AskWhisper
AskWhispervsHotel website agencies

AskWhisper vs hotel website agencies

Most independent hotels already have a web partner: an agency that built the site, runs the booking engine and bills a retainer. This page compares that model with AskWhisper - Net Affinity, Bookassist and the local studio down the road - on what each one actually does.

The short answer

Hotel website agencies build and run the website and the booking engine. Net Affinity, founded in Dublin in 2000, works with over 400 hotels in Ireland and the UK; Bookassist, also Dublin and going since 1999, lists 1,200+ hotels in 60+ countries; local studios build one-off sites on whatever CMS they know. All of them sell design work, paid media, SEO and GDS distribution, and AskWhisper sells none of that. What they don't sell is what happens after the booking: no AI on WhatsApp or the phone, no guest app, no digital check-in, no automated journey messaging. AskWhisper builds the website from a description of your hotel at €4 per room per month and runs those channels on the same content, so a price changed once is right everywhere a traveller looks.

Choose them if

You want a designer on the job, paid media and SEO run for you, a booking engine from the same supplier, and GDS or voucher sales. That's an agency's home ground and we don't compete on it.

Choose AskWhisper if

You want the website and everything after the booking - WhatsApp, the phone, the guest app, check-in and upsells - reading one set of facts, at a price you can read off a page.

Where each one is strong

Both are real products with real customers. Here's the honest read on each.

What agencies do well

  • A designer who knows your property. A bespoke build starts with a discovery process and ends up looking like nothing else - AskWhisper doesn't sell a design service
  • The booking engine comes with the site, so one supplier owns the path from first click to confirmation
  • Paid media run for you: Google Ads, metasearch, remarketing. AskWhisper doesn't run campaigns
  • SEO handled as a service rather than left to you
  • GDS distribution through Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport, which matters for corporate and group business
  • Gift voucher platforms, a real revenue line for spa and destination hotels
  • Named account managers and long relationships. Bookassist has been at this since 1999, Net Affinity since 2000

What AskWhisper does well

  • Describe the property and the first version of the site comes back from that description. No discovery phase, no design rounds, no wireframes to sign off
  • Change a price, a check-in time or a pet policy once and it's live on the site, in the chat, in the guest app and in the emails
  • The site is one part of a platform that also answers WhatsApp, webchat, email and the phone, 24/7, in any language
  • Digital check-in, Salto key delivery and commission-free upsells run on the same content as the website
  • €4 per room per month for the website, published on our pricing page - no build fee and no quote to wait for
  • One supplier for the site and everything after it, so there's no second subscription for a chatbot bolted onto the page

Who's in this category

Three different things get called an agency, and they aren't interchangeable. Here's what each one is, and where the same boundary turns up in all three.

  • Net Affinity

    Net Affinity

    A Dublin hospitality technology and marketing company: booking engine, website CMS, digital marketing, vouchers, metasearch and GDS.

    • Founded 2000
    • Dublin
    • 400+ hotels in Ireland and the UK
    • Owned by Hotel Tech Group since December 2024
    Where they're strong
    A booking engine and CMS built for hotels, with real-time content editing and account managers who know Irish and UK demand.
    Where the gap shows
    Everything stops at the booking. No AI on WhatsApp or the phone, no guest app, no digital check-in - a chatbot is a third-party product integrated alongside.
  • Bookassist

    Bookassist

    A Dublin booking platform and web design company, with digital media, GDS and voucher products alongside.

    • Founded 1999
    • Dublin
    • 1,200+ hotels in 60+ countries
    • Part of Jonas Software since December 2017
    Where they're strong
    Bespoke design through a discovery process on their own hospitality CMS, with a booking engine that substitutes sold-out rooms and recommends rates.
    Where the gap shows
    The same boundary. It's a website and booking business: guest messaging, a guest app and check-in aren't part of what they sell.

  • Local web studios

    The design studio down the road. One bespoke build, usually on WordPress, Squarespace or Webflow, then a maintenance arrangement.

