Who these three are for
All three started from the same problem: a property manager drowning in guest messages across Airbnb, Vrbo, and the PMS inbox. They diverged on how far past the inbox to go.
- HostBuddy stays closest to the inbox. Its homepage calls it "the leading messaging automation software in the short-term rental industry" and claims over 20 million messages processed (hostbuddy.ai, retrieved 2026-08-22).
- HostAI no longer exists under that name. In April 2025 it became Conduit and raised $3.1 million, repositioning from automated STR guest messaging to AI agents for hospitality that handle voice and text (PhocusWire). The old hostai.app address redirects to conduit.ai.
- Besty describes itself as replacing "scattered property-management tooling with one operating system for guest communication, upsells, and operations" (getbesty.ai), and announced a $3.75 million raise on its homepage.
If you are searching "HostBuddy vs HostAI" in 2026, you are really comparing HostBuddy with Conduit, and the price gap between them is about 2.5x at the entry tier.
What each one automates
Guest messaging
All three answer guests. The differences are in channels and control.
HostBuddy communicates through the PMS, so the channels you get are the ones your PMS already syncs. Its pricing page lists "Non-PMS Communication Channels" and "Third Party Integrations" as tier-gated features rather than defaults, and caps conversation history at 30 days on the Pro tier and 60 days on Elite (hostbuddy.ai/pricing). It lets you schedule when the AI is on; the homepage cites an average of 22 hours of AI coverage per property and says 88% of users schedule it for 24/7 coverage.
Conduit's Messaging package includes a unified inbox across every channel, inbound and outbound voice AI, PMS and OTA integrations, and an "Operator" with workflows and escalation (conduit.ai/pricing). Voice is the standout: neither HostBuddy nor Besty leads with phone calls, and Conduit prices voice into the base tier.
Besty's Messaging Autopilot promises to "turn guest communications on autopilot across every channel," and its Unified Inbox brings "OTA, email, SMS, WhatsApp, and call context into one guest thread" (getbesty.ai/features). It also lists built-in VoIP with AI call summaries.
Upsells
HostBuddy's Journeys detect gap nights and send offers, with follow-ups and escalation; Journeys are capped at 2 on Pro and 5 on Elite (hostbuddy.ai/pricing). Conduit puts upsells with one-click payment, damage waivers, and an in-portal concierge in its $30 Guest package. Besty has a dedicated Upselling Engine that automates "high-converting offers across the full guest lifecycle." This is the category where Besty's marketing is most specific and where HostBuddy's tier caps matter most for a manager with more than a handful of offer types.
Operations: cleaning, maintenance, and tasks
This is where the three separate.
HostBuddy tracks issues. It creates action items from conversations for maintenance, cleanliness, and guest requests, notifies your team (3 days of notifications on Pro, 30 on Elite, unlimited on Ultimate), and integrates with cleaning management software. It does not schedule the cleaner or dispatch the vendor; your team does that in the tool the notification points to.
Conduit sells operations as a separate, top tier. Tasks and workforce, agentic operations workflows, scheduling and dispatch, and inventory management arrive only in the Full Suite at $48 per unit per month (conduit.ai/pricing). At the $18 Messaging tier, a maintenance request is a conversation with an escalation path, not a task.
Besty lists an Operations module that will "automate turnovers, task assignment, supply tracking, and scheduling" and a Workflow & SOP Builder that turns procedures into "automated, repeatable workflows" (getbesty.ai/features). The site does not say which PMSs or cleaning tools these connect to, and the pricing page returned a 404 when we checked, so the cost of the operations layer is a sales conversation.
Owners, portals, and devices
HostBuddy does not list owner communication. Conduit's Guest + Devices package ($36) adds smart-home integration and access codes; the Full Suite adds nothing owner-specific on the pricing page. Besty lists an Owner Inbox, a branded Guest Portal for agreements, ID checks, and damage waivers, and SmartLock & IoT coordination.
