Property Management Software
Rentals United
Channel manager with 90+ OTA distribution for professional property managers
Best for Enterprise
Deepest OTA channel catalog for managers who already run a PMS
Contact sales • No free trial
Comparison
Rentals United vs Hostaway
Pricing, pros and cons, and buyer-fit side-by-side. Pick the one that matches your operation — or see why neither should.
Property Management Software
Hostaway
All-in-one vacation rental software for professional hosts
Best for Scale
The automation layer for operators scaling past 10 listings
Contact sales • No free trial
✓Editorial verdict
Which Should You Pick: Rentals United or Hostaway?
Pick Rentals United if you already run a PMS and want a pure distribution layer reaching 90+ channels including niche OTAs and metasearch. Pick Hostaway if you manage 10–100 listings and want an all-in-one PMS with the only triple-crown preferred-partner status on Airbnb, Vrbo, AND Booking.com, a native mobile app, an owner portal, and 300+ integrations with Zapier. Hostaway is an all-in-one PMS; Rentals United is a distribution overlay — most operators pick one or the other, not both.
Editorial perspective from the Rentals United side; factual claims about Hostaway are drawn from its review.
Pricing Side-by-Side
Rentals United
Full pricing →Contact sales • No free trial
Contact sales
Rentals United does not publish numeric pricing. The vendor's pricing page lists property-band tiers (Pro for 5-99 properties, Business for 100-499, Enterprise for 500+) and states 'Our prices are tailored to your business.' Capterra confirms 'Starting Price: Contact vendor for pricing' and 'Free Trial: Not available.' Confirm pricing directly with Rentals United sales.
Try Rentals UnitedHostaway
Full pricing →Contact sales • No free trial
Standard (quote)
Quote only — ~$40/listing/mo reported
10+ listings typical
Booking fee: Percentage on direct bookings (rate depends on negotiated quote)
- Channel manager for 26+ OTAs
- Unified guest inbox
- Automation engine
- Direct booking site
- Owner portal
- Open API + marketplace access
Enterprise (quote)
Custom
50+ listings, management companies
Booking fee: Negotiated
- Everything in Standard
- Dedicated account manager
- Priority support
- Custom integrations
What each tool does well — and where it falls short
What Rentals United does well
Connects to 90+ listing channels including niche regional OTAs
Every tier advertises certified API connections to 50+ channels and access to 90+ listing channels in total, which is the platform's core differentiator versus PMS-bundled channel managers.
API described by integrators as robust and well-documented
A Capterra reviewer called the API 'absolutely phenomenal' and 'unbelievably robust, brilliantly documented,' and the vendor publishes API documentation as a top-level resource.
Preferred-partner status with Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com
Named preferred-partner programs with the largest OTAs can reduce listing-quality friction for managers routing inventory through Rentals United.
Broad PMS interoperability for managers who already have a stack
The partner page lists integrations with Guesty, Track, Hostfully, Escapia, and Streamline, making it a natural distribution layer behind an existing PMS.
What Hostaway does well
Best-in-class multi-channel reliability — eliminates double bookings
Real-time API sync across Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, and dozens more. Operators consistently report it as the most reliable sync in the market, which directly prevents costly double-booking incidents.
Preferred-partner status with Airbnb, Vrbo, AND Booking.com — the 'triple crown'
Hostaway is the only property management platform with preferred/premier partner status across all three major OTAs. Priority API access and faster feature rollouts mean fewer sync errors and access to channel-exclusive tools before competitors.
Owner portal with professional reporting — real value for co-host and management companies
Owners get their own login to view revenue, occupancy, and payout statements in real time, with customizable visibility controls. For co-hosting businesses, this transparency tool is a genuine client-retention feature.
Where Rentals United falls short
Interface described as click-heavy and dated
A GetApp reviewer noted that 'navigation through the system requires more clicks than necessary,' which adds up to real daily operator time at scale.
Reports of double-booking incidents and billing disputes
A GetApp reviewer (jeffrey D.) wrote 'They cost me tens of thousands in double bookings and did not pay any of the fees.' This is a minority report but operationally serious when it happens.
No transparent pricing and no free trial
Capterra lists 'Starting Price: Contact vendor for pricing' and 'Free Trial: Not available,' so buyers cannot evaluate cost without a sales call.
Sub-5-listing portfolios are not the core ICP
The vendor's Pro tier starts at 5-99 properties, with only a 'We can still help!' note for smaller portfolios — signaling smaller hosts will not get the typical onboarding path.
