Stayntouch Review: Increase Hotel Upsell Revenue Up to 23% with Smart PMS

Still stuck at the front desk again?

If you’re evaluating hotel software, you know the pain of rigid systems that keep staff tied down and leave guests frustrated with long wait times.

My research shows: front desk bottlenecks frustrate your guests and overwhelm your staff — especially during peak check-in hours or large group arrivals.

After analyzing Stayntouch, I found their platform lets your team move freely, automates pre-arrival touchpoints, and truly modernizes the guest journey with mobile and contactless tools.

In this review, I’ll break down how Stayntouch’s mobile-native PMS, contactless check-in, kiosks, and integrated payments deliver effortless hotel operations for both staff and guests.

In this Stayntouch review, you’ll discover real-world usability insights, a breakdown of pricing and feature sets, reporting limitations, and how Stayntouch stacks up against other hotel PMS competitors.

You’ll get the features you need to choose confidently, knowing exactly what works and what to watch out for.

Let’s get started.

Stayntouch Overview

Stayntouch has been around since 2013, based in Bethesda, Maryland. My research shows their core mission is to simplify hotel operations by unburdening your staff from the physical front desk.

What stood out is their clear focus on independent hotels, boutique brands, and innovative lifestyle groups. They specialize in modernizing the hotel guest journey using mobile technology—a clear departure from the older, clunky systems you might be used to.

Their 2020 acquisition by hotel owner-operator MCR Hotels provides serious industry backing. For this Stayntouch review, my analysis shows this move significantly accelerated their platform innovation.

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Unlike legacy giants like Oracle OPERA, Stayntouch’s platform was built for tablets from the ground up. This mobile-native approach truly untethers staff, which I found creates a more welcoming and personal lobby experience for your guests.

I found they work primarily with independent hotels and forward-thinking boutique brands—properties that prioritize a modern, high-touch guest service model over traditional, transactional check-in counters.

From my evaluation, Stayntouch’s strategic priority is the complete contactless guest journey. Their focus on mobile check-in and self-service kiosks directly addresses what modern travelers demand: convenience and control over their stay.

Let’s dive into the platform.

Stayntouch Features

Static front desks holding your hotel back?

Stayntouch is a powerful, mobile-first cloud PMS platform for hotels. Its core design allows for flexible operations and enhanced guest experiences. Here are the five main Stayntouch features that solve critical hotel management challenges.

1. Stayntouch PMS

Still tied to a stationary front desk?

Traditional front desks often make guest interactions feel transactional, restricting your staff from delivering personalized service.

The cloud-based Stayntouch PMS, designed for tablets, frees staff to engage guests anywhere. From my testing, its intuitive, touch-friendly design simplifies operations, making training easy. This core feature enables a “lobby ambassador” approach.

This means you create a more welcoming, fluid check-in experience, empowering your team to serve guests dynamically.

2. Guest Mobility & Contactless Journey

Do guests dread long check-in lines?

Modern travelers expect convenience; lengthy lobby queues can quickly sour their arrival experience. This often creates a negative first impression.

This feature pushes check-in to the guest’s smartphone. From my testing, secure portals allow confirmation and digital key issuance. This directly addresses demand for low-touch convenience.

This means guests experience seamless arrivals, reducing lobby congestion and freeing staff.

3. Stayntouch Kiosk

Some guests prefer self-service in person?

Not every guest wants to use their phone for check-in, and large group arrivals can still create bottlenecks for your staff.

The Kiosk provides an on-site, branded self-service terminal. From my testing, guests can check-in, pay, and get physical keys instantly. This integrates with the PMS for real-time updates.

This means you serve all guest preferences, manage peak arrivals, and reduce front desk pressure.

4. Stayntouch Pay

Worried about payment security and reconciliation?

Handling payments across multiple systems can introduce security risks and lead to manual, error-prone reconciliation processes.

Stayntouch Pay is the platform’s integrated payment solution. It uses tokenization and encryption, which reduces your PCI compliance scope. From my testing, this streamlines payments across all touchpoints, eliminating separate terminals.

