17 years helping Canadian businesses
choose better software
About Hostfully Guidebooks
Delight every guest with local recommendations and mission-critical property information with branded digital guidebooks.
As for cost, I have one property and Hostfully gives me free access and usage of the Guidebook program.
Nothing to dislike but I'll keep writing because there's a text minimum.
Filter reviews (121)
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Filter reviews (121)
State of the art guest guidebook system
Comments: We use Hostfully guidebooks to provide a great experience for our thousands of guests. The ability to create templates saves us a lot of time creating new guidebooks. Both our guests and owners are extremely impressed by the functionality.
Pros:
Saves us hours of time, great guest experience, mobile responsive, easy to use.
Cons:
The recommendations screen is a little hard to navigate.
Hostfully Response
5 months ago
Hello Craig, Thank you for your detailed review! We're thrilled to hear that Hostfully's guidebooks save you hours of time and provide a great guest experience. It's wonderful to know that our mobile-responsive and easy-to-use platform is making a positive impact. We appreciate your feedback about the recommendations screen and will look into ways to improve its navigation. We're glad that our template feature is saving you time and that both your guests and owners are impressed with the functionality. Thank you for choosing Hostfully!
Easy to use software
Comments: It took a bit of time to set up but once it was done it’s super easy to add or modify the information.
Pros:
It was easy to set up and easy to use. Love that it adds the map and all the information is right there.
Cons:
I wish that you can include one of the recommendations into different categories, instead I have to add the same place multiple times for each category.
Hostfully Response
5 months ago
Hello Georgina, Thank you for your review! We're glad to hear that you found our software easy to set up and use, and that you love the map feature and having all the information in one place. We appreciate your feedback about categorizing recommendations and will look into improving that feature. It's great to know that, although it took some time to set up, it's now super easy to add or modify information. Thank you for choosing Hostfully!
Launching Hostfully
Comments: Have started yet. Just trying to get it going!
Pros:
Lots of great features!! For someone looking at a completed guidebook, it would be very helpful.
Cons:
Extremely complex and challenging to get all the details put in properly on the paid version while waiting for emails to get a response. Would be real nice to have phone support or screen shots to assist. The videos are helpful for the overall site but NOT for specific fine details or when glitches arise.
Hostfully Response
5 months ago
Hello Dan, Thank you for your feedback! We're glad to hear that you find Hostfully's features great and believe a completed guidebook will be very helpful. We understand your frustration with the complexity and challenges of setting up all the details properly on the paid version. Your suggestion for phone support or more detailed screenshots is valuable, and we'll consider this for future improvements. While our videos are helpful for the overall site, we recognize the need for more specific guidance. Thank you for choosing Hostfully based on a recommendation, and we appreciate your patience as you get started.
Absolutely the best and easiest to use
Comments: Our guidebooks are the key to our communications with our guests. They provide all the information on the home from directions to how to find the fusebox. We use the guidebooks for everything and are always looking for more ways to utilize them.
Pros:
Setting up cards that can be used for multiple guidebooks saves time and I love that the recommendations appear on the map as it is important for our particular area. Being able to embed videos to assist with complex instructions make me happy. The absolute best thing is being able to start with one guidebook for free which allows you to get a feel for the software to see if it works for you first. Then, adding on to your "starter" is easy. My guests rave about our guidebooks. They are easy to incorporate into your communication with guests as easy links via email and texts too. Highly recommend.
Cons:
The only pain point I had, and this was when I was first starting out, was the help section. For someone not used to the layout or the software, the lack of a stupid-proof help section was a little frustrating. I understand the chat section and how the "Help" works now, but at the time, it was not as obvious and frustrating at times. It really is easy to use, but some folks may prefer a bit more hand holding by Mr. Obvious when going through the process.
