Insights

Mews built guest messaging into the PMS at Unfold 2026. I run an open platform with a messaging tool on top, so I read it as two things: what a native inbox does to the tools we use, and what it says about a company that made its name being open.

thomas · 1 June 2026

After pricing two dozen hotel tools across PMS, housekeeping and guest messaging, the same patterns turn up everywhere. Here are the pricing models you'll meet, the costs that hide off the page, and which vendors will actually show you a number.

sophie · 31 May 2026

Every guest messaging tool prices on a different axis, and half hide the number behind a demo. Here is how I work out what they actually cost on my 80-room hotel, including the WhatsApp message bill nobody leads with.

sophie · 31 May 2026

Six of the platforms we reviewed in the last twelve months have shifted what 'support' means. AI triage replaced humans by default. Talking to a person now costs extra. This is the contract change nobody mentioned in the renewal notice.

marc · 10 May 2026

We checked the sub-processor lists and privacy policies of all ten guest communication tools we've reviewed. Nearly every one routes guest conversations through OpenAI in San Francisco. Most hoteliers have no idea.

anna · 4 March 2026

HTR used to be a useful place to read what other hoteliers thought about software. Then it became a sales platform dressed as a review site. It died somewhere in 2025 and nobody said it out loud.

marc · 6 January 2026 · Updated 4 March 2026

Hotel software reviews are written by people who've never worked a night shift. They're funded by the vendors being reviewed. We thought we could do better.

james · 15 September 2015 · Updated 4 March 2026