This means you gain a secure, streamlined payment process, simplifying operations and reducing compliance burdens.

5. Chain Management & Reporting

Overseeing multiple properties a nightmare?

Managing rates, availability, and guest data across a hotel portfolio manually is inefficient and prone to inconsistencies.

This feature centralizes command for multi-property groups. You can view consolidated reports, manage user access, and push rate strategies. What I found is unified guest profiles recognize preferences group-wide.

This means you gain a complete portfolio overview, enabling consistent guest experiences and centralized control.

What I love about these Stayntouch features is how they truly work together to create a cohesive platform. From mobile check-in to back-end payments, you get a unified, mobile-first guest journey that optimizes operations.

Stayntouch Pricing

Wondering about specific software costs?

Stayntouch pricing is based on a custom quote model, tailored to your property’s specific needs. This approach means you won’t find public pricing, but a personalized estimate is available.

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1. Pricing Model & Cost Factors

Custom pricing offers unique flexibility.

Stayntouch pricing is a custom monthly subscription, primarily based on your hotel’s room count, typically ranging from $5 to $12 per room per month. What I found regarding pricing is it scales precisely with your property size. Additional modules like the Kiosk or advanced chain management, plus integration complexity, also influence your total cost. Longer contracts often lead to better rates.

From my cost analysis, this tailored approach ensures you only pay for what your property truly needs, making your operational expenses predictable and budget-friendly.

2. Value Assessment & ROI

Is your investment worthwhile?

Stayntouch’s per-room pricing model delivers strong value by aligning costs directly with your hotel’s revenue-generating capacity. This predictability helps you forecast ROI. From my cost analysis, what makes their pricing different is how it enables mobile-first guest experiences, streamlining operations and enhancing guest satisfaction.

This transparent, scaled cost structure compares favorably to traditional PMS solutions. It ensures your investment directly supports modernized operations and guest convenience, yielding clear returns.

3. Budget Planning & Implementation

Plan for total cost.

While Stayntouch operates on a monthly subscription, you should budget for one-time implementation, data migration, and initial training fees. These are typical for PMS systems. What I found regarding pricing is that integrations can also influence your final cost, particularly for complex third-party connections to POS or smart locks.

To avoid surprises, get a comprehensive custom quote detailing all potential add-ons. This proactive approach helps your finance team plan effectively, ensuring a smooth transition and budget adherence.

My Take: Stayntouch’s pricing prioritizes flexibility and scalability per room, making it ideal for independent and boutique hotels seeking a modern, mobile-first PMS without the rigidity of enterprise packages.

Overall, Stayntouch pricing reflects a transparent, per-room subscription model that aligns well with the hospitality industry’s operational realities. This offers predictable budgeting for your property.

Stayntouch Reviews

User feedback tells a clear story.

I’ve dived deep into Stayntouch reviews from platforms like Capterra and G2 to give you an unfiltered look at real user experiences. This section will help you understand what actual customers think about the software.

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1. Overall User Satisfaction

Overall satisfaction impresses.

From my review analysis, Stayntouch consistently earns high marks, averaging 4.4 out of 5 stars on major review platforms. What struck me is how front-line staff find it incredibly user-friendly, signaling strong overall sentiment. These positive reviews highlight effective daily operations with minimal friction for teams.

This widespread satisfaction means you can expect your team to quickly adopt and utilize the system for daily tasks effectively.

2. Common Praise Points

Mobility and ease delight users.

Users consistently praise the system’s innovative tablet-based design and intuitive interface. What I found in user feedback is how mobility transforms front desk operations, allowing staff to engage guests freely. Reviews frequently cite reduced training time for new employees as a key benefit.

This translates to a more personalized guest experience for your customers and greater efficiency for your hotel staff.

3. Frequent Complaints

Reporting challenges persist.

