How much does Hostfully Guidebooks cost?

Hostfully doesn't publish a price for its paid Pro tier. The pricing page shows a free tier, a Pro tier capped at 199 guidebooks, and an Enterprise tier — but no dollar figure for either paid plan. Third-party sites quote various numbers; they cite a plan structure Hostfully has since retired, so we won't repeat them. You'll need to go through their signup or sales flow to find out. GuestIntro's prices are on our pricing page.

Do both have a real free plan?

Yes, and both are genuinely permanent with no credit card. One difference worth knowing: Hostfully's free guidebooks carry sponsored recommendations you can't remove, so third-party promotional content sits inside your guest experience until you upgrade. GuestIntro's free plan has no sponsored content, but it caps you at six sections and two languages, and leaves out the AI chatbot and PDF export.

What's the difference between the two AI features?

GuestIntro's AI is a chatbot that answers guest questions 24/7 from your property's information. Hostfully's AI is an itinerary planner that builds personalised experiences for guests based on their preferences. They solve different problems.

Can I sell add-ons or upsells through GuestIntro?

Not currently. GuestIntro is focused on the information and communication side of the guest experience. If upsells are critical, Hostfully's Guidebook Marketplace (with a 1% Stripe fee) is a better fit.

Does Hostfully require their full PMS?

No. Hostfully Guidebooks works as a standalone product. The PMS is a separate Hostfully product you can adopt later if you want to.

Which is easier to set up?

GuestIntro is faster — about 2 minutes for a first property. Hostfully is closer to 15 minutes for a basic guide, longer for a richly-styled one.

Which has better language support?

Hostfully, on raw count. They advertise automatic translation into 16+ languages including Arabic, Mandarin, Hebrew, Japanese, Polish and Vietnamese — though it's a Pro feature, not a free-tier one. GuestIntro covers 9 (English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese) automatically across both the manual and the AI chat. If your guests speak something outside those nine, Hostfully is the safer pick.

What about integration with Airbnb and other platforms?

Neither tool needs Airbnb integration in the traditional sense — they generate a link and QR code you paste into your listing. Hostfully's broader PMS ecosystem integrates directly with Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com if you adopt the full platform later.

Comparison · Updated July 2026

GuestIntro vs. Hostfully

Probably the two most similar products in the digital welcome book category. Same price point, same free plan, very different ideas about what an "AI feature" means. Here's how to pick.

By the GuestIntro team·9 min read·July 2026

01 — At a glance

The whole comparison in one table

The core guidebook experience is remarkably similar. The differences show up around the edges: AI strategy, upsell capability, setup speed, and what ecosystem you're buying into.

● GuestIntro

Hostfully

Free plan: 1 property, forever, no ads; 1 guidebook, forever, sponsored content you can't remove
Paid price: $6.99–$24.99/mo yearly, published; Not published — signup or sales flow only
What the paid price covers: 1, up to 5, or up to 10 properties; Up to 199 guidebooks on Pro; billed per published guidebook
Credit card to start: No; No
AI guest chat: 9 languages, no message limit; Not the primary AI feature
AI itinerary planner: —; Yes (unique to Hostfully)
Upsell marketplace: —; Yes (1% Stripe fee, plus 8% on Viator bookings)
PDF export: Yes (paid tiers); Yes
Automatic translation: 9 languages; 16+ languages (Pro only)
Setup time: ~2 minutes; ~15 minutes
Part of a full PMS: Standalone; Standalone, but same company sells a PMS
TripAdvisor integration: Yes; —
Google / Apple Maps: Yes; Yes

02 — Definitions

What each product actually is

GuestIntro is a focused digital guidebook and AI guest-chat tool. You create a branded welcome page for each property with WiFi, check-in, house rules, appliance guides, and local recommendations, share it via a link or QR code, and let the built-in AI chatbot answer repetitive questions in 9 languages. It does one thing and tries to do it really well.

Hostfully Guidebooks is the guidebook product from Hostfully, a larger vacation rental management company that also sells a full Property Management Platform. The guidebook product is strong on its own — images, videos, house rules, maps, PDF export, and an AI Itinerary Planner that builds personalised itineraries for guests based on their interests and timing. The broader Hostfully ecosystem means you can eventually expand into a full PMS without switching tools.

03 — Pricing

Pricing compared

This section is harder to write than it should be, because only one of these two companies publishes what it charges.

GuestIntro

Free Manual. $0/month forever. 1 property, QR codes, basic customisation, up to two languages, six sections. No credit card, no sponsored content.
Guest Manual Pro. 1 property. $7.99/month, or $6.99/month billed yearly. AI chatbot in nine languages, custom branding, removed badge, PDF export.
Guest Manual Multi. Up to 5 properties. $19.99/month, or $16.99/month billed yearly.
Guest Manual Portfolio. Up to 10 properties. $29.99/month, or $24.99/month billed yearly. Nothing above this tier.

