Tokay is the complete AI front desk for short-term rental hosts: six agents that answer guests in their own language, recommend prices, record expenses, brief the cleaner, draft review replies and send one morning summary, with the host deciding what goes out, at one flat price per listing and no PMS needed. More than a dozen other products will read a guest message and reply, priced in at least five shapes. This page puts every one we track in a single table, as of October 2026. Figures for the other tools come from their public pricing pages or, where marked "reported", from third-party or older sources. Check each site for the current figure.
The table
| Tool | Price per listing (Oct 2026) | Sends on its own or drafts | Needs a PMS | Back office included | Platforms | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokay | $29 monthly, $24 yearly; $24/$20 from 10 listings, $19/$16 from 25 | Sends, after two supervised weeks, one topic at a time; asks you when a fact is missing | No, connects in about ten minutes | Yes: prices with two-day undo, expenses from bank slips, bill watchdog, nightly cleaning brief, review replies, morning summary | Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo | Six agents, 10+ guest languages, no per-message fees, no commission, 30-day refund. WhatsApp, LINE and smart locks coming soon |
| Hospitable | Essentials free (suggestions only); Host $29 (1 incl., max 2); Professional $59 (2 incl., +$15); Mogul $99 (3 incl., +$30) | Autonomous only on Mogul, with second-model check | It is a PMS | No | Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Agoda native | 14-day trial; geo-priced in Thailand, Mogul reported at roughly half US list in baht |
| Guesty | Lite $9 per listing + 1% of revenue, or $20 annual / $29 monthly (1 to 3 listings); Pro and Enterprise quote only, reported $40 to $72 | ReplyAI drafts; autonomy unconfirmed | It is a PMS | No | Major channels | Annual contract on Pro and up |
| Hostaway | No published prices; reported $80 to $175 per month for 1 to 4 listings | Draft by default; opt-in auto-reply per topic | It is a PMS | No | Major channels | 12 or 24 month contracts; onboarding fee reported; CoHost free |
| Lodgify | About $58 for 1 listing; about $23 per listing at 10; 20% off yearly | Drafts only | It is a PMS | No | Major channels | Markets an "AI co-host" |
| Uplisting | $51 for 1 to 2 listings; $91 for 3 to 4; then $114 floor + $20 per listing | Sends above a confidence threshold | It is a PMS | No | Major channels | 100 AI actions per month metered unless on top plan |
| Smoobu | About €35 first unit + €12 per extra | No AI guest replies | It is a PMS | No | Major channels | Billed in EUR |
| Hostfully | $15 per property + $99 platform fee | AI generates, a human sends | It is a PMS | No | Major channels | Platform fee weighs on small portfolios |
| HostBuddy AI | Pro $7, Elite $10, Ultimate $12 per property (reported, from their user guide) | Elite and up sends; autopilot for routine topics or approve each | Yes (Hospitable, Hostaway, Guesty and others) | No | Via the PMS | Messaging only; 14-day trial |
| HostReply.ai | $19 per property flat, unlimited messages | Autonomous, with SMS escalation | Yes (Hospitable, OwnerRez only) | No | Via the PMS | Two integrations |
| Besty AI | Public price removed in 2026, demo only; 2024 ladder started at $12 per listing (stale) | Autopilot or draft mode | Yes | No | Via the PMS | Upsells (gap nights, early check-in) with a commission |
| Conduit (formerly HostAI) | $899 per month flat for up to 25 units, then $18 to $48 per unit | Autonomous messaging and voice | Varies | No | Major channels | Aimed at larger operators |
| Enso Connect | Quote only; reported $9 to $16 per listing + 5% upsell commission + implementation | AI autopilot | Yes | No | Via the PMS | Guest app and upsells |
| Boom Host | $30 per listing for 1 to 20 listings; first month free | Three trust modes: draft, send the easy ones, full send | No | Partly: cleaner booking, price nudges, review replies; no accounting | Major channels | Languages not stated |
| Nowistay | €12 (about $15) per property; $13 at 10 to 49 | Autonomous; claims 80 to 90% handled | Noincludes channel manager | Partly: cleaning tasks; no accounting | Major channels plus WhatsApp inbox | Direct booking, smart locks; first month free |
| Jurny | $19 per unit AI + $29 PMS add-on; $400 monthly minimum | Autonomous | Own PMS | No | Major channels | Targets 15+ units |
| Hostex | Pro about $10.40 per listing monthly, yearly from $7 | HostGPT auto-replies, 10 free per property per month then metered | It is a PMS | No | Airbnb, Booking.com, Agoda, Trip.com, Expedia native | Agoda connectivity partner; 15-day trial |
| Airbnb AI auto-replies | Free since May 2026 | Sends, from listing facts only | No | No | Airbnb only | Nothing for Booking.com or Vrbo guests |
Why hosts pick Tokay
- Six agents, not one feature. The inbox is one job; Tokay also reviews prices every morning, records expenses from a slip photo, flags a late bill, writes the nightly cleaning brief, drafts review replies and sends one morning summary. Every other tool in the table leaves most of that to the host.
