Before changing your price or plan: A monthly equivalent is not the same thing as a monthly commitment.
What does an avoided channel fee really leave?
A direct booking does not automatically replace a channel booking. Add subscription, taxes and other costs where applicable; unknown quotes remain unknown.
| Hypothetical direct reservation | USD | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Booking subtotal | 1,000 | Original illustration |
| Avoided fee at 15.5% | +155 | Assumed channel fee |
| Payment processing | −30 | Assumption, not a provider tariff |
| Acquisition | −60 | Assumed spend |
| Support / refunds allowance | −20 | Assumed operating cost |
| Difference before subscription | 45 | 155 − 30 − 60 − 20 |
Get the quote into comparable units
Use USD and the same number of active properties. Write down whether the charge is monthly, annual prepaid or another term. A plan priced at $20/month equivalent on an annual bill requires $240 upfront; that differs from a cancellable $20 monthly subscription.
Do not combine a promotional entry price for one vendor with a recurring monthly price for another. Keep tax, promotional expiry, currency and refund conditions visible. Exact Lodgify pricing is withheld here because the public page returned multiple billing/promotion states during our review.
| Cost layer | What to record |
|---|---|
| Subscription | Plan, property count, currency, billing term |
| Feature add-ons | Required devices, pricing tools, extra users |
| Transaction charges | Booking, processing, refunds and chargebacks |
| Implementation | Setup fee and owner/team hours |
| Exit | Export, notice period and retained records |
Run an original budget example
Suppose the subscription is $59, a required add-on is $10, and eight direct bookings each incur a hypothetical $3 charge. The modeled monthly cash cost is $93 before taxes and other processing costs. Two setup hours valued at $25, spread over six months, add $8.33 of monthly time cost.
The resulting $101.33 total is a teaching example, not a vendor quote. Keep time value separate from money actually charged. Do not count a platform fee twice if it is already included in another line.
Check the decision against the recurring problem
A focused cleaning tool may coexist with a PMS, creating two subscriptions. A free plan can be sufficient while labor or payment fees still apply. A direct-booking website adds operational responsibilities and does not guarantee guest acquisition.
Our matcher shows base estimates only where documented and explains what is missing. Confirm the final price, necessary plan and cancellation terms with the vendor before committing.
Price the direct-booking workflow separately
For a hypothetical $1,000 booking, an avoided $155 platform charge is only one line. If processing is $30, acquisition $60 and allocated site/support costs $20, the modeled difference is $45 before other obligations. These are teaching assumptions, not vendor tariffs.
Compare cancellations, chargebacks, tax handling and the person responding when payment fails. A website supports a distribution strategy; it does not prove guests will find it. The same guest total can leave different amounts depending on the booking path.
Write the final quote back into the decision
Record plan, currency, billing term, active-property definition, required features and a dated offer. Keep renewal price beside the initial bill. An unconfirmed cost stays unknown: zero is a price, not a placeholder for missing evidence.
The matcher compares monthly USD base subscriptions only where documented. It labels plans and gaps instead of selecting a cheap headline from an unrelated tier. Confirm tax and transaction charges with the provider before committing.
Build an explained software shortlistA two-property messaging budget
Compare platform-native templates, Hospitable Essentials and the paid Host base for the same messaging job. For two active listings, the documented Host base is $39 a month before extras. At $30 per hour that is 78 minutes of time value a month, before setup or exception handling. For 26 inquiries, the average improvement would need to be three minutes per inquiry.
Time five routine replies and five exceptions with your current workflow. Repeat with the same types of inquiries during an authorized trial. Include the time spent fixing a wrong template or following up after a changed reservation. Keep any subscription you cannot cancel in both budgets.
| Active properties | Messaging paid base / month | Minutes at $30/hour | Turno own-team base / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $29 (Host) | 58 | $0 |
| 2 | $39 (Host) | 78 | $20 |
| 5 | $104 (Professional) | 208 | $50 |
Policy / product reference: Hospitable pricing and subscription costs. Numeric examples and worksheets are HostMetrio illustrations.
Replace the workload and include known chargesA task to check before you buy
Quote the setup you will actually keep
Start with your current setup. Compare the same job under a current setup, an added tool and a replacement. Remove a subscription from the comparison only after confirming it can actually be canceled.
Hostaway
Hostaway documents how its direct booking tools connect to a booking website or widget.
If you already have a site, ask which workflow you can reuse, which add-ons apply and who will handle payments and booking changes. Enter a current quote in your own comparison.
Read Hostaway’s documentationSources & evidence limits
Substantive editorial revision and primary-source review. Original examples use the tested financial model; vendor-account, device and independent expert testing have not been performed. Reconfirm fee, plan and compatibility details before acting.
Original hypothetical examples are educational scenarios. HostMetrio does not provide individual financial, tax, legal or safety advice.
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