Houfy vs. Airbnb: What Do They Offer for Hosts?

With so many vacation rental booking sites, it's not easy to decide which of them you should list your STR property. Airbnb has long been a popular choice for hosts and property managers as one of the largest OTA platforms, but there are also many smaller listing websites.

One is Houfy, which differs from traditional booking platforms because it enables guests to book directly with vacation rental owners. In this blog, we'll compare Houfy vs. Airbnb and discuss what each website offers for hosts.

Whether you own a single vacation rental home or manage multiple properties, you'll save many hours if you streamline your operations using vacation rental software like Hospitable. Our tool will allow you to automate repetitive tasks and manage your rental hassle-free, even remotely.

Houfy vs. Airbnb: Key Differences

Look at this comparison table to see how Airbnb and Houfy differ and what they offer to property owners. We compare Houfy vs. Airbnb across different categories, including the number of listings, global reach, property types, service fees, host protection, and how hosts get paid.

Houfy vs. Airbnb: General Facts

Founded in 2015, Houfy markets itself as the largest vacation rental direct booking advertising platform, designed to maximize host independence. The platform connects property owners directly with guests and allows travelers to book stays directly with hosts, without any intermediary. Houfy operates in 106 countries, including the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, Poland, and Mexico. Currently, the platform has more than 60,000 listings offered by 15,000+ vacation rental hosts.

Airbnb was born in 2007 as a part of the sharing economy, allowing people to temporarily rent out spaces without too much regulation and make some extra money. Since then, Airbnb has evolved and become one of the world's most renowned travel brands.

As an online marketplace, Airbnb connects travelers seeking holiday accommodation with hosts offering short-term and long-term homestays and experiences. The company operates in 220+ countries and regions and has over 8 million active listings in 100,000 cities worldwide. Currently, there are over 5 million Airbnb hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guest arrivals.

Houfy vs. Airbnb: Property Types

Hosts who use Houfy can list entire places as well as rooms in their homes. The most common property types that guests can book directly include vacation homes, condos, apartments, cabins, farmhouses, and cottages.

Hosts on Airbnb are allowed to list various types of property that fit different guest preferences and Airbnb investment strategies: entire homes, private rooms, and shared rooms. You can list traditional types of rentals, such as houses, apartments, condos, cabins, and villas, and offer unique stays in unconventional properties like tiny houses, yurts, glamping tents, treehouses, RV rentals, container-style vacation homes, and even boats.

Houfy vs. Airbnb: Service Fees

You don't have to pay to list your property on Airbnb, but there are service fees that Airbnb charges for every booking. Hosts usually pay around 3% of the booking subtotal with a split fee structure, while guests can be charged up to 14.2%. If you're on a host-only fee model, the entire fee is deducted from your host payout. It's typically 14–16% of the booking subtotal.

Unlike traditional OTA platforms, Houfy doesn't charge service fees, so hosts can keep more of their earnings. With the Free plan, you only have to pay a one-time verification fee of $5.99 for unlimited listings. Two paid plans offer additional features—Lite and Premium. Hosts who choose these plans pay a monthly subscription fee for each listing. Depending on the number of properties you want to list, it may range from $8.99 to less than $1.  

Since Houfy doesn't charge any commissions, it allows both hosts and guests to save money. You can use it as another channel to market your property in addition to your listings on major booking platforms, such as Airbnb, Booking.com, and Vrbo, as well as your direct booking website.

Creating listings for your vacation rental on different niche channels like Houfy can allow you to extend your reach. Hospitable can help seamlessly sync calendars across various booking platforms and prevent double bookings with iCal imports. Watch the explainer video to learn how this functionality works, and check out our help article for more details.

Houfy vs. Airbnb: Host Protection

Houfy hosts can activate the Houfy Protect program that offers up to $20,000 in damage protection on all approved bookings. Once the host activates Houfy Protect for their listing, a nominal fee of $5 per night will be added to the total booking cost for guests. This will initiate a guest screening, and after the booking is approved, the host's property will be protected up to $20,000.

Airbnb has a comprehensive host protection program called AirCover for Hosts, which was designed to provide coverage for unexpected situations. The program is free for all hosts; you don't have to opt in. AirCover for Hosts includes guest identity verification, reservation screening, $3M Host damage protection, $1M Host liability insurance, and a 24-hour safety line.

Houfy vs. Airbnb: How Hosts Get Paid for Hosting

Unlike most booking platforms, Houfy doesn't interfere in payment transactions, so hosts can set payment terms and manage their payouts directly. If you'd like guests to book and pay on Houfy with a credit card, you must connect one of Houfy's integrated processors (Square and Stripe). You can also accept payments outside of Houfy.

Airbnb handles payments on the platform. It charges guests as soon as their reservation is confirmed and typically releases payouts to hosts up to 24 hours after the guest checks in. Airbnb hosts can choose from different payout methods, including bank account, Fast Pay, PayPal, Payoneer PrePaid Debit Mastercard, Western Union, international wire transfer, and ACH (Direct deposit), which is available to hosts in the United States, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and US Virgin Islands.