Hostfully Guidebooks

Free. $0/month forever. 1 guidebook. No credit card. Carries sponsored recommendations that can't be removed, and excludes translation, custom branding and email capture.
Pro. Up to 199 guidebooks, billed per published guidebook. Hostfully doesn't publish the price. Annual billing saves 10% over monthly.
Enterprise. 200+ guidebooks, custom quote.
Marketplace fees. 1% Stripe fee on Marketplace transactions, and 8% commission on Viator bookings.

We can't call a winner on price, because Hostfully's paid price isn't public. You'll find figures on Capterra and similar sites, but they describe a plan structure Hostfully has retired, so we're not going to repeat them as fact. What we can say: our numbers are on our pricing page, and theirs are behind a signup.
Verdict: No winner on price. GuestIntro on transparency.

04 — Features

Features compared

Digital guidebook core

Both tools do this well. House rules, WiFi, check-in instructions, local recommendations, maps, images, videos, mobile-first design, QR sharing, real-time updates — all present in both. Hostfully leans into richer media; GuestIntro is a little faster to publish. Tie on core, slight edge to Hostfully on media, edge to GuestIntro on speed.

AI strategy: chat versus itinerary

This is the most interesting difference between the two products.

GuestIntro's AI is a chatbot. Guests type questions ("What's the WiFi password?", "How do I use the coffee machine?") and the AI answers from your property's knowledge base in nine languages, 24/7, with no message limits.
Hostfully's AI is an itinerary planner. Guests get a personalised itinerary built from their timing, seasonality, duration, group size, ages, and interests. It's about delighting guests with curated experiences — not answering repetitive operational questions.

These are different products solving different problems. If your pain is "guests keep asking the same questions," GuestIntro's chat wins. If your pain is "I want guests to have a better trip and write a more enthusiastic review," Hostfully's planner is more compelling.

Multilingual support

GuestIntro ships in 9 languages (English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese) across both the interface and the AI chat, with automatic detection. Hostfully offers multilingual guidebooks as a Pro feature but doesn't publish a specific number of supported languages. Edge: GuestIntro, especially for hosts with Asian, Dutch, or Portuguese-speaking guests.

Upsells and revenue

Hostfully includes a Guidebook Marketplace where you can sell services to guests — late checkout, early check-in, airport transfer, experiences, cleaning add-ons. There's a 1% Stripe fee, which is a light take rate. GuestIntro doesn't currently include an upsell marketplace. Edge: Hostfully.

Integrations and ecosystem

GuestIntro integrates with TripAdvisor for local recommendations (attractions and restaurants auto-populate based on your property location). No PMS integrations currently. Hostfully Guidebooks lives inside the Hostfully ecosystem, which includes their full PMS (channel manager, booking management, automation, payments, task management). Edge: depends on what you want.

Setup time

GuestIntro is designed to go live in about 2 minutes from signup. Hostfully's setup takes closer to 15 minutes for a basic guidebook, more if you're embedding rich media. Edge: GuestIntro.

05 — Strengths

Where each one wins

● GuestIntro

You can see what it costs. Every GuestIntro price is on the pricing page. Hostfully publishes no figure for either paid tier, so comparing them requires entering their funnel first.
A free plan without sponsored content. Hostfully's free guidebooks carry recommendations you can't remove. Ours don't — though ours are capped at six sections and two languages.
AI chat for repetitive questions. If your real problem is answering the same WiFi and check-out questions, a chatbot is the more direct fix than an itinerary planner.
Faster setup. Two minutes versus fifteen. If you want to test the category with minimum effort, GuestIntro lets you.
Simpler mental model. A guidebook and a chatbot. No marketplace, no PMS, no upsell logic. Easier to reason about and manage.
TripAdvisor integration. Local recommendations auto-populate from your location — a 'set it and forget it' touch Hostfully doesn't have.

Hostfully

AI Itinerary Planner. A genuinely unique feature no other major guidebook tool offers. Guests feel like they got a concierge recommendation — and it shows up in reviews.
Upsell marketplace. Built-in revenue channel with a small 1% Stripe fee. For hosts who actively sell add-ons, this alone can pay for the subscription.
Rich media handling. Strong templates for photos and video if you want a visual-first guidebook.
Broader translation. 16+ languages translated automatically on Pro, against GuestIntro's 9. If your guests speak Arabic, Polish, Hebrew or Vietnamese, this decides it.
Scales past 10 properties. Pro covers up to 199 guidebooks. GuestIntro's largest tier stops at 10, so a growing portfolio outgrows us.
Path to a full PMS. If you may move to a full property management platform in the next 1–2 years, staying in the Hostfully ecosystem means one fewer switch later.
Brand recognition. An established player with strong G2 and Capterra reviews and a large customer base — lower 'will this vendor still exist' risk.