Hostfully Response
last year
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback, Tara! We're thrilled to hear that Hostfully's guidebook solution has been a valuable asset for your communication with guests. It's great to know that features like setting up cards for multiple guidebooks and embedding videos have been helpful to you. We appreciate your candid input about the initial challenges you faced with the help section, and we will work on improving our Guidance. Your recommendation means a lot to us, and we're delighted that your guests are enjoying the guidebooks. We look forward to continually serving you and finding more ways to enhance your guest experience. :)
Fantastic tool
Comments: Can highly recommend Hostfully Guidebooks
Pros:
We do own more properties and it is great to have this tool. There is no need to rewrite a manual as you can easy select which items you would like to use for the different properties.It is pretty easy to use and the helpdesk is there in case you need them.
Cons:
Don't know. Maybe it is possible to have some functions of the guidebook available om my website so people can see some recommendations before the book a stay?
Hostfully Response
last year
Thank you for your wonderful feedback and recommendation, Hugo! We're thrilled to hear that Hostfully Guidebooks has been a fantastic tool for managing multiple properties. Your suggestion about having guidebook functions available on your website for guest recommendations is a great idea and something we'll consider. We appreciate your support and are here to assist you whenever you need. Thank you for Choosing Us!
Great Product Needs Work
Comments: Easy to use and is great for guests to have all on their phone. I only wish I can get them to open it more often.
Pros:
I love:The map feature.The ability to customize colors and branding.The ability to capture guest info.
Cons:
-price is high for what is offered-probably works much better if used in conjunction with Hostfully (I use Owner Rez)-The UI has not changed in 2 years. The menu is clunky and the side menu blocks. Aesthetically could use a refresh.
Hostfully Response
5 months ago
Hello Brent, Thank you for your detailed feedback! We're glad to hear that you love the map feature, the ability to customize colors and branding, and the capability to capture guest info. We appreciate your constructive comments on pricing and the user interface, and we’re always looking for ways to improve. It's helpful to know that using Hostfully in conjunction with other systems might present challenges, and we value your insights on this. We're committed to making our platform even better and will take your suggestions into account for future updates. Thank you for choosing Hostfully, and we hope to enhance your experience further.
Great platform for online and printed vacation rental guidebooks
Comments: We have used Hostfully as our online and printed guidebook platform since we started renting our condo five years ago. We find it to be a really useful platform in terms of being able to keep it updated in a very modular way, and the fact that we can update the online version any time, but also print a new version for use in the condo itself is a great benefit.
Pros:
Ability to keep information organized as "cards" and then use the cards multiple ways, and update them individually when necessary, it great.Integration with Google Maps and Google search content for pulling in photos and business information about recommendations is really useful.
Cons:
We do use the printed version functionality for our condo -- not everyone wants to have to use a phone or tablet to read the house manual content. The printing capabilities have shifted over time and become less user friendly and useful. Would be great to see a bit of development occur around printed versions.More options for look and feel from a design perspective would be nice.
Hostfully Response
5 months ago
Hello Mark, Thank you for your review! We're pleased to hear that you find Hostfully's ability to keep information organized as "cards" and the integration with Google Maps and Google search content very useful. It's great to know that our platform has been beneficial for both your online and printed guidebooks. We appreciate your feedback regarding the printing functionality and the desire for more design options. We'll take this into consideration for future development to enhance the user experience. Thank you for choosing Hostfully and for being a loyal user for the past five years!
Digital guidebook
Comments: Less guests contact me foe instructions or questions they may have.
Pros:
I can have videos for instructions to my guests.
Cons:
I wish I could have a place to insert my own website for direct booking
Hostfully Response
last year
Thank you for your valuable feedback, Maria! We're delighted to hear that our digital guidebook has been helpful in reducing guest inquiries. We appreciate your suggestion about adding a direct booking website feature and will certainly consider it for future updates. Your input is essential to making our service even better!
Hostfully makes my job so much easier
Comments: It has been great. The renters love how easy it is to use.
Pros:
It is easy to setup. I can customize each book book to a specific property. Best part is I can make changes on the fly and the renters see the change in real time.
Cons:
I wish we could use the client manager side of Hostfully. Unfortunately in our situation we cannot. This is not a fault of Hostfully but more of the rules when third part booking sites like VRBO interact with them.
