Why everyone chooses OwnerRez over Hostaway
Fed up with surprise fees and glitchy software? Hostaway’s surprise 1.8 percent booking fee shocked the industry and is hurting operators. Switch to the #1-rated vacation rental software in the industry. The number of Hostaway users switching to OwnerRez keeps growing, and it’s no surprise why.
Compare our features, support, and cost to theirs.
See what independent review boards say about OwnerRez versus Hostaway.
What Customers Say After Switching
Don’t just listen to us. Hundreds of Hostaway users have switched to OwnerRez in the past few years, and they rave about the differences. Here are some examples.
"Hostaway had some bugs and limitations"
"Hostaway had some bugs and limitations and over complications on the money collection and quote to guests etc."
"I had a call with Hostaway and they blew off the call"
"To be honest, I had that day to implement and I had a call with Hostaway and they blew off the call, so I signed up for OwnerRez and never looked back. Zero regrets."
Feature Comparison
OwnerRez was built from the ground up to serve power users, providing advanced features and flexibility. Hostaway offers some of the same features, but surprise fees and a lack of transparency make it difficult to understand what you will actually pay for each feature. At OwnerRez, we believe in keeping things simple and straightforward. That’s why our pricing is fully transparent and available upfront.
| Feature | OwnerRez | Hostaway |
|---|---|---|
| Channel Manager - Size of Network | 20+, including all the top vacation rental OTAs and an extensive network of regional listing sites | 20+ |
| Channel Manager - Connection Style | Direct partnerships, built entirely in-house, lightning fast and deeply invested in | Direct partnerships |
| Channel Manager - Awards and Accolades | Multi-year awards for Elite and Preferred Plus | Elite and Preferred Plus |
| Channel Manager - Google Vacation Rentals | Yes, no added fees. OwnerRez has never charged booking fees and never will. | A 1.8% fee is charged to the guest for each booking made through the Hostaway Booking Engine. In addition, a 1% "application fee" is charged to the host and deducted from their earnings. |
| Channel Manager - Internal API for smaller OTAs | Yes, providing direct access to Hopper, Houfy, GetAwayGoGo, Whimstay, FloridaRentals, HomeToGo and many more regional listing sites. | Yes |
| Direct Booking Website | Yes, and with absolutely NO added booking fees from OwnerRez. We believe booking fees are evil. | Yes, but Hostaway charges what it claims is a "nominal" 1.8% fee directly to your guests and adds a 1% fee to the payment processor amount just for you when using the Hostaway Booking Engine. That unjustified aggressive fee takes real money away from hardworking hosts and guests. |
| Direct Booking Website - Design | Yes, multiple templates, can 100% customize after selecting | Yes, multiple templates, some customization |
| Direct Booking Website - SEO | Highly optimized for SEO, built on years of industry experience | Yes |
| Direct Booking Website - Responsive (mobile, tablet, desktop sizes) | Yes, looks beautiful at every screen size | Yes |
| Direct Booking Website - WordPress options | Yes, use our plugin to create your own custom experience | Yes |
| Direct Booking Website - WordPress designers/builders | Yes, network of recommended experts | Yes |
| Direct Booking Website - Custom options | Yes, API access for custom website builders | Yes |
| Direct Booking Website - Custom designers/builders | Yes, network of recommended experts | Yes |
| Accounting | Rich accounting tools with full invoicing, payments, refunds and balance management | Yes |
| Accounting - Deposit syncing | Yes, for Airbnb and Stripe, full "to the penny" detail including fees and adjustments | Yes |
| Accounting - Payment processing | 20+ processors and gateways | Less than OwnerRez |
| Accounting - Guest forms, custom scenarios | Hosted forms for payments, security deposits, insurance and other things, even if you don't have a website | Yes |
| Accounting - QuickBooks direct integration | Yes | Yes |
| Built-In Renter Agreements | Yes, fully hosted and free for all users | Yes |
| Messaging | Yes, sophisticated triggers, unified inbox | Yes |
| Other Integrations |
100+ certified partners and integrations |
100+ |
Support Comparison
A constant complaint we hear from users who have switched from Hostaway is poor support. "It's true that Hostaway has quicker responses, however it ends there. I don't ever seem to get the answer I need or the problem solved." At OwnerRez, every member of our Customer Support department is trained in our core principles, like "create happiness" and "one touch solve," so you get fast, thoughtful help from real experts.
