Scaling a short-term rental (STR) portfolio is less about adding more listings and more about choosing systems that won’t break once you hit 20, 50, or 200+ units. For many operators, that decision comes down to two names: Hostfully and Hostaway.

Both are solid vacation rental property management systems (PMS), but they’re built with different priorities in mind. This guide breaks down how each platform performs where it matters most for scaling: automation, multi-channel distribution, team workflows, reporting, and support.

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Quick verdict: which is better for scaling?

If you need a fast, high-level answer:

• Hostaway is usually better for:

  • Multi-channel management at scale (20+ listings)
  • Teams with dedicated operations staff
  • Complex revenue management and custom reporting
  • Aggressive growth across Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, etc.

• Hostfully is usually better for:

  • Smaller to mid-sized portfolios (5–50 units) wanting flexibility
  • Operators who value guest experience and upsells
  • Managers who prefer a simpler UI and customizable guidebooks
  • Owners/hosts stepping up from “hobby” to “small business”

If your goal is to build a large, multi-channel STR operation with tight processes, Hostaway has the edge as a scaling platform. If you’re growing but still under 50 properties and want a balance of usability, flexibility, and guest experience tools, Hostfully is often the more comfortable fit.

Now let’s dive into the details.

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Overview: Hostfully vs Hostaway at a glance

Hostfully

• Best fit: Small to mid-sized professional managers, boutique STR brands, and owners with 5–50+ listings.
• Core strengths:
  • Property management + standout digital guidebooks
  • Clean, user-friendly interface
  • Good automation without steep learning curve
  • Strong direct-booking tools and upsells
• Potential drawbacks:
  • Channel management and reporting are solid but less “enterprise” than Hostaway
  • Can feel limited as portfolios get large and complex (multiple teams, high-volume multi-channel)

Hostaway

• Best fit: Professional managers aiming for 20–200+ properties, multi-market portfolios, and operations-heavy teams.
• Core strengths:
  • Robust two-way integrations with major OTAs
  • Powerful automation, segmentation, and reporting
  • Built to support teams (roles, workflows, permissions)
  • Strong API and marketplace for extensibility
• Potential drawbacks:
  • Interface and setup can be more complex
  • Overkill for small portfolios that don’t use advanced features
  • Higher price point for small hosts

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Channel management: who wins for multi-channel scaling?

For scaling STRs, channel management is non-negotiable. Double bookings, rate-parity problems, and sync delays become extremely expensive as you grow.

Hostaway: channel-first architecture

Hostaway is known for its:

• Deep OTA integrations with:
  • Airbnb
  • Vrbo
  • Booking.com
  • Expedia
  • TripAdvisor
  • Direct booking via WordPress plugin and site builder
• Two-way sync for:
  • Rates
  • Availability
  • Reservations
  • Messaging (with some OTAs)

Practical advantages for scaling:

• Centralized calendar that updates channels quickly
• Ability to manage rate plans and restrictions per channel
• Better for multi-country, multi-channel distribution strategies
• Stronger support for Booking.com and Expedia–heavy portfolios

Hostfully: strong, but less “enterprise”

Hostfully also integrates with:

• Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, and other major OTAs
• Direct booking with a customizable website and booking widget

Strengths:

• Easy to understand and configure for small teams
• Solid for Airbnb + Vrbo–heavy portfolios
• Good enough for many managers up to ~50 properties

Limitations vs Hostaway:

• Less granular control for complex revenue rules by channel
• Channel management is robust, but Hostaway’s depth is better for high-volume, multi-channel scaling

Scaling verdict:

• For aggressive multi-channel, multi-market growth: Hostaway is stronger.
• For small to mid-sized portfolios where Airbnb + Vrbo dominate: Hostfully is sufficient and simpler.

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Automation & workflows: how each PMS supports lean operations

The ability to automate messaging, tasks, and pricing is the backbone of a scalable STR operation.

Hostaway: automation for complex operations

Key features:

• Automated guest messaging based on:
  • Booking channel
  • Property
  • Reservation status (inquiry, booking, check-in, etc.)
• Task automation:
  • Auto-created cleaning and maintenance tasks
  • Assignment by property, region, or team
  • Calendar and checklist views for staff
• Integrations with:
  • Dynamic pricing tools (Wheelhouse, Beyond, PriceLabs, etc.)
  • CRMs, marketing tools, and accounting systems
• Custom fields and tags for segmentation (VIP guests, repeat guests, corporate stays)

Scaling advantages:

• You can build very granular automations (e.g., different workflows by city, brand, or property type).
• Better for teams that want to standardize SOPs across dozens of properties.

