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Introduction
In 2025, managing a vacation rental means more than handing over the keys. Guests often arrive tired, disoriented, and juggling multiple tasks—navigating unfamiliar streets, dragging luggage, and digging through emails for check-in info.
A mobile-friendly, well-timed digital guide can ease that tension immediately. With the right platform, you can reduce friction, answer questions before they’re asked, and create a guest experience that feels welcoming, effortless, and professional from the very start. The result? Smoother operations, happier guests, better reviews—and far less manual work for you.
If you’re exploring guest guide solutions, two names likely come up again and again: Hostfully and Checked.in. While both help hosts deliver essential information, they differ significantly in scope, automation, and how much they simplify your day-to-day.
- Hostfully provides a customizable digital guidebook that helps consolidate property details in one place.
- Checked.in is a broader, all-in-one guest experience platform—designed to automate check-in, upsells, communication, and more.
In this post, we’ll compare both platforms across key areas and explore why Checked.in may offer more for hosts looking to save time, increase revenue, and create a more seamless, professional experience from booking to check-out.
Hostfully vs Checked.in: What’s the Difference?
Hostfully’s digital guidebook is a widely used option for hosts who want to share key information—like check-in details, Wi-Fi instructions, and local recommendations—in a clean, mobile-accessible format. It supports basic branding and integrates with the Hostfully Property Management Platform (PMP), making it especially convenient for hosts already using that ecosystem. For those with simple needs, it’s a reliable starting point.
Checked.in, on the other hand, is designed to do more than organize content. It combines digital guide functionality with automation tools—like timed guest messaging, upsell offers, smart check-in flows, and ID verification—all within one platform. Rather than piecing together multiple tools, Checked.in gives hosts a centralized system to manage the full guest experience from pre-arrival through post-checkout.
The difference comes down to scope: Hostfully helps you share information. Checked.in helps you automate and personalize how it’s delivered.
👉 For a breakdown of how Checked.in compares to other platforms, including TouchStay, check out our full comparison here.
Guest Onboarding & Welcome Experience: First Impression Done Right
A smooth onboarding process sets the tone for the entire stay. Both Hostfully and Checked.in allow vacation rental hosts to share essential guest information, such as:
- Check-in instructions
- Wi-Fi passwords
- House rules
- Local area recommendations
Hostfully presents these details in a clean, scrollable guide that’s accessible via a shareable link. It’s a straightforward way to consolidate guest info and reduce manual communication, especially for first-time hosts or those already using Hostfully’s property management system.
Checked.in takes a more dynamic approach—offering a mobile-first, interactive onboarding flow that adapts to guest behavior. Rather than showing everything upfront, you can:
- Schedule content to appear at specific moments (like after check-in or before departure)
- Gate sensitive information (e.g., smart lock codes or Wi-Fi) until the guest completes ID verification
- Personalize content based on guest type—whether they’re families, long-term stays, or VIP bookings
This turns onboarding into more than just a checklist. It creates a streamlined, concierge-style experience that answers questions before they’re asked—and makes your property feel more professional, automated, and guest-ready.
Local Recommendations and Experiences
🧭 Give Guests Local Tips That Actually Feel Local
Today’s guests don’t just want a place to sleep—they want a memorable stay. Whether they’re planning a romantic getaway or a family adventure, personalized recommendations can transform their experience. With Checked.in, hosts can create dynamic, filterable local guides that feel tailored to each guest. You can tag listings by interest—like “romantic,” “family-friendly,” or “adventure”—embed maps, and even link to your own experiences or trusted local vendors. Guests can explore options, book activities, and plan their stay—all without leaving the digital guide.
Hostfully, by comparison, allows you to manually add recommendations and integrate with Viator for affiliate bookings. While functional, this setup is largely static. Every guest sees the same suggestions, regardless of their preferences or reason for travel, which limits the opportunity for a truly customized experience..
Upsells and Add-Ons
💰 Turn Your Guidebook Into a Revenue Stream
Upsellsaren’t just about making more money—they’re about enhancing your guest’s stay with meaningful extras. Checked.in is built for this. Hosts can list unlimited add-ons, from early check-in and breakfast baskets to spa treatments, local wine, or branded merchandise. What sets it apart is timing. You can trigger offers at the most relevant moments—like offering a late check-out the day before departure. The platform also tracks views and conversions automatically, so you always know what’s working.
Hosts using this feature typically see a 15–25% increase in revenue, all without any additional admin.
Hostfully supports basic upsell features, but setup and visibility must be managed manually. There are no built-in analytics unless you’re using their full PMS, and timing offers for specific points in the guest journey isn’t easily achievable.
Guest Messaging and Automation
📩 Free Up Your Time With Smart Guest Messaging
Responding to guests is one of the most time-consuming parts of hosting—but it doesn’t have to be. Checked.in offers AI-powered messaging across all plans, helping you schedule key updates like check-in instructions, automate replies to common questions, and personalize communication based on guest profile. Whether it’s sending a welcome note or a thank-you message, you can manage it all without lifting a finger. Hosts report saving over 10 hours per week just by automating the most repetitive tasks.
