Hostaway Reviews

I recommend it to all rental owners/PMs I know!

Comments: One place for everything including locks. I like that you can embed the booking widget to our own website

Pros:

Love the ease of use. I also appreciate the onboarding process and they don't just leave you hanging. [sensitive content hidden] was really helpful on taking us through and asking our questions.

Cons:

I don't like the price and add-on costs for the locks

New user, very happy with product and service!

Pros:

Amazing customer service - the guidance was very communicative and thorough; all of my questions were answered and everything was demonstrated to me in great detail so that I fully understand how to use the platform to its full potential. Automated processes/messaging - saves so much time and extra effort, avoids communication errors/missed messages

Cons:

The cost initially is quite high compared to other programs - however, the additional features are worth the extra cost, in my opinion.

Alternatives Considered: Hosthub

Reasons for Choosing Hostaway: Hostaway offers more features that ease the process of running a vacation rental, such as: automated messaging options, synchronized inbox and an easy-to use calendar, simpler configuration process with other booking engines/platforms, and the option to create a direct booking website

Switched From: Hosthub

Reasons for Switching to Hostaway: Hostaway offers the more additional features; such as: automated messaging options, synchronized inbox and an easy-to use calendar, simpler configuration process with other booking engines/platforms, and the option to create a direct booking website

The worst channel manager in the world.

Comments: Unprofessional company, poor technology, almost no service.

Pros:

Nothing special, all other companies offer the same but better.

Cons:

They are thief's. And give no customer service. The app is slow and hard to use. The people are unresponsive and takes along time to reply to any inquiry.

Ease of automation

Comments: From start with [sensitive content hidden], to finish with [sensitive content hidden], there has always been a lending hand and an offer to help with whatever may be required. I am confident that if we have any issues in the future that Hostaway will be supportive.

Pros:

The ease of having the really important tasks automated is amazing. To be fair its the little things that can set you apart from looking like an ameture to being in the professional realm that matters, like an automated message to your guest the day before checkout reminding them about procedures and the time to leave the apartment. These little things, we don't have to worry about anymore and can rather tackle larger tasks at hand. [sensitive content hidden] was an amazing onboard agent and helped us every step of the way in setting up the automated messages.

Cons:

I only asked [sensitive content hidden] about an inventory app, but suggested that it would be handy to have one integrated into Hostaway. Not an issue at all, she still helped me by sending some findings that she found, which found very helpful.

Alternatives Considered: Mr.Alfred

Reasons for Choosing Hostaway: It could not integrate with other systems and was quite limited.

Switched From: SuperControl

Reasons for Switching to Hostaway: I was not free to choose my own RMS and could only use theirs which costs 3% of revenue earned.

New Hostaway Client!

Comments: Our Hostaway experience has been great so far. We met with the Hostaway team at the VRMA conference in Orlando in late October. We met with [sensitive content hidden]
and they were quickly able to answer all of our questions. We signed on with Hostaway during the conference. In about 2.5 weeks, we are now fully integrated. We have been very impressed with the process and [sensitive content hidden]
has been awesome! We learned so much from him and he was great at keeping our integration moving along quickly. We were previously integrated with another PMS software and the process took 3 months and we had lots of challenges. This experience was far better than we could have imagined.

Pros:

Hostaway offers more features and better functionality compared to other PMS programs we have used or looked at. Hostaway's onboarding program is far better than the competition. Features that were critical for us: mobile app, ease of use, reporting, listing management.

Cons:

We haven't found anything that will create issues for us yet.

Hostaway stands out!

Comments: Hostaway is a superior system and improving all the time further. Onboarding sessions are really helpfull too. Really recommended!

Pros:

Great functionality, intuitive, great support. [sensitive content hidden] are heroes! Also the fact that Hostaway is constantly adding new and/ or improved functionality.

Cons:

Not really much, everything is working well.

Alternatives Considered: Guesty

Reasons for Choosing Hostaway: Apart from a channel manager, I was looking for a Property Management System. Hostaway contains both and is very advanced.

Switched From: Rentals United

Reasons for Switching to Hostaway: Hostaway seemed more specialised in my market, and also woth the recent funding with USD 175 mio is well positioned for the future.

Hostaway is a one stop shop for STR management

Comments: Glad we made the switch. The onboarding process was great. Site is easy to get around in. [sensitive content hidden] walked us through linking Hostaway to Air BnB, VRBO, Booking, Google, and our website increasing our market exposure. Love that we can manage all those from one source now.