Hostfully Response
5 months ago
Hello Thomas, Thank you for your review! We're thrilled to hear that Hostfully makes your job easier, allowing you to set up and customize each guidebook for specific properties with ease. It's great to know that you can make real-time changes that renters can see immediately. We appreciate your understanding regarding the client manager side of Hostfully and the limitations imposed by third-party booking sites like VRBO. Thank you for your positive feedback, and we're glad that renters find it easy to use.
Perfect for our needs
Comments: We don’t think about it much, which is exactly why we like it! We made a guidebook, occasionally update it, and our guests can find all of the info they need for their stay. We have gotten several compliments on it from guests and no complaints!
Pros:
Hostfully is an easy to use product, perfect for our need for a vacation rental guidebook. The interface is easy for guests to understand and access, and we can generate a simple link. We also like being able to create a PDF version to send directly to guests.
Cons:
Updating guidebook recommendations is sometimes buggy and difficult. Especially when choosing photos, entries sometimes do not save correctly.
Hostfully Response
2 years ago
Thank you for your wonderful feedback, Joel! We're delighted to hear that Hostfully is perfect for your vacation rental guidebook needs and that the interface is easy for both you and your guests to understand and access. We're glad you appreciate the simplicity of generating a link and creating a PDF version to send directly to guests. We apologize for the inconvenience you've encountered with updating guidebook recommendations. We're thrilled that Hostfully has been a clean, easy-to-understand solution for you at a good price point. It's fantastic to hear that you've received compliments from guests and no complaints regarding the guidebook. Thank you once again for choosing Hostfully! :)
Alternatives Considered:
My experience
Comments: It works for my booked guests, I think I need to improve my guide box for guests to use it more often
Pros:
Simple templates and easy to customize to target to the guests detailed recommendations and information
Cons:
Easy and shareable in an easy way also it has useful categories
Hostfully Response
5 months ago
Hello Aly, hank you for your review! We're glad to hear that you find our templates simple and easy to customize for your guests' detailed recommendations and information. It's great to know that you find the categories useful and that the guidebooks are easy to share. We appreciate your feedback on improving your guidebook to encourage more frequent use by guests. Thank you for choosing Hostfully Guidebooks for its ease of use and shareability!
Helpful tool
Pros:
Hostfully Guidebooks allows me to present relevant information to my guests in a professional-looking, easy-to-use format.
Cons:
I have Guidebooks for multiple properties. Hostfully does not allow me to create an easy, recognizable name for each Guidebook. Instead, Hostfully names each Guidebook with a series of cryptic letters that make it hard to distinguish one Guidebook from another.
Hostfully Response
5 months ago
Hello Erin, Thank you for your review! We're glad to hear that Hostfully Guidebooks helps you present relevant information to your guests in a professional and easy-to-use format. We appreciate your feedback regarding the naming convention for multiple guidebooks and understand the need for easily recognizable names. We'll take this into consideration for future improvements. Thank you for choosing Hostfully for its ease of use for both you and your guests!
Very good product
Pros:
It helps our team communicate and work together. It elevates our guest experience.
Cons:
No significant cons to the product. Overall happy with the experience.
Hostfully Response
5 months ago
Hello Juan Miguel, Thank you for your review! We're delighted to hear that Hostfully helps your team communicate and work together, while also elevating your guest experience. We're glad to know you're overall happy with the product and have no significant cons to report. Thank you for choosing Hostfully!
Hostfully Makes Life Easy
Comments: Love this product
Pros:
Great source to provide vacation home information for guests
Cons:
Filling out all the information and not knowing exactly what I was doing.
Hostfully Response
last year
Thank you for your review, Karen! We're thrilled to hear that Hostfully has made your life easier and has been a great source for providing vacation home information to your guests. We understand that filling out all the information might have been confusing, and we apologize for any inconvenience caused. It's great to know that the ease of use and mobile accessibility have been beneficial for your guests. We're glad you love our product! :)
Great product
Pros:
- Very easy to set up, coming with a bunch of recommendations right out of the box.- FREE for just one property, so great for small investors just starting.- Allows me to generate a QR Code to post in the unit for a clean, professional look.