Pricing side by side
| HostBuddy | Conduit (formerly HostAI) | Besty | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Per property, monthly | Per unit, monthly, with message credits | Per listing plus revenue share |
| Entry price | $7 (Pro), $10 (Elite), $12 (Ultimate) | $18 (Messaging, 40 credits/unit) | Not published |
| Operations tier | Action items on all tiers; no scheduling | $48 Full Suite | Included in the "operating system" pitch; price on request |
| Trial | 2 weeks free | Not stated | Not stated |
| Source | hostbuddy.ai/pricing | conduit.ai/pricing | Rentals United partner page |
Two things to read into the table. Conduit's credits are a metered model: 40 credits per unit per month at the entry tier, 100 at the top, with an $899-a-month option carrying 2,000 credits. Ask what a credit is before comparing it with HostBuddy's flat per-property fee. Besty's partner listing describes "monthly, quarterly, and yearly plans available, based on the number of listings, with a revenue-share model," which suggests the upsell engine is part of how Besty gets paid.
Who each one is best for
Choose HostBuddy if you want the cheapest credible way to stop answering "what's the Wi-Fi?" yourself, you run under roughly 30 units, and your cleaning and maintenance already live in another tool. Its limits (conversation history, journeys, notification windows) are the limits of a messaging product, and at $7 to $12 they are easy to accept.
Choose Conduit if guest phone calls are a real share of your volume, or you want one vendor whose roadmap runs from the inbox to dispatch and are prepared to pay the $48 tier to get there. Its customers on the pricing page describe wanting "real automation," not drafts, which is the right expectation for the top tier and the wrong one for the entry tier.
Choose Besty if upsell revenue is the number you are optimizing, you want a guest portal and owner inbox from the same vendor, and you are comfortable with quote-based pricing tied to a revenue share.
The third option: an operating layer that does the work
The pattern across all three is the same: the cheapest tier answers messages, and the moment a message turns into work (a cleaner to reschedule, a vendor to dispatch, an owner to update), you are either paying for a higher tier or doing it yourself in another tool.
Trellis starts from the other end. One plan, from $749.99 a month and scaled by property count, includes the AI inbox, operations (agents that turn a guest issue into a cleaning, maintenance, or owner task and follow it to completion), workflows, and the field-team app. There are no feature tiers. Autopilot is earned per channel, and billing starts only when it reaches 70% accuracy. It runs on top of the PMS you already have; Trellis is a Hostaway certified partner and connects to Guesty, Hostaway, Hostfully, Hospitable, OwnerRez, and the PMSs available through Calry.
That makes Trellis the wrong answer for a 10-unit host, where HostBuddy's $70 a month is the sensible call. It is the right comparison for a 30 to 2,000 unit manager deciding whether to buy messaging now and operations later, or to buy the operating layer once.
Frequently asked questions
Is HostAI the same as Conduit?
Yes. HostAI rebranded as Conduit in April 2025 alongside a $3.1 million raise, and its website now redirects to conduit.ai (PhocusWire). Pricing, packaging, and positioning on this page are Conduit's.
Does HostBuddy schedule cleaners?
No. HostBuddy creates action items from guest conversations and integrates with cleaning management software, so the cleaner is scheduled in that software, not in HostBuddy (hostbuddy.ai).
How much does Besty cost?
Besty does not publish a price list; its pricing page returned a 404 on 2026-08-22. Its listing on the Rentals United partner directory describes plans "based on the number of listings, with a revenue-share model" (Rentals United).
Which one works with my PMS?
HostBuddy and Conduit both list PMS integration on their pricing pages; check your specific PMS with each vendor. Besty's site lists integration pages by PMS (for example Hospitable) but names no PMSs on its features page. Trellis publishes its full list on the integrations directory.
Sources
All retrieved 2026-08-22.
- HostBuddy homepage: https://www.hostbuddy.ai/
- HostBuddy pricing: https://www.hostbuddy.ai/pricing
- Conduit pricing (hostai.app/pricing redirects here): https://www.conduit.ai/pricing
- PhocusWire, "HostAI becomes Conduit, raises $3.1M" (April 2025): https://www.phocuswire.com/hostai-conduit-strs-artificial-intelligence-investment
- Besty homepage: https://www.getbesty.ai/
- Besty features: https://www.getbesty.ai/features
- Besty pricing page (404 at retrieval): https://www.getbesty.ai/pricing
- Rentals United, Besty AI partner listing: https://rentalsunited.com/vacation-rental-services/besty-ai/