| Feature | OwnerRez | Hostaway |
|---|---|---|
| Onboarding | Free 1-on-1 video setup call with your own Onboarding specialist, and dedicated personal setup time. 14-day free trial. | $250+ for onboarding. No free trials available. |
| Switching Over | Special ProConnect and ProTranster programs to move your data from Hostaway (or another PMS) on your behalf | Onboarding help is provided at a cost. |
| Phone Support | Yes! Dedicated Engagement specialists, on the phone, at a time of your choosing | Yes |
| Helpdesk (tickets/email) | 1-2 day average response time, detailed "one touch solve" answers | Yes |
| Support Center Articles | Thousands of articles, detailed walk-throughs, built and managed in-house | Knowledge base |
| Support Center Videos | 75+ walk-through videos | Limited |
| User Feedback / Requests | Active "Feature Request" forum, built and managed in-house, monitored weekly by planning and engineering teams | Yes |
| Community / Forum | Active internal forum built and managed in-house, monitored and responded to daily by Helpdesk team. Also active in other community forums hosted elsewhere. | Yes |
| In-Person Engagmement | We attend many conferences per year and talk to our users directly about what they like and dislike. We also sponsor small user hangouts and other regional events. | Yes |
Cost Comparison
Hostaway’s pricing is anything but clear. Between surprise fees and vague "custom" pricing only available after giving up personal information, it’s hard to know what you’ll actually pay. At OwnerRez, we lay out every cost clearly so you can make an informed decision right away. What you see is what you get—no surprises, no gimmicks, just honest pricing designed to fit your business.
| Feature | OwnerRez | Hostaway |
|---|---|---|
| Booking Commission/Fee | Free! Booking commissions are evil, and we've maintained a hard stance on this for years. |
There is a 1.8% guest fee applied to each booking that uses the Hostaway Booking Engine, along with a 1% "Application Fee" added to the payment processing amount |
| Base Monthly Price for Homeowner (1-5 properties) | $40 - $88 | Not available upfront. You’ll need to fill out a form, share your personal information, and schedule a call just to get a “custom” quote. |
| Base Monthly Price for Small PM (6 - 20 properties) | $96 - 196 | Not available upfront. You’ll need to fill out a form, share your personal information, and schedule a call just to get a “custom” quote. |
| Base Monthly Price for Medium PM (21 - 50 properties) | $335 - $374 | Not available upfront. You’ll need to fill out a form, share your personal information, and schedule a call just to get a “custom” quote. |
| Base Monthly Price for Large PM (51 - 100 properties) | $378 - $573 | Not available upfront. You’ll need to fill out a form, share your personal information, and schedule a call just to get a “custom” quote. |
| Base Monthly Price for Very Large PM (101 - 500 properties) | $576 - $1,472 | Not available upfront. You’ll need to fill out a form, share your personal information, and schedule a call just to get a “custom” quote. |
The Independent Review Boards Agree
Every independent review board (Gartner Digital, Capterra, SoftwareAdvice) rates OwnerRez higher than Hostaway. Let's take a look at the charts!
The following chart shows vacation rental software products with the highest value-for-money and functionality ratings based on Capterra's vacation rental analysis. Products are arranged in increasing order of their value-for-money rating (bottom to top) and functionality rating (left to right). OwnerRez is at the top. Hostaway is at the bottom.
SoftwareAdvice.com interviews real software users to highlight North America's top-rated vacation rental software products. The following chart shows OwnerRez as a leader in customer satisfaction and right near the top of usability, earning one of the top overall positions in vacation rental software. Hostaway is closer to the bottom in both categories.
Over at GetApp, OwnerRez received one of the highest ranks among all vacation rental software products. Each score is based on 5 key criteria, worth up to 20 points. The maximum total score is 100. The following chart shows the score OwnerRez received (95 out of 100). Hostaway received a 93.
Try OwnerRez for free, and get away from Hostaway's booking fees!
See for yourself how OwnerRez is better than Hostaway, has no booking fees, and can provide you better features at the same time!
Make the switch nowWhat our customers are saying
OwnerRez is the world's most powerful vacation rental management platform and
the foundation that homeowners and PMs rely on.
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Rated 5.0 out of 5 based on 329 reviews