What is the best MARA alternative for a small hotel?

It depends on where your guests actually leave reviews. If they're spread across three or more booking platforms (Google, Booking.com, Expedia, TripAdvisor and similar), MARA itself is hard to beat since it's built exactly for that spread. If almost all of your public reviews land on Google, which is common for independent inns and boutique properties booked mostly direct, a focused Google-only tool like Resparo does that one job for a fraction of MARA's price.

How much does MARA cost?

MARA prices per property in three tiers: Lite at about €70/month per property (around €100 billed monthly) for up to 50 rooms with 150 AI drafts a month, Core at about €130/month per property (around €160 billed monthly) with 500 drafts a month, and Intelligence at about €210/month per property (around €290 billed monthly) which adds API access and reporting. Extra replies beyond the included count run about €0.30 each on every tier.

Is there a cheaper alternative to MARA?

Yes, if you don't need multi-platform coverage. Focused Google-only tools run far below MARA's per-property pricing: ReplyOnTheFly has a free forever tier plus a roughly $9.99/month Pro plan, and Resparo is $29.99/month unlimited (free for 10 replies a month, no card required). Neither covers Booking.com, Expedia, or TripAdvisor, so they only make sense if Google is where your reviews actually concentrate.

Does MARA work for businesses other than hotels?

No. MARA's own pricing page is built entirely around hotels and hotel groups, per property, with no restaurant, salon, dental, or general small-business tier. If you run a non-hospitality business looking for AI review replies, a general-purpose tool is the better fit regardless of platform spread.

AI that replies to your Google reviews for you, written the way you would write them. Not like a chatbot. You stay in control; it does the work.

Is there software that replies to my Google reviews for me?

Yes, that is exactly what Resparo is. It learns your voice and answers your Google reviews for you, so you never have to write a reply by hand. It is live now, and free to start.

Once it is set up, do I have to do anything?

Almost nothing. You answer a few questions once, then Resparo writes and posts your replies in your voice, automatically. The only thing it ever brings to you is a sensitive review worth verifying first, waiting in your Sensitive tab with the reply already written. Most owners check it in seconds. It is built so you can stop thinking about your reviews.

Will you help me hide or filter bad reviews?

Never. Hiding or gating reviews breaks Google and FTC rules. Resparo only helps you respond well to every review, which is the part that actually builds trust.

Will the replies actually sound like me?

Yes. That's the whole point. Resparo learns your tone, your phrases, and the words you'd never use. A pizzeria shouldn't sound like a law firm, and with Resparo it doesn't.

What happens with negative reviews?

Most are answered automatically, in your voice, the same as any other review. The exception is a sensitive one, a billing dispute or a claim you would want to verify in real life. Resparo writes the reply but holds it in your Sensitive tab so you can check the facts before it posts. A thoughtful response often wins the customer back, and you never risk the wrong reply going out on a review that needed your eyes.

Which platforms does it work with?

Google reviews first. That's where your customers are looking. More platforms are on the way.

Do I need to install anything?

No. Nothing to install, no browser extensions, no copy-pasting. Setup takes about five minutes.

How much will it cost?

Free to start and free forever: unlimited reply drafts and 10 replies posted to Google a month, one location, no credit card. Pro is $29.99/month (or $299/year) for unlimited posting and fully hands-off auto-posting. No contracts, cancel anytime.

I have more than one location. Does it work for me?

Yes. Resparo is built to work for any business size, from a single corner shop to multiple locations.

Right now. Sign up free at app.resparo.io and Resparo starts answering your Google reviews within minutes.

MARA AI Alternatives: Cheaper Picks for Hotels (2026)

Q: Will I lose my reviews if I switch away from MARA?

No. Every review lives on the platform a guest posted it to, Google, Booking.com, TripAdvisor, or wherever, not inside MARA or any other reply tool. Switching software only changes what helps you write and post replies, not what's already public on each site.

We build a Google review reply tool (Resparo), so treat this like a roundup with the cards on the table. MARA is a real, well-regarded review-reply tool built specifically for hotels, and for the right hotel it earns its price. This is an honest look at who that is, who it isn't, and what to use instead if you're paying for platforms you don't actually need.

What MARA actually does

MARA is an AI reply assistant built specifically for hotels and hotel groups, not for small businesses generally. Its own pricing page names three tiers, and none of them mention restaurants, salons, dental practices, or any business outside hospitality:

Lite: about €70/month per property (around €100 billed monthly), up to 50 rooms, 150 AI drafts a month.
Core: about €130/month per property (around €160 billed monthly), any number of properties, 500 AI drafts a month.
Intelligence: about €210/month per property (around €290 billed monthly), adds an AI research assistant, unlimited API access, and reporting.
Extra replies beyond the included draft count run about €0.30 each, on every tier.