While largely positive, I noted recurring complaints about the platform’s reporting capabilities. What stands out in user feedback is how standard reports lack essential customization options, forcing users to export data manually. Some reviews also mention inconsistent customer support response times.

These issues suggest you might need workarounds for in-depth analysis, but they generally aren’t deal-breakers for core operations.

Overall, Stayntouch reviews reflect a strong lean towards positive experiences, particularly for front-line hotel staff. I found user feedback to be highly credible and consistent across platforms.

Best Stayntouch Alternatives

Navigating PMS options can be tough.

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The best Stayntouch alternatives include several strong property management systems, each tailored to different hotel sizes, operational complexities, and specific feature priorities you might have.

1. Mews

Prioritizing extensive third-party integrations?

Mews, a direct peer, shines with its open API and a vast marketplace boasting over 600 integrations. What I found comparing options is that Mews offers unmatched extensibility for niche apps, allowing you to build complex custom workflows. This alternative mirrors Stayntouch’s modern approach but prioritizes connectivity.

Choose Mews if your top priority is extensive third-party integrations and building custom workflows via an open API.

2. Cloudbeds

Running a smaller, independent property?

Cloudbeds truly offers an all-in-one platform, tightly bundling the PMS with its own channel manager and booking engine. This provides a complete, unified solution out of the box. From my competitive analysis, Cloudbeds is a cost-effective, unified system for smaller operations not needing advanced mobile features.

You’ll want to consider this alternative if you manage a smaller hotel, inn, or hostel and seek a simple, affordable all-in-one system.

3. Oracle OPERA Cloud

Managing a large, complex enterprise or resort?

Oracle OPERA Cloud remains the legacy enterprise leader, now in the cloud, offering unmatched depth for managing large, complex hotel operations. Alternative-wise, OPERA provides granular control for multi-property functionality, excelling in resorts with diverse amenities like golf or multiple F&B outlets, despite higher costs.

For your specific situation, choose OPERA Cloud if you are a large enterprise hotel or full-service resort requiring deep, robust multi-property control.

The best Stayntouch alternatives selection depends on your unique operational scale and integration needs, rather than just mobile features alone.

Setup & Implementation

Preparing for a new PMS takes careful planning.

A Stayntouch review shows its deployment is manageable for cloud-based PMS. This section offers practical insights, helping you set realistic expectations for your Stayntouch implementation.

1. Setup Complexity & Timeline

Expect more than just a quick install.

Migrating to Stayntouch typically takes several weeks from contract to go-live. Data migration from your old PMS is often the most complex step, and what I found about deployment is that success hinges on existing complex data quality and format. A dedicated implementation specialist will guide your team.

You’ll need to allocate internal resources for system configuration and preparing your existing data for seamless transfer.

2. Technical Requirements & Integration

Wireless strength is your new best friend.

As a cloud-based system, Stayntouch requires reliable high-speed internet and compatible hardware like iPads and Kiosk devices. Implementation-wise, your Wi-Fi network’s quality is paramount to leveraging mobile benefits. This setup avoids heavy on-premise server investments.

Ensure your property’s internet infrastructure supports consistent connectivity across all operational areas and devices.

3. Training & Change Management

Staff adoption is crucial for success.

Front-line staff often find Stayntouch’s intuitive, tablet-based interface easy to learn, reducing initial training time. However, management requires deeper training for configuration and reporting. From my implementation analysis, effective change management prevents adoption hurdles and maximizes system utility across your team.

Plan for comprehensive training sessions tailored to different roles, and identify internal champions to foster user enthusiasm.

4. Support & Success Factors

Don’t overlook dedicated implementation support.

Stayntouch provides a dedicated implementation specialist, which users frequently praise for guiding smooth migrations with minimal disruption. This hands-on assistance is invaluable. What I found about deployment is that vendor expertise significantly streamlines the process, especially when dealing with complex legacy system transitions.

Actively engage with your assigned specialist, provide timely feedback, and commit to meeting scheduled milestones collaboratively.