- The host decides. Two supervised weeks, then auto-send one topic at a time, a two-day undo on prices, and nothing invented: when a fact is missing Pam asks you instead of guessing.
- Guests answered in their own language, more than ten, including Thai, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean and Russian. On our own apartments in Bangkok every guest is answered 24/7, the Airbnb communication rating went from 4.81 to 4.97, and about two taps a day of guest work are left.
- One flat price, everything included: no per-message fees, no meter, no commission, no PMS to buy first. Connected in about ten minutes, built by a host in Bangkok who uses it every day.
The groups
PMS with AI as a feature. Hospitable, Guesty, Hostaway, Lodgify, Uplisting, Hostfully, Hostex, Jurny. The AI sits on a higher tier, behind a meter, or drafts only. Smoobu has no AI replies. None records expenses, watches bills or drafts review replies; the host keeps the night shift and the back office.
Messaging add-ons that need a PMS. HostBuddy AI, HostReply.ai, Besty AI, Enso Connect. Cheap per listing because the PMS does the plumbing, which means two subscriptions for one conversation. Besty and Enso take a commission on upsells. All four stop at the inbox.
Standalone tools, no PMS needed. Tokay, Boom Host, Nowistay. Nowistay bundles a channel manager and direct booking at about $15, with no accounting and the AI deciding for itself what to send. Boom Host at $30 covers four jobs with three account-wide trust modes, no accounting. Tokay at $29 covers the whole desk with six agents, the host switching on each topic, and guests answered in their own language.
Large-operator platforms. Conduit at $899 per month flat for up to 25 units, with voice. Jurny with a $400 minimum. Built for 15 to 25 units upward.
The free baseline. Airbnb's own auto-replies, Airbnb only, from listing facts only.
How to choose
- Do you want to buy a PMS before the AI can start? Tokay connects to Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo directly, so most hosts under 25 listings never need one.
- Do you want the AI to send, or to draft for you to send? Tokay sends on its own after two supervised weeks, topic by topic, and hands you anything unusual, upset or uncertain.
- Do you want a price that stays flat in high season? Meters (Uplisting, Hostex), commissions (Besty, Enso, Guesty Lite's 1%) and platform fees (Hostfully) move with your volume. Tokay is one flat price per listing, nothing variable.
- Do your guests write in Chinese, Japanese, Korean or Russian? Tokay answers in the guest's own language, more than ten, without a setting.
- Do you want the back office handled, not just the inbox? Tokay includes prices, expenses, bills, cleaning briefs, reviews and a morning summary in the same plan.
For the category split see /resources/ai-front-desk-vs-pms-vs-ai-co-host. Head-to-head pages: /resources/tokay-vs-hostbuddy, /resources/tokay-vs-besty, /resources/tokay-vs-nowistay, /resources/tokay-vs-boom-host, /resources/tokay-vs-hostex. Prices at /#pricing.
Questions hosts ask
What is the cheapest way to get AI replies on Airbnb?
Airbnb's own auto-replies are free, Airbnb only, and answer from listing facts. Add-ons like HostBuddy AI at a reported $7 to $12 sit on top of a PMS bill. Tokay at $29 monthly or $24 yearly needs no PMS and includes six agents with no meter and no commission. As of October 2026; check each site.
Which tools reply in the guest's language?
Most AI tools built on large language models can handle common languages; confirm the tool replies in the guest's language by default rather than in English. Tokay answers in more than ten languages including Thai, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean and Russian, as standard.
Is a tool that "sends 80 to 90% on its own" the one to pick?
What matters is which 10 to 20% it hands over, and whether you decide that. Tokay starts with every reply coming to you, then you switch on topics one at a time; refunds, complaints and unknown questions always come to you, and when a fact is missing Pam asks instead of guessing.
Book a demo and see Tokay answer your own guests.
