GDPR and privacy
Reviews where data processing, GDPR compliance, sub-processors, and data residency are central concerns.
18 reviews
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8/10
Bookboost review: the privacy story holds up, and the messaging got better
I reviewed Bookboost previously and liked the data handling. Coming back to it, the privacy fundamentals haven't slipped, and the WhatsApp integration has turned it into a proper messaging platform.
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8/10
askng.it review: proactive WhatsApp guest messaging, tested
askng.it is, for all practical purposes, a new product: the February 2026 rebuild of Lacoly, which I ran for a year and rated a 4. I tested the new one in March at my 80-room Amsterdam hotel. It is a different animal, and it earns an 8.
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8/10
Apaleo review: the API-first PMS that expects you to build your own hotel
A PMS with a public API, a developer sandbox, and no proprietary UI requirement. I opened the docs before the marketing page. For once, I wasn't disappointed.
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8/10
Mews review: the privacy audit of Europe's biggest cloud PMS
Mews processes over $10 billion in payments for its hotels. I wanted to know what that means for where your guest data ends up.
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7/10
chatlyn review: a Viennese case for keeping guest data close to home
chatlyn is Austrian, EU-hosted, and does omnichannel messaging with a privacy posture that holds up under scrutiny. The product is young, and it shows in places. But the foundations are right.
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7/10
Clock PMS+ review: thirty years of European independence in a market full of venture capital
Every subscription is a vote. Clock has been building hotel software since 1994 without taking venture capital. In a market where your PMS vendor might get acquired next quarter, that counts for something.
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7/10
Duve review: WhatsApp changed the game for my seasonal staff
A second season with Duve and the rating goes up. WhatsApp changed everything for how we talk to guests, and Katerina can now train new hires on it herself. Still not simple, but no longer unmanageable.
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7/10
Cloudbeds review: what a quarter-billion in funding buys you
Cloudbeds has raised $253 million and SoftBank is involved. I wanted to know what that buys an 80-room city hotel that could use the money elsewhere.
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7/10
HiJiffy review: WhatsApp automation that actually works
I didn't think my smallest property, a 45-room boutique in the Cotswolds, was the right place to trial an AI chatbot on WhatsApp. Three months later, my front desk staff disagree with me less often than they used to, which is how I know it's working.
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7/10
LIKE MAGIC review: the simpler guest journey I've been looking for
After Duve made me say 'oh no' out loud, I went looking for something my seasonal staff could learn before the first guest arrived. LIKE MAGIC came close. Not all the way, but close.
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7/10
Hoxell review: Swiss housekeeping software with the right passport and a thin dossier
Hoxell is Swiss, built by a real hotelier, and keeps your data under European law. I read the DPA before I looked at the room status dashboard. Here's what I found.
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7/10
Optii Solutions review: the housekeeping AI that wants you to trust its maths
Optii claims its AI route optimisation can cut housekeeping labour costs by 18%. I tested it at my 80-room Amsterdam property with a spreadsheet in one hand and a stopwatch in the other.
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7/10
RoomRaccoon review: the all-in-one PMS my newest hire could actually use
I gave Nikos the login on his second day. By lunch he was making reservations. That's the test, and RoomRaccoon passed it.
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6/10
Quicktext review: good chatbot, integration gap persists
Quicktext's chatbot still converts direct bookings and still handles multilingual queries well. They've added WhatsApp and a new brand name. Neither fixes the integration problems I flagged previously.
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6/10
Runnr.ai review: WhatsApp-first and it shows, in the right ways
Runnr.ai built their product around WhatsApp from day one instead of adding it later. The difference is visible in the API design, the message flow, and the integration quality. It's what I wished Quicktext had done.
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5/10
Actabl review: four acquisitions in a trench coat, sold as a platform
Actabl is a private equity roll-up of four separate hotel tech companies, headquartered in Florida, backed by a PE firm managing $18.8 billion. The labour management tools are strong. Everything else is a sovereignty and integration problem dressed up in enterprise marketing.
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5/10
Akia review: the AI keeps getting better, and it's still in the wrong country
Akia's AI chatbot is the best I've tested in hotel messaging. It also means your guest passport data lives on American servers under American law. The technology has improved since my last review. My position hasn't.
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5/10
Canary Technologies review: a $175M American solution to European problems we don't have
Canary Technologies has raised $175 million, built a strong guest management platform, and is now eyeing Europe. The product is good. The question is whether European hotels should care.