What PMS Tools Really Charge on Your Direct Bookings (2026)
Updated October 30th, 20265 min read
"Commission-free" doesn't always mean no percentage. Some property management tools take a percentage of your direct bookings, or add a fee your guest pays, while others charge none. So the monthly price doesn't tell you what a direct booking costs. You need to check the fee on the booking too, and whether the plan you'd be on includes a booking site at all.
We checked each vendor's own pages on 30 October 2026. Where a vendor doesn't publish something, we say so rather than repeat a figure from a review.
We sell a competing product, and prices change. Check each vendor's current page before you decide. Card processing fees are extra on all of these unless stated, because those go to your payment provider.
The comparison
| Tool | Published monthly price | Fee on direct bookings | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hostaway | Not published, by quote. Tiers for 2–14, 15–49 and 50+ listings, with a waitlist for single listings | 1% on payments processed through Hostaway. A 1.8% guest fee on US booking website reservations. 0.5% on Booking Website Pro outside the US | Full PMS with channel manager |
| Hospitable | $29 Host, $59 Professional, $99 Mogul, with a set number of properties and a per-property charge after that | Direct Basic: 1% host fee. Direct Premium: 4% from the guest plus 3% from the host, or 7% host-only | Strong messaging automation |
| Smoobu | €29 Professional Flex, €35 Prepaid, €55 Teams Pro+ | 0.9% on Professional Flex; the others are listed as commission-free | Website builder from Prepaid |
| Lodgify | €16 Basic, €28 Starter, €48 Professional, €70 Ultimate (monthly billing) | 0% listed on all four plans | Website builder from Starter. Some reviews quote a different fee, so check the page |
| Guesty | Lite for 1–3 listings from $9 per listing. Pro for 4–199 by quote | States no percentage fee on its booking engine | Built for growing portfolios |
| OwnerRez | From $88, on a sliding scale per property | States no commissions, guest fees or per-booking fees | Hosted Sites is a premium add-on, price not stated on that page |
| OpenSty | €14 Solo (1 property), €29 Pro (5), €99 Agency (50) | None from us. Stripe's fee if you take cards | Booking site only, with iCal sync and no channel manager |
What a percentage means in money
Say you take €20,000 a year in direct bookings.
| Fee | Cost per year |
|---|---|
| 0.5% | €100 |
| 0.9% | €180 |
| 1% | €200 |
| 7% | €1,400 |
For many small hosts, 1% is a fair price for a tool that saves them hours, so don't reject a tool on this number alone. It matters more as direct bookings grow, because the cost grows with them. A guest fee is different: it's added to what your guest pays, so it can undo the price advantage you were offering for booking direct.
Questions to ask any vendor
- Is there a percentage on direct bookings, and on which plan? Plans often differ.
- Is there a fee the guest pays? Check what your guest sees at the final step.
- Does my plan include a booking website? It may only start on a higher tier, as with Lodgify's and Smoobu's plans above.
- Is there a minimum number of listings or a setup fee? With a single property, this can rule a tool out.
- Who's the merchant, and which payment fees apply? Some tools add their own fee on top of the processor's.
- Can I leave and keep my data? Ask whether you can export guest details, bookings and photos.
When a full PMS is worth it
We'd be misleading you if we said a booking page replaces a PMS for everyone. A PMS earns its price when you:
- Manage many listings across platforms and need rates pushed to them, which takes a channel manager. iCal only blocks dates.
- Want one inbox for all platform messages, with automation across them.
- Run cleaning and maintenance teams that need scheduling.
If that's you, compare the tools above properly, and start with our guide to direct booking website builders and our OwnerRez comparison.
When you don't need one
If you have 1 to 5 properties and manage your calendars and messages fine already, you may be paying for features you won't use. In the host groups we read, the complaints were consistent: tools too complex for a few listings, price rises, and percentage fees on bookings the host found themselves.
Looking for a Hostaway alternative with one property?
Hostaway lists a waitlist for single listings, and it doesn't publish prices. If you have one or two properties, here's where we'd start:
- You want one tool for messages and bookings across platforms: look at Hospitable or Smoobu, and check the fee on the plan you'd use.
- You want a full website with many pages: look at Lodgify from its Starter plan.
- You just want your own booking site, kept simple and flat-priced: that's OpenSty.
What OpenSty includes, and what it doesn't
Every plan has the booking site, your own domain, iCal sync with alerts when a feed breaks, card payments through your own Stripe, damage deposit holds, scheduled guest messages and a checklist for your first direct bookings. The plans differ by the number of properties, by whether your whole multi-property site can use your own domain (Pro and Agency), and by team members (Agency).
It isn't a channel manager, has no unified inbox for Airbnb messages, doesn't push rates to platforms and has no instant booking. We take no percentage and never hold your money.
Common questions
Does Hostaway charge a fee on direct bookings?
Its own fees page lists a 1% application fee on payments processed through Hostaway, a 1.8% guest service fee on US booking website reservations, and a 0.5% host fee on Booking Website Pro outside the US. Card processing is extra.
What does Hospitable charge for direct bookings?
Its help centre lists Direct Basic at a 1% host fee plus Stripe processing, and Direct Premium at either 4% from the guest and 3% from the host, or 7% paid by the host alone.
Does Lodgify charge a booking fee?
Its pricing page shows a 0% booking fee on all four plans as of 30 October 2026. Some third-party reviews quote a percentage, so go by the current page.
Is a flat fee always cheaper than a percentage?
No. With few direct bookings, a small percentage on a cheap plan can cost less. A flat fee gets better as your direct bookings grow. Work it out with your own numbers.
Do these tools include card processing?
Generally not. Providers such as Stripe charge their own fees on top, including with OpenSty.
