Operto vs. Touch Stay: A Comprehensive Comparison

With rising guest expectations, travelers expect more than just a place to stay — they want a personalized, convenient experience from the moment they book to the time they check out.

Meeting these expectations requires property managers to provide clear communication, simple property access, personalized recommendations, and even upsell opportunities — all while maintaining efficient operations behind the scenes.

Offering a top-tier guest experience can be time-consuming if not managed properly, but having the right technology in place can make all the difference. This is where popular software solutions like Operto and Touch Stay come in.


In this article, we’ll compare both platforms, outlining their features and benefits to help you choose the best option for your property management needs. 

Table of Contents

Who is it for?

Operto

Operto is built with short term rental operators, boutique hotels, hotels, and resorts in mind, offering a comprehensive solution that goes beyond a digital guidebook solution. Its broad range of features includes keyless entry, digital check-in, verification, guidebooks, customized upsells, energy management, noise monitoring, and housekeeping and maintenance management.  Operto is ideal for property managers who want to increase revenue, enhance guest experiences, and manage operations seamlessly across property portfolios.

 

Touch Stay

Touch Stay focuses primarily on enhancing the guest experience through its digital guidebook, providing a straightforward and visually appealing way for property owners or managers to share property details, local recommendations, and other useful information with guests. It’s a suitable option for those looking for a specialized tool to enhance guest communications; however, it might not offer the broader set of features required for scaling and automating operations.

Operto vs Touch Stay: Feature Comparison

Feature Operto Touch Stay
Guest communication 2-way 1-way
Smart device integrations Smart locks, thermostats, noise monitoring Doesn't offer
PMS integrations Extensive Limited
Upsells Automated, in-app Affiliate links
Housekeeping & maintenance management Extensive automation & customization Doesn't offer

Guest Communication

Operto: Features 2-way messaging, including SMS and email, that allows for real-time communication between guests and property managers. Trigger-based messaging supports automated communication, with easy-to-use templates to streamline setup.  Operto’s communication system allows property managers to engage with guests dynamically, helping improve guest satisfaction and generate additional revenue.

Touch Stay: Provides automated 1-way communication via SMS and email, notifying guests of important information through pre-scheduled messages. While this is effective for delivering stay details, it doesn’t support 2-way messaging which may be a consideration for property managers who prefer more interactive communication with their guests.

Property Management System (PMS) Integrations

Operto:  Deep integrations with a wide range of PMSs ensure that essential reservation data is automatically and seamlessly synced. These integrations enable powerful automation of operations, such as generating and sending unique access codes, triggering pre-arrival instructions, and offering personalized upsell opportunities.

Touch Stay: Integrates with leading PMSs and Airbnb, but has fewer integration options available compared to Operto. Its PMS integration is focused on populating guidebooks with reservation details, rather than enabling broader automation such as managing smart devices or automating other operational tasks.

Smart Device Integrations

Operto: Shines in advanced access control, supporting over 100 lock options to provide solutions for all budgets and requirements. Guests automatically receive secure, unique access codes or mobile keys via email, SMS, or Operto’s Guest Portal, for seamless arrivals. It also offers integrations with thermostats and noise monitors. This reduces the need for manual input, increases cost savings, and enhances operational efficiency.

Touch Stay: Focuses on providing a digital guidebook experience, but does not include smart device automation like keyless entry, energy management, or noise monitoring. Property managers looking for these features would need to use additional software alongside Touch Stay to manage these aspects of their operations.

Customization

Operto: Stands out with its high level of customization and professional presentation, giving property managers a flexible tool to enhance the guest experience. The modular design lets operators easily organize and add content like photos, videos, and custom action buttons for guest engagement. Fully brandable, it ensures a consistent and polished look. Property managers can add personalized recommendations for local attractions, dining, shopping and other activities, or have this information auto-populated. These customizable features create an engaging,  user-friendly experience that boosts guest satisfaction.

Touch Stay: Provides a customizable experience within its digital guidebooks, allowing operators to brand their guidebooks with logos, colors, and fonts, and incorporate photos and videos. Operators can include local guides and guest recommendations by utilizing Touch Stay’s integrations with Google Places and TripAdvisor to populate.

Upsells

Operto: Provides a powerful, flexible way to increase revenue by providing options like early check-in, late check-out, amenities, and curated local experiences to guests. Automated upsells increase revenue opportunities and enhance the guest experience by providing timely, personalized offers. Upsells can be purchased in-app, allowing guests to easily complete transactions, and making the process smooth and efficient for guests and property managers. 

Touch Stay: Offers upsells to guests through affiliate links or links to Stripe upsells, allowing operators to add simple purchase options within the guidebook. Without in-app payment options, or the ability to support automated upsell messaging in response to PMS conditions for early check-in and late check-out, it may not provide the automation and revenue generation efficiency operators are looking for.

Operto vs. Touch Stay: Which should I choose?

Operto is ideal for property managers seeking a comprehensive solution to enhance the guest experience, streamline operations, and drive revenue. Its powerful automation features, including keyless entry, upselling, and communication, are designed to optimize operational efficiency and provide a customizable solution for unique property needs. Operto helps operators scale their business while reducing manual tasks, increasing revenue, and delivering best-in-class guest experiences.


Touch Stay is an option for property managers who need an easy way to communicate essential guest information through digital guidebooks. It offers customizable content, guest communication, and basic upsell features, in a visually appealing, easy-to-use format. However, its limited integrations, combined with a lack of automated features (such as digital check-in), do mean that Touch Stay is somewhat limited if you’re looking for a software solution that gives you greater control over your operations.

What do customers say about Operto?

Customers consistently highlight Operto’s ability to enhance the guest experience, reduce costs through automation, and drive additional revenue through upsells. They also comment on the software’s ease of use, improved guest reviews, and time-saving benefits.

Less Questions From Guests! We manage roughly 125 units in Central Virginia and have struggled with piecing together multiple softwares for guest codes, automated messages, and guidebooks. We found Operto Access and Guest and felt like it was the level up our team needed. We are slowly integrating Guest & Access into all of our units and it has GREATLY reduced the amount of questions that guests ask our hosting ream. Additionally, we love the check-in, check-out feature, and guest messaging interface. I cannot recommend it enough - it has really reduced our hosting workload and the amount of questions that guests ask us.