Where Hostaway falls short
1.8% booking engine fee on all direct bookings, introduced November 2024
Hostaway added a 1.8% guest service fee to every reservation through operators' own direct-booking websites. This undercuts one of the main advantages of direct bookings (avoiding OTA commissions) and was rolled out via a terms update that many users missed.
Steep learning curve and significant setup investment — not plug-and-play
Setup requires mapping channels, configuring automation rules, setting up owner statements, and training staff. Reviewers consistently note it takes weeks to become fully operational — a real barrier for small operators or teams without technical staff.
Opaque pricing and contract lock-in reported by users — cancellation is difficult
Hostaway requires a sales call to see numbers. Multiple HotelMinder reviews describe being signed into annual contracts they thought were monthly, and difficulty canceling mid-term. Read the contract carefully.
Which Should You Pick
Pick Rentals United if
Professional property managers with 20+ listings already running a PMS who need maximum OTA distribution breadth across niche regional channels in addition to Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com.
Skip Rentals United if
You have fewer than 5 listings, want self-serve transparent monthly pricing, or only need the top 3 OTAs.
Pick Hostaway if
Multi-property managers running 10-100+ listings across Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com who need reliable multi-channel sync, team task management, and owner reporting in one platform.
Skip Hostaway if
You have fewer than 5 listings, you're budget-sensitive, or you rely heavily on direct booking revenue and can't absorb a 1.8% booking engine fee on every guest transaction.
Where Rentals United and Hostaway actually differ
- Product scope: Hostaway is an all-in-one PMS with channel manager, automation, owner portal, and direct booking site. Rentals United is a distribution layer designed to sit beside or behind an existing PMS (Guesty, Hostfully, Track, Escapia, MEWS).
- OTA certifications: Hostaway holds preferred/premier partner status on Airbnb, Vrbo, AND Booking.com — the only PMS with all three. Rentals United does not publicly claim equivalent named preferred-partner certifications across the big three; its differentiator is breadth (90+ channels), not partner-tier depth on the majors.
- Channel breadth vs depth: Rentals United markets 'Certified API connections to 50+ channels' and '90+ listing channels total' — wider long tail. Hostaway connects to 8 direct OTA channels (Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, Expedia, Google Vacation Rentals, TripAdvisor, Agoda, HomeToGo) with deeper certified depth on the big three.
- Pricing model: Both are quote-only. Hostaway is reported at ~$40/listing/mo with $100–$500 setup fees and a 1.8% direct booking fee (HotelMinder, Aug 2025). Rentals United publishes only Pro/Business/Enterprise property-band tiers; HotelMinder cites a third-party figure of €107/mo paid yearly for 10–19 properties as of 2026-04-24 that the vendor does not confirm.
- Operations tooling: Hostaway includes a native iOS/Android mobile app, owner portal with revenue and payout statements, automation engine, and 300+ integrations with Zapier. Rentals United does not document an equivalent native mobile app, owner portal, or Zapier connection — it's a distribution layer, not an operations platform.
Common objections
- Hostaway already holds preferred-partner status on Airbnb, Vrbo, AND Booking.com — doesn't that beat Rentals United on channels?
- On the big three, yes — Hostaway's triple-crown is the strongest certified set in the category. Rentals United doesn't try to win on partner tier for the majors; its edge is breadth across 90+ channels including niche OTAs and metasearch surfaces Hostaway's 8-channel set doesn't reach. If Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com cover your revenue, Hostaway wins. If you actively need long-tail distribution beyond that, Rentals United is the layer to add.
- If I already run Hostaway, would I ever bolt on Rentals United for extra channels?
- Hostaway is not named on Rentals United's published PMS partners list (which highlights Guesty, Hostfully, Track, Escapia, MEWS, Streamline, Hostify, StayFlexi, GuestWisely, and Elite Dynamics as of 2026-04-24). Verify the current partner status with Rentals United before assuming a clean Hostaway+Rentals United stack.
- Both are quote-only — how do I actually compare cost?
- Get written quotes from both at your real listing count. Hostaway reportedly runs ~$40/listing/mo plus a 1.8% direct booking fee per HotelMinder. Rentals United publishes only property-band tiers (Pro 5–99, Business 100–499, Enterprise 500+); the only public dollar figure is HotelMinder's third-party €107/mo paid yearly for 10–19 properties as of 2026-04-24, which the vendor does not confirm. Make sure each quote covers the same listing count and explicitly addresses booking fees and contract length.
Keep Digging
Rentals United
Deepest OTA channel catalog for managers who already run a PMS
Hostaway
The automation layer for operators scaling past 10 listings