Pros:

The onboarding process was easy and quick. Our integration specialist [sensitive content hidden] was vital to getting us fully into Hostaway. His depth of knowledge in the STR space and various booking platforms was incredible. He deserves a pay raise for his awesomeness.

Cons:

Price. Had the smart lock feature with our previous CRM that didn't charge for it. $8 per lock per month is way to much. It's a must have for smart locks to get the full value out of installing smart locks but y'all really need to rethink that price. Add it in with the Hostaway monthly fee cause you want to be the best service on the market richest.

So far so good with Hostaway

Comments: [sensitive content hidden] has been great with onboarding for us. We are still in the early stages but I am confident we will be happy with it. Support is generally quick to respond and the user guides have answers to a huge amount of questions so it is pretty easy to resolve any problems or queries.

Pros:

This is a mature and well thought out piece of software. So far there have not really been any problems using it that I have spotted. Support is responsive on the whole.

Cons:

I was told the Stripe payment processing was 1% but this was not the full story. In fact it appears that it is 3% plus 1% for Hostaway, I will limit using this system to direct bookings on our website to minimise the cost but it was a bit of a disappointment.

Alternatives Considered: freetobook and Guesty

Reasons for Switching to Hostaway: Trustpilot reviews were strong and price was good. The product came across in the demo as well developed and a huge improvement on how this type of software used to operate with loads of automation and timesaving on top of the expected booking functionality.

Jumped ship from Guesty for Hosts to Hostaway

Comments: Onboarding was thorough and professionally handled.

Cons:

Too early to tell. I will update the review as I gain experience.

Alternatives Considered: Lodgify

Reasons for Choosing Hostaway: Poor customer service from GFH, failure to pay the only damage protection claim we've ever filed, sketchy billing practices

Switched From: Guesty For Hosts

Reasons for Switching to Hostaway: Recommendations from other users of Hostaway that had transitioned away from Guesty and Lodgify

New User Experience

Comments: Onboarding with [sensitive content hidden] was outstanding. He was very helpful throughout the process, and answered all of our questions and concerns

Pros:

Ease of integration and transferring from a competing platform. The Hostaway platform, though robust, is easy to understand and provided a seamless transition for our team. That, and [sensitive content hidden] education during onboarding helped us get moving quickly.

Cons:

The price is a bit more expensive than competing products for our minimal listings, but thus far appears to be worth the added expense.

Make you a favor and don't even schedule a demo

Comments: The worse experience, the sales talk it's so overrated, really don't beilived what they says, no innovation, doesn't work, super old code, don't use it, it will affect all your sales.

Pros:

No pros here, its by far the worse software you will lost time, clients and money

Cons:

They never update their code, nothing is automated, there's no customer support, they just send you blog links. its so expensive, their website bookings are not customizable, the tracking events on google and facebook never work, and they just said that will work, nothing.

Alternatives Considered: Guesty

Reasons for Choosing Hostaway: Suppose to work better, with a great mobile for our clients this is just a big lie.

Switched From: Lodgify

Reasons for Switching to Hostaway: Because they said will be the best and innovation constantly

Hostaway -- best ease of use and amazing support

Pros:

I checked out probably 20 different PMS solutions, and had individual demos of about 10. Hostfully was in my top 3, here's why I went with them. 1). Easy interface, web-app enabled for 90% of what my managers need to do day to day, so it's easy to deal with on the go. 2). Top tier API integrations with the platforms I cared most about, VRBO and AIRBNB. 3). Their sales rep was really knowledgable and anything he didn't know he followed up to find out the answer. I've found that their support and onboarding team has been incredible. Shakeel, my account rep, is so responsive and knowledgable! I am loving using this software so far and would reccomend it for anybody who is focused on the Vacation Rental business. I don't know it if it's a good fit for Hotel management, I don't think that is their primary market, but for STRs it's pretty much 5 stars all around.

Cons:

Nothing that has bothered me yet. I think it would be nice if there was a bit more pricing tools and options, but if you are connecting to a third party Pricing Management solution (which I'm going to be doing soon) then it doesn't really impact your workflow.

Alternatives Considered: Escapia, Uplisting, Rentals United, MyVR, CiiRUS, Avantio, iGMS, Hostfully Property Management Platform, Streamline and Guesty

Reasons for Choosing Hostaway: Needed a more robust PMS system and Channel manager to support us at scale.

Switched From: Lodgify

Reasons for Switching to Hostaway: Most other of these require a front desk/concierge style deployment. I prefer one which allows our regional property managers, who are often on the go, to be able to handle guest communications and cleaning management while out and about from their phones. I thought Streamline looked very good for a Boutique hotel business (which is not what I do), and MyVR was probably my runner-up for my niche-- ultimately Hostfully won out for us because it had the best API integrations, knowledgable staff, clean and simple interface both desktop and mobile. Thrilled with the choice so far!

