COMPARISON: The following comparison is based on twenty (20) properties under active management. Since neither company charges booking fees, or fees based on revenue, monthly revenue is not used in the comparison.
BrightSide includes ALL of our features in our subscription fee.
BrightSide Subscription: $320/month. See our pricing tool for additional units.
Hostaway Subscription: $800/month.
We are using $40.00 per unit for Hostaway. Since we don’t know where their price break begins, the fee could be higher or slightly lower.
BrightSide’s Pricing
BrightSide’s pricing is simple and transparent. Our monthly subscription fee is based on the number of active units you manage. That’s it.
You can use our pricing tool to see what you would pay in monthly subscription fees. BrightSide doesn’t charge for add-ons, texting, email, integrations, or any other feature of our software; it’s all included.
Hostaway’s Pricing
Hostaway’s pricing is not transparent, so we had to do a little digging. They provide exact pricing information only when you sign up for a demo and speak to a sales representative. This may be due to their “custom pricing” model. However, according to HotelMinder.com*, Hostaway’s monthly pricing typically starts at around $40.00 per unit and can go as low as $20.00 per unit. Other sources state that Hostaway’s pricing begins at $50.00 per property per month with discounts for high volume managers.
BrightSide Fees
Comparison uses twenty (20) active properties.
- Subscription Fee – $320
- Smart Lock Integration – $0**
- Built-In Dynamic Pricing – $0
BrightSide Total = $320
** BrightSide does not charge for smart lock integration. However, expect to pay a subscription fee to a smart lock partner, i.e.: dormakaba, PointCentral, or RemoteLock.
Hostaway Fees
Comparison uses twenty (20) active properties.
- Subscription Fee – $800
- Smart Lock Integration – $160 ($8 x 20)**
- Built-In Dynamic Pricing – $19.99
Hostaway Total = $979.99
** Hostaway charges a tiered smart lock management fee. If you integrate with a third party, like RemoteLock, you will need to pay them a subscription fee also.
Feature Comparison
BrightSide’s much lower price may lead you to believe that we don’t offer the features that Hostaway does. However, that conclusion would be incorrect. Here are just a few of the differences. Compare these, then check out our full list of major features.
This chart does not include all the features of BrightSide or Hostaway. The purpose is to provide you with some of the differences and similarities.
BrightSide
- ✔ All Features Included
- ✔ Unread Message Notifications
- ✔ Email and Phone Support
- ✔ Google Vacation Rentals Integration
- ✔ No Double Bookings
- ✔ Direct API Channel Manager
- ✔ Automated Emails – Owner Stays
- ✔ Built-In Dynamic Pricing Tool
- ✔ Dynamic Pricing Integrations
- ✔ Bulk Price Overrides
- ✔ Pet Fees Per Pet/Night or Per Stay
- ✔ Maintenance Management
- ✔ Built-In Electronic Signatures
- ✔ Multiple Rental Agreements
- ✔ Automated SMS Texts
- ✔ Dedicated SMS Text Number
- ✔ OTA Message Integration
- ✔ Automated Emails – Guest Stays
- ✔ Open API
- ✔ Google Reviews Integration
- ✔ Built-In Review System
- ✔ iCal Link Support
- ✔ Auto Generated Owner Statements
- ✔ Owner Portal – Options to Limit Access
- ✔ Guest Portal
- ✔ Make Partial Payments in Guest Portal
- ✔ Archive Listings
- ✔ Unread Message Notification/Filter
- ✔ Filter Reservations by Booking Source
- ✔ OTA Reviews Integration
- ✔ Minimum Nightly Rates
- ✔ Matterport VR Tours
- ✔ Display Photos by Website or OTAs
- ✔ Travel Agency Source Tracking
- ✔ Hyper Links in Guest Emails
- ✔ Add Attachments to Auto Guest Emails
- ✔ OTA Blackout Dates
- ✔ Multiple Auto Email Trigger Conditions
Hostaway
- No
- No***
- ✔
- ✔
- No***
- ✔
- No***
- Add-on
- ✔
- No***
- No***
- No
- ✔
- No***
- ✔
- No***
- No***
- ✔
- ✔
- No***
- No
- ✔
- No***
- No***
- ✔
- No***
- No***
- No***
- No***
- No***
- ✔
- No***
- No***
- No***
- No***
- No***
- No***
- No***
COMPARISON: The following comparison is based on twenty (20) properties under active management. Since neither company charges booking fees, or fees based on revenue, monthly revenue is not used in the comparison.
BrightSide includes ALL of our features in our subscription fee.
BrightSide Subscription: $320/month. See our pricing tool for additional units.
Hostaway Subscription: $800/month.
We are using $40.00 per unit for Hostaway. Since we don’t know where their price break begins, the fee could be higher or slightly lower.
BrightSide Subscription
Comparison uses twenty (20) active properties.
- Subscription Fee – $320
- Smart Lock Integration – $0**
- Built-In Dynamic Pricing – $0
BrightSide = $320
** BrightSide does not charge for smart lock integration. However, expect to pay a subscription fee to a smart lock partner, i.e.: dormakaba, PointCentral, or RemoteLock.
Hostaway Subscription
Comparison uses twenty (20) active properties.
- Subscription Fee – $800
- Smart Lock Integration – $160 ($8 x 20)**
- Built-In Dynamic Pricing – $19.99
Hostaway = $979.99
** Hostaway charges a tiered smart lock management fee. If you integrate with a third party, like RemoteLock, you will need to pay them a subscription fee also.