Cons:
- Reordering of recommendations could be easier. Gets a bit cumbersome with a lot of recommendations.
Hostfully Response
5 months ago
Hello Doug, Thank you for your great review! We're delighted to hear that you find Hostfully very easy to set up, appreciate the built-in recommendations, and find it perfect for small investors with its free option for one property. It's wonderful to know that the QR code feature adds a clean, professional look to your unit. We appreciate your feedback about the reordering of recommendations and will work on making this process smoother. Thank you for choosing Hostfully!
Hostfully Guidebooks are great for guests
Comments: The guidebook provides my guests with access to loads of useful info before and during their stay. I have fewer guest questions to answer as a result.
Pros:
Easy to set up/maintain and easy for guests to access.
Cons:
I don't like the sponsored ads because they're not always close by and are therefore irrelevant. I don't like the 'Ground Transportation' box because this is not appropriate wording in the UK market.
Hostfully Response
2 years ago
Thank you for your positive feedback about Hostfully Guidebooks, Paula! We're thrilled to hear that you find them easy to set up and maintain, and that your guests find them accessible. We appreciate your input regarding the sponsored ads, we'll take your feedback into consideration for the future improvements. It's fantastic to hear that the guidebook provides your guests with loads of useful information and helps reduce the number of guest questions you have to answer. Thank you for using Hostfully Guidebooks!
Very Happy
Comments: Helpful, friendly service and a useful product
Pros:
The process of setting it up made me consider what information guests need and being able to send it all through one link is very convenient.
Cons:
The colour palette options was limited and too bold.
Hostfully Response
2 years ago
We're delighted to hear that you are very happy with the Vacation Rental Guidebook, Jane! It's great to know that the setup process helped you consider the information your guests need, and the convenience of sending it all through one link is a major plus. We appreciate your feedback regarding the limited and bold color palette options, and we'll take that into consideration for future improvements. Our team is dedicated to providing helpful and friendly service, and we're thrilled that you found our product useful. Thank you for being a loyal customer!
Hostfully Guidebooks the best option for your gests
Comments: Overall my experience has been very good and I think it is a very good option to digitize the guidebook of the apartment to make it easier to use and understand for the guest, besides being able to consult it beforehand in case there is any doubt or problem.
Pros:
How easy it is to customize all the templates to meet your needs, Hostfully gives you the perfect structure and space to tailor the message to your guests in the way you see it fits.
Cons:
I would like the market place area to be more thought out so that you can offer your own services. This can be done, but in terms of quality and product placemente, it is noticeable that the options that Hostfully brings for its commercial agreements are more careful and have more options to be more attractive to the guest.
Hostfully Response
2 years ago
Thank you for your kind review of Hostfully Guidebooks, Ismael ! We are thrilled to hear that you find our platform easy to use and customize to meet your needs. We appreciate your feedback regarding the marketplace area, We are glad to hear that you have had a positive overall experience with Hostfully Guidebooks, and that our platform has helped to digitize your apartment guidebook and make it more accessible to your guests. Thank you for choosing Hostfully Guidebooks, and we look forward to continuing working with you! :)
Great Guidebooks
Pros:
Allows to provide everything about your vacation rental from addresses to house manual and local recommendations.
Cons:
There is nothing from hostfully that is lacking currently.
Hostfully Response
5 months ago
Hello Alyssa, Thank you for your review! We're thrilled to hear that our guidebooks allow you to provide comprehensive information about your vacation rental, from addresses to the house manual and local recommendations. We're glad to know that you find nothing lacking with Hostfully at the moment. Thank you for choosing Hostfully!
Bar code ease
Pros:
I love the bar code scan feature. I love that you can.scan area even when casinoclosed
Cons:
The fact that my mother has a hard time understanding how to use.
