can be valuable if you need advanced pricing automation or direct system integration, but their actual performance remains unverified given limited user feedback.
Edge: Exely. Its comprehensive core feature set and proven performance across more users make it the safer choice for most hotels.
Both products excel in support, with Exely receiving a 4.95/5 rating from 102 reviews and Viato a perfect 5/5 from its 2 reviews. Users praise Exely’s quick, helpful responses, noting “Customer support is always responsive and professional,” and “They solve issues rapidly.”
Viato’s support also receives praise for reliability and quick assistance, but the tiny sample size means less confidence. The consistency of Exely’s support ratings and volume makes it the more dependable choice.
Edge: Exely. Its extensive positive reviews and high support ratings make it the safer bet for ongoing assistance.
Exely offers 8 verified partners, including major names like Mews, HotelLab, Oracle Hospitality, and Booking.com. Its broad integration network supports hotel chains and independent properties seeking versatility.
Viato has 7 verified partners, including RateBoard, apaleo, and SIHOT, with some unique integrations but fewer overall.
Shared integrations include Mews, but Exely’s broader partner list gives it slightly more flexibility.
Edge: Exely. Its larger, more diverse integration network supports varied hotel environments.
Exely’s review count (102) with recent feedback places its average rating at 85.10/100, which reflects consistent satisfaction. Hotels of various segments, especially city center, boutique, and resort hotels, rate it highly for efficiency and support.
Viato’s only 2 reviews make meaningful comparison impossible, but both rate it highly for reliability. However, the limited data means we can’t confidently assess user sentiment.
Given the volume and recency of Exely’s reviews, it provides a clearer picture of hotel satisfaction.
Edge: Exely. Its substantial, recent review base ensures a more reliable rating and user perception.
Exely’s pricing is straightforward at $100/month, with no free trial or implementation fees. Its transparent subscription model appeals to hotels seeking predictable costs.
Viato charges $400/month, also without a trial or setup fee, positioning itself as a more premium solution. Its higher price reflects additional features but may be less accessible for smaller operations.
For most hotels, Exely offers a more affordable, predictable investment.
Not ideal if:
Not ideal if:
Exely’s core strength lies in its proven reliability, extensive regional coverage, and high customer satisfaction backed by large review volume. It offers a straightforward, cost-effective solution for hotels seeking to improve operational efficiency and distribution.
Viato, while promising with its integrated platform and unique features, lacks the review volume and recent feedback needed for full confidence. It might appeal to hotels in Europe looking for an all-in-one system but carries more implementation risk.
If your hotel values proven performance, strong support, and broad integrations, Exely is the clear choice. If you’re operating primarily in Europe and need a combined reservation and booking engine with some automation, and are willing to accept less review-backed confidence, Viato could be worth exploring—but proceed carefully.
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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Rate Management
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| Support for Weekly & Monthly Rates | ||
| Yield Rules | ||
| Derived Rates | ||
| Inventory Management | ||
| Inventory grid | ||
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Room Type Mapping
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| Channel Self-Mapping | ||
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Automation & Syncing
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| Bulk Updates & Multiple Restrictions | ||
| 2-way real time integrations | ||
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Administration & Settings
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| Multi-lingual | ||
| Centralized user & role management | ||
| Multi-Currency Support | ||
| Inventory grid | ||
| Integrated Payment Processing | ||
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Analytics & Reporting
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| Analytics dashboard | ||
| Booking Performance and Pace Reporting |
We analyzed 2 verified case studies to compare what hotels actually achieve with each platform across four key business objectives.
"Before Exely, we could not get enough flexibility or functionality we needed. We couldn’t manage dynamic pricing or promotions properly, now the system provides us all the tools t..."
No published case study for this goal yet.
"Once we switched to Exely, we immediately noticed a significant increase in reservations from online travel agencies. We discovered that our previous system had blocked some availa..."
No published case study for this goal yet.
What hoteliers love
Hotels repeatedly describe Exely as intuitive, user-friendly, and practical for daily operations. The system is credited with reducing manual work, sp... Hotels repeatedly describe Exely as intuitive, user-friendly, and practical for daily operations. The system is credited with reducing manual work, speeding up reservation handling, and making it easier for staff to manage bookings, rates, and availability.
Reviewers frequently describe Exely as a strong channel manager for controlling multiple OTA channels from one place. They value being able to manage... Reviewers frequently describe Exely as a strong channel manager for controlling multiple OTA channels from one place. They value being able to manage distribution centrally, add more channels over time, and reduce the complexity of logging into each OTA separately.
Support is one of the most praised aspects of Exely, with reviewers repeatedly noting fast, helpful, and proactive assistance. Hotels value that the t... Support is one of the most praised aspects of Exely, with reviewers repeatedly noting fast, helpful, and proactive assistance. Hotels value that the team helps with setup, troubleshooting, optimization, and even commercial advice, which reduces operational friction.
Where hoteliers push back
A recurring critique is that Exely’s reporting and analytics need to be more detailed, flexible, and faster. Reviewers want clearer dashboards, better... A recurring critique is that Exely’s reporting and analytics need to be more detailed, flexible, and faster. Reviewers want clearer dashboards, better revenue/channel comparison, more customizable reports, and richer booking trend insights to support revenue and marketing decisions.
While many users find Exely easy to use, some point to navigation, page-loading speed, and interface clarity as improvement areas. The most common com... While many users find Exely easy to use, some point to navigation, page-loading speed, and interface clarity as improvement areas. The most common complaints are that certain workflows take too many clicks, some pages load slowly, and advanced settings are not always intuitive.
Ranks higher for
It depends on your requirements. Exely Channel Manager and Viato share many core Channel Managers features, but each has unique capabilities. Exely Channel Manager offers 10 verified integration partners, while Viato offers 7. Review the feature comparison above to see where they differ before switching.
Small hotels should prioritize ease of use and fast onboarding. Viato leads in ease of use at 5.0/5 vs 4.9/5. 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.
Exely Channel Manager: No. Viato: No. Neither product currently offers a free tier. Most Channel Managers 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. Exely has an HT Score of 92 and Viato 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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