Hostfully’s InboxAI is a helpful tool—but it’s only available if you’re also using their PMS. If you’re using just the guidebook, guest messaging remains manual, which can be time-intensive for busy or remote hosts.
Smart Check-In, Verification, and Access
🔐 Automate Check-In Without Sacrificing Security
First impressions matter, and check-in is often the guest’s very first touchpoint. Checked.in makes this process seamless and secure. Guests receive a branded pre-arrival link where they can upload ID, sign house rules, and complete the check-in process in advance. Once verified, they automatically receive a smart lock code or digital key—no extra apps or messaging needed. As a host, you’ll be notified as soon as they check in, making it ideal for managing multiple properties or hosting remotely.
Hostfully’s guidebook doesn’t include tools for guest verification, digital check-in, or smart access control. Hosts using Hostfully need to rely on third-party solutions to handle these tasks manually, adding extra friction to the guest journey.
🎨 Branding and Interface Design
Where Style Meets Usability
A well-designed guest guide isn’t just about looks—it’s about how easy it is to navigate, how clearly it reflects your brand, and how comfortably guests can use it, especially on mobile. Design choices directly shape the guest experience, and for hosts who care about delivering something polished and intuitive, the interface matters just as much as the content.
Hostfully offers basic visual branding tools, such as uploading a logo and selecting accent colors. Its layout is fixed, following a templated structure that provides consistency but limits design flexibility. A standout feature is its map view, which allows guests to browse recommendations visually by location. While this can be useful for planning, some hosts note that the clustered layout can feel overwhelming on mobile—especially in dense urban areas.
Checked.in leans into a more minimal, mobile-first design. Hosts can choose from preset color palette templates, upload a branded cover image, and customize welcome page text and subtext across both the entry screen and the main info page. These elements make it easy to convey brand tone and voice while keeping the guide looking clean and professional. While color options are currently limited to preset themes, more flexible customization is planned in future updates.
In terms of interface, Checked.in is noticeably more organized. Content is segmented into clear sections, navigation is straightforward, and guests can easily tap into the info they need without unnecessary layers or visual clutter. Local recommendations don’t appear on a single map but include direct links to Google or Apple Maps—providing focused, fast navigation without slowing down the user experience.
Ultimately, both platforms offer paths to brand alignment—but they do so differently. Hostfully emphasizes a visual, map-driven structure, while Checked.in prioritizes simplicity, guest usability, and a clean, on-brand feel that works seamlessly across devices.
Insights That Drive better Hosting
📊 Track What Works. Improve What Doesn’t.
Data should drive decisions—and Checked.in delivers. The platform includes a real-time dashboard showing how guests interact with your guide, which upsells convert best, and what content keeps them engaged. You can even A/B test different layouts or descriptions, fine-tune offers, and continuously optimize your guidebook to perform better over time.
Hostfully provides analytics as part of their broader PMS, but guidebook-specific data is limited. Without detailed engagement tracking, it’s harder to know what’s working and where opportunities are being missed.
Final Comparison: Which Platform Is Right for You?
Hostfully is a dependable platform for hosts who want a simple digital guide that organizes key information in a clean layout. It’s especially convenient for those already using the Hostfully PMS and looking to stay within that ecosystem. The entry-level cost is low, and the map-based recommendation feature can be helpful for guests who like visual trip planning.
That said, Hostfully’s guidebook functions largely as a static tool. If you’re looking to streamline guest communication, automate check-in, drive upsell revenue, or reduce your reliance on third-party tools, Checked.in offers a more complete solution.
Checked.in is built to go beyond guestbooks. It brings together multiple core functions—guest onboarding, timed upsells, smart messaging, ID verification, and even smart lock access—into one organized platform. It’s not a full PMS, but many hosts find that it covers the entire guest-facing experience on its own, replacing 4–5 tools and reducing both cost and complexity.
Ultimately, the right platform depends on your goals. If you’re scaling your rental business or simply want to offer a more professional, automated guest experience without juggling multiple systems, Checked.in is built to help you do exactly that.
Why It Matters: What Guests Expect in 2025
Guest expectations are changing fast—and digital-first stays are the new standard.
- 📱 62% of all web traffic is mobile
- 🧳 Nearly 50% of travelers plan trips entirely from their phones
- 🕒 60% prefer self check-in
- 🤖 98% of hospitality professionals say automation improves the guest experience
Guests expect smooth, app-like stays with minimal back-and-forth. Checked.in delivers that by helping you simplify operations while still adding a personal touch.
Final Verdict: Hostfully vs Checked.in
Hostfully is a great entry-level option with clean guide layouts and easy sharing—but it may require extra tools to fully support automation and guest engagement.
Checked.in is best for hosts who want to go further. With smart messaging, check-in automation, upsells, and personalized guest flows built in, it’s a full guest experience platform that saves time, increases revenue, and helps you deliver stays that feel truly seamless.
