Everything we have been asked, answered.
The general questions first, then the ones specific to each of the five dimensions.
Questions, answered.
What does the Rival Score actually measure?
It summarises your competitive position in one number, out of 100, from five dimensions: rates and availability, offer, reputation, online presence and future demand. It is built from public signals — published rates, packages, reviews, Google and OTA listings, events around you — and from your position relative to your competitive set. It is not a scientific measurement: it is a comparison, and it moves as your market moves.
How are my competitors chosen?
StayRival pre-selects the properties genuinely comparable to yours, from location, category, price band, size and guest profile. You confirm or change that list in the flow, and you can adjust it at any time afterwards — your set is yours, not ours.
Where does the data come from?
From public sources only: rates and availability published on booking channels, Google Business Profiles and Google Hotels, OTA listings, guest reviews, competitor websites, and public event, holiday and weather calendars. No private data, no scraping of your competitors' systems, no PMS access.
How does StayRival separate facts from estimates?
A fact is something observed: a published rate, a new package, a review, a missing amenity. An interpretation is labelled as such and comes with a confidence level. When the answer depends on data StayRival cannot see — your occupancy, your pickup — it says so instead of guessing.
What can the AI recommend without a PMS?
Everything that depends on the outside market: fixing your presence on Google and the OTAs, adding a package your set already offers, replying to a review theme, publishing content, and flagging dates where the market is tightening while your rate sits below the median. Rate recommendations are always framed as “consider” and left for you to confirm.
What would need a PMS connection?
Anything that depends on your own production: occupancy, pickup, ADR, RevPAR, rooms left, historical performance. StayRival does not have that today and does not pretend to compute an optimal rate from public data. A PMS connection is on the roadmap — it is not part of what you buy today.
How often is it updated?
Your competitive set is compared daily, alerts fire when a change moves your position, and the Weekly Brief lands every Monday morning. The free report is a one-off snapshot of the day you request it.
What's the difference between the free report and continuous monitoring?
The free report gives you your Rival Score, your rank, your five dimension scores and your main gaps — once, for your property, and it stays in your account. A subscription adds the daily comparison, the history, alerts, the full action plan and the Weekly Brief. Plans start at $49/month (Pro at $99), every plan starts with a 14-day free trial, no credit card, cancel anytime.
By dimension
Each dimension has its own page; these are the questions that come back most often about each one.
Rates & availability
RATE →Where do the rates come from?
From rates and availability published publicly on the booking channels your competitors use, read for the dates ahead. No private feed, no access to anyone's systems.
How often are they refreshed?
Your competitive set is compared daily, with an alert when a move changes your position. The free report is a snapshot of the day you ask for it.
Does StayRival set my price?
No. It shows you the market and flags the dates where your rate looks low or high against it. The decision stays yours — and without a PMS connection, no tool can weigh your own occupancy for you.
Offer & positioning
OFFER →How fast is a new package detected?
Within a day of it appearing publicly, on a competitor's own site or on the channels they distribute through.
Do you cover direct-booking benefits?
Yes — free breakfast, upgrades, flexible cancellation, member rates. These are often where a competitor's real advantage sits, and they rarely appear in a rate comparison.
Can StayRival write the offer for me?
It can propose an angle, a ready-to-publish text and the kind of photo to use. What you sell and at what price stays your decision.
Reputation
REP →Which platforms are covered?
Google, TripAdvisor and the main OTAs your set distributes on — the sources a traveller actually reads before booking.
Do you analyse the content of reviews?
Yes, to surface recurring themes and their trend, positive and negative. The themes are shown with how often they appear, never as a verdict on your property.
Can StayRival reply for me?
It can draft a reply. Publishing it stays yours — a public answer signed by your hotel should sound like your hotel.
Online presence
PRESENCE →What does “direct rate missing” mean exactly?
That on some dates, Google Hotels shows OTA prices for your property but not your own. Travellers comparing on those dates never see your direct price — usually a connectivity or availability setting, not a Google problem.
Do you check my competitors' listings too?
Yes. The score is a comparison: a profile is not good or bad in the absolute, it is more or less complete than the ones next to it in the results.
Will StayRival update my listings?
No. It has no write access to your accounts, by design. You get the list of gaps, each with the page to open and the fix to make.
Future demand
DEMAND →Is this a demand forecast?
No. It is a reading of public signals for the dates ahead, with a confidence level. A real forecast would need your own history and pickup, which means a PMS connection StayRival does not have.
How far ahead do you look?
Up to 90 days for events, holidays and published competitor rates; short-term weather is only meaningful for the coming days and is labelled as such.
Which events are picked up?
Public ones near your property: concerts, trade shows, congresses, sporting events, plus school and public holiday calendars for your market.
What did your competitors change this week?
Find out in 2 minutes. Free report — your Rival Score, your rank in your set and the gaps that explain it.