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
Contact sales
Quote-based. Request subscription, onboarding, add-on and booking-fee terms directly from Hostaway; no unverified per-listing estimate or minimum is assumed. Pricing checked 2026-10-24.
Try HostawayWhat 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
Booking-fee terms need confirmation
Ask Hostaway to itemize direct-booking charges in the quote before comparing total costs.
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 need a published subscription price and firm onboarding and booking-fee terms before speaking with sales.
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.
- Hostaway is quote-based. Request subscription, onboarding, add-on and booking-fee terms for your portfolio before comparing total cost.
- 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.
- How should I budget for Hostaway?
- Hostaway is quote-based. Request subscription, onboarding, add-on and booking-fee terms for your portfolio before comparing total cost.
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