The short-term rental business is becoming more competitive every year and both property managers and individual hosts are realizing the importance of the right property management system for streamlining operations and boosting revenue.
Hospitable and Guesty are two well-known platforms that come up in discussions. In this article we'll explore Hospitable vs Guesty — key differences, core features, pricing models, reviews, etc.
Whether you manage a single unit or a large portfolio, the choice of vacation rental software can significantly shape your business success.
For small property managers and individual hosts, the priority may be a lower cost platform with basic automation and clear transparent pricing. For large portfolio managers, a platform with task management, lead management, payment processing solutions and revenue management may be worth higher costs — provided hidden fees don’t eat into profits.
Hospitable focuses on individual hosts and small property managers and prioritizes providing a simple and user-friendly experience.
Guesty offers more features than Hospitable and is targeted at property management companies and owners of large short-term rental portfolios. It also offers a second version: Guesty for Hosts, also known as Guesty Lite, for 1-4 listings. This is targeted towards hosts with just a few listings who believe they can manage with just limited functionality.
Aspect | Hospitable | Guesty |
Dynamic pricing | Via integrations | Built-in + integrations |
Direct bookings | Website builder | Booking engine & direct booking site builder |
Guest communication | Messaging with some automation | Messaging with more automations and features |
Integrations | Wide range | Broader, including enterprise systems |
Task management | Cleaning & check-ins | Custom workflows |
Automation | Basic messaging/tasks | Complex automation |
Revenue tools | External tools | Built-in revenue management |
Support | Email + knowledge base | Multi-channel support |
When choosing management software, cost is often a deciding factor.
Guesty offers tiered pricing with its Lite plan operating on a monthly fee model and custom pricing for its more comprehensive models. Cost can vary by portfolio size as well as add-on features such as guest communication services. Pricing can be steep with extra costs for certain features or higher booking volumes, so understanding the full pricing structure before committing is key. Hospitable’s pricing is more transparent, with flat-tier pricing, each with specific property limits and per-property surcharges for more.
Owning the relationship with your guests is crucial for vacation rental businesses and a direct booking website is a key component of being able to do just that.
Guesty users have access to a customizable website builder along with CRM integration, lead management and lead data tracking — for higher priced tiers — suited to property management companies aiming for repeat guest experiences.
Hospitable provides a direct booking website builder that’s suited to individual hosts wanting quick, branded sites for direct bookings.
Integrations determine how well your property management system works with the rest of your tools.
Hospitable offers essential connections — including Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, dynamic pricing tools like PriceLabs and Beyond, plus cleaning and payment solutions — making it a good fit for small hosts who want straightforward setup and reliable syncing. Guesty takes integrations further, with a larger ecosystem that includes platforms for advanced marketing, accounting software, smart locks, etc.
Hospitable’s support includes a knowledge base, email help, live chat and a community page. Guesty provides support via multiple channels, including phone and chat, plus dedicated account managers for bigger businesses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbYQVkBRMu4
Hospitable is better positioned for lone hosts and small vacation rental businesses with simplicity rather than growth in mind. It's more budget-friendly than Guesty which offers a broader range of features but at much higher costs. But no matter the size of your vacation rental business or property management requirements, Hostaway offers the right property management software in the short-term rental industry.
An all-in-one solution, it offers built in core features like property management software, channel manager, guest messaging, website builder, task management, reporting and analytics, automations and more at no additional cost. This results in a unified, seamless experience with fewer or no integrations to manage at a cost that is tailored to your portfolio. It is also designed to scale, so it's the perfect choice for any host, manager or owner who wants to grow their portfolio and business.
The cost is transparent, composed in a flat-fee structure and has no surprise or hidden fees. Plus, it's the highest rated vacation rental software on the market — rated 4.8 out of 5 stars based on over 1,350 verified reviews.
Hospitable offers the most essential features at a more budget-friendly price compared to Guesty. The latter provides a wide range of features but at steeply increasing prices. Hostaway bridges the gap —offering enterprise-grade tools at a reasonable cost for portfolios of any size, without sacrificing usability and delivering long-term ROI.
Guesty offers more features than Hospitable including basic automations, guest messaging, revenue management, CRM tools, etc — but at an increasing cost. But Hostaway offers all these and more in a single platform while boasting the highest levels of direct integrations with the major booking channels including Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com and Marriott Homes & Villas, meaning you won’t need multiple systems to run your business and you can always rely on a helpful team to have your back.
Hospitable automates guest messaging and some tasks; Guesty automates more complex workflows for property managers with larger teams. Hostaway takes automation to the next level, with customizable workflows across bookings, cleaning tasks, team management, check-ins, guest communications and revenue optimization — allowing you to save time and streamline operations.
Hospitable works best for single property owners or smaller rental business setups that don't have growth plans. Guesty can scale, but costs rise quickly. Hostaway, on the other hand, is built from the ground up to handle everything from individual hosts to large portfolio operations, making it ideal for your STR business to grow while minimizing corresponding increases in costs.
If you want a platform that provides a complete suite of core features and advanced features, strong ROI with transparent pricing, tools that scale as your business grows, market-leading automation and integrations and proven, highly rated support … then Hostaway delivers all of that in a single, unified platform, making it the smarter long-term investment for hosts and property managers alike.