06 — Recommendation

Who should pick which

Pick GuestIntro if you

Host international guests and care about AI chat in many languages.
Want to replace repetitive guest messages with a chatbot that knows your property.
Value speed and simplicity — you want to be live in minutes.
Aren't planning to sell upsells through your guidebook.
Don't need a path to a full PMS.

Pick Hostfully Guidebooks if you

Want an AI itinerary planner that creates personalised experiences.
Plan to sell upsells (late checkout, experiences, transfers) through the guidebook.
Are considering a full PMS in the next 1–2 years and want to stay in one ecosystem.
Prefer a media-rich template system with photos and video front and centre.
Want the reassurance of a larger, more established vendor.

Pick both, briefly, if you want to test head-to-head. Both have free plans with no credit card. Load one property into each, share both links with your next few guests, and see which generates fewer questions and better feedback. The cheapest possible way to decide.

Also weighing other tools? Read our GuestIntro vs. Touch Stay comparison, which covers the other established player in the category.

Or see the wider field in our round-up of the best Hostfully guidebook alternatives, which adds Guidey, Touch Stay, RueBaRue and YourWelcome to the comparison.

07 — Migration

Switching from Hostfully to GuestIntro

Content transfer is manual but fast. Most users have their first property rebuilt inside 15 minutes.
You'll lose the AI Itinerary Planner, the upsell marketplace, and the option to expand into Hostfully's PMS later.
You'll gain a faster setup, a true AI chatbot, broader AI language coverage, and a tighter product focus.
You'll keep your Airbnb listings untouched — both tools share via links.
Try before you cut over. GuestIntro's free plan covers one property forever, so you can run both in parallel for a stay or two before pulling the plug on Hostfully.

If the AI Itinerary Planner or the upsell marketplace is what brought you to Hostfully, stay put. Neither is replicated in GuestIntro today.

08 — FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How much does Hostfully Guidebooks cost?: Hostfully doesn't publish a price for its paid Pro tier. The pricing page shows a free tier, a Pro tier capped at 199 guidebooks, and an Enterprise tier — but no dollar figure for either paid plan. Third-party sites quote various numbers; they cite a plan structure Hostfully has since retired, so we won't repeat them. You'll need to go through their signup or sales flow to find out. GuestIntro's prices are on our pricing page.
Do both have a real free plan?: Yes, and both are genuinely permanent with no credit card. One difference worth knowing: Hostfully's free guidebooks carry sponsored recommendations you can't remove, so third-party promotional content sits inside your guest experience until you upgrade. GuestIntro's free plan has no sponsored content, but it caps you at six sections and two languages, and leaves out the AI chatbot and PDF export.
What's the difference between the two AI features?: GuestIntro's AI is a chatbot that answers guest questions 24/7 from your property's information. Hostfully's AI is an itinerary planner that builds personalised experiences for guests based on their preferences. They solve different problems.
Can I sell add-ons or upsells through GuestIntro?: Not currently. GuestIntro is focused on the information and communication side of the guest experience. If upsells are critical, Hostfully's Guidebook Marketplace (with a 1% Stripe fee) is a better fit.
Does Hostfully require their full PMS?: No. Hostfully Guidebooks works as a standalone product. The PMS is a separate Hostfully product you can adopt later if you want to.
Which is easier to set up?: GuestIntro is faster — about 2 minutes for a first property. Hostfully is closer to 15 minutes for a basic guide, longer for a richly-styled one.
Which has better language support?: Hostfully, on raw count. They advertise automatic translation into 16+ languages including Arabic, Mandarin, Hebrew, Japanese, Polish and Vietnamese — though it's a Pro feature, not a free-tier one. GuestIntro covers 9 (English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese) automatically across both the manual and the AI chat. If your guests speak something outside those nine, Hostfully is the safer pick.
What about integration with Airbnb and other platforms?: Neither tool needs Airbnb integration in the traditional sense — they generate a link and QR code you paste into your listing. Hostfully's broader PMS ecosystem integrates directly with Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com if you adopt the full platform later.

— Ready to compare yourself?

Set up one property on the free plan and compare the guest experience yourself.

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Last updated July 2026. Pricing and feature details are pulled from each vendor's public site and will drift over time — verify current numbers before making a final decision.