Stellar Trust vs ChargeAutomation: automated guest registration, smarter tourist tax, cleaner accounting
Many post-booking tools solve individual parts of the workflow very well, for example payments or guest messaging. The biggest differences show up where local requirements and operational reality meet. This includes guest registration, tourist taxes, reporting requirements, and the accounting output you need at month end.
ChargeAutomation is often used as a payments-first layer to automate collections and parts of the post-booking journey.
Stellar Trust is built for operators who want automated guest registration and local charges handled reliably across multiple markets, especially when scaling across countries, regions, and municipalities. It also includes damage protection backed by a real insurer (Hiscox).
Below is a practical, fair comparison to help you decide.
1) Guest registration in 15+ countries, including automated submission to authorities
In many countries, guest registration is not optional. You need the right data, in the right format, and you need to submit it according to local rules.
Stellar Trust supports guest registration in 15+ countries and automates the submission to the relevant authorities where required. The guest flow is tailored to local requirements, so it collects exactly what is needed for that destination, then files it automatically.
Practically, this means you do not just collect guest data. You complete the registration process end to end:
- the guest provides the required data and documents in one structured flow
- Stellar prepares the registration output in the required format
- Stellar submits it automatically to the authority (where applicable)
- you have a clear record of what was submitted and when
2) Tourist tax that reflects real local rules
Tourist tax is rarely a simple flat fee. In practice, rules vary by municipality and can depend on:
- maximum taxable nights
- guest age and exemptions
- accommodation category
- seasonal variations
- locality-specific reporting requirements
Stellar Trust is built for granular tourist tax calculation. It is designed to reflect municipal rules and portfolio complexity, especially when you operate across multiple municipalities or regions.
The result:
- fewer corrections and edge cases
- fewer guest questions or disputes about tax amounts
- cleaner records for reporting and accounting
3) Discounted transaction fees for tourist tax
When you collect tourist tax at scale, transaction costs add up quickly. Stellar Trust offers a discount on transaction fees for tourist tax.
This is especially relevant for:
- high volume portfolios
- destinations with meaningful per-night or per-stay tax amounts
- operators who want predictable unit economics for mandatory local charges
4) Accounting and reconciliation: less work at month end
Once you scale, the operational pain is not just collection. It is tracking, invoicing, and reconciling many small transactions.
Stellar Trust includes setup tools to simplify accounting, including:
- automatic creation of VAT invoices
- automatic creation of invoices for tourist tax
- a transaction overview showing all transactions and related data at a glance
This reduces manual work, improves documentation quality, and makes reconciliation of payments, local charges, and service revenue much easier.
5) Damage protection backed by a real insurer (Hiscox)
Many post-booking stacks rely on deposits, card holds, or internal protection schemes. The difference shows up when something actually happens and you need a clear, reliable process.
Stellar Trust includes damage protection that is backed by a real insurance provider (Hiscox). This reduces deposit friction, creates a clearer framework for handling incidents, and helps operators standardize damage workflows across a portfolio.
Quick decision guide
Choose Stellar Trust if you want:
- automated guest registration workflows across 15+ countries with submission to authorities
- granular tourist tax calculation aligned with local rules
- discounted transaction fees for tourist tax collections
- automated VAT invoices and tourist tax invoices
- a transaction overview that makes reconciliation easier
- damage protection backed by a real insurer (Hiscox)
Choose ChargeAutomation if you want:
- a payments-first post-booking layer and your guest registration, tourist tax logic, and accounting outputs are limited or handled elsewhere
Disclaimer
This article is provided for general information only and is intended to help readers evaluate post-booking tools. Statements are based on publicly available information at the time of writing as well as our own product knowledge. Features, integrations, pricing, and availability can change at any time and may vary by country, region, payment provider eligibility, distribution channel, and account configuration.
We do not claim that this comparison is complete. This article is not a statement that a competitor does or does not offer any specific feature. It reflects our view of which differences are most relevant in practice and where Stellar Trust typically provides advantages. Before making a decision, readers should verify current specifications with each provider, request a demo, and confirm key requirements in writing.
All trademarks and product names are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification and comparison purposes only.
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