Touch Stay claims to cut guest questions by 80% — can Hostfully Guidebook achieve the same result?

Both platforms deliver the same core value — a mobile-friendly digital guidebook with check-in instructions, house rules, and local recommendations that preempts repetitive guest questions. The question-reduction claim is about the guidebook format itself, not features unique to Touch Stay. Where Touch Stay pulls ahead is automated delivery through PMS integrations, so guests receive the guidebook without you manually sharing a link. At under 10 listings, manually sharing a Hostfully link or QR code takes seconds per booking and achieves the same guest-facing outcome.

Hostfully Guidebook is free to start but Touch Stay has more features — am I going to outgrow Hostfully quickly?

That depends on your scale. At 1–5 properties, Hostfully's free first guidebook and $7.99/mo per additional listing covers most operators' needs — you get branded, shareable guides without paying for bundled messaging or analytics you may not use yet. The growth ceiling appears around 10–20 properties, where the lack of PMS-automated delivery and volume discounts creates friction. If you're scaling toward a mid-size portfolio and already use Hostaway, Guesty, or OwnerRez, plan to evaluate Touch Stay at that point. Starting free with Hostfully costs nothing and lets you validate the guidebook format before committing.

Touch Stay has deeper PMS integrations — does Hostfully Guidebook's open API compensate for that?

Partially. Hostfully's open API means a technically inclined operator or developer can build custom integrations with any PMS, but that requires time and skill most small hosts don't have. Touch Stay's native PMS integrations work out of the box with no development effort. If you're already on Hostaway, Guesty, or OwnerRez and want plug-and-play automation, Touch Stay wins here. If you have a developer or use Zapier-like middleware, Hostfully's open API gives you more flexibility — but for most operators, native beats DIY.

Comparison

Hostfully Guidebook vs Touch Stay

Pricing, pros and cons, and buyer-fit side-by-side. Pick the one that matches your operation — or see why neither should.

Guest Communication

Hostfully Guidebook

Digital guidebooks that elevate your guest experience

Best for Small Hosts

Best free-to-start digital guidebook for small vacation rental hosts

From $0/listing • No free trial

Full review →Is it worth it?

Guest Communication

Touch Stay

Digital guidebooks that cut guest questions by up to 80%

Solid Option

Feature-rich digital guidebook platform with a premium price tag

From $8.25/listing • Free trial

Full review →Is it worth it?

Visit Hostfully Guidebook →Visit Touch Stay →

✓Editorial verdict

Which Should You Pick: Hostfully Guidebook or Touch Stay?

Pick Hostfully Guidebook if you want a free-forever starting point for your first property and straightforward per-guidebook pricing at $7.99/mo — ideal for hosts with 1–5 listings who need polished digital guides without a subscription commitment. Pick Touch Stay if you manage 10+ properties and need PMS-driven automated guidebook delivery via Hostaway, Guesty, or OwnerRez, plus bundled review collection and analytics that justify the $8.25/listing/mo cost.

Editorial perspective from the Hostfully Guidebook side; factual claims about Touch Stay are drawn from its review.

Pricing Side-by-Side

Hostfully Guidebook

Full pricing →

From $0/listing • No free trial

Free Forever

1 guidebook

One branded mobile-friendly digital guidebook
Unlimited property info, house rules, local recommendations
No credit card required
Core feature set included

Try Hostfully Guidebook

Additional Guidebooks

$7.99/mo per guidebook

$9.99/mo if billed monthly instead of annually

Unlimited (pay per additional guidebook)

Everything in Free Forever
Separate branded guidebook per property
Per-property customization and content
Volume scales linearly with portfolio size

Try Hostfully Guidebook

Marketplace Add-On

1% Stripe fee on transactions

Only applies when using optional upsell marketplace

Any tier above

Guest-facing upsell and service bookings
Stripe-powered transactions
Revenue share with 1% platform fee

Try Hostfully Guidebook

Touch Stay

Full pricing →

From $8.25/listing • Free trial

Annual plan

$8.25/mo per property ($99/yr)

Per property

Digital guidebook (PWA)
Email and SMS messaging
Upsell widget
5-star review popup
Contact collection
Analytics dashboard
PMS integrations

Try Touch Stay

Monthly plan

Higher per-property rate (exact pricing varies)

Per property

All features in annual plan

Try Touch Stay

What each tool does well — and where it falls short

What Hostfully Guidebook does well

First guidebook is completely free with no credit card required
Hostfully states 'Your first guidebook is always free, forever,' removing cost barriers for hosts evaluating the platform or managing a single property.
Fast setup with a fill-in-the-blanks workflow
Capterra reviewers note guidebooks are 'easy to use, with everything set up for you — just fill in your information and go,' reducing onboarding friction for non-technical hosts.
Built-in analytics track how guests interact with guidebook content
Users can see how guidebooks are performing, gaining data-driven insights into which property information and local recommendations guests actually engage with.

What Touch Stay does well

Reduces guest questions by up to 80%
Thousands of hosts report significant time savings from automated responses and comprehensive digital guidebooks, with 92% of users reporting happier guests.
No-download progressive web app
Guests access guidebooks directly on their devices without downloading anything. They can optionally add to their home screen for offline access with a custom icon.
Extensive bundled features beyond guidebooks
Touch Stay bundles email and SMS messaging, an upsell widget, a 5-star review popup, contact collection, and an analytics dashboard — reducing the need for separate tools.