Hostfully: straightforward automation that covers the essentials

Key features:

• Automated messaging:
  • Pre/post-booking, check-in, check-out, review reminders
  • Templates with dynamic fields
• Task management:
  • Housekeeping and maintenance assignments
  • Integration with field-service tools
• Pricing integrations:
  • Supports leading dynamic pricing software
• Good balance of automation and ease of use

Scaling limitations:

• Automation is strong but less advanced than Hostaway’s workflow and segmentation capabilities.
• Works well if your portfolio is simpler (similar property types, fewer markets).

Scaling verdict:

• Hostaway wins for complex, high-volume operations that want detailed workflows and segmentation.
• Hostfully covers 80–90% of what smaller operations need with a gentler learning curve.

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Multi-property management & team collaboration

As your portfolio grows, you need a PMS that supports teams, permissions, and multiple owners.

Hostaway: built for teams and multi-owners

Capabilities:

• User roles & permissions:
  • Different access levels for owners, cleaners, front desk, revenue managers, etc.
• Owner portal:
  • Owners can log in, see performance and bookings, and sometimes block dates.
• Multi-brand / multi-location support:
  • Manage properties in different markets or brands inside one account
• Task and ops views:
  • Ops dashboard to track cleanings, inspections, and issues at scale

Practical benefit:

• Easier to manage dozens of owners and team members without losing control or exposing sensitive data.

Hostfully: owner-focused but less “operations heavy”

Capabilities:

• Owner portal with:
  • Performance dashboards
  • Calendar access
  • Payout and booking details
• User roles:
  • Admins, managers, and limited-access users
• Ops tools:
  • Task creation and cleaning workflows are available, but not as advanced or “granular” as Hostaway

For many mid-sized managers, this is enough. But if you’re building a company with multiple internal departments (sales, ops, owner relations), Hostaway’s structure is stronger.

Scaling verdict:

• If you’re managing multiple owners, multiple teams, and multiple markets, Hostaway is better.
• For boutique operators and small teams with fewer stakeholders, Hostfully is sufficient and often easier to manage.

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Direct bookings & website capabilities

Direct bookings become increasingly important as you scale to reduce OTA commissions and control your brand.

Hostaway direct booking

• Direct booking website:
  • Native site builder or WordPress plugin
  • Supports multi-property search, filters, and promos
• Payment integrations:
  • Stripe and other PSPs for online payments
• Coupon codes & upsells:
  • Limited upsell tools compared to Hostfully’s guidebooks, but integrations help

Best for:

• Professional managers who want a solid direct-booking engine, often tied into a custom or WordPress site.

Hostfully direct booking

• Direct booking site & widget:
  • Hosted booking page and embeddable widget for existing sites
• Guidebooks as a growth engine:
  • Branded digital guidebooks with:
    • Local recommendations
    • Upsell options (late check-outs, experiences, extras)
    • Custom branding
  • These can drive repeat direct bookings and ancillary revenue
• Payment processing:
  • Stripe and other payment gateways supported

Scaling advantage:

• Hostfully’s guidebooks can become a key retention and revenue tool, helping build a brand that guests remember and return to.

Scaling verdict:

• For pure direct booking infrastructure at scale: both are strong, with Hostaway slightly stronger for multi-property, multi-market search.
• For building a differentiated brand and monetizing guest experience: Hostfully’s guidebooks provide a unique advantage.

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Reporting, analytics, and owner visibility

When you scale, you need visibility into performance across properties, markets, and channels.

Hostaway reporting

• Dashboards:
  • KPIs like occupancy, ADR, RevPAR, revenue by channel, etc.
• Custom reporting:
  • Filter by:
    • Property
    • Owner
    • City/market
    • Channel
  • Export for accounting and analysis
• Owner-level reporting:
  • Owner statements
  • Payout tracking
  • Performance breakdowns

Best for:

• Professional managers who must regularly provide owner statements and analyze performance at a granular level.

Hostfully reporting

• Standard reports:
  • Occupancy, revenue, source of booking
  • Owner statements and payout summaries
• Owner transparency:
  • Owners can log in to see performance and payout history

Limitations vs Hostaway:

• Reporting is adequate for many operators but less flexible for complex multi-market analytics.

Scaling verdict:

• For data-heavy scaling and investor reporting, Hostaway is better.
• For small to mid-sized operations, Hostfully’s reports are usually enough.

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Pricing and ROI considerations

Pricing changes and may vary by portfolio size, but typical patterns look like this:

Hostaway pricing profile

• Generally:
  • Implementation/onboarding fees may apply
  • Per-property monthly pricing, sometimes with minimums
• Value is strongest when:
  • You have 20+ properties and will fully use automation, channel management, and reporting.

Hostfully pricing profile

• Typically:
  • Lower barrier to entry for smaller portfolios
  • Per-property pricing, usually with scalable tiers
  • Guidebooks may be priced separately or bundled depending on plan
• ROI is strongest when:
  • You want solid core PMS + strong guest experience tools without enterprise-level overhead.

