Hostaway Customer Service — Expert Guide for Property Managers
Overview of Hostaway customer service
Hostaway is a channel management and property management system (PMS) used by short‑term rental operators worldwide. From a customer‑service perspective, the product is positioned for rapid scale: support is organized around onboarding, technical troubleshooting, integrations (Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, payment processors), and account management for larger portfolios. Most professional teams will encounter three distinct support bands: self‑service documentation, standard support (tickets/chat), and dedicated account managers for enterprise customers.
When evaluating Hostaway support, treat it as a service layer rather than just “helpdesk” work. Expect an onboarding program measured in days to weeks, SLAs for different ticket priorities, and ongoing optimization calls. The true value comes from fast channel fixes (calendar sync, rates and rules) and integration reliability that reduces double‑bookings and listing downtime — the two failures that cost the most in revenue.
Support channels and expected response times
Hostaway’s public entry point is their website (https://www.hostaway.com) and the in‑app Help Center. Industry practice for a SaaS PMS provider is to offer: 1) searchable knowledge base and API docs; 2) email/ticketing; 3) live chat for urgent issues; and 4) phone support for enterprise accounts. If you require immediate operational fixes (calendar reconciliation, payment holds), use the in‑app chat and attach logs or screenshots — that typically yields the fastest initial triage.
Response expectations you should plan for: initial acknowledgement within 15–60 minutes for chat during local business hours; email/ticket responses within 2–8 hours for priority issues and 24–72 hours for routine requests. For enterprise contracts, negotiate an SLA—common tiers are 1 hour for P1, 4 hours for P2, and 24 hours for P3. Always request SLA language in writing if uptime or booking continuity directly impacts your revenue.
Onboarding and dedicated account management
Onboarding is the most labor‑intensive phase and where customer service adds measurable return. A robust onboarding program includes a project plan, data migration (rates, reservations, guest history), and testing of OTA connections. Typical timelines: 3–14 business days for small portfolios (1–10 units) and 2–6 weeks for mid‑sized portfolios (10–100 units). Expect to commit 5–20 hours of your team’s time during the first two weeks for mapping fields, testing payments, and training.
For accounts with >20 listings, vendors generally assign a dedicated account manager or customer success manager. That person coordinates quarterly business reviews (QBRs), performance analytics, and feature road‑mapping. If you plan to scale past 50–100 units, insist on a named CSM, explicit onboarding milestones, and fixed outcomes (e.g., all channels live, successful test reservations, and automated payouts configured) before finalizing payment terms.
Troubleshooting, escalations, and technical support
When a technical problem arises — sync failure, mapping error, payment gateway decline — the quality of customer service is judged by speed, diagnostic clarity, and root‑cause resolution. Good tickets include: timestamps, listing IDs, API logs or screenshots of error messages, and the steps to reproduce the issue. Provide these details up front to reduce back‑and‑forth and shorten resolution time.
Escalation paths should be agreed up front: define ticket priorities, name the escalation contact for unresolved issues after 4–8 hours, and require a status cadence (hourly for P1, daily updates for P2). For integrations with third parties (e.g., Stripe, Airbnb, Booking.com), note that resolution can require coordination across 2–3 vendors; request a single point of contact from Hostaway to manage cross‑vendor communication and avoid finger‑pointing delays.
Pricing, contracts, and practical billing help
Hostaway typically structures pricing around monthly subscription tiers, per‑listing fees, or revenue‑share agreements. When negotiating, benchmark offers against your break‑even: calculate your cost per listing versus incremental revenue increases you expect from channel distribution. For example, if a management platform costs $20–$60 per listing/month, a 50‑unit portfolio pays $1,000–$3,000 monthly; justify this with occupancy or ADR uplifts during the first 3–6 months.
Ask customer service for a clear billing worksheet and a written outline of cancellation terms, data export capabilities (CSV, full booking history), and any migration fees. In practice, demand portability of your data: request automated exports of listings, calendar history, and guest records so you can switch providers without losing operational continuity.
Best practices for working with Hostaway support
Preparation and process reduce ticket volume and improve outcomes. Before contacting support, gather: reservation IDs, listing IDs, screenshots of the issue, and the exact time window (with timezone) of the incident. If you track metrics, include the financial impact (e.g., $450 lost booking) to justify faster escalation and SLA prioritization.
- Data checklist to attach to tickets: listing ID, reservation ID, time (UTC), channel (Airbnb/Booking.com/etc.), screenshots/logs, and the expected vs. observed behavior.
- Operational playbook items: a) test reservation protocol, b) who to notify internally for P1 incidents, c) a backup process to take bookings manually if channels fail, and d) quarterly review agenda to address recurring support items.
Finally, measure support performance: track average response time, mean time to resolution (MTTR), and recurrence rate for the same issue. A professional approach — documented tickets, SLAs in contracts, and scheduled reviews — converts customer service from a cost center into a mechanism that protects revenue and enables scale. For host‑level questions or to start a support conversation, use Hostaway’s official site: https://www.hostaway.com and the in‑app support tools to ensure your account context and logs are attached to every ticket.