Where Hostfully Guidebook falls short

Recommendations interface is hard to navigate
Multiple Capterra reviewers report the recommendations screen is 'a little hard to navigate' and some features are difficult to locate, creating friction when updating local tips.
Complex setup process for advanced paid features
Users describe the full paid version as 'extremely complex and challenging to get all the details put in properly' with slow email-based support responses.
Organizational structure breaks down at scale
Reviewers note the house manual section lacks subcategories, meaning 'when you get a lot of manuals, things can get lost' — a growing pain for multi-property operators.

Where Touch Stay falls short

No permanent free tier
Touch Stay offers only a 14-day trial with no free plan, making it harder for small operators to test long-term before committing.
Higher cost than key competitors
Competitors like GoGuidebook offer similar digital guidebook functionality at roughly 25% lower cost, which adds up for larger portfolios.
Cumbersome multi-guide management
While you can duplicate and edit guidebooks, syncing changes between multiple guides for similar properties is tedious and error-prone.

Which Should You Pick

Pick Hostfully Guidebook if

Individual hosts and small property managers with 1–5 properties who want professional digital guidebooks at minimal cost, leveraging the free tier and affordable per-guidebook pricing.

Skip Hostfully Guidebook if

You manage 20+ properties and need comprehensive property management features, or you require extensive API access without a premium account.

Pick Touch Stay if

Larger vacation rental portfolios (10+ properties) already integrated with PMSs like Hostaway or Guesty who want comprehensive guest communication tools with upselling features.

Skip Touch Stay if

Small operators (1–5 properties) who prefer free options or don't need extensive PMS integrations — competitors like GuestIntro offer similar functionality at lower cost.

Where Hostfully Guidebook and Touch Stay actually differ

Hostfully Guidebook offers a permanently free first guidebook with no credit card required; Touch Stay has no free tier — only a 14-day trial before requiring $8.25/mo per property ($99/year), making Hostfully the lower-risk entry point for new hosts.
Touch Stay integrates natively with 10+ PMS platforms including Hostaway, Guesty, and OwnerRez for automated guidebook delivery per reservation; Hostfully Guidebook has 7+ verified partners (RemoteLock, PriceLabs, Turno, NoiseAware) focused on operations rather than PMS-driven distribution.
Hostfully Guidebook's integration partners span smart locks (RemoteLock), dynamic pricing (PriceLabs), cleaning automation (Turno), and noise monitoring (NoiseAware), giving small operators a practical ops toolkit; Touch Stay's integrations center on PMS connectivity for automated guest communication workflows.
Touch Stay bundles email/SMS messaging, review collection, guest analytics, and upselling into a progressive web app; Hostfully Guidebook focuses on the guidebook itself with an optional Marketplace for upselling services at a 1% Stripe fee.
Hostfully Guidebook provides open API access for custom integrations; Touch Stay offers only limited API access, which may constrain operators building custom automation.

Common objections

Touch Stay claims to cut guest questions by 80% — can Hostfully Guidebook achieve the same result?: Both platforms deliver the same core value — a mobile-friendly digital guidebook with check-in instructions, house rules, and local recommendations that preempts repetitive guest questions. The question-reduction claim is about the guidebook format itself, not features unique to Touch Stay. Where Touch Stay pulls ahead is automated delivery through PMS integrations, so guests receive the guidebook without you manually sharing a link. At under 10 listings, manually sharing a Hostfully link or QR code takes seconds per booking and achieves the same guest-facing outcome.
Hostfully Guidebook is free to start but Touch Stay has more features — am I going to outgrow Hostfully quickly?: That depends on your scale. At 1–5 properties, Hostfully's free first guidebook and $7.99/mo per additional listing covers most operators' needs — you get branded, shareable guides without paying for bundled messaging or analytics you may not use yet. The growth ceiling appears around 10–20 properties, where the lack of PMS-automated delivery and volume discounts creates friction. If you're scaling toward a mid-size portfolio and already use Hostaway, Guesty, or OwnerRez, plan to evaluate Touch Stay at that point. Starting free with Hostfully costs nothing and lets you validate the guidebook format before committing.
Touch Stay has deeper PMS integrations — does Hostfully Guidebook's open API compensate for that?: Partially. Hostfully's open API means a technically inclined operator or developer can build custom integrations with any PMS, but that requires time and skill most small hosts don't have. Touch Stay's native PMS integrations work out of the box with no development effort. If you're already on Hostaway, Guesty, or OwnerRez and want plug-and-play automation, Touch Stay wins here. If you have a developer or use Zapier-like middleware, Hostfully's open API gives you more flexibility — but for most operators, native beats DIY.

Keep Digging

Hostfully Guidebook

Best free-to-start digital guidebook for small vacation rental hosts

Full Hostfully Guidebook review →Is it worth it?

Touch Stay

Feature-rich digital guidebook platform with a premium price tag

Full Touch Stay review →Is it worth it?