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Travel · head to head

FareHarbor vs Hostaway

FareHarbor logo

FareHarbor

Travel

Booking and reservation software for tour and activity operators with no subscription fee

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: FareHarbor the roughly 6% booking fee is added to the price your customer sees, so your headline price appears higher than a competitor absorbing their software cost, which is a direct disadvantage when guests price-compare.; Hostaway quote-only pricing scaled by listing count, with an onboarding fee commonly reported, so entry cost is real
  • They diverge on capability: FareHarbor covers Availability and capacity, Hostaway covers Multi-channel distribution.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which FareHarbor and Hostaway actually diverge.

Attributes where FareHarbor and Hostaway differ
AttributeFareHarborHostaway
Pricing modelPer booking fee added at checkoutquote
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android, Cloud

Identical on both: starting price (On request), 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 FareHarbor

  • Availability and capacity
  • Customer checkout
  • Digital waivers
  • Manifests and dispatch
  • OTA distribution
  • Gift cards and point of sale

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.

FareHarbor

  • A kayak tour operator with strong seasonality that cannot justify a fixed monthly software fee through the winternot Hostaway
  • An attraction wanting waivers, manifests and OTA distribution in one system without an upfront licencenot Hostaway
  • A new operator launching with no capital who needs professional checkout from day onenot Hostaway
  • A multi-activity business needing guide and equipment assignment across overlapping departuresnot Hostaway

Hostaway

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

Where each one falls short

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

FareHarbor

  • The roughly 6% booking fee is added to the price your customer sees, so your headline price appears higher than a competitor absorbing their software cost, which is a direct disadvantage when guests price-compare.
  • With card processing on top, the effective cost is commonly 9 to 11% of booking value, so a high-volume operator pays far more over a year than a flat subscription would cost.
  • There is no published rate card, so the fee you are quoted depends on the deal you negotiate and you cannot compare terms without going through onboarding.
  • FareHarbor is owned by Booking Holdings, so your reservation system, your customer data and your availability sit inside the group that owns the largest OTA competing for your direct bookings.
  • Because pricing is transactional, switching away is expensive in effort rather than money and operators tend to stay past the point where a subscription product would be cheaper.

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

FareHarbor

On request
  • FareHarbor$undefined/month
    • No monthly subscription and no setup fee
    • Booking fee of around 6% added to the customer checkout price
    • Card processing charged separately, giving an effective 9 to 11% of booking value

Hostaway

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Hostaway review.

Which should you pick?

Choose FareHarbor if

  • You need availability and capacity.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want customer checkout.
FareHarbor 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 FareHarbor or Hostaway better?
Neither clearly leads. FareHarbor 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, FareHarbor or Hostaway?
FareHarbor starts at On request and Hostaway at On request.
Does FareHarbor or Hostaway run on more platforms?
FareHarbor runs on Web, iOS, Android. Hostaway runs on Web, iOS, Android, Cloud.
What is FareHarbor best used for?
FareHarbor is most often used for a kayak tour operator with strong seasonality that cannot justify a fixed monthly software fee through the winter, an attraction wanting waivers, manifests and ota distribution in one system without an upfront licence, a new operator launching with no capital who needs professional checkout from day one, a multi-activity business needing guide and equipment assignment across overlapping departures. Of those, a kayak tour operator with strong seasonality that cannot justify a fixed monthly software fee through the winter and an attraction wanting waivers, manifests and ota distribution in one system without an upfront licence are not what Hostaway is typically brought in for.
What can FareHarbor do that Hostaway cannot?
FareHarbor covers Availability and capacity, Customer checkout, Digital waivers, Manifests and dispatch. Hostaway covers Multi-channel distribution, Unified inbox, Automation, Owner statements.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

FareHarbor: What does FareHarbor cost?

No subscription. Around 6% is added to the customer checkout price, plus card processing, giving roughly 9 to 11% of booking value in total.

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.

FareHarbor: Who pays the booking fee?

By default the customer, shown at checkout. Operators can choose to absorb it into their own price instead.

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.

FareHarbor: Who owns FareHarbor?

Booking Holdings, the parent of Booking.com, Priceline and Kayak.

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.

FareHarbor: At what volume does a subscription tool become cheaper?

Broadly once annual bookings exceed a few hundred thousand in value, at which point 6% dwarfs a fixed monthly plan.

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