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 16 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:
LIKE MAGIC shines in ease of use and customer support , with exclusive features like Mobile access on any device.
Xenia shines .
Side-by-side ratings based on 16 verified hotelier reviews on HTR.
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| Ease of Use |
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| Starting Price | From $1,100/mo | Contact sales |
| Verified Reviews | 16 | 0 |
How each product ranks among Staff Collaboration Tools 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) ▾ | #7 7 reviews | — |
| Mid-Size (25-74 rooms) ▾ | #16 5 reviews | #28 0 reviews |
| Large (75-199 rooms) | #19 2 reviews | — |
By Property Type
| Segment |
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| Boutique ▾ | #17 5 reviews | #29 0 reviews |
| Luxury | #24 2 reviews | #33 0 reviews |
| Branded / Chain | #25 1 reviews | #33 0 reviews |
| Extended Stay ▾ | #8 8 reviews | #25 0 reviews |
By Region
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| North America | #33 0 reviews | #25 0 reviews |
| Europe ▾ | #6 15 reviews | — |
| Middle East | — | #9 0 reviews |
Choosing between LIKE MAGIC’s Staff App and Xenia Team Communication hinges on your hotel’s operational needs. LIKE MAGIC is designed to automate and streamline guest interactions, reducing staff workload and boosting guest satisfaction. Xenia, by contrast, centers on team communication, ensuring your staff stays connected and informed. Both serve vital roles but target different facets of hotel management.
If your primary challenge is operational efficiency and guest experience automation, LIKE MAGIC offers a comprehensive platform that integrates multiple functions. Conversely, if your team struggles with internal communication and task tracking, Xenia provides a straightforward, mobile-friendly messaging solution. Which aligns better with your current priorities?
LIKE MAGIC and Xenia aim to improve hotel operations, but their core functionalities differ significantly. LIKE MAGIC specializes in automating guest service workflows, integrating PMS, digital check-ins, messaging, and payment systems into one platform. It’s suited for hotels seeking to reduce staffing needs, speed up check-ins, and enhance guest control.
Xenia, however, focuses exclusively on internal team communication, providing a secure messaging platform that supports objective-based chats, task tagging, announcements, and log building. It’s perfect for hotels that need better staff coordination, task visibility, and operational clarity.
LIKE MAGIC boasts a high review count (16 reviews) with recent positive feedback, especially over the last six months, giving it more recent and reliable data. Xenia’s review count is zero, making it harder to assess its real-world performance. Given this disparity, LIKE MAGIC’s stronger data set makes it the more trustworthy choice right now.
Are you looking for a platform that automates guest interactions and reduces operational overhead? Or do you need a tool that keeps your team connected and informed? Your answer will determine the better fit.
If your hotel needs to automate guest journey management, streamline check-in/out, and reduce staff workload, go with LIKE MAGIC. Its ability to connect PMS, messaging, access systems, and payment gateways makes it ideal for hotels aiming to cut staffing costs and deliver a seamless guest experience.
If your focus is internal communication, task management, and real-time collaboration among staff, Xenia is the better option. It offers secure, department-based chats, task tagging, and company-wide announcements—features that enhance staff coordination, especially in multi-property or large hotel setups.
Given LIKE MAGIC’s comprehensive feature set and more recent reviews, it suits properties that want to improve operational efficiency and guest satisfaction. Xenia’s niche focus on team messaging makes it better for hotels prioritizing staff coordination.
For a hotel looking to automate guest interactions and reduce staff numbers, LIKE MAGIC is the clear choice. If internal communication is your bottleneck, Xenia will serve your team better.
LIKE MAGIC’s UI is rated 5/5 for ease of use, with a smooth onboarding process and high staff adoption. Reviewers highlight its intuitive design and mobile access, making daily operations straightforward even for less tech-savvy teams. Implementation is rated 4.93/5, reflecting a smooth onboarding experience.
Xenia, however, has a 0/5 rating for ease of use, with no data to suggest a user-friendly interface or positive onboarding experience. Its lack of recent reviews means you should be cautious about its usability.
Edge: LIKE MAGIC.
LIKE MAGIC offers 12 unique features not found in Xenia, including work prioritization, file library support, case management, real-time task tracking, a virtual logbook, late checkouts, and an open API. These features support automation of guest operations and staff workflows, making it a robust solution for property management.