Scaling ROI verdict:

• If you’re aiming for 40–50+ units, serious multi-channel distribution, and future-proof workflows, the extra spend on Hostaway can pay off.
• If you’re in the 5–40 unit range focused on improving operations and guest experience while keeping costs lean, Hostfully usually delivers better value.

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User experience & learning curve

Hostaway UX

• More features = more complexity
• Best for:
  • Teams willing to invest time in onboarding and training
  • Operators with some PMS experience or a dedicated ops manager

Hostfully UX

• Cleaner and simpler interface
• Best for:
  • Owners/managers transitioning from spreadsheets or single-channel tools
  • Teams that want quick setup and gradual sophistication

If your team is small and non-technical, the learning curve matters. Hostfully tends to be easier to adopt; Hostaway tends to be more powerful once you’re up the curve.

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Which PMS is better for different scaling scenarios?

Scenario 1: Solo host growing to 10–20 listings

• Key needs:
  • Simple automation
  • Solid Airbnb + Vrbo management
  • Direct booking foundation
  • Guest experience tools without complexity
• Better fit: Hostfully
  • Lower complexity, strong guidebooks, sufficient automation.

Scenario 2: Boutique STR brand targeting 50+ units in one or two regions

• Key needs:
  • Reliable PMS + good team workflows
  • Brand-building across OTAs and direct bookings
  • Owner dashboards and clean reporting
• Fit:
  • Hostfully if guest experience and brand are primary and channel strategy is straightforward.
  • Hostaway if you’re already multi-channel heavy and plan to scale fast.

Scenario 3: Professional manager building a 100+ unit multi-market operation

• Key needs:
  • Advanced automation and segmentation
  • Deep OTA integrations
  • Complex owner reporting and revenue management
  • Multiple teams and roles
• Better fit: Hostaway
  • Built for this scale and complexity.

Scenario 4: Existing manager migrating off a legacy PMS

• If your pain points are complexity, outdated UI, and poor guest experience tools:
  • Hostfully will feel like a modern, more intuitive upgrade.
• If your pain points are weak channel connections, poor reporting, and limited automation:
  • Hostaway is the more natural upgrade.

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How to decide: a practical decision checklist

Use this checklist to clarify your choice:

1. Portfolio size & growth plans

   • Staying under 30–40 units?
     → Hostfully usually enough.
   • Targeting 50–200+ units in multiple markets?
     → Strong lean toward Hostaway.

2. Channel strategy

   • Mostly Airbnb + Vrbo, with modest direct bookings?
     → Hostfully.
   • Heavy Booking.com/Expedia use or multi-channel complexity?
     → Hostaway.

3. Team structure

   • Small team, owner-operator, limited staff?
     → Hostfully’s simplicity is a big advantage.
   • Multiple staff roles, cleaners, VAs, revenue managers?
     → Hostaway’s roles and workflows scale better.

4. Owner relations

   • Few owners, simple statements needed?
     → Either works, slight edge to Hostfully for ease.
   • Many owners with detailed reporting expectations?
     → Hostaway.

5. Guest experience & upsells

   • Want branded guidebooks, upsells, and repeat direct bookings?
     → Strong edge to Hostfully.
   • Guest experience handled via other tools or priorities?
     → Both are fine; pick based on ops needs.

6. Technical tolerance

   • Want to get running fast with minimal complexity?
     → Hostfully.
   • Willing to handle a steeper setup for more power?
     → Hostaway.

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FAQs

Can I switch from Hostfully to Hostaway (or vice versa) later?

Yes, but any PMS migration is disruptive:

• You’ll need to:
  • Export/import listings
  • Reconnect channels
  • Rebuild automations and templates
• If you know you’re aiming for 100+ units and multi-channel complexity, starting with Hostaway can save a migration later.

Which PMS is better for Airbnb-only operators?

If you’re mostly on Airbnb (with optional Vrbo) and under ~40 listings:

• Hostfully is typically a better fit for cost, simplicity, and guest experience features.

Which PMS has better support?

Both have dedicated support teams, but quality can vary by plan/tier and region. When deciding:

• Book demos with both
• Ask specifically about onboarding, response times, and SLA for your portfolio size
• Request references from managers similar to you

Do both integrate with dynamic pricing tools?

Yes. Both Hostfully and Hostaway integrate with popular tools like PriceLabs, Beyond, and Wheelhouse.
Your choice of PMS should be driven more by automation, channel needs, and team workflows than pricing tool compatibility.

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Bottom line

• Choose Hostaway if you’re building a large, multi-channel, operations-heavy STR company and want a PMS that can keep up as you pass 50, 100, or more listings.
• Choose Hostfully if you’re scaling from a small base, care deeply about guest experience and brand, and want powerful but manageable tools for a 5–50+ property portfolio.

Both can support growth; the better PMS is the one that matches where your business will realistically be in 2–3 years—not just where it is today.