Welcome to Brance's blog series, where we meticulously evaluate the top hotel channel managers. In this edition, we're taking a closer look at STAAH, a channel manager gaining traction in the hospitality industry.

On the surface, everything looks great with the tool. It scores a full 100% for ease of use, customer support is at 95%, integration stands at 87% positive score, and so on. But what’s happening under the hood? For this reason, we've rigorously scored STAAH on all top parameters to provide a transparent and detailed assessment. 

Before we jump into the full review, though, let’s look at the parameters first.

Our Channel Manager Review Parameters You Can Trust

As part of our review policy, we’d first like to state that our reviews were created with the help of AI analysis. Then, we went through the whole review for any inaccuracies before editing it for clarity and crispness.

Moreover, we’ve picked specific parameters, like ‘price,’ for example, that best demonstrate a channel manager's performance. We then judged our review of the channel manager's performance against these parameters.

Here are all the parameters we have picked:

Parameter | Positive | Negative | Ok

--- | --- | --- | ---

Ease of Use | 100% | 0% | 0%

Technical Reliability | 53% | 33% | 13%

Customer Support | 95% | 5% | 0%

Price | 100% | 0% | 0%

Operations Management | 67% | 33% | 0%

Integration | 87% | 13% | 0%

Revenue Management | 20% | 80% | 0%

Marketing Visibility | 0% | 100% | 0%

Reporting Analytics | 100% | 0% | 0%

So, with all the parameters now clear, let’s take a deep dive into them one by one.

1. Ease of Use

| Positive | Negative | Ok  |

|----------|----------|-----|

| 100% | 0%       | 0%  |‍

Positives:‍

STAAH's Channel Manager is celebrated for its exceptional ease of use, achieving a 100% positive score. 

Users are particularly impressed with the user-friendly interface, straightforward setup process, and the consolidation of multiple OTAs, which simplifies the management of online travel agencies. The real-time updates of OTA availability ensure accurate booking information, and the flexibility in managing room and rate plans, as well as promotions, is highly valued. 

The emphasis on user-friendliness, ease of setup, and OTA consolidation highlights STAAH's commitment to simplifying channel management for hotels.‍

Negatives: ‍

As expected from the overwhelmingly positive response, there are no negatives reported in this area for the STAAH channel manager, underscoring the platform's effectiveness and user satisfaction regarding ease of use.

2. Technical Reliability 

| Positive | Negative | Ok  |

|----------|----------|-----|

| 53%  | 33%      | 13% |‍

Positives: 

STAAH's technical reliability receives a positive score of 53%, showing its average performance. According to the reviews, users appreciate the quick and effective technical support, stable platform with minimal errors, and ability to sync rates and inventory well in advance. 

More than that, though, the instant system updates and secure, high-performance channel manager are also highlighted, indicating a reliable technical foundation that supports hotel operations.‍

Negatives: 

Not everything runs smoothly with the STAAH channel manager, though; it gets 33% negative and 13% Ok reviews which puts this beyond doubt.  

With a 33% negative score come many notable concerns. These include issues with overbooking prevention, the need for mobile optimization, slow Android app updates, and long loading times for certain features. 

Additionally, the onboarding process's security and payment link issues have been flagged, suggesting areas for improvement in technical reliability and user experience.

3. Customer Support 

| Positive | Negative | Ok  |

|----------|----------|-----|

| 95%  | 5%       | 0%  | 

Positives:

STAAH gets a 95% positive score for its standout customer support.

The support staff is highly praised for their availability, quick issue resolution, and personalized service. The efficiency of the support system and the cooperative nature of team members, including specific mentions of staff, underscore the platform's commitment to excellent customer service. ‍

Negatives: 

Despite the overwhelming positive feedback, there are minor criticisms, including misinformation about Google Hotel Ads functionality and issues with refund policies. These concerns, while limited, highlight the importance of accurate information and flexible customer service policies.

These mere nuisances, it turns out, are responsible for an overall negative score of 5%.   

4. Price

| Positive | Negative | Ok  |

|----------|----------|-----|

| 100% | 0%       | 0%  |

Positives:‍

Pricing is another area where STAAH excels; it has a 100% positive score in this category, making it one of the favorites amongst users everywhere.

