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Travel · head to head

Hostaway vs Little Hotelier

Hostaway logo

Hostaway

Travel

Vacation rental management platform for professional operators

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Little Hotelier logo

Little Hotelier

Travel

SiteMinder owned front desk and distribution system for properties under twenty rooms

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Hostaway quote-only pricing scaled by listing count, with an onboarding fee commonly reported, so entry cost is real; Little Hotelier the product is capped by design at small properties, so a hotel growing past roughly twenty rooms faces a migration rather than an upgrade, usually into SiteMinder plus a separate PMS.
  • They diverge on capability: Hostaway covers Multi-channel distribution, Little Hotelier covers Simplified front desk.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hostaway and Little Hotelier actually diverge.

Attributes where Hostaway and Little Hotelier differ
AttributeHostawayLittle Hotelier
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, CloudWeb, iOS, Android

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 Hostaway

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

Only in Little Hotelier

  • Simplified front desk
  • Channel management
  • Direct booking engine
  • Payments
  • Mobile app
  • Guest communication

What people use each for

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

Hostaway

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

Little Hotelier

  • A ten room guesthouse where the owner works reception and wants OTA sync without a separate channel manager contractnot Hostaway
  • A hostel needing reliable Booking.com and Hostelworld connectivity more than deep property management featuresnot Hostaway
  • A rural B and B replacing a spreadsheet and manual OTA extranet updatesnot Hostaway
  • A small property already comfortable with SiteMinder support and wanting one bill for distribution and front desknot Hostaway

Where each one falls short

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

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

Little Hotelier

  • The product is capped by design at small properties, so a hotel growing past roughly twenty rooms faces a migration rather than an upgrade, usually into SiteMinder plus a separate PMS.
  • Reporting is limited to basic occupancy and revenue summaries, which leaves owners exporting to a spreadsheet for anything an accountant or lender asks for.
  • Rate and package logic is simple, so properties with seasonal packages, meal plans or complex tax handling end up adjusting rates manually.
  • The non-distribution integration list is short, so accounting, door lock, POS or CRM tools outside the small supported set have to be handled by rekeying data.
  • Pricing is banded by room count and paid monthly per property, so an operator with three small properties pays three subscriptions with no consolidated view worth the name.

Pricing, plan by plan

Hostaway

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Hostaway review.

Little Hotelier

On request
  • Little Hotelier$undefined/month
    • Monthly subscription banded by number of rooms
    • Booking engine and channel manager included
    • Card processing charged per transaction

Which should you pick?

Choose Hostaway if

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

Choose Little Hotelier if

  • You need simplified front desk.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want channel management.
Little Hotelier review

Questions people ask

Is Hostaway or Little Hotelier better?
Neither clearly leads. Hostaway starts at On request and Little Hotelier at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hostaway or Little Hotelier?
Hostaway starts at On request and Little Hotelier at On request.
Does Hostaway or Little Hotelier run on more platforms?
Hostaway runs on Web, iOS, Android, Cloud. Little Hotelier runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Hostaway best used for?
Hostaway is most often used for managers running portfolios across several booking channels, operators whose margin goes to manual guest messaging and turnover coordination, companies producing owner statements for managed properties. Of those, managers running portfolios across several booking channels and operators whose margin goes to manual guest messaging and turnover coordination are not what Little Hotelier is typically brought in for.
What can Hostaway do that Little Hotelier cannot?
Hostaway covers Multi-channel distribution, Unified inbox, Automation, Owner statements. Little Hotelier covers Simplified front desk, Channel management, Direct booking engine, Payments.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Little Hotelier: Who owns Little Hotelier?

SiteMinder. It is the small property product line of the same company that sells the SiteMinder channel manager.

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.

Little Hotelier: What happens when the property outgrows it?

Most operators move to a fuller PMS and keep SiteMinder for distribution. Expect a data migration rather than a plan change.

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.

Little Hotelier: Does it include a channel manager?

Yes, built on the SiteMinder network, which is the main reason to choose it over other small property tools.

Little Hotelier: Can one login manage several properties?

Each property is a separate subscription and the multi-property view is thin, so operators of more than two or three properties usually look elsewhere.

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