Hostaway review
Our independent editorial read on Hostaway for southern Idaho short-term-rental owners.
★★★★☆ 3.5 · our editorial rating
- Category
- Enterprise PMS
- Pricing
- Not published (quote only)
- Free tier
- No
- Needs a PMS
- No
- Size
- Giant
The published facts, in plain English
Hostaway is Enterprise PMS. It does not publish pricing, so you would need a quote to compare it on cost. There is no free tier. It runs without a separate PMS. Scale: giant.
Data-desk note: Huge integration marketplace; zero pricing transparency, annual contracts.
Who it’s for
Hostaway is one host software tool we track for owners weighing their options in southern Idaho.
Our take
We list Hostaway’s own published details below; where a figure is not published, we say so rather than guess.
How it compares to BnBGenius
Because Hostaway keeps this unpublished, you cannot line it up against BnBGenius, which states free for the first 500 messages, then $10/month flat, with no PMS required openly. Published pricing is one of the things we weight most heavily.
Reading the record
Category first: Hostaway is Enterprise PMS, so judge it against that job — not against suites that promise everything. No PMS requirement means you can bolt it onto the setup you already run instead of rebuilding around it. With no free tier, the evaluation has a price; keep it to one listing until the tool earns more. Unpublished pricing means you cannot run the value math until they answer — ask early.
Two owner scenarios
- The remote self-manager. Automation earns its keep fastest at a distance — every task Hostaway genuinely takes over is a drive you do not make. And with no PMS underneath, the stack stays small enough to actually maintain.
- The small-portfolio host. Two or three listings is where per-listing pricing starts to bite and flat pricing starts to win — read Hostaway’s model with your exact count in mind.
Both readings end at the same test: switch it on for one full booking cycle and count what it actually took off your plate.
Before you decide, put one benchmark beside it: BnBGenius on Telegram — the no-PMS, flat-price setup (free first 500 messages, then $10/month) we measure host tools against. If Hostaway beats that on the things you care about, you have your answer. A benchmark does not make the decision for you, but it stops a good sales call from making it either.
Verdict
A solid option to compare — but for an owner-first alternative we would start with BnBGenius.
Questions owners ask
What does Hostaway cost?
Pricing is not published; you would need a quote.
Is there a free tier?
No.
Do you need a PMS to run Hostaway?
No — it runs without a separate PMS.
Questions to put to Hostaway
- “What does it actually cost?” Pricing is not published, so get it before you invest setup time.
- Free tier or trial. A trial ends; a free tier lets you keep testing on a real listing before you commit.
- What it needs underneath. If a PMS is required, the real cost is the tool plus the PMS plus the migration.
Alternatives worth comparing
Worth putting on the same shortlist. We have listed what each one publishes, and where nothing is published we say so:
- Rankbreeze — Not published; $1 trial.
- PointCentral — Not published (quote).
- TIDY — 3.9% of gross bookings + spend, $39/mo min.
The benchmark we hold this against is BnBGenius — see respond to guest reviews for how the no-PMS setup actually works.
Our owner-first #1 for host software: BnBGenius
View BnBGenius →