Hostaway’s Pricing
Hostaway’s pricing is not transparent, so we had to do a little digging. They provide exact pricing information only when you sign up for a demo and speak to a sales representative. This may be due to their “custom pricing” model. However, according to HotelMinder.com*, Hostaway’s monthly pricing typically starts at around $40.00 per unit and can go as low as $20.00 per unit. Other sources state that Hostaway’s pricing begins at $50.00 per property per month with discounts for high volume managers.
This chart does not include all the features of BrightSide or Hostaway. The purpose is to provide you with some of the differences and similarities.
BrightSide’s Pricing
BrightSide’s pricing is simple and transparent. Our monthly subscription fee is based on the number of active units you manage. That’s it.
You can use our pricing tool to see what you would pay in monthly subscription fees. BrightSide doesn’t charge for add-ons, texting, email, integrations, or any other feature of our software; it’s all included.
Feature Comparison
BrightSide’s much lower price may lead you to believe that we don’t offer the features that Hostaway does. However, that conclusion would be incorrect. Here are just a few of the differences. Compare these, then check out our full list of major features.
BrightSide
- ✔ All Features Included
- ✔ Unread Message Notifications
- ✔ Email and Phone Support
- ✔ Google Vacation Rentals Integration
- ✔ No Double Bookings
- ✔ Direct API Channel Manager
- ✔ Automated Emails – Owner Stays
- ✔ Built-In Dynamic Pricing Tool
- ✔ Dynamic Pricing Integrations
- ✔ Bulk Price Overrides
- ✔ Pet Fees Per Pet/Night or Per Stay
- ✔ Maintenance Management
- ✔ Built-In Electronic Signatures
- ✔ Multiple Rental Agreements
- ✔ Automated SMS Texts
- ✔ Dedicated SMS Text Number
- ✔ OTA Message Integration
- ✔ Automated Emails – Guest Stays
- ✔ Open API
- ✔ Google Reviews Integration
- ✔ Built-In Review System
- ✔ iCal Link Support
- ✔ Auto Generated Owner Statements
- ✔ Owner Portal – Options to Limit Access
- ✔ Guest Portal
- ✔ Make Partial Payments in Guest Portal
- ✔ Archive Listings
- ✔ Unread Message Notification/Filter
- ✔ Filter Reservations by Booking Source
- ✔ OTA Reviews Integration
- ✔ Minimum Nightly Rates
- ✔ Matterport VR Tours
- ✔ Display Photos by Website or OTAs
- ✔ Travel Agency Source Tracking
- ✔ Hyper Links in Guest Emails
- ✔ Add Attachments to Auto Guest Emails
- ✔ OTA Blackout Dates
- ✔ Multiple Auto Email Trigger Conditions
Hostaway
- All Features NOT Included
- No Unread Message Notifications***
- ✔ Email and Phone Support
- ✔ Google Vacation Rentals Integration
- No Prevent Double Bookings***
- ✔ Direct API Channel Manager
- No Automated Emails – Owner Stays***
- Built-In Dynamic Pricing Tool (Add-on)
- ✔ Dynamic Pricing Integrations
- No Bulk Price Overrides***
- No Pet Fees Per Pet/Night or Per Stay***
- No Maintenance Management
- ✔ Built-In Electronic Signatures
- No Multiple Rental Agreements***
- ✔ Automated SMS Texts
- No Dedicated SMS Text Number***
- No OTA Message Integration***
- ✔ Automated Emails – Guest Stays
- ✔ Open API
- No Google Reviews Integration***
- No Built-In Review System
- ✔ iCal Link Support
- No Auto Generated Owner Statements***
- No Owner Portal – Options to Limit Access***
- ✔ Guest Portal
- No Auto Generated Owner Statements***
- No Archive Listings***
- No Unread Message Notification/Filter***
- No Filter Reservations by Booking Source***
- No OTA Reviews Integration***
- ✔ Minimum Nightly Rates
- No Matterport VR Tours***
- No Display Photos by Website or OTAs***
- No Travel Agency Source Tracking***
- No Hyper Links in Guest Emails***
- No Add Attachments to Auto Guest Emails***
- No OTA Blackout Dates***
- Limited Auto Email Trigger Conditions***
SUMMARY
Pricing
Do not assume that BrightSide is an inferior product because our pricing is so much less than others. That would be a mistake. We don’t need to charge more, so we don’t. If you like paying more for fewer features there are plenty of other options.
BrightSide charges a simple monthly subscription fee. Your credit card processing fees are separate, but we included it in these comparisons. In our example above, we compared BrightSide to two of Hospitable’s plans.
Hospitable’s top “Mogul with Direct Premium” plan is 166% higher than BrightSide. Their least expensive plan, “Pro with Direct Basic” is 52% higher.
If you don’t need the ability for guests to book directly on your website, you can just pay for their basic subscription, which is 150% higher than BrightSide with all our features.
Features
BrightSide includes all of our features in our subscription. Hospitable’s “Mogul with Direct Premium” plan is required to get all of their features. Even with that plan, BrightSide has more benefits. Hospitable does offer a few things BrightSide does not, like guest vetting, tax remittance on your behalf (limited), and built in damage protection. These features are paid for by adding the Direct Premium option. You may offer damage protection to guests in BrightSide, but BrightSide does not charge you to do it.
* HotelMinder.com accessed on 11/8/2024. https://www.hotelminder.com/partner=Hostaway
*** According to Hostaway’s “Product Feature Requests,” these and many other features, are what their users would like to see added, but currently do not have. This page last accessed on 11/11/2024.
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The Hostaway logo is used under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976 where allowance is made for “fair use” when used for criticism, comparisons, commentary, teaching, and other purposes. The Hostaway logo belongs to its respective owner and this website does not claim any rights over it. The data from Hostaway was accessed from their website on 11/8/2024. While we do our best to provide up-to-date information, it may have changed over time, so we cannot guarantee the accuracy of their data.