The draw is real: one queue for Google, Booking.com, Expedia, TripAdvisor, Trip.com, Agoda, HRS, HolidayCheck, Airbnb, Hostelworld, OpenTable, and effectively any other site through a browser extension, all trained on your past replies so the tone matches your brand. For a hotel selling heavily through OTAs, replying in one place instead of eleven browser tabs is worth paying for. There's a two-week free trial with 40 replies included and no card required, enough to see if the workflow fits before you commit. If you run a hotel and want reply examples specifically, see our hotel review response examples or the hotel industry page.

The question that actually decides this: the OTA coverage test

Most 'MARA alternative' searches skip the real question. It isn't whether MARA is good, it is. It's whether your reviews are spread across enough platforms to need a tool built for that spread. Here's a three-step check to run before you shop:

Pull up your last 20 to 30 reviews, wherever they actually sit: Google Business Profile, the Booking.com extranet, TripAdvisor's management center, Expedia Partner Central.
Count how many of those platforms have real review volume on them, not just a listing that technically exists.
If it's three or more platforms with genuine volume, a multi-platform tool earns its per-property price. If it's overwhelmingly one platform, usually Google, a single-platform tool is the better buy.

In practice this splits hotels into two groups. A branded property selling heavily through Expedia and Booking.com, with a genuine spread of reviews across five or six sites, is exactly who MARA is built for. An independent inn, boutique property, or bed-and-breakfast that gets most of its bookings direct or through a Google search almost always sees the overwhelming majority of its public reviews land in one place: Google. Paying a multi-platform, per-property price to manage a review pile that's 90% on one site is the same mistake as buying a full suite to do a job a focused tool already handles.

The alternatives at a glance

Treat every price as approximate. This category changes often, so verify current terms before you buy.

MARA (our benchmark): hotels only, Google plus 10+ booking sites in one queue, about €70 to €210 per property per month, two-week free trial.
Resparo: any small business including hotels, Google only, replies held for your approval on anything sensitive, $29.99/month unlimited (free for 10 replies/month, no card). See current pricing.
ReplyOnTheFly: any small business, Google only, free forever tier plus a roughly $9.99/month Pro plan with an optional auto-post mode.

The picks, by situation

You sell heavily through OTAs and see reviews spread across several sites

Stay with MARA, or start the free trial if you haven't. This is the one job it's actually built for: pulling Google, Booking.com, Expedia, TripAdvisor, and the rest into a single reply queue, in a consistent brand voice, without you living in eleven extranets. Paying per property stings for a larger group, so weigh the annual-vs-monthly gap (roughly 20 to 30% depending on tier) before you commit.

Almost all of your public reviews are on Google

This describes most independent hotels, inns, and boutique properties, and it's where MARA's price stops making sense. A focused Google-only tool does the actual job for a fraction of the cost. Resparo writes each reply in your voice and posts the routine ones automatically, while anything with a specific claim, a safety issue, a billing dispute, a named staff member, waits for your one-tap approval instead of going out on autopilot. There's a free reply generator you can test right now with no signup.

David R.

★★★★★

“Room was clean but the AC rattled all night and the front desk didn't have a fix when I called down. Would think twice before booking again.”

Resparo draft (illustrative)

David, thank you for flagging this, and I'm sorry the AC cost you sleep on top of the front desk not having an answer for you in the moment. That's a maintenance gap and a training gap, and we're fixing both. I'd like to make the stay right, please reach out directly and I'll take care of it personally.

You want the cheapest possible Google-only option

ReplyOnTheFly has a real free forever tier (unlimited drafts, a handful of posted replies a month) and a roughly $9.99/month Pro plan with unlimited posts and an optional auto-post mode. It's a fine choice if budget is the only constraint, just know that full auto-post means a reply can go out on a bad review before you've seen it, which is the one thing worth a human eye on first.

Count your platforms before you shop, not after.
Keep anything with a specific claim (safety, billing, a named employee) out of full auto-post.
Check whether pricing is per property or per account before you compare totals across a group.

Don’t

Don't pay for 11-platform coverage to manage a review pile that's 90% on Google.
Don't assume every 'AI review reply' tool is interchangeable. Ask exactly what platforms are covered and how overage is billed.
Don't switch to anything that routes unhappy guests to a private form and only sends happy ones to public review sites. That's review gating, and it violates Google and FTC rules.

“The right review tool isn't the one with the most platforms. It's the one that matches where your guests actually write.”

Before you switch

One reassurance and one warning.

You won't lose any reviews. Every review lives on the platform a guest posted it to, Google, Booking.com, TripAdvisor, wherever, not inside MARA or any other reply tool. Switching software only changes what helps you answer them, not what's already public.

Don't gate reviews to make the switch 'easier.' Routing dissatisfied guests to a private feedback form while sending only happy ones to Google or your OTAs violates Google's policy and US FTC rules, and it isn't worth the risk on any budget. For the how-to on the reviews themselves, see our guides on hotel review response examples and Google review automation. For the wider field beyond hotels, our full review reply software comparison goes deeper than hotel tools alone.

MARA AI Alternatives for Independent Hotels