Xenia provides basic communication tools, but lacks advanced operational features. It does not offer integrated task tracking, logbooks, or automation capabilities.
Based on the feature count and relevance, LIKE MAGIC’s broader suite gives your hotel more tools to optimize operations.
Edge: LIKE MAGIC.
LIKE MAGIC’s support ratings are outstanding, with a 4.88/5 score and reviews praising its responsiveness and helpfulness. Hoteliers appreciate prompt assistance and proactive onboarding, often describing support as “responsive,” “knowledgeable,” and “quick to resolve issues.”
Xenia’s support information and review data are unavailable, leaving its support quality uncertain. Without recent reviews, you should assume support levels are unverified.
Edge: LIKE MAGIC.
LIKE MAGIC has verified integrations with 10 partners, including major PMS and access system providers like Oracle Hospitality, Mews, SALTO, and Triptease. These integrations enhance automation and streamline data flow across systems.
Xenia currently has no verified integrations, limiting its connectivity options. This can restrict your ability to automate workflows or unify systems.
Edge: LIKE MAGIC.
LIKE MAGIC’s review score is 4.94/5, with 16 reviews, most recent within the last six months. Hotels like the Zipper Hotel & Apartments report significant staff reductions (80%) and high guest satisfaction (4.6/5), attributing success to LIKE MAGIC’s automation.
Xenia has no reviews, making it impossible to gauge user satisfaction or property-specific ratings.
Given the recent review volume and high ratings, LIKE MAGIC clearly holds the higher reputation among hoteliers.
Edge: LIKE MAGIC.
LIKE MAGIC charges a base price of $1,100 per month, with no freemium, trial, or implementation fees. Its transparent pricing makes budgeting straightforward.
Xenia’s pricing details are unavailable, which may suggest a more bespoke or enterprise pricing model. Without clear costs, assessing value is difficult.
Edge: LIKE MAGIC.
LIKE MAGIC and Xenia serve distinct hotel management needs. LIKE MAGIC is a comprehensive guest operations platform that automates workflows, reduces staff workload, and elevates guest experiences. Xenia is a team communication tool that improves staff coordination and internal visibility but lacks automation features.
Choose LIKE MAGIC if your hotel seeks operational automation, guest engagement, and measurable efficiency gains. Opt for Xenia if your primary focus is internal communication and task management.
For properties aiming to modernize guest interactions while reducing staffing, LIKE MAGIC offers a more complete solution. If your core challenge is staff coordination and internal messaging, Xenia’s simplicity may suffice—but consider its limited data and support transparency.
In summary, given the recent reviews, high support ratings, and extensive feature set, LIKE MAGIC is the more proven and versatile choice for most hotels today.
Staff Collaboration Tools 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 $1,100/mo | — |
According to HTR's product database, LIKE MAGIC (Staff App) and Xenia Team Communication share 0 features. Here are the key differences — features one has that the other lacks.
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| Case Management | ||
| File Library Support (images, documents and videos) | ||
| Late checkouts | ||
| Real time task tracking | ||
| Virtual logbook | ||
| Work Prioritization |
We analyzed 4 verified case studies to compare what hotels actually achieve with each platform across four key business objectives.
"Like Magic allowed us to operate with just six staff members, without compromising guest experience. The platform is easy to use, fun to work with, and has revolutionized how we ru..."
No published case study for this goal yet.
"LIKE MAGIC isn't just a tool for us, it's the backbone of our overall guest experience. If I ever worked somewhere else, I'd bring it with me."
No published case study for this goal yet.
Ranks higher for
Unique capabilities
Ranks higher for
Where the ratings diverge most
It depends on your requirements. LIKE MAGIC (Staff App) and Xenia Team Communication share many core Staff Collaboration Tools features, but each has unique capabilities. LIKE MAGIC (Staff App) offers 10 verified integration partners, while Xenia Team Communication offers 0. Review the feature comparison above to see where they differ before switching.
Small hotels should prioritize ease of use and fast onboarding. LIKE MAGIC (Staff App) leads in ease of use at 5.0/5 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.
LIKE MAGIC (Staff App): No. Xenia Team Communication: No. Neither product currently offers a free tier. Most Staff Collaboration Tools 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. LIKE MAGIC has an HT Score of 0 and Xenia 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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