Comparing Hospitable and Uplisting: What you need to know
Running a short-term rental business today is impossible with manual workflows. Even the best hosts can’t keep up with multiple booking sites, shifting market trends, and skyrocketing guest expectations.
Most businesses have turned to Property Management Systems (PMS) to optimize processes. The software automates key processes like guest communication, check-in, and turnover, and helps you coordinate units scattered across various locations.
But every platform is different, and choosing the wrong one can introduce more friction to your workflow instead of solving problems.
Hospitable and Uplisting are both well-established vacation rental software with wide appeal. Each offers a range of features to support daily operations, but their strengths vary in ways that may not suit your specific setup.
Let’s compare them based on their key features, pricing structure, and customer support options so you can see which system aligns better with your goals — or whether another option may be a stronger match.
Key differences between Hospitable and Uplisting
On the surface, Hospitable and Uplisting appear to be very similar. They share a focus on ease of use and target small to medium businesses over large vacation rental companies.
However, they differ in how they approach core functions. Hospitable focuses more on the guest experience with tools like automated messaging, suggested replies, and Q&A detection. On the other hand, Uplisting has a wider range of operational tools, such as a cleaning scheduler and guest screening.
Their pricing structure also has meaningful differences. Hospitable only charges for active listings, helping seasonal hosts to keep costs down, and offers three-tiered plans. Uplisting lets you choose between per-property pricing for a fixed bundle or custom fees for a tailor-made plan.
Hospitable: Who’s it for?
Hospitable works well for individual property owners and small businesses in urban areas with high turnover. Its focus on strong communication tools makes it easier to keep guests updated and respond quickly to queries, even when you receive many guest messages per week.
Because Hospitable only charges for active listings, it also suits hosts with seasonal or fluctuating availability. You can deactivate accounts when business slows down, but still access everything you need when properties are live.
Uplisting: Who’s it for?
Similarly, Uplisting is made with small vacation rental companies in mind. It has a lower starter price and optional add-ons, so businesses on a budget can control subscription costs.
However, its operational focus makes it a better fit for large, whole-home properties than Hospitable. Hosts can use the cleaning scheduler and security features to make sure teams stay on top of tasks while keeping units safe and well-maintained.
Why Hostfully is the best alternative to Hospitable and Uplisting
Hospitable and Uplisting offer reliable platforms for smaller operators, but neither has the breadth nor depth of features that many growing businesses eventually need. Only Hostfully lets you scale from a couple of properties to a large portfolio without stitching together extra services.
Hostfully includes the core features you’d expect — channel management, messaging automation, and task coordination — in the same dashboard. On top of that, it has more advanced tools like a CRM-style booking pipeline, detailed owner statements, and digital guidebooks all in one place for a competitive monthly fee. These capabilities make it easier for hosts to maintain control of growing companies.
Our integration marketplace is another distinction. Our PMS connects with popular apps across dynamic pricing, insurance, smart devices, and other apps to give you more flexibility. We also have Preferred Partner status with Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, and Marriott to ensure reliable connections.
Most importantly, Hostfully’s support is built to scale with you. While smaller competitors take a more hands-off approach, our team provides structured onboarding and dedicated points of contact to guide you from one stage to the next.
Hostfully vs Hospitable vs Uplisting: A feature comparison
| Feature | Hostfully | Hospitable | Uplisting |
| Centralized automation | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Multi/stacked calendars | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Booking pipeline | ✔️ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Proprietary guidebook | ✔️ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Channel manager | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Unified inbox | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| AI assistant | ✔️ | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Direct booking website | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Accounting functionality | ✔️ | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Owner portal | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Email templates | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Task management | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Mobile app | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Minimum contract period | One month | One month | One month |
| Booking fee | Zero booking fees | 1 – 4% | Zero booking fees |
| Property minimum | One | One | One |
| Scalable pricing | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Custom plans | ✔️ from 21 listings | ❌ | ✔️ from 10 listings |
| Customer success manager | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Direct integrations with popular OTAs (Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, etc) | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| API | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| 24/7 global live chat support (including weekends) | ✔️ | ✔️ | ❌ |
Real customer testimonials: Why businesses choose Hostfully over Hospitable and Uplisting
| “It is intuitive and user-friendly. Customer support is excellent and comes in many different forms AI, in person chat, online video calls etc. The ability to customise financial reports is invaluable for someone managing other people’s properties and saves a huge amount of time compared to previous spreadsheet experiences. I have tried three previous PMS but this has been the best experience by far.” |
| “Hostfully has been an absolute game-changer for our property management operations. The platform is user-friendly, robust, and incredibly efficient. It seamlessly integrates all aspects of our short-term rental business, from booking management to guest communication and even maintenance scheduling.”
— Amber G |
| “Hostfully PMS is a really great system for a small or medium-sized vacation rental property manager. We own our properties and the system really helps lead to a better quality of life in my everyday resort existence.
I’ve been a loyal user for 5+ years now and Hostfully revolutionized my small (but mighty) vacation rental business.” — Tod C |
Switching to Hostfully is easy and seamless
Changing PMS is never a small decision. When all your day-to-day tasks depend on the software, even a short disruption can impact your entire operation.
Hostfully removes that friction by managing the onboarding process from start to finish. Our team kicks off the process with a call where we introduce you to everyone who’ll be guiding you through the early weeks. Then we pair you with a dedicated onboarding manager to act as your point of contact whenever you have questions or concerns.
Onboarding is tailored to your unique setup. If you’re moving from Hospitable to Hostfully, our team shows you how to rebuild your messaging workflows on our platform. And if you’re switching from Uplisting to Hostfully, we can help you consolidate your tech stack.
No matter which platform you’re coming from, Hostfully lets you set the pace. We go fast if you’re ready to switch or move through all the stages gradually if you need more time to end contracts and learn our system.
Ready to see how Hostfully works? Time to get in touch
Book a demo to arrange a quick tour of all our features and support options.
