Pick Hostfully’s own site if
you want a booking page with no setup and no extra line item, especially on Pro or Enterprise where the direct booking fees are waived.315
Compared, October 2026
HomeRunner vs Hostfully sites
Every Hostfully account includes a Direct Booking Site, and a newer Premium editor builds a marketing site in front of it. HomeRunner adds to your own website, syncs with Hostfully and renders search, property pages and quotes on your domain. Hostfully’s own guide recommends Hudson Creative for operators “building a brand” and lists WordPress as the highest SEO ceiling, so this is less a rivalry than a question of stage.1
By Eli Pritykin, founder of HomeRunner and Hudson Creative Studio. Updated October 2026. Part of the full comparison of seven builders.
The short version
Two good answers to different questions.
Pick HomeRunner if
you want to compete on brand and content, you want the guest journey on your main domain, and you want a site that is yours regardless of PMS.26
What the Hostfully connection supportsSide by side
Eight criteria, both products.
Each cell is a fact from the vendor’s own pages, with the source number. Scroll sideways on a phone.
| Criterion | HomeRunner | Hostfully Direct Booking Site (Basic and Premium) |
|---|---|---|
| 01PMS depth | Hostfully connection. HomeRunner creates an on-hold lead that blocks the dates and sends the guest to a Hostfully-hosted checkout; the hold releases after 30 minutes if unpaid. Upsells and reviews import supported; coupons and length discounts are not.2 | Native. Listings, availability and rates sync automatically. Upsells, promo codes, manual reservations with a booking link.3 |
| 02Conversion | Search, map, live quotes, extras. AI search and rate comparison as paid add-ons. Payment step on Hostfully’s page.24 | Guests book and pay on the Basic booking site. The Premium marketing site hands guests to it to browse and pay.5 |
| 03Ownership | Your site, domain, content and data. Cancel and the site stays; the booking engine stops.6 | Basic runs on book.yourdomain.com, a subdomain. Premium runs on your root domain, hosted on a third-party site builder. Export and what happens after cancellation are not documented.7 |
| 04Continuous improvement | One codebase, same release everywhere. At least 276 dated public changelog entries between mid-July and 10 October 2026.8 | No website changelog found on the pages we read. Premium articles were updated within weeks of our read. |
| 05Editability | Your own site editor plus a Template Customizer (Conversion Kit add-on) for HomeRunner page sections.9 | Basic: settings only (hero, colors, featured properties, custom CSS and HTML). Premium: drag-and-drop editor, up to 1,000 pages, blog with AI drafts. Booking flow and calendar logic are locked.3510 |
| 06Any website | Adds to the site you already have. WordPress and custom-coded sites today; Squarespace and Webflow in early access.11 | Built inside Hostfully. For other sites Hostfully offers a search widget that redirects to its agency page, a per-listing booking widget, and an API.12 |
| 07AI readiness | Machine-readable property pages, AI sitemap, read counts, attributed bookings. Included.13 | SEO and AEO panel in the Premium editor: titles, meta, structured data, redirects.10 |
| 0812-month cost | $540 at 5 listings, $1,140 at 15, $2,100 at 25. Flat.14 | Included with the plan. Growth adds a 1% gateway fee on processed payments and a 0.85% commission on eligible direct bookings through its site, widget or API. Pro and Enterprise waive both. Premium editor price not public.15 |
Twelve-month cost counts the software only. PMS plan, payment processing and hosting are extra on both sides.Run your own numbers Sources
Where each one wins
Where Hostfully’s site wins, where HomeRunner wins, where we lose.
Where Hostfully’s site wins
- It costs nothing extra and is live as soon as your properties are in the PMS.316
- One vendor, one login, nothing of your own to host or patch.5
- The Premium editor includes a blog with AI drafting and an SEO and AEO panel without a separate platform.10
- Guidebooks come from the same vendor as an add-on.
- Upsells and promo codes are native with nothing to activate on a second system.
Where HomeRunner wins
- The guest journey runs on your main domain. Hostfully’s Basic site lives on a subdomain, and the Premium site hands guests off to it to pay.57
- SEO ceiling. Hostfully’s own guide says the pre-built site “has limited SEO capability compared to a custom-built alternative” and puts WordPress at the top.1
- The website is yours and survives a PMS change.
- No percentage from us. On Hostfully Growth, Hostfully’s Stripe article applies its 1% gateway fee and 0.85% commission to bookings through its site, widget or API, so they apply with or without HomeRunner. HomeRunner adds no percentage on top.15
- No page ceiling, no template ceiling, and any plugin or integration your site platform allows.
