Question 1

What do I actually get?

Accepted Answer

One system on one account. It runs your villas — answers guests around the clock on your own channels, handles check-in, and turns requests into team tasks. And it runs you — a morning brief, "what's burning right now", and answers about your whole portfolio when you ask it. The dashboard, calendar, reports and guest app are all included; there are no feature tiers to pick between.

Question 2

What can Hostella answer automatically?

Accepted Answer

Property-specific questions like Wi-Fi, check-in, check-out, house rules, appliance instructions, local recommendations, and simple service requests.

Question 3

What happens when the AI is not sure?

Accepted Answer

The message moves into the approval queue with the guest context, risk reason, and a suggested reply. A manager can approve, edit, reject, or escalate.

Question 4

Does it handle check-in and guest ID?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Guests scan your check-in QR, fill in their details and upload a passport or ID photo, and get assigned to a unit — no front desk, no paper forms. The ID documents are emailed to the owner for your records, and the guest walks away with a link to their own guest app for the rest of the stay.

Question 5

Does it only reply to guests, or does it run the work too?

Accepted Answer

It runs the work. A guest asking for late towels becomes a real task with an owner, a due time and proof-of-done. Your staff get their own worker app (in their language), you see the board and the SLA, and the guest sees a live tracker of their request — no one has to chase anyone on WhatsApp.

Question 6

What languages does the AI speak?

Accepted Answer

The guest app ships in 9 languages — English, Hebrew, Russian, French, German, Spanish, Thai, Chinese and Arabic — including right-to-left layouts for Hebrew and Arabic. The AI replies in the guest's own language whether or not your house rules were written in it.

Question 7

Can guests order food or get recommendations in the chat?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if you switch them on for a property. Your restaurant menu becomes an in-chat card guests can order from, and your own recommendations — beaches, scooters, restaurants — are served by the agent instead of a printed binder no one reads.

Question 8

How is this different from Hospitable, Guesty, or Hostfully?

Accepted Answer

Hostella is messaging-first AI. Hospitable, Guesty, and Hostfully are full PMS systems (property management — listings, dynamic pricing, smart locks, accounting). We don't compete on the PMS side — we plug into your existing setup as the AI messaging layer. Many of our customers use a PMS for everything else and Hostella for guest replies.

Question 9

Does Hostella work with my existing PMS?

Accepted Answer

Yes — keep your PMS and add the AI front desk on top. The Hostaway connector is live: connect Hostaway and your reservations, calendar, and guest messages sync into Hostella's unified inbox, where the AI drafts a reply on every thread. Sending replies back through your PMS is rolling out. Guesty and Lodgify connectors are next. For any other PMS, two-way iCal keeps your calendar in sync today. Your PMS stays the system of record — there's nothing to migrate.

Question 10

Which channels and OTAs do you connect to?

Accepted Answer

None by API. Airbnb, Booking.com, Agoda, Vrbo and Expedia all gate messaging behind partner programs, so Hostella reads your OTA reservations from the confirmation emails you forward — guest name, dates and contact become a real booking — and keeps calendars aligned over two-way iCal. Guests then talk to the AI on channels you own: the installable guest app, Telegram, WhatsApp on your own Meta Business number, plus SMS and email. Those are fully two-way, replies land in the guest's own app, and everything is included in the one plan.

Question 11

What's a BYO API key — do I need one?

Accepted Answer

No — your plan has no message caps, so AI usage is already included. But if you prefer, you can plug your own Anthropic API key (sk-ant-...) in Settings → AI Provider and Anthropic bills your account directly for AI usage instead. Some operators do this for their own cost visibility or compliance requirements.

Question 12

How long does setup take?

Accepted Answer

For a pilot property, the first version can be prepared after we have the house rules, guest message examples, staff contacts, and escalation rules.

Question 13

Is there a setup fee?

Accepted Answer

No setup fee. Every account starts with a 14-day free trial and we help you set up your first villa. Enterprise (101+ villas): onboarding is included in the contract.

Question 14

Can you set the whole thing up for me?

Accepted Answer

Yes — that's the services side. A one-time audit is a full teardown of your operation with a scored report and a 90-day plan, delivered in a week at a fixed price, and it's credited in full if you go on to an Enterprise build. Enterprise is white-label and done-for-you: your own booking brand, built and then run for you every month. Prices are on the pricing page.

Question 15

How much does it cost?

Accepted Answer

One plan, no packages: $24 per villa per month for your first 100 villas, plus $69 a month for the personal assistant on the account. From villa 101 up, the Enterprise rate of $18 per villa applies to those extra villas. Five villas is $189 a month, everything included. 14-day free trial, no card to start.

Question 16

Are there really no message caps?

Accepted Answer

Really. Unlimited AI-generated replies are in the plan — no message packages, no per-message fees, no overage bill at the end of the month. The only limit in the system is a runaway-automation safety ceiling set far above any real portfolio's traffic; if genuine guest volume ever gets near it, we raise it for free.

Question 17

What counts as a “villa” for billing?

Accepted Answer

One villa = one unique property listing. If the same physical building has 4 separately-bookable suites, that's 4 villas. You can change your villa count any time — pro-rated within the billing cycle.

Question 18

What happens after the 14-day free trial?

Accepted Answer

We notify you 3 days before it ends. Nothing charges automatically — there's no card on file during the trial, so if you want to continue we arrange the plan with you directly before anything is billed. If you don't, the workspace switches to read-only: your properties, rules and conversation history stay exactly where they are and you can pick up later.

Question 19

Can I cancel anytime?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Month to month, no contracts and no notice period — tell us and it stops. Your AI agents keep running through the end of the paid period, and you can export your property rules and conversation history on the way out.

Question 20

Do you offer refunds?

Accepted Answer

Yes — a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you're not happy, tell us within 30 days of your first invoice and we refund it in full, no questions asked. Email contact@hostellagent.com or ask in the chat. After those 30 days fees aren't refundable, but you can cancel any time and nothing renews — your agents keep running to the end of the period you already paid for.

Question 21

Is guest data private?

Accepted Answer

Guest messages and property rules stay in your workspace. We use them to answer your guests and do not turn them into public training data.

Question 22

Where is my data stored?

Accepted Answer

Supabase Postgres (Tokyo region by default, EU/US optional). All sensitive data — including BYO API keys and guest ID uploads — is encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM. We're SOC 2 Type II in progress (Q3 2026 target).

Questions, answered.

Product & AI

Channels & integrations

Setup & onboarding

Pricing & billing

Data & privacy

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