The convenience of accessing pricing and room rate information on the same page is particularly appreciated, indicating that STAAH offers a cost-effective and user-friendly pricing structure that meets its users' needs.‍

Negatives: 

There are no negative comments regarding pricing, reflecting users' overall satisfaction with the value provided by STAAH's channel manager.

5. Operations Management 

| Positive | Negative | Ok  |

|----------|----------|-----|

| 67%  | 33%      | 0%  |‍

Positives: 

Users find the platform effective in managing prices, juggling availability, and bookings—all on its own.

Moreover, the ease of uploading rates and inventory, along with the convenience of viewing reservations, are highlighted as fundamental benefits, indicating that STAAH effectively supports daily hotel operations.

So, as it stands, operation management currently sits at a 67% positive score, as per the current user reviews.

Negatives: 

However, operations management still gets a bad rep—33% of people have posted negative reviews against the tool, for instance. 

A significant concern, however, is the inability to modify booking vouchers once created, necessitating cancellation and reissue for changes. This limitation, as the 33% negative score indicates, suggests a need for greater flexibility in operations management. 

6. Integration 

| Positive | Negative | Ok  |

|----------|----------|-----|

| 87%  | 13%      | 0%  |

Positives: 

Integration is another vital feature for STAAH, with an 87% positive score. 

Most users cite the platform's extensive OTA coverage, seamless integration, and ability to run all OTA promotions directly from the channel manager in their online reviews as additional user benefits.

Moreover, the continuous updates with new features and integrations, along with the user-friendly dashboard, indicate a robust and efficient integration capability.‍

Negatives:‍

However, there are issues with non-real-time booking integration and misleading information regarding Google Hotel Ads integration, with a 13% negative score. 

These integration challenges highlight areas for improvement to ensure seamless operations.

7. Revenue Management 

| Positive | Negative | Ok  |

|----------|----------|-----|

| 20%  | 80%      | 0%  |‍

Positives: 

The positive aspect of revenue management is its contribution to increasing online revenue, with a 20% positive score. This indicates that STAAH does offer tools that can enhance revenue generation for hotels.

For example, it gives hoteliers the option for dynamic pricing, helping them adjust room rates as per real-time demand and competition. ‍

Negatives: 

However, the 80% negative score shows that the platform faces significant challenges in revenue management. For example, Issues such as a lack of detailed price breakdowns on reservation vouchers, the need for better revenue split analysis, and insufficient revenue management tools within the system are publicly shared to be a hiccup for many users. 

These concerns suggest a critical need to enhance STAAH's revenue management capabilities. 

8. Marketing Visibility

| Positive | Negative | Ok  |

|----------|----------|-----|

| 0%   | 100% | 0%  |

‍Positive:‍

Marketing visibility is practically non-existent for the STAAH channel manager. It gets a 0% here, indicating a lack of positive reviews online. ‍

Negatives: 

The picture gets completely flipped when it comes to negative reviews for marketing visibility: it has a 100% negative score from the combined reviews online. 

The channel manager’s limited recognition in key markets, the need for more marketing and social media presence, and the absence of features like blackout dates for innovative pricing are significant issues. 

These challenges show a need for strategic improvements in marketing visibility to enhance the platform's effectiveness. 

9. Reporting Analytics

| Positive | Negative | Ok  |

|----------|----------|-----|

| 100% | 0%       | 0%  | ‍

Positives: 

Reporting analytics is another place where STAAH shines; it gets a 100% positive score as shown from the collective reviews present online. 

A large number of users particularly appreciate the ease of report generation for rate updates and availability. It's clear that the STAAH channel manager provides valuable tools for effectively monitoring and managing hotel performance, aiding hoteliers in generating effective hotel revenue.‍

Negatives: 

There are no negative comments in this area, underscoring the platform's strength in providing comprehensive and user-friendly reporting and analytics capabilities.

So Should You Go For the STAAH Channel Manager?

Now, let's get to the big question: Does STAAH cover the costs for hoteliers? The answer entirely depends on what your goals are. Hopefully, our parameter-based review will help you pick a side.

If you still find you’re uncertain, check out the free demo from the official website. Basically, get a feel for the channel manager, speak with their team, and see if it’s something you can see yourself using in your hotel.