Live calendar & upfront pricing
Guests see your open dates and the exact total, with the nightly rate, fees and taxes spelled out, before they have to message you.
What you get
Everything you need to take bookings yourself.
A booking engine, Airbnb and VRBO calendar sync, verified-guest reviews, guest emails and a private owner portal, on a domain in your name. We don’t take a commission.
The booking, start to finish
The whole booking happens on your site.
A lot of host websites are a nice page wrapped around somebody else’s booking widget. Yours takes the booking itself, start to finish.
A guest picks dates and sees the live price, your house rules and your cancellation policy. Their dates are held for 24 hours while they pay you by Venmo or PayPal. You mark it paid in your portal and confirm. If nobody pays, the hold lets go on its own.
Request-to-book that protects you
Dates are held for 24 hours (you can change that) while the guest pays. You confirm in your portal. Unpaid holds release on their own.
Payments go straight to you
Guests pay you by Venmo or PayPal, with the amount filled in for them. Prefer cards? Stripe card checkout can be switched on, paid into your own Stripe account.
Agreement & cancellation, handled
Guests accept your rental agreement at booking, and we record which version they accepted. Your cancellation policy is shown up front, and you issue any refunds.
Verified-guest reviews, built in
Only guests who actually stayed are asked to review. Reviews publish automatically after 72 hours, and you can remove one only for a set reason, like spam or abuse. That’s what keeps them believable.
Guest emails on autopilot
Your site sends the booking confirmation, check-in details three days out, a reminder the day before and a review request after checkout. You don’t have to remember any of it.
Pricing rules that fit how you host
Nightly and weekend rates, minimum and maximum stays, guest limits, how far ahead people can book, a cleaning fee, buffer days and as many tax lines as you need. We set up your seasonal pricing for you.
Two-way Airbnb & VRBO sync
We check your Airbnb and VRBO calendars every 15 minutes and send your direct bookings back out, so those dates get blocked there too.
A private owner portal
Confirm a request, mark it paid, extend a hold or decline it. Block dates by hand on a color-coded calendar, and find every email and text sent, your settings and your reviews in one place.
Eight languages
Your site works in eight languages, which helps when your guests aren’t from around here.
Alerts when a request comes in
An email the moment a guest requests dates, so a hold never sits unnoticed. Text alerts are available too.
Your domain, no commission
Fast, secure hosting on a domain in your name. We never take a cut of your bookings.
Worth knowing
Calendar sync with Airbnb and VRBO isn’t instant, for anyone. We check their calendars every 15 minutes, but they refresh yours on their own schedule. Request-to-book means no direct booking is final until you’ve confirmed it, so you have time to block those dates everywhere else.
Why HostUnbound
How we stack up.
Most direct-booking websites still depend on booking software you pay for separately. Ours comes with the booking engine built in, and a real person builds it for you.
| Feature | HostUnboundDone for you | Website-only builders Embedded booking widget | DIY template platforms Build it yourself |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booking engine included | HostUnboundIncluded | Needs separate booking software | Varies by plan |
| Separate booking software to pay for | HostUnboundNone needed | Usually required | Often an add-on |
| Two-way Airbnb & VRBO calendar sync | HostUnboundBuilt in | Through your booking software | Varies |
| Request-to-book date holds | HostUnboundBuilt in | Depends on your software | Varies |
| Verified-guest reviews on your site | HostUnboundBuilt in | Rarely | Usually manual |
| Who builds it | HostUnboundWe do, for you | Often you | You do |
| A real person to email | HostUnboundYes, by name | Varies | Help docs, mostly |
| Commission on your bookings | HostUnboundZero | Check your software | Check the fine print |
This is a general comparison of common approaches, not of any specific company. Features vary by provider and plan.
Get started
Your best guests should book with you.
Tell us about your place and we’ll handle the rest.