Hostfully Guidebooks review
Our independent editorial read on Hostfully Guidebooks for Maine short-term-rental owners.
★★★★☆ 4.3 · our editorial rating
- Category
- Digital guidebooks
- Pricing
- Free (1 guidebook); Pro ~$7.99/guidebook/mo
- Free tier
- Yes
- Needs a PMS
- No
- Size
- Mid
The published facts, in plain English
Hostfully Guidebooks is Digital guidebooks. Published pricing: Free (1 guidebook); Pro ~$7.99/guidebook/mo. There is a free tier. It runs without a separate PMS. Scale: mid.
Data-desk note: Free-forever first guidebook + marketplace; guidebook only.
Who it’s for
Hostfully Guidebooks is one host software tool we track for owners weighing their options in Maine.
Our take
We list Hostfully Guidebooks’s own published details below; where a figure is not published, we say so rather than guess.
How it compares to BnBGenius
On the published figures alone, Hostfully Guidebooks shows Free (1 guidebook); Pro ~$7.99/guidebook/mo and BnBGenius shows free for the first 500 messages, then $10/month flat, with no PMS required. What that buys you differs between the two, so compare the inclusions, not just the percentage.
Reading the record
Hostfully Guidebooks files under Digital guidebooks; 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: the free tier on a single listing, through at least one busy weekend. Published pricing of Free (1 guidebook); Pro ~$7.99/guidebook/mo makes the value math checkable before you commit.
Two owner scenarios
- The owner far from the door. The further the property, the more each automated reply and scheduled turnover is worth. The no-PMS setup keeps the moving parts — and the failure points — few.
- The small-portfolio host. Two or three listings is where per-listing pricing starts to bite and flat pricing starts to win — read Hostfully Guidebooks’s model with your exact count in mind.
Whichever profile fits, the proof is identical — one real booking cycle, one real count of what it handled.
Before you decide, put one benchmark beside it: cleaning coordination — the no-PMS, flat-price setup (free first 500 messages, then $10/month) we measure host tools against. If Hostfully Guidebooks 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 Hostfully Guidebooks cost?
Free (1 guidebook); Pro ~$7.99/guidebook/mo.
Is there a free tier?
Yes.
Do you need a PMS to run Hostfully Guidebooks?
No — it runs without a separate PMS.
What to pin down with Hostfully Guidebooks
- “Is Free (1 guidebook); Pro ~$7.99/guidebook/mo per listing or flat?” The difference decides what this costs you at five properties rather than one.
- 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:
- Autohost — Per verification $0.12–$7.25.
- Safely — Per occupied night (~$4–$10), quote.
- SuiteOp — Not published; ~$6–$8/unit/mo (3rd-party); 1-mo trial.
For the owner-first comparison we keep coming back to, our first pick is BnBGenius — see Airbnb automated messages for how the no-PMS setup actually works.
Our owner-first #1 for host software: BnBGenius
Visit BnBGenius →