    • No published product
    • Project fee, then a retainer
    • Booking engine bought separately
    Where they're strong
    Closest to your brand and the easiest to reach. A good studio makes something genuinely yours, and you own the result.
    Where the gap shows
    Nothing behind the site. The booking engine, the chat widget and the email tool are separate purchases that don't share content with each other.

Capability by capability

Researched from public sources. Where we couldn't verify something, the cell says so rather than guessing.

FeatureAskWhisperHotel website agencies
Platform scope
How much of the traveller journey it coversDiscovery to post-stayWebsite to booking
Hotel website you build and manage yourselfYesYes
Site built from a description of your propertyYesNo
One change updates every connected channelYesNo
Takes the booking and the paymentNoYes
Website & booking
Bespoke design service with a studio teamNoYes
Content changes you publish yourselfYesYes
Multilingual websiteYesYes
Booking engine includedNoYes
Gift voucher salesNoYes
Guest messaging
AI replies on WhatsAppYesNo
AI replies on webchatYesNo
AI email draftsYesNo
AI answers guest phone callsYesNo
Automated guest journey messagingYesNo
Unified inbox (all channels)YesNo
AI capabilities
Multilingual AI (auto-detect language)YesNo
Smart routing (AI to staff escalation)YesNo
Central knowledge baseYesNo
Check-in & keys
Self-service check-inYesNo
Digital key deliveryYesNo
Upselling
Automated upsellsYesAt booking only
Commission-free (no OTA fees)YesYes
Offer targeting by booking dataYesYes
Guest app
Branded guest app (no download)YesNo
Local tips & recommendationsYesNo
House rules in guest appYesNo
Operations
Guest satisfaction flowsYesNo
Automated review nudgesYesNo
Operational notificationsYesNo
Marketing services
Paid media run for you (Google Ads, metasearch)NoYes
SEO run for you as a serviceNoYes
GDS distribution (Amadeus, Sabre, Travelport)NoYes
Pricing & setup
Per-room pricing (from EUR 7/room/month)YesNo
Pricing published on the websiteYesNo
No setup feeNoNo
Go live in days, not weeksYesNo

This column describes what these providers sell as standard: a website, a booking engine and marketing services. Individual agencies differ, and some integrate a third-party chatbot alongside their own products. Researched from public sources at the time of writing - if you spot an error, let us know.

Why hotels move from an agency to AskWhisper

  1. 1The site comes from a description of your property, not from a discovery phase and three rounds of design. Most properties go live within a few days.
  2. 2One set of facts behind everything. Change a rate, a check-in time or a pet policy once and it's correct on the site, in the chat, in the app and in the emails.
  3. 3The website isn't the end of the job. The same platform answers WhatsApp, webchat, email and the phone 24/7, in any language.
  4. 4Digital check-in and Salto keys, so arrival works without someone at the desk.
  5. 5Commission-free upsells targeted on booking data, running after the booking rather than only during it.
  6. 6A published price - €4 per room per month for the website, €7 for the communication suite - instead of a quote and a build fee.

What you get out of it

  • More conversion

    More of the travellers who find you book directly through your own channels.

  • More revenue

    More earned per stay, without anyone chasing it or asking the awkward question.

  • More time

    Less copying and switching between tools, more time for hosting.

Questions hoteliers ask

Do we have to leave our web agency to use AskWhisper?

No. The messaging, upsells and reviews work regardless of who built your website. If you do move the site across, changes are made by describing them rather than by raising a ticket, which is what ends the week-long wait to correct a price.

Should a hotel use a website agency or a platform like AskWhisper?

Use an agency if you want bespoke design work, paid media and SEO run for you, and a booking engine from the same supplier. Use AskWhisper if you want the website and everything after the booking, from messaging to check-in and upsells, reading one set of facts.

Is AskWhisper a replacement for Net Affinity or Bookassist?

