Hotels often have a lot on their plate — from guest communications to revenue management, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all those daily tasks. That’s why many businesses choose to streamline their operations with the aid of hotel automation software, such as Fetch.
Hotel automations usually deal with the admin side of things, which leaves more room for you to focus on your guests.
Ready to learn more? Let’s dive in!
What Is Hotel Automation?
Hotel automation is where manual tasks become automatic — they no longer require any human input. Automating tasks can improve your hotel operations and save you a lot of time and money. Time-consuming tasks can now be accomplished more quickly, and there are fewer opportunities for human error.
A simple example of automation is scheduling messages. This allows you to plan ahead and avoid clicking the send button for every message.
Why Is Hotel Automation Important?
Avoid Menial Tasks
No one likes busywork—hotel staff included. You can use automation to take care of all those little, menial tasks that eat up time and steal attention away from the things that matter most.
Streamline Processes & Reduce Costs
Task automations can streamline a range of processes, such as reporting and channel distribution. They make operations more efficient and reduce the need for manual labor — cutting costs and allowing you to focus on elevating your guest experience.
Improve Guest Experience
Hotel automations make it easier for you to communicate with guests by providing information quickly and accurately. This helps you make sure your guest engagement efforts are smooth and seamless.
Things to Consider When Choosing Your Hotel Automation Software
Understand the Features on Offer
Make sure you understand what each software offers before choosing one. Book a demo or meeting to get a better insight into the features on offer — the tool(s) should offer everything your hotel needs.
Look Into Data Security
Hotels have a responsibility to keep their guests’ personal information safe. That means your chosen software should be able to protect sensitive data safe from outside threats.
Prioritize Integration Potential
Your hotel management software should integrate with multiple distribution channels so you can easily post listings and keep your inventory updated across different platforms.
Take Fetch, for example — our tool integrates with all leading review sources (including Google, Expedia, and Booking.com), so you can simplify your review management workflow.
5 Best Hotel Automation Software For Upgrading Your Business
In a rush? Don’t worry — here are the tools we’ll be covering below:
- Fetch: For Optimizing Guest Engagement
- Hotel Effectiveness: For Streamlining Hotel Management
- Little Hotelier: For Increasing Your Bookings
- Operto: For Smart Technology Solutions
- Mews: For Simple, Automated Property Management
Now, onto the tools!
1. Fetch: For Optimizing Guest Engagement
Fetch specializes in guest engagement and strives to help independent hotels elevate their customer experience. The platform is very user-friendly, making it easy to learn in a matter of minutes.
With powerful features, such as centralized ticketing and one-tap surveys, you’re armed with everything you need to create meaningful guest experiences.
Key Features
Analytics: Fetch provides detailed analytics on performance and guest satisfaction, so you can get insights into what pleased your guests and how you can improve your services.
Ticketing: Streamline the ticketing process with real-time alerts, tagging, and custom checklists. You can even schedule tickets for the future to save time.
Centralized Dashboard: Guests can contact your staff directly using a custom local number, and any feedback or requests are made visible to your entire team on the centralized dashboard.
Pricing
Fetch offers custom quotes for your hotel based on a few factors, such as the number of rooms you have. Submit a request form to get specific details about your pricing.
Pros and Cons of Fetch
Pros:
- Performance analytics
- Guest satisfaction analysis
- Custom quotes
- Efficient ticketing process
- Ease of use
- 1-tap surveys
- Can book a meeting
- Live messaging
- Centralized dashboard
- Track online reviews
Cons:
- Aimed at independent hotels
- No free trial
2. Hotel Effectiveness: For Streamlining Hotel Management
Hotel Effectiveness comprises four primary products, each with its own unique specializations.
These range from time-tracking and scheduling to analytics and communication. The company is dedicated to providing intelligent solutions that enhance net operating income (NOI) without compromising on guest experience.
Key Features
Shifts & Scheduling: Use dynamic scheduling templates to quickly create smart schedules, which are accessible to all employees in real-time via the online employee portal.
Time-Tracking: PerfectTime automates payroll processes with its time-tracking software, which provides more accurate data and reduces the need for manual upkeep.
Analytics & Benchmarking: Hotel Effectiveness allows you to compare your wages with other competitors so you can optimize your compensation strategies and improve employee retention.
Pricing
Hotel Effectiveness has different pricing plans for each of its four products:
- PerfectLabor ($99/month for 1–15 employees, custom for 15+ employees)
- PerfectWage ($399/year per hotel)
- PerfectTime (custom)
- PerfectEngage ($59/month)
Their pricing model is very simple — you receive an up-front quotation based on the number of employees per hotel. No matter which product you choose, there are no long-term contracts required.
