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
Comparison
Hostaway vs LiveRez
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
LiveRez
All-in-one vacation rental software built for mid-sized US managers
Solid Option
Established all-in-one PMS with strong support but aging interface
Contact sales • No free trial
✓Editorial verdict
Which Should You Pick: Hostaway or LiveRez?
Pick Hostaway if you need preferred-partner status on Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com, 300+ integrations, and modern multi-channel distribution across 8 direct OTAs — especially if your portfolio is growing or you rely on Airbnb bookings. Pick LiveRez if you manage 20–100 US vacation rentals, need built-in trust accounting, and value flat pricing that doesn't increase as you add properties.
Editorial perspective from the Hostaway side; factual claims about LiveRez are drawn from its review.
Pricing Side-by-Side
Hostaway
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
LiveRez
Full pricing →Contact sales • No free trial
Contact sales
Custom pricing — contact sales for quote. Third-party reviews estimate typical costs at $350–550/mo depending on portfolio size and features. LiveRez states prices are fully inclusive and do not increase when adding properties, owners, or employees.
Try LiveRezWhat each tool does well — and where it falls short
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.
What LiveRez does well
Support quality and partnership approach are consistently praised
Users across multiple review platforms describe 'extraordinary support services' and 'a real partnership between users and the software pros.' This hands-on approach is a core differentiator in a market where support quality varies widely.
All-in-one platform replaces multiple point solutions
LiveRez combines property management, accounting, and marketing tools into a single system, eliminating the need for separate subscriptions. For managers juggling 3–4 tools, consolidation reduces both cost and operational friction.
Revenue-based pricing flexibility unavailable from most competitors
At least one customer reports LiveRez offered billing tied to monthly gross revenue rather than a flat fee — a structure that de-risks costs during slow seasons and aligns vendor incentives with operator success.
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.
Where LiveRez falls short
Interface feels like a legacy product with haphazard feature layering
Multiple 2026 reviewers describe the UI as clunky and hard to navigate, with features 'haphazardly layered on top of each other.' Operators accustomed to modern SaaS design will notice the gap immediately.
Airbnb integration gaps limit channel management effectiveness
Users report losing the ability to manage custom check-in instructions and many Airbnb amenities directly from LiveRez. For Airbnb-heavy portfolios, this means maintaining listings in two places.
Feature requests and software changes take a very long time to implement
Customer feedback highlights significant delays between submitting improvement requests and seeing them shipped. Active managers who depend on rapid platform iteration will find the pace frustrating.
Which Should You Pick
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.
Pick LiveRez if
Mid-sized US-based vacation rental managers who need consolidated property management, accounting, trust fund handling, and direct booking in one platform — and value hands-on vendor support over self-serve tooling.
Skip LiveRez if
You have fewer than 10 listings and can't justify $350+/mo, need a modern mobile-friendly interface, or require fast feature development and short implementation timelines.
Where Hostaway and LiveRez actually differ
- Hostaway connects to 8 direct OTA channels — including Agoda and HomeToGo — with preferred-partner status on Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com. LiveRez distributes via NextPax to 6 channels and has documented Airbnb integration gaps including missing amenities and custom check-in instructions.
- Hostaway offers 300+ integrations with Zapier support and an open API, covering dynamic pricing tools like PriceLabs, Wheelhouse, and Beyond Pricing. LiveRez has 10+ native and third-party integrations with an open API but no Zapier, limiting its operational toolkit.
- Hostaway charges ~$40/listing/mo (quote-only) with setup fees of $100–$500, making per-unit cost decrease as portfolio size grows. LiveRez charges a flat $350–550/mo regardless of property count — significantly cheaper at 20+ listings but more expensive for smaller portfolios under roughly 10 units.
- LiveRez includes built-in trust fund and owner accounting management that Hostaway does not replicate — a compliance requirement for many US vacation rental managers.
- Hostaway targets operators from 10 to 100+ listings and rates as "great" for large portfolios. LiveRez's sweet spot is 20–100 US vacation rentals, and reviewers note its development pace and UI limitations become more painful at scale.
Common objections
- LiveRez's flat pricing is dramatically cheaper at 20+ listings — why would I pay 3–5x more for Hostaway?
- At 30 listings, Hostaway runs roughly $1,200/mo in subscription alone versus LiveRez's $350–550/mo flat rate — that's a real gap. What that premium buys is preferred-partner status on all three major OTAs, 300+ integrations versus 10+, and native connections to 8 channels including Agoda and HomeToGo. If your revenue comes primarily from Vrbo and direct bookings in the US market, LiveRez's economics are hard to beat. But if Airbnb is a meaningful revenue channel, LiveRez's documented integration gaps mean you're managing listings in two places — and the operational cost of that workaround narrows the price difference.
- LiveRez has built-in trust accounting and partnership-style support — can Hostaway match that?
- Not directly. LiveRez's trust fund accounting and QuickBooks connector are built into the platform, and its support model is consistently described as a genuine vendor partnership. Hostaway offers an owner portal with revenue reporting and payout statements, but it does not include compliance-grade trust accounting or 1099 processing workflows. If trust accounting is a regulatory requirement for your business, that's a real gap in Hostaway's feature set. Hostaway's counter is breadth: 300+ integrations mean you can connect specialized accounting tools, and its modern interface and mobile app reduce daily operational friction that LiveRez's dated UI creates.
- LiveRez is US-focused and purpose-built for vacation rental managers — isn't that a better fit than Hostaway's broader platform?
- It depends on your channel mix. LiveRez's US vacation rental roots align well with Vrbo-heavy, direct-booking-focused managers, and its flat pricing rewards that niche. But LiveRez rates as 'skip' for Airbnb-first operators due to integration gaps, and 'okay' for multi-channel distribution. Hostaway rates 'great' for multi-channel with 8 direct OTA connections and is the only PMS with preferred-partner status on Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com. If your business is expanding beyond traditional US vacation rental channels, Hostaway's broader distribution is a material advantage.
Keep Digging
Hostaway
The automation layer for operators scaling past 10 listings
LiveRez
Established all-in-one PMS with strong support but aging interface