Exceptional Support - Software is still young but off to a great start

Comments: I like this company, their culture, and their obvious commitment to the client. The software is very intuitive, user-friendly, and has a fantastic design. Lastly, their customer support is exceptional. They are obviously committed to working with the client and making sure their end users are happy.

Pros:

I appreciate the simplicity and user-friendliness of Hostaway. The display is appealing to the eyes and the menus are intuitive. Additionally, the customer support team accessibility is hugely beneficial. I can get quick answers to my questions - they are very responsive. The value of that is beyond measure for a property manager or someone who has a demanding schedule.

Cons:

The software could offer more templates and automation as it relates to booking and task management. There are a number of processes that take place due to different scenarios as it relates to guests, their needs, and changes in reservations. My experience thus far with Hostaway is that they are actively improving their product which is very nice.

Alternatives Considered: Uplisting and iGMS

Reasons for Choosing Hostaway: I worked with OwnerRez for a month and a half and the onboarding was still in process. While the software was sophisticated and thorough, the onboarding process was painful. Their support is only available via an email ticketing system. I was lucky if I got a 1-2 hour meeting once a week and at the end I was criticized for needing so much support. Transitioning to a channel manager and scaling your operations from working with individual platforms is no easy task. Myself and my assistant were in flux for a very long period of time and OwnerRez did not appreciate that.

Switched From: OwnerRez

Reasons for Switching to Hostaway: 1. Software intuitiveness 2. User-friendliness 3. Mobile App 4. Implementation support 5. Dynamic pricing tool

Too many glitches!!!

Comments: Terrible! When onboarding, Hostaway drops syncing and blocked dates set up in Airbnb costing my company nearly $800 in Airbnb cancellation fees. And because I had to cancel double bookings, Airbnb suspended my account, and cost me $1000 of potential earnings. Hostaway has very limited customer service hours. No evening or weekend hours. Hostaway cannot accommodate a property that is rented as separate units or as a whole.

Pros:

What Hostaway promises was very appealing, however it did not deliver.

Cons:

Syncing set up in Airbnb were dropped.Not able to set up a multi-use propertyLimited and non--responsive customer service

Alternatives Considered: Vacation Rental Tracker Plus and Lodgify

Reasons for Choosing Hostaway: The promise that I'd be able to track all seven properties and housekeeping/maintenance on one platform.

Reasons for Switching to Hostaway: I am a small business owner of 8 vacation rentals. I manage all properties myself and was hoping Hostaway’s platform would help make my job easier to manage and allow folks to book directly with me.I chose Hostaway mainly for the promised ability to see all my properties on one platform, help with housekeeping/maintenance tracking and help me create a personalized website that would allow returning Airbnb and VRBO guests to book direct.

A great Product that listens to users...

Comments: Hostaway saves me time and this is a really big thing.
We have a lot of moving parts in the hospitality business. The fact that there is a lot of automation possibilities in the product makes our lives a lot easier and time won can be focused on other Business Development tasks.

Pros:

The software is intuitive and easy to use. Clear user interface that is not complicated. The first setup is very easy and when questions arise, the helpdesk is really quick in answering. Team is also helpful with the setup. Most importantly, the team listens to what we, the users, are missing and will implement in fairly short time.

Cons:

I do not have any real cons for Hostaway product. Like many of the similar products it does not have all in it what we would need (Like good Owners Reporting Tool) but it is 90% of what we need to run our business.

Alternatives Considered: iGMS and Hostfully Property Management Platform

Reasons for Choosing Hostaway: VREASY was missing a lot of functions we would like to have to run business smoother. (And safe us time) Also, the product felt "dated" and there were not many new functions rolled out.

Reasons for Switching to Hostaway: The completeness of the Hostaway Product won me over. Also the price to what was offered between the three products won me over to go to for Hostaway. Also the attention of the team to really support us in the transfer to Hostaway.

Excellent Software and Support For Superhosts

Comments: Excellent.

Pros:

[SENSITIVE CONTENT] is an amazing customer care agent. He responds very quickly and is very kind and patient. He is also an expert in Hostaway and very sharp. He has helped me solve my questions or concerns on a few occasions now, and he provides excellent customer care every time. Customer care is a considerable component of any PMS so I'm thankful for Hostaway's great consistent support.

