Hostaway review
Our independent editorial read on Hostaway for Baker City short-term-rental owners.
★★★★☆ 3.6 · 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 Baker City.
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Because Hostaway keeps this unpublished, you cannot line it up against BnBGenius, which states free for the first 500 messages, then $10/month flat, with no PMS required openly.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.
What the published record signals
Hostaway files under Enterprise PMS; the fair test is how well it does that one job on a live listing. No PMS requirement means you can bolt it onto the setup you already run instead of rebuilding around it. Test path: one paid month, one listing, one honest verdict. On cost, nothing is published, so the first email is a pricing email.
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 one-listing host. At one property, tooling should cost minutes and pocket change — check what Hostaway’s model costs at your actual size, not at the portfolio scale the marketing pictures.
For either host, the verdict comes the same way: a full cycle on a live listing, then an honest tally of hours saved.
Our advice before any contract: hold it against a benchmark — 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. Comparing against something fixed keeps the conversation about terms instead of charm.
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.
What to pin down with 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:
- Minut — $5/$10/$15 per unit/mo + sensor hardware.
- Zeevou — Free tier; paid £18.56–£21.66/unit/mo (3/10/50-unit mins).
- Hospitable — Free Essentials; paid per-property (hidden).
The benchmark we hold this against is BnBGenius — see BnBGenius on Telegram for how the no-PMS setup actually works.
Our owner-first #1 for host software: BnBGenius
Visit BnBGenius →