Where we lose
- Checkout. With Hostfully, HomeRunner hands the payment step to a Hostfully-hosted page after placing a hold. Hostfully’s own Basic site pays on its page too, so neither runs payment on your main domain today.2
- Coupons and length-of-stay discounts are not supported on the Hostfully connection.2
- Bookings reach Hostfully as leads first, converted on payment, rather than as reservations created in one step.2
- Live today on WordPress and custom-coded sites, with Squarespace and Webflow in early access. Hosting is your cost, and a bespoke design is a separate quoted project.1117
- Hostfully’s fees on Growth apply either way. HomeRunner cannot remove them; only a Pro or Enterprise plan does.15
Switching
Looking for a Hostfully site alternative?
Operators move when the booking subdomain and the template stop matching the brand, or when they want to rank on content. Hostfully lists HomeRunner in its integration directory.18
What moves: nothing in Hostfully. Listings, rates, availability, upsells and reviews sync to the new site. What changes: search, property pages and quotes render on your own site, and the payment step still happens on Hostfully’s hosted page after the dates are held. If you already have a website, HomeRunner installs into it; otherwise a pre-built site from Hudson Creative Studio ($2,000) or a bespoke build by Hudson Creative Studio or a partner studio under Hire an Expert gets you one. Setup help is unlimited and there are no fees until live.21114
Frequently asked
The questions that come up on calls.
Have a situation these do not cover? Tell us about your portfolio and we will say which option fits, including the one that is not ours.
Do guests pay on my site with HomeRunner and Hostfully?
Not today. HomeRunner holds the dates and sends the guest to a Hostfully-hosted checkout. If the guest does not pay within 30 minutes the dates release. Source 2
Does Hostfully charge for direct bookings?
On the Growth plan, 1% payment gateway fee plus 0.85% direct booking commission. Pro and Enterprise waive both, per Hostfully’s pricing page. Source 15
Can I keep the Hostfully booking site and add HomeRunner?
Yes. HomeRunner can run on the main domain for search and property pages while Hostfully’s page handles payment.
Does HomeRunner support Hostfully coupons?
No. Coupon validation and length discounts are listed as unsupported for the Hostfully connection. Source 2
Does HomeRunner need a WordPress site?
No. It adds to the website you already have. WordPress and custom-coded sites are live today; Squarespace and Webflow are in early access. Hostfully’s guide puts WordPress at the top for SEO, and Hudson Creative Studio builds WordPress sites on HomeRunner if you want one. Sources 1, 11
Sources
Every number on this page, and where we read it.
18 sources, all read 10 October 2026
- www.hostfully.com/blog/best-vacation-rental-website-builder/ (“Hudson Creative Studio suits operators building a brand”; “limited SEO capability”; WordPress “Highest SEO ceiling”)
- homerunner.io/integrations/hostfully/ ; homerunner.io/docs/feature-support-by-pms/
- www.hostfully.com/property-management-software/features/direct-booking-site/
- homerunner.io/#pricing ; homerunner.io/docs/ckit-overview/
- help.hostfully.com/en/articles/16844378 (“directed from your Premium site to your Basic Direct Booking Site to browse properties and complete their booking”; locked booking flow)
- homerunner.io/#pricing FAQ (“HomeRunner runs on your site and your domain. The design and content are yours”); homerunner.io/terms-of-service/
- help.hostfully.com/en/articles/3049073 (“book.yourdomain.com, rather than your main domain”); help.hostfully.com/en/articles/16884702 (“Target: s.multiscreensite.com”)
- homerunner.io/docs/toolkit-changelog/ ; homerunner.io/docs/conversion-kit-changelog/ ; homerunner.io/docs/ai-concierge-changelog/
- homerunner.io/docs/ckit-overview/
- help.hostfully.com/en/articles/16844458 ; help.hostfully.com/en/articles/16880988 (“up to 1,000 pages”); help.hostfully.com/en/articles/16884158
- homerunner.io/any-website/ (“WordPress and custom-coded sites are live now. Squarespace, Webflow and other platforms are in early access”)
- help.hostfully.com/en/articles/3925194 ; help.hostfully.com/en/articles/1768348
- homerunner.io/ai-ready/ ; homerunner.io/docs/toolkit-ai-booking-channel/
- homerunner.io/#pricing (rate card; “A flat monthly fee, never a percentage of your bookings”)
- www.hostfully.com/pricing/property-management-software/ (“1% payment gateway fee … 0.85% direct booking fee”; Pro “No commissions on direct bookings”); help.hostfully.com/en/articles/1674786
- www.hostfully.com/blog/best-vacation-rental-website-builder/ (“a branded booking page is available immediately”)
- homerunner.io/integrations/ (read 2026-10-11: “PMS charges, payment-provider fees, hosting, optional paid add-ons and any separately purchased website services still apply”)
- www.hostfully.com/integrations/homerunner/
Compared against five more builders in the full guide to direct booking website builders. Connection details: HomeRunner for Hostfully. Other comparisons: all HomeRunner vs pages.
Not sure which column is you?
Send your portfolio size and PMS. We will say which option fits, including the one that is not ours.