Cons:

N/A. The only recomendation I have would be more automated SMS notifications to users (cleaners) such as "New Cleaning in Addition for {listing} on {checkout date}" or "Friendly Reminder of Cleaning Today {check out date (sent day of, 3 hours prior checkout)}. And also a better visual view of the calendar specifically for cleaners. Such as a monthly calender view with all the users (cleaners) assigned tasks (cleans).

Alternatives Considered: AirHost

Reasons for Choosing Hostaway: Too many tech glitches.

Switched From: Guesty For Hosts

Reasons for Switching to Hostaway: Airhost is a little behind in their features and integrations. For example, they don't even integrate with Pricelabs yet.

Avoid. Save yourself the headache and 8months trying to make Hostaway work. Just go with Guesty

Comments: Too many issues to dive into. If you value accurate financials, Hostawya will not work. If you want a system that syncs up to Airbnb or VRBO correctly, Hostaway is not the answer and you will spend hours each week re-creating your listings as Hostaway will delete the info. Support doesn't exist. You cannot reach anyone and they only actually offer email support (within 48hrs)

Pros:

We were sold on the idea they had all the same features + as Guesty as a lower cost. This was not the case.

Cons:

Most of their features are a shell so they can say "we offer xyz" when selling you the product.

Alternatives Considered: Hostfully Property Management Platform and Guesty

Reasons for Choosing Hostaway: We are growing and need a more complete system.

Switched From: iGMS

Reasons for Switching to Hostaway: We were sold on the idea they had all the same features + as Guesty as a lower cost. This was not the case.

Best Channel manager software I've used

Comments: As I said before, me and my team are a big fan.
Functionalities are almost everything I need. The overview is very good. And I never encountered a glitch, something I appreciate a lot! Also, costumer service is really good.
Pricing could be better but is OK.

Pros:

After using several other channel manager software for my 8 unit Boutique Hotel, I discovered Hostaway about 2 years ago. I truly like the integrated features for my 3 channels (Airbnb, Booking.com & own website). It gives a clear and straightforward overview of the calendar & pricing. Easy to adjust pricing by day & by channel individually. I'm a big fan of the automated messages (set-up), as it saves us heaps of time. Also, we never encountered any issues with sending out & receiving messages (very important!). I'm a big fan.

Cons:

Although, I use the mobile app several times a day, it can use some adjustments. I'ts not the best app there is in form a style and overview. On the other hand it's relatively fast & very easy to use. And also here, it always works.

New User

Comments: Overall, things have been great so far and I am impressed with all the different features that the platform offers. It gives my company a lot of

Pros:

I transitioned to Hostaway after using several products that ended in frustration after not meeting my company's needs.Hostaway is one of the first products that offers a complete solution that just about hits every mark that I have been looking for while supporting/empowering my company growth.

Cons:

The financial settings / owner statements are cumbersome to setup but [sensitive content hidden] and the onboarding process is helping me tremendously work out the kinks. The VRBO integration

Alternatives Considered: OwnerRez, iGMS and Guesty

Reasons for Choosing Hostaway: The other products were severely lacking in several categories and improvements that had a negative impact on my growing business.

Switched From: Guesty For Hosts and Hospitable.com

Reasons for Switching to Hostaway: Affordability + Not a significant Implementation Fee + Impressive features that are appealing for a property management (cohost) company... a lot of products do not support the cohost model very well.

Critical choice in my business suceeding

Comments: The support and technology are top-notched. Hostaway enables me to communicate with my team and guests to provide outstanding service and enables me to optimize my business to run more efficiently, and effectively. I wouldn't be able to grow my business so fast without Hostaway and their excellent team

Pros:

when I initially decided to move forward with Hostaway, the decision was based on features and benefits. As I am getting more familiar with the value it offers, the support team is outstanding and hands down what I like about most. They are knowledgeable, quick, and responsive. They really do care about your business and how to help you become more successful

Cons:

there is a bit of a learning curve because of all the features and detailed reporting it offers. "Getting what you pay for" definitely applies here. with Hostaway you get a ton of support, a great product and the best value for a PMS.

Alternatives Considered: Uplisting

Reasons for Choosing Hostaway: Reporting was the initial reason

Switched From: OwnerRez

Reasons for Switching to Hostaway: Reporting capabilities. You can't manage what you don't track. I can do whatever I need with Hostaway and then some

Great Platform

Comments: It is good I'm order to administrate my rentals an listing.

Pros:

It is easy to use and it helps very much in the control of the rentals

Cons:

It is still in development phase, it cannot connect yet with other systems such as alarm.com. Also to be present on some platforms you need to have 25 listing. The chat system can be improved. The WordPress plug in doesn't work well.

