Review Management Software for Restaurants and Hotels: What to Buy and What to Do Free
By the HospitalityStack editors · written from hotel & resort F&B experience
Start free
Before you buy anything, claim and verify your Google Business Profile, Tripadvisor and Yelp listings, and turn on notifications. A manager who replies to every review within a couple of days covers most of what a small restaurant needs. Software starts to earn its cost when you have several locations, a lot of review volume, or you want to catch unhappy guests before they post.
What the software adds
Review requests by text or email after the visit or stay. One inbox for reviews from every site. Private feedback so a problem reaches a manager first. Sentiment reporting by topic (service, cleanliness, wait time). Reply templates and AI-drafted replies, which a person should always edit before posting.
Restaurant-focused tools
Ovation focuses on guest feedback for restaurants and quotes physical locations and ghost kitchens. Its pricing page offers a custom quote within 24 hours rather than a price list. Podium sends review requests by text and adds texting, webchat, payments and an AI assistant. Its pricing page asks you to talk to sales. Birdeye prices by number of locations (1–3, 4–9, 10–39 and up), but we found no dollar amounts on its page. None of the three published prices when we checked (Oct 2026).
Hotel-focused tools
TrustYou, Revinate and ReviewPro (Shiji) are built for hotels. They combine OTA and review-site feedback with guest surveys, and Revinate also does guest data and email marketing. Expect quote-based pricing and ask whether it's per property or per room.
Responding well
Thank the guest, name the specific thing they mentioned, and fix it offline for anything serious. Never argue in public, never offer comps in a public reply, and never post a guest's personal details. Track your response rate and average rating every month. Browse Reviews & Reputation and see our AI guest messaging guide for the messaging side.