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Travel · head to head

Enso Connect vs Kayak

Enso Connect logo

Enso Connect

Travel

Guest experience layer for short-term rentals with digital check-in and paid upsells

From
$9/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Kayak logo

Kayak

Travel

Travel search app comparing flights, hotels and car hire across other booking sites, owned by Booking Holdings

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Kayak has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Enso Connect the roughly five per cent commission on upsell revenue means the better the product works the more it costs, and a portfolio generating meaningful ancillary revenue pays far more than the per-listing headline suggests.; Kayak it is owned by Booking Holdings, the same parent as Booking.com and Priceline, so its comparison results are not fully independent of its own group's commercial interests.
  • They diverge on capability: Enso Connect covers Digital check-in, Kayak covers Flight, hotel and car comparison.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Enso Connect and Kayak actually diverge.

Attributes where Enso Connect and Kayak differ
AttributeEnso ConnectKayak
Starting price$9/monthFree
Pricing modelPer listing per month plus upsell commissionFree to users, revenue from referral commissions and advertising
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidiOS, Android, Web

Identical on both: 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 Enso Connect

  • Digital check-in
  • Guest identity verification
  • Keyless entry
  • Upsell marketplace
  • Unified inbox with AI replies
  • Branded guidebooks
  • Conditional guest journeys
  • PMS integrations

Only in Kayak

  • Flight, hotel and car comparison
  • Price alerts
  • Price prediction
  • Flexible date search
  • Trip planning tools
  • Explore/anywhere search

What people use each for

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

Enso Connect

  • A manager selling early check-in and late checkout systematically instead of case by casenot Kayak
  • An apart-hotel wanting hotel-style verification and deposits on Airbnb bookingsnot Kayak
  • An operator issuing door codes automatically and revoking them at checkoutnot Kayak
  • A portfolio in a ski or beach market monetising equipment hire and local experiences during the staynot Kayak

Kayak

  • Comparing flight prices across multiple airlines and booking sites before purchasingnot Enso Connect
  • Setting a price alert to buy a flight or hotel once the price dropsnot Enso Connect
  • Searching flexible dates or nearby airports to find a cheaper farenot Enso Connect
  • Comparing car hire prices across rental companies for a tripnot Enso Connect

Where each one falls short

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

Enso Connect

  • The roughly five per cent commission on upsell revenue means the better the product works the more it costs, and a portfolio generating meaningful ancillary revenue pays far more than the per-listing headline suggests.
  • It requires a property management system underneath it, so it is always a second subscription and a second integration rather than a consolidation.
  • Small operators rarely reach the upsell volume that justifies the setup effort, and configuring conditional guest journeys properly is a project rather than an afternoon.
  • Guest data and messaging pass through another vendor, which adds a data protection assessment for European operators and another party to the breach surface.
  • Smart lock and PMS coverage is good for the mainstream products but thin outside them, so an operator on a less common lock brand or a regional PMS may find the automation does not reach their stack.

Kayak

  • It is owned by Booking Holdings, the same parent as Booking.com and Priceline, so its comparison results are not fully independent of its own group's commercial interests.
  • Some airlines opt out of listing on metasearch sites entirely, so Kayak's results are not a complete view of every available fare in the market.
  • Revenue comes from referral commissions, and prominence in results can be influenced by which suppliers pay Kayak more, not purely by lowest price.
  • The actual booking typically completes on a third party site, so problems with a booking, cancellation or refund are handled by that site's customer service, not Kayak's.
  • Displayed prices can change or fail to match by the time a user reaches the booking site, since Kayak is not always querying live inventory in real time for every listed fare.

Pricing, plan by plan

Enso Connect

$9/month
  • Core$9/month
    • Per listing per month
    • Digital check-in and verification
    • Branded guidebook
  • Full guest journey$16/month
    • Per listing per month
    • Conditional journeys and smart lock integration
    • Upsell marketplace enabled

Kayak

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited search and price alerts
    • No subscription tier

Which should you pick?

Choose Enso Connect if

  • You need digital check-in.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want guest identity verification.
Enso Connect review

Choose Kayak if

  • You need flight, hotel and car comparison.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want price alerts.
Kayak review

Questions people ask

Is Enso Connect or Kayak better?
Neither clearly leads. Enso Connect starts at $9/month and Kayak at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Enso Connect or Kayak?
Kayak has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $9/month for Enso Connect and Free for Kayak.
Does Enso Connect or Kayak run on more platforms?
Enso Connect runs on Web, iOS, Android. Kayak runs on iOS, Android, Web.
Can I use Kayak for free?
Yes. Kayak has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Enso Connect starts at $9/month.
What is Enso Connect best used for?
Enso Connect is most often used for a manager selling early check-in and late checkout systematically instead of case by case, an apart-hotel wanting hotel-style verification and deposits on airbnb bookings, an operator issuing door codes automatically and revoking them at checkout, a portfolio in a ski or beach market monetising equipment hire and local experiences during the stay. Of those, a manager selling early check-in and late checkout systematically instead of case by case and an apart-hotel wanting hotel-style verification and deposits on airbnb bookings are not what Kayak is typically brought in for.
What can Enso Connect do that Kayak cannot?
Enso Connect covers Digital check-in, Guest identity verification, Keyless entry, Upsell marketplace. Kayak covers Flight, hotel and car comparison, Price alerts, Price prediction, Flexible date search.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Enso Connect: Does Enso Connect replace my PMS?

No. It sits on top of Hostaway, Guesty or a similar platform and handles the guest-facing journey only.

Kayak: Does Kayak charge a booking fee?

No, Kayak itself is free to use; it earns referral commissions from the airlines, hotels and sites it sends bookings to.

Enso Connect: How does the upsell commission work?

Enso Connect takes a percentage, around five per cent, of upsell revenue processed through the platform, on top of the per-listing subscription.

Kayak: Do I book directly through Kayak?

Usually the booking completes on the airline, hotel or travel site's own platform after Kayak hands off the click, though some direct booking options exist for select content.

Enso Connect: Is it worth it for five properties?

Usually not. The per-listing cost is low but the configuration effort and the upsell volume needed to see a return favour portfolios of twenty units and up.

Kayak: Is Kayak owned by an airline or hotel chain?

No, it is owned by Booking Holdings, which also owns Booking.com, Priceline and Agoda.

Enso Connect: Can it take deposits and verify guests on Airbnb bookings?

Yes, that is one of the main reasons operators add it, since Airbnb itself does not give hosts that control.

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