Pros and Cons of Hotel Effectiveness
Pros:
- Custom pricing
- Set pricing information available
- PerfectWage discounts for multiple hotels in a single market
- Suitable for both small and large hotels
- Large variety of tools
- Wage analytics
- Automated payroll processes
Cons:
- No free trial
- No all-in-one plan (each product must be purchased separately)
3. Little Hotelier: For Increasing Your Bookings
Little Hotelier is an award-winning hotel and property management system aimed at smaller businesses, providing hoteliers with a powerful tool to manage their workloads.
You can boost your bookings by 46% and gain more control over your check-ins and invoices.
Key Features
Payment Processing: Little Hotelier stores all your payment information in one place, so you easily manage your refunds and keep your data secure.
Guest Engagement: Keep in contact with guests throughout their stay with customized messages. You can also provide a live digital directory, where guests can easily leave feedback and reviews.
Mobile App: Their mobile app allows you to track daily tasks from your phone or tablet. You can receive payments, check guests in/out, make reservations, and more.
Pricing
Little Hotelier offers two paid plans, which differ in price depending on how many rooms you have. You can customize the room amount to get an accurate look at your pricing options. By default, it’s set to 5 rooms (the prices shown don’t include tax):
- Basics (£19/month + 1% booking fee — free trial available)
- Pro (£79/month)
Both plans offer instant setup and the option to cancel at any time. To purchase the pro plan, you need to inquire.
Pros and Cons of Little Hotelier
Pros:
- 30-day free trial
- Mobile app
- Instant setup
- Can cancel anytime
- Integrated front desk
- Over 450 channel connections available
- Customized guest emails
Cons:
- No free trial for the pro plan
- Aimed at small businesses
4. Operto: For Smart Technology Solutions
Operto uses smart technology to address hospitality issues while also maintaining property security and enhancing the guest experience.
This tool automates everything from check-in to mobile keys and even noise monitoring - perfect for property managers who want to offload some of their workload.
Key features
Hospitality Tech Stack: Automate access to your hotels using smart devices, which allow you to remotely monitor and control multiple locks simultaneously.
Customizable Mobile App: Personalize your mobile app to suit your unique guest experience, with verification options, custom logos/colors, multiple access options, and more.
Hospitality Scheduling: Automate employee scheduling with auto-generated tasks and assignments and an easy-to-use drag-and-drop calendar.
Pricing
Operto doesn’t have a pricing page, but you can book a demo or contact them for more information. Their starting price seems to be $70/month for up to 10 properties ($7 per property per month).
Pros and Cons of Operto
Pros:
- Free demo
- Customizable mobile app
- Smart technology
- Bluetooth locks
- Multiple access options (QR codes, mobile keys, etc.)
- Automated task scheduling
- Noise monitoring
Cons:
- No pricing information available (on their website)
- Initial setup can be confusing
5. Mews: For Simple, Automated Property Management
Mews is a property management system (PMS) designed to help modern hoteliers automate daily operations and processes like revenue management and bookings.
There are six elements to the product—guest journey, operations, payments, marketplace, business intelligence, and API.
Key Features
Mews Operations: Gain control over reservations, revenue management, housekeeping, and front-desk activities from a centralized dashboard. Use their housekeeping app to get live updates, smart scheduling, and real-time reporting.
Seamless Payment: Make transactions quickly and securely with our automated payment system. Transactions are processed instantly with just one click of a button.
Mews POS System: Accept orders from anywhere using a mobile-compatible POS system and simple QR codes.
Pricing
Mews has two paid plans and one custom plan:
- Starter ($189+/month)
- Pro ($378+/month)
- Enterprise (custom)
You also have the option of paying per bed rather than per room, although the minimum package prices remain unchanged.
Pros and Cons of Mews
Pros:
- Free demo
- Custom pricing
- Option to pay per bed
- Detailed analytics
- Automated payments
- Housekeeping app
- Real-time reporting
Cons:
- API features are only available for Enterprise
- Limited marketplace connections for Starter & Pro (5-10)
Conclusion
Optimizing daily operations through hotel automation can free up more time for catering to guests. Automation leads to more accuracy, which is extremely valuable for tasks like financial reporting and transactions.
At Fetch, we’re big believers in the power of simplified workflows to improve the guest experience and drive more revenue to your hotel. That’s why we’ve built Fetch into a centralized hub for all your hotel’s guest engagement needs.
Want to learn more about how Fetch can help your hotel? Booking a meeting with one of our professionals today.
