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Travel · head to head

Center vs Hostaway

Center logo

Center

Travel

Card-first travel and expense management with real-time transaction visibility

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Hostaway logo

Hostaway

Travel

Vacation rental management platform for professional operators

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Center the product is built around its own card, so employees still using a legacy bank corporate card get the ordinary receipt-chasing experience and the real-time promise does not apply to them.; Hostaway quote-only pricing scaled by listing count, with an onboarding fee commonly reported, so entry cost is real
  • They diverge on capability: Center covers Center corporate card, Hostaway covers Multi-channel distribution.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Center and Hostaway actually diverge.

Attributes where Center and Hostaway differ
AttributeCenterHostaway
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android, Cloud

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Travel).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Center

  • Center corporate card
  • Real-time expense capture
  • Travel booking
  • Insights for Travel
  • Policy automation
  • ERP sync

Only in Hostaway

  • Multi-channel distribution
  • Unified inbox
  • Automation
  • Owner statements

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Center

  • A US mid-market finance team that wants committed travel spend visible before the month closesnot Hostaway
  • A company replacing a bank corporate card plus a separate expense tool with one suppliernot Hostaway
  • A business that wants hotel spend booked directly by staff still captured in travel reportingnot Hostaway
  • A NetSuite or Sage Intacct user wanting coded expenses posted without manual re-keyingnot Hostaway

Hostaway

  • Managers running portfolios across several booking channelsnot Center
  • Operators whose margin goes to manual guest messaging and turnover coordinationnot Center
  • Companies producing owner statements for managed propertiesnot Center

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Center

  • The product is built around its own card, so employees still using a legacy bank corporate card get the ordinary receipt-chasing experience and the real-time promise does not apply to them.
  • Travel booking depends on Spotnana, meaning content, service levels and roadmap for a core part of the product sit with a third party Center does not control.
  • It is a United States product, and multi-entity companies with European or Asian subsidiaries will need a separate card and expense stack for those entities.
  • Interchange on card spend is a significant part of how the vendor earns, which is why the software price looks low; a company that keeps most spend on an existing card programme is a poor fit commercially.
  • It is a smaller supplier than Brex, Ramp or SAP Concur, so integration coverage outside the main US accounting systems is thinner and custom connectors are often the answer.

Hostaway

  • Quote-only pricing scaled by listing count, with an onboarding fee commonly reported, so entry cost is real
  • Built for professional operators; single-property hosts find the cost per unit hard to justify
  • Channel sync inherits the reliability of the booking platforms it connects to
  • Depth in individual modules is shallower than dedicated point tools

Pricing, plan by plan

Center

On request
  • Center Expense and Travel$undefined/year
    • Usage-based, with no licence, deployment or support fee published
    • Flat per-booking travel fee including unlimited changes
    • Card interchange forms part of the vendor revenue

Hostaway

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Hostaway review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Center if

  • You need center corporate card.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want real-time expense capture.
Center review

Choose Hostaway if

  • You need multi-channel distribution.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Cloud.
  • You also want unified inbox.
Hostaway review

Questions people ask

Is Center or Hostaway better?
Neither clearly leads. Center starts at On request and Hostaway at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Center or Hostaway?
Center starts at On request and Hostaway at On request.
Does Center or Hostaway run on more platforms?
Center runs on Web, iOS, Android. Hostaway runs on Web, iOS, Android, Cloud.
What is Center best used for?
Center is most often used for a us mid-market finance team that wants committed travel spend visible before the month closes, a company replacing a bank corporate card plus a separate expense tool with one supplier, a business that wants hotel spend booked directly by staff still captured in travel reporting, a netsuite or sage intacct user wanting coded expenses posted without manual re-keying. Of those, a us mid-market finance team that wants committed travel spend visible before the month closes and a company replacing a bank corporate card plus a separate expense tool with one supplier are not what Hostaway is typically brought in for.
What can Center do that Hostaway cannot?
Center covers Center corporate card, Real-time expense capture, Travel booking, Insights for Travel. Hostaway covers Multi-channel distribution, Unified inbox, Automation, Owner statements.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Center: Do we have to use the Center card?

Effectively yes for the core benefit. Center can ingest other card feeds, but real-time capture, controls and the pricing model all assume its own card.

Hostaway: What does Hostaway cost?

It quotes by listing count and modules and does not publish rates. An onboarding fee is commonly part of the arrangement.

Center: Who provides the travel booking?

Spotnana provides the underlying Travel-as-a-Service platform; Center provides the interface, policy layer and reporting.

Hostaway: Hostaway or Guesty?

They compete for the same professional operator market with broadly similar feature sets. Differences usually come down to quoted price, onboarding and specific channel or PMS integrations.

Center: Is there a per-user licence fee?

Center markets usage-based pricing with no licence, deployment or support fees; the economics rest on card interchange and booking fees.

Hostaway: Is it worth it for one or two listings?

Generally not. It is built for portfolios, and the per-unit cost is hard to justify below a handful of properties.

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