Hostfully Response
5 months ago
Hello Angela, Thank you for your review! We're delighted to hear that you love the bar code scan feature and find it useful, even when the casino is closed. We appreciate your feedback regarding the difficulty your mother has in understanding how to use it, and we'll work on making it more user-friendly for everyone. Thank you for choosing Hostfully for its ease of creation and implementation.
You can always start with a free version
Pros:
If you have only one property, Hostfully allows you to create one guidebook for free. The process was really straightforward, and my guests were impressed with the result.
Cons:
Nothing really what I did not like about Hostfully Guidebooks.
Hostfully Response
2 years ago
Thank you for your positive review of Hostfully Guidebooks! We appreciate your feedback. We're glad to hear that you found the process of creating a guidebook for your property straightforward and that your guests were impressed with the result. We're also happy to hear that you didn't have any dislikes or concerns about our product. Thank you for choosing us, and we hope to continue providing you with excellent service.
Love Hostfully Guidebooks
Comments: Hostfully solves to important business problems: provides all the important information about the vacation rental and the surrounding area, and allows us to collect emails for future marketing.
Pros:
It's super easy to implement and even easier to deploy.
Cons:
Sometimes it's hard to find the pages one is looking for due to naming conventions. Also not sure how the themes work.
Hostfully Response
2 years ago
Thank you for loving Hostfully Guidebooks, Amin! We appreciate you enjoyed the ease of implementation and deployment. We apologize for any difficulties you've had in understanding the themes. Our goal is to provide a user-friendly experience. We're glad that Hostfully has helped solve important business problems by providing information and enabling future marketing. Thank you for choosing us!
The Professional Touch
Pros:
Its one link that can be shared and the QR code
Cons:
It took a lot of time to set up and don't seem to be generating revenue yet from the viator.There are not enough viator vendors in our area.
Hostfully Response
2 years ago
Hi Sarah, Thank you for taking the time to provide us this review! We are sorry to hear there are not enough vendors in your area, and we are pleased that you appreciate the ease of sharing the guidebook with the QR code. Thank you for choosing Hostfully.
You get what you pay for
Comments: Its neutral, It works as it is supposed to.
Pros:
It is easy to use, easy to integrate, but you may look into some other tools to make it better design wise.
Cons:
Its quite complicated to use at first. You might need to explore the options a bit first before making it for real
Hostfully Response
2 years ago
Thank you for your review, Sara. We're glad to hear that our platform is easy to use and integrate. We understand that there might be a learning curve when using our platform initially, and we apologize for any complications you experienced. We're pleased to hear that our platform works as intended and fulfills its purpose. Thank you for your support and choosing us.
A fantastic Tool
Comments: I love the Guidebook. It was super easy to set up and I had it up and going in no time. Customer support was great in the early stages of implementation as well. I quickly customized it and am now sending it out to my prospective guests before they arrive at my property. I am also encouraging them to share it with friends as a marketing tool for myself and as a way for them to share their experience in Colorado and encourage their friends and family to enjoy the same great experience they had.
Pros:
This software provides needed information about my vacation rental including rules and policies, amenities, appliances, "how to's", as well as information about local activities, events, places of interest,, etc. The software is very usable, and attractive and helps my vacation rental to stand out from others who don't use such a tool. It is a time seizure as well Because it helps to answer questions before my guests even ask them.
Cons:
Really, I can't find anything to complain about regarding this software. I would like to be able to self-brand it but that may be a feature available at higher levels of account membership, though I am not sure.
Hostfully Response
2 years ago
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a fantastic review, Donald! We are delighted to hear that our software has been able to provide you with all the necessary information about your vacation rental and help it stand out among others. We're glad to hear that our Guidebook feature has been easy to set up and that you've received great customer support during implementation. Regarding the branding feature, it is available at higher levels of account membership, and we'll be happy to provide more information if you're interested. Once again, thank you for choosing Hostfully, and we look forward to being a part of your vacation rental success in the future :)