Partly. AskWhisper replaces the website and the content behind it, and adds guest messaging, a guest app, check-in and upsells. It does not replace a booking engine, paid media management, SEO services or GDS distribution, so hotels using those keep them or buy them elsewhere.

Does AskWhisper do SEO and paid advertising?

No. AskWhisper builds the site multilingual and SEO-ready, but it doesn't run SEO campaigns or manage paid advertising. Agencies like Net Affinity and Bookassist sell both as a service. Hotels that want campaigns run for them keep an agency or a media buyer for that part.

How long does an agency website take compared to AskWhisper?

An agency build runs through discovery, design rounds and content sign-off, so it is measured in weeks or months. With AskWhisper you describe the property and the first version comes back from that description. Most hotels go live within a few days.

What does a hotel website cost with an agency?

Neither Net Affinity nor Bookassist publishes pricing. Both quote per project, typically a build fee plus a monthly fee, and local studios work the same way. AskWhisper publishes its price: €4 per room per month for the website, minimum €49 per month.

Do hotel website agencies offer AI guest messaging?

Not as their own product. Net Affinity, Bookassist and local studios sell websites, booking engines and marketing services. An AI chatbot is a third-party tool integrated alongside, with its own subscription and its own content to maintain. AskWhisper runs messaging on the same content as the site.

Do I lose my design if I move from an agency to AskWhisper?

You keep your brand. You describe the property, including how it should look and feel, and the site comes back in your own colours, typefaces and photography. What you don't get is a designer working to a bespoke brief, which is what an agency sells.

Is AskWhisper a booking engine?

No. AskWhisper sits on top of the systems you already run, including whichever booking engine you use. It reads your live data, puts it everywhere a traveller looks, and sends travellers into that engine with the room and dates they were looking at. The payment never moves through AskWhisper.

Do I have to replace my PMS?

No. AskWhisper reads live data from your PMS and writes back to it, and your reservations stay exactly where they are. It is a layer on top of your existing stack, not a replacement for it. The same goes for your channel manager and your key system.

Can I keep my own booking engine?

Yes. AskWhisper is not a booking engine and never takes the payment. Your site sends travellers into whichever engine you already use, with the room and the dates they were looking at, so the transaction happens exactly where it happens today.

Which PMS systems does AskWhisper integrate with?

AskWhisper integrates with Mews, Cloudbeds, Lighthouse, RoomRaccoon, Apaleo, protel, Clock PMS+ and MyTourist. Every one of them covers two-way reservation sync, traveller profile sync and messaging triggered by reservation events. The integrations page lists what each supports, and new connections are added in the order customers ask for them.

What if I don't have a PMS?

Most of AskWhisper works without one. The website, the webchat, the knowledge base, the AI receptionist and the journey emails all run on the facts you give us. Connecting a PMS adds the reservation-aware parts: the shared inbox, and digital check-in and keys.

How does AskWhisper work for hotel groups with multiple properties?

Hotel groups manage all properties from one platform. Set your brand standards once and roll them out everywhere - consistent guest communication, check-in flows, and upselling across all properties. Each property can still customize its own content while following group-wide templates.

How much does AskWhisper cost?

AskWhisper starts at €7 per room per month, minimum €21 per month, with a one-time €399 setup fee. That covers the communication suite. A hotel website is €4 per room per month, voice AI €2 and digital keys €2. Hotel groups with specific requirements can arrange a custom partnership.

Is there a minimum contract period?

Contract terms depend on the size and setup of your property, so speak to our team for the specifics. Arrangements are flexible and run from single B&Bs to large hotel groups. Nothing about the platform locks your data in: your PMS, booking engine and reservations stay where they are.

How long does setup take?

Most properties go live within a few days. You describe the property, the first version of everything you switched on comes back from that description, and connecting your PMS is a matter of approving access. There's no migration and no data-entry project to work through first.

Comparing something else?

Want to see it on your own hotel?
Just Ask Whisper.

Describe your property and see what comes back.