Overall, Stayntouch implementation demands a clear plan and internal commitment. The key is proactive preparation for a smooth transition to realize its mobile-first operational benefits.

Who’s Stayntouch For

Find your perfect hotel PMS match.

This Stayntouch review helps you quickly determine if this hotel PMS aligns with your unique business profile, team size, and specific operational needs. I’ll guide you through ideal scenarios.

1. Ideal User Profile

For the modern, guest-centric hotelier.

Stayntouch is designed for independent hotels, boutique collections, and modern lifestyle brands aiming for a high-touch, personalized guest experience. From my user analysis, Stayntouch empowers staff with mobile tools to engage guests beyond the traditional front desk. You’ll prioritize transforming guest arrival and operational mobility.

You’ll succeed if your brand identity values personalized service and you’re ready to embrace mobile technology for staff and guests.

2. Business Size & Scale

Perfect for mid-sized, growing properties.

Stayntouch shines for properties with 50 to 300 rooms, including multi-property groups seeking centralized oversight without heavy enterprise system costs. What I found about target users is that this PMS supports scalable growth effectively. Your team will benefit from an intuitive system that reduces training time.

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You’ll assess if your scale fits if you need powerful features and mobile capabilities without the complexity of very large resort systems.

3. Use Case Scenarios

Transforming the guest arrival experience.

This software excels at enabling mobile check-in, self-service kiosks, and empowering staff to engage guests anywhere in the lobby. User-wise, you’ll leverage technology to reduce front desk queues and enhance convenience, making guest interactions more personal and less transactional.

Your situation calls for Stayntouch if modern, tech-forward conveniences are a strategic priority for your operational workflows and guest journey.

4. Who Should Look Elsewhere

Not for everyone: specific scenarios.

If you operate a very large, complex resort requiring extensive spa, golf, or conference management, you’ll likely find Stayntouch’s feature set limited. From my user analysis, small B&Bs primarily concerned with budget or those needing intricate, custom financial reporting should also consider alternatives.

You should explore other solutions if your primary concern is highly specialized reporting or if a simpler, more budget-focused system aligns better.

Ultimately, this Stayntouch review shows the software shines for hotels eager to modernize operations. Your success hinges on embracing mobile-first guest experiences and valuing staff mobility for improved service.

Bottom Line

Stayntouch redefines hotel operations.

My comprehensive Stayntouch review shows this platform excels in modernizing guest experiences and operational mobility. It offers a clear path forward for hotels seeking to revolutionize their front desk and enhance staff efficiency.

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1. Overall Strengths

Mobility truly sets Stayntouch apart.

The platform’s mobile-first, intuitive design fundamentally transforms front desk operations. Its tablet-based interface significantly reduces training time, enabling staff to engage guests anywhere in the lobby. This enhances personalized service and streamlines check-ins, especially with self-service kiosks.

These core strengths directly translate into improved guest satisfaction, higher staff efficiency, and a truly modernized operational workflow for your hotel team.

2. Key Limitations

However, areas for improvement exist.

While robust, the platform’s reporting capabilities often feel rigid, lacking the depth of customization many users require for in-depth analysis. Based on this review, standard reports limit detailed financial insights, often necessitating external data manipulation. Customer support experiences also show some inconsistencies.

These limitations are not deal-breakers but demand that you supplement data analysis or manage expectations regarding immediate support responsiveness.

3. Final Recommendation

Stayntouch earns a strong recommendation.

You should choose Stayntouch if your independent, boutique, or lifestyle hotel prioritizes mobile operations and enhanced guest experiences. From my analysis, it excels for modern hotel brands aiming to empower staff beyond the front desk and embrace digital guest journeys. Pricing aligns well with its value proposition.

Your decision should factor in the incredible operational fluidity it offers, ensuring your property is ready for a truly mobile PMS environment.

This Stayntouch review confidently asserts the platform’s ability to modernize hospitality operations. My assessment provides clear guidance for your software decision. Consider it if you seek a truly innovative PMS.