Alternatives Considered: Guesty For Hosts

Reasons for Choosing Hostaway: Guesty is very full and solid, but it is just too expensive. Ciirus lack of features and requires many listing

Switched From: CiiRUS and Guesty

Reasons for Switching to Hostaway: The integration with Zapier

Direct2hosts.co.uk review for Hostaway

Comments: Overall, very good so far, apart from the customer service issue. The more i se it the more proficient i become

Pros:

The message automation is a great feature, and has really helped to create efficient workflows we send Q&A pre/ post check in and pre check out messages. I want to run a low touch business, the messaging in addition to the autoreviews and task automation. The onbarading process with Marlou was excellent from start to finish. I knew after my first call with Marlou she was going to be excellent and she did not disappoint, Very knowledgable, patient and pleasant to work with

Cons:

We have had issues synching our pricing to such an extent, we do all pricing updates with the OTAs. Also when we had the issues with the synching we had zero customer service response for well over a week, in the end Marlou was kid enough to respond to my query. It was a bit of a concern though, the customer support is pretty good generally but on something as vital as pricing you simply cant go 'missing' in this way

Alternatives Considered: Hostfully Property Management Platform

Reasons for Choosing Hostaway: not fit for purpose

Switched From: Zeevou

Reasons for Switching to Hostaway: far cheaper, an seemed just as good

Charge-away! Overpriced and overcharged. Poorly designed software experience and no support.

Comments: Exceptionally poor and amateurish business experience with Hostaway. No additional value compared to other platforms that cost half as much. Awkward set up experience with lots of hidden settings that should be defaulted. You are contractually obligated to pay for set up when it should be free. The fact that you have to pay someone to show you how to set up a listing is indicative of how bad their software is. And yes I have set up listings on other platforms before without needing any guidance.Dismal documentation and useless support. Takes days to get an answer - if you even get an answer. They probably can't train up people fast enough because the software is so poorly designed. No excuse is acceptable for the poor support for paying customers.I deleted all my listings and then they re-appeared again, probably as an excuse to bill me. Have to dispute charges because Hostaway is charging for additional listings we never had, and continues to bill us despite terminating the contract. I can't do business with another company that operates like this.

Pros:

AirBnB Pro integration had fast sync operation.

Cons:

Too many missing guest details with VRBO integration. Had to spend hours checking bookings and manually entering in guest information into the reservation management portal.Really poor workflow with this application. Process designed by software engineers not business users. Ugly user interface and no intuitive design.Mobile app could not load over a data connection - had to connect to wifi. If you changed to a data connection it would prompt for a password then time out. Never had issues with other apps over data - except Hostaway.Mobile app locked up continuously and was unable to send out messages to guests to address their concerns. Tried restarting app and even rebooting my smartphone which was at latest OS version. Absolutely useless as a mobile app.Awkward setup process and should have better templates or examples. So many repetitive clicks when it should be defaulted.Cannot send attachments or images with automated emails. This is critical to giving our guests additional information related to check-in and finding the unit.The only thing worse than the software is their support. I received faster answers from competing applications support people and I wasn't even their customer yet! All you'll get from Hostaway is silence and excuses about support. Trying to cancel this subscription and of course you have to go through support to do so. Support doesn't answer and does nothing. Really dishonest business practice. I have no trust in this business.

Continuous excellence in customer service

Comments: Great experience so far, thanks to:- An excellent customer support- Constant innovations - Incredibly helpful webinars - Tons of user guides to setup listings across all channels

Pros:

Customer service is outstanding! [SENSITIVE CONTENT] especially always takes time to understand and resolve all our issues/questions The booking engine is super easy and efficient, easy to plug into our website

Cons:

If we could get a phone line to call when we experience an urgent issue, it would be great. Instead of waiting on a ticket to be addressed I would be really interested in a model where I pay a fee that includes all integrations (with a noise sensor provider, a smart lock provider, a dynamic pricing tool provider, and a ops integrator like Breezeway). A fee that would be negotiated at high level by Hostaway and that would cost less than having an account with each partner and pay them directly. I recently had a call with Jurny about this Saas integrated model, and I liked it because it seems to save a lot of time in ops and reporting, and a lot of money too.

Review

Comments: No intergradation for us with palace.Benefits are we can be more transparent with our home owners

Pros:

The calendar is easy to use. Easy to be transparent with our home owners

Cons:

All webinars and seminars are done in different time zones so are not possible to access during the day all